Plants are known to provide biologically active molecules with reduced or no toxicity. Tridax procumbens plant has been used in traditional medicine to cure several ailments. Keeping this view in mind, the in-vitro antimicrobial activity of hot water and methanolic extracts of the leaves of Tridax procumbens was tested by plate diffusion method against five bacterial pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherchia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Both the extracts showed antibacterial activity against the tested strains as compared to standard; except for Klebsiella pneumoniae. The methanolic extract was found to be more effective than water extract against all bacteria and exhibited a higher inhibition activity against Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The present screening results demonstrated that the methanol leaf extract of Tridax procumbens has potent antibacterial activity the plant may be new source for novel antibacterial active constituents.
