Invitro screening of antimicrobial potentials of Cissus quadrangularis L.

Cissus quadrangularis L. is a succulent plant of family Vitaceae commonly found in tropical and subtropical xeric wood. It is a fleshy, cactus like liana widely used as a common food item in India. The present study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ethanol, diethyl ether and aqueous leaf extracts of Cissus quadrangularis L. against bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and fungal pathogens such as Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans and Fusarium solani by in vitro agar well diffusion assay. The ethanol extract of the plant was found to possess strong antimicrobial activity against tested pathogens