Most of new biologically active compounds are natural products. British National Formulary (BNF) has been estimated to contain 56% of the lead compounds for medicines are natural products or are derived from natural products. In all the traditional systems of medicines, herbal drugs constitute a major part. Cyclea peltata (Patha) is one of the herbs mentioned in all ancient scriptures of Ayurveda. In Ayurveda the plant is used for the treatment of fever, urinary problems and skin infections. The roots have great medicinal value and are used for medicinal purpose, both, internally as well as externally. It is traditionally used in many cases such as treatment of fever, urinary problems and skin infections. It is observed from the review of literature that only few biological and chemical studies have been done on Cyclea peltata. Therefore, it seems to be essential to have a detailed screening on the pharmacological actions of this plant to exploit the various potentialities. The present study was carried out to find the various phtyochemicals in the extracts prepared and to screen its in-vitro antimicrobial activity. The fully dried roots were powdered using mixer grinder, sieved through 40 mesh and subjected to soxhlet extraction using solvents – petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and distilled water. The percentage yield was calculated and were subjected to preliminary phytochemical analysis for – saponins, tannins, triterpenes, alkaloids and flavonoids. In-vitro antimicrobial activity studies were conducted using samples of the prepared extracts. The agar diffusion method was followed for this. Bacterial species like Shigella dysentriae, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella choleraesuis and fungal species like Candida albicans and Tinea capitis were the organisms tested. The plant showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activity against almost all the organisms and especially good activity was found against Staphylococcus aureus and dermatophytes.

Keywords : Cyclea Peltata, Preliminary Phytochemical Analysis, In-Vitro Antimicrobial Activity.