International Journal of PharmTech Research CODEN (USA): IJPRIF ISSN : 0974-4304 Vol.4, No.1, pp 44-48, Jan-Mar 2012 Antifungal activity of Kedrostis foetidissima (Jacq.) Cogn. Priyavardhini, S 1 , Vasantha, K 1 *, Tresina Soris, P 2 and Mohan, V.R. 2 1 PG & Research Department of Botany, Government Arts College, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu,India. 2 Ethnopharmacology Unit, Research Department of Botany, V.O.Chidambaram College, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu,India. *Corres. author: dr.k.vasantha@gmail.com Abstract: In the present study, petroleum ether, hexane, chloroform, acetone and methanol extracts of leaf, stem and tuber of K. foetidissima were investigated for antifungal activity against Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and A. versicolor by disc diffusion method. Among the various extracts, methanol extract of the investigated plant parts of Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and A. versicolor were found to be more effective against all the tested fungi. Hence, this plant can be used to discover bioactive natural products that may serve as leads in the development of new pharmaceuticals that address unmet therapeutic needs. Key words: Antifungal activity, Kedrostis foetidissima, methanol extract. Introduction Infectious diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites remain a major threat to public health, despite tremendous progress in human medicines. Their impact is particularly great in developing countries because of the relative unavailability of medicines and the emergence of widespread drug resistance 1 . Over the past few decades, there has been much interest in natural materials as source of new antimicrobial agents. Different extracts from traditional medicinal plants have been tested. Many reports show the effectiveness of traditional herbs against microorganisms as a result plants have become one of the bases of modern medicine 2 . Plants have been used for the treatment of disease all over the world before the advent of modern clinical drugs. Natural phytochemicals are known to contain substance that can be used for therapeutic purposes or as precursor for the synthesis of novel useful drugs. Total of 50% modern drugs are of natural products origin and as such these natural products play an important role in the drug development pharmaceutical industry. Use of plant as a source of medicine has been inherited and is an important component of the health care system 3 . Kedrostis foetidissima (Jacq.) Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae) which is very effective in the treatment of asthma, chest pain and urinary tract infection 4 , diarrhoea, HIV 5 , small pox and skin diseases 6 . With this background, the present study was carried out to evaluate the antifungal activity of hexane, petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone and methanol extracts from leaf, stem and tuber of Kedrostis foetidissima.