International Journal of Advanced Scientific and Technical Research Issue 3 volume 4, July-August 2013 Available online on http://www.rspublication.com/ijst/index.html ISSN 2249-9954 R S. Publication, rspublicationhouse@gmail.com Page 284 A STUDY ON ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF Tridax procumbens Linn T. Monika, P. Sasikala., Dr. M. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy * Dept. of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary University, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Rajendra Nagar, India, +91-9052224389 Department of LPM, College of Veterinary University, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati, India, +91-7396120530,+91-9705497313 ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Tridax procumbens Linn belongs to the family Compositae. The extracts of Tridax procumbens have been reported to have various pharmacological effects like mosquito repellant activity, leishmanicidal, hepatoprotective effect on liver antioxidant system, immunomodulatory effect, wound healing activity and antiprotozoal effects.The methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of Tridax procumbens were used for this study. The antibacterial activity of methanolic and ethyl acetate leaf extracts of Tridax procumbens Linn (L.) were examined against Escherichia coli,,Klebsiella pneumoniae,Salmonella typhi, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Antibacterial activity was investigated by disc and agarwell diffusion method. The ethyl acetate extracts of the Tridax procumbens showed effective inhibition against the Staphylococcus aureus than compared to other organism. Therefore the leaves of Tridax procumbens can be considered to be the promising source of antimicrobial compounds. Key words: Tridax procumbens, Methonolic and ethyl acetate extract, Antibacterial activity. ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Traditional medicinal knowledge and its use for finding active chemical structures for medicine is necessary to have co-operative efforts between modern and traditional health workers and researchers (Hamill et al., 2000, 2003). In developing countries, traditional medicine occupies a central place among rural communities but enough information is not available about the chemical composition and real biological possibilities of most of the plants traditionally in use. (Tabuti, 2003). For centuries plants have been used for both nutritional and