Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2014) 3(1): 329-336 329 Review Article Antimicrobial activity of Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) - A Review Korhalkar Anagha 1 *, Deshpande Manasi 2 , Lele Priya 3 and Modak Meera 4 1 Department of Gen. Pathology and Microbiology, Dental College and Hospital, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune 411043, Maharashtra, India 2 Department of Dravyaguna Vigyan, College of Ayurved, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune 411043, Maharashtra, India 3 Department of Periodontology, Dental College and Hospital, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune 411043, Maharashtra, India 4 Department of Microbiology, Medical College, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune 411043, Maharashtra, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction The control of hospital-acquired infection caused by multi-drug resistant bacilli has proved to be a problem over the last 20 years. Such infections are often extremely difficult for the clinician to treat because of the widespread resistance of these bacteria to the major groups of antibiotics. So there is a continuous effort by the pharmaceutical industries to develop new antimicrobial agents for the treatment of the infections. The use of herbal medicines by traditional healers for the treatment of diseases remains the main stay of health care system. It is gaining increasing popularity especially among the rural population in the developing countries since it is an effective and cheap source of medical care. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that about an 80% population of developing countries relies on traditional medicines, mostly plant drugs, for their primary health care needs. Particularly in ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 3 Number 1 (2014) pp. 329-336 http://www.ijcmas.com Keywords Yashtimadhu; Glycyrrhiza glabra; antimicrobial action; anti fungal action. The emergence of pandrug resistant bacteria has become a major problem.There is a continuous effort by the pharmaceutical industries to develop new antimicrobial agents for the treatment of the infections. Due to the increase of resistance to antibiotics, there is a pressing need to develop new and innovative antimicrobial agents. One approach is to screen local medicinal plants which represent a rich source of novel antimicrobial agents. Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra)is one such plant which has shown remarkable activity against large number of organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites etc. This review has tried to give an account of multifold activity of various bioactive molecules of Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra)against various microorganisms.