Antibacterial Activity of Antibacterial Activity of Antibacterial Activity of Antibacterial Activity of Antibacterial Activity of Cissus quadrangularis Cissus quadrangularis Cissus quadrangularis Cissus quadrangularis Cissus quadrangularis Linn Linn Linn Linn Linn N. D. KASHIKAR AND INDU GEORGE* Department of Life Sciences, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari campus, Kalina, Santa Cruz (E), Mumbai-400 098, India. T he in vitro antibacterial activity of different extracts of Cissus quadrangularis Linn (Vitaceae) against some Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, were investigated. T he methanol and ethyl acetate extract showed high activity against the bacteria tested. Cissus quadrangularis Linn (Family: Vitaceae) is a  perennial climber, found mostly in the hotter parts of the  world such as India, Sri Lanka, Tropical Africa, South  Africa, Thailand, Java, and Philippines 1 . The plant is  mentioned in the ancient systems of medicine such as  Ayurveda, and is useful for treatment of bloody  diarrhoea, skin disorders, earache 2 , haemorrhoids,  irregular menstruation, and accelerates healing of bone  fracture 3 .  Murthy et al. 4  have previously reported the antimicrobial  *For correspondence E-mail: ptcmudlsc@yahoo.co.in effects of the plant, along with the values of zones of  inhibition. Here, we report the minimum inhibitory  concentration (MIC) values of the different extracts of  the plant stem using the microtitre plate method 5,6 , which  is relatively simple, reproducible, and rapid.  The stems of Cissus quadrangularis, collected from the  plants maintained in the greenhouse were washed with  water, cleaned, cut into small sections, and dried in an  oven at 40° for 10-12 d. The dried material was ground to  a fine powder in a homogeniser. The powder was stored  in a refrigerator.  Extraction was carried out using a Soxhlet apparatus.  March - April 2006 Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 245