106PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL SCREENING OF METHANOL EXTRACTS OF PIPER LONGUM L.The medicinal value of plants lies in some chemical substances that produce a definite physiological action on the human body, called phytochemicals. These are non-nutritive substances, have protective or disease preventive properties. Present study investigates the antimicrobial activity of the medicinal plant, Piper longum L. against six bacterial (Bacillus subtilis, Klebsilla, Salmonella typhi, E.coli, Proteus sp. and Staphylococcus aureus) and three fungal species (Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and A. fumigates). In the study, fruit samples were collected from natural environments and traditional medical shops, washed, air-dried and milled. These samples were extracted using methanol solvent with the ratio of 1:5. Portions of the extracts were screened against the above microbes by disc diffusion method. The antibiotics Chloramphenicol (K-30 μg/disc) and Nystatin (50 μg/disc) were used as a positive control for bacteria and fungi respectively. Inoculated plates of bacteria and fungi were incubated for 24 hrs at 37°C. The different concentrations of Methanol Extract of Piper longum (MEPL) showed promising antibacterial activity with zone of inhibition increased with an increase in the concentration. This showed the concentration dependent activity. In case of bacteria, maximum activity was against Bacillus subtilis, moderate activity against Klebsilla, but mild activity against Salmonella typhi, where as in fungi MEPL was significantly inhibited the growth of all the Aspergillus species. The data obtained confirmed its promising antimicrobial activity. Thus it has been expected that the present work on antimicrobial screening will lead to the scientists who continue work may have clinical success concerning the pathogenic systems.santhyanandan@gmail.comResearch532015Piper longum L,MEPL,Phytochemicals,Antimicrobial activityDixitha Mohan,Archana Das,Kumaran Sivanandan Santhy Post graduate student, Department of Zoology, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore - 641043, Tamil Nadu, India,Ph. D Scholar,Department of Zoology, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore - 641043, Tamil Nadu, India,Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore - 641043, Tamil Nadu, India