Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants got more importance in recent era. Hence there is a need to develop new effective traditional drugs with scientific validation. One such plant is Lindernia crustacea (L) F. Muell called as padumale in south canara district, Karnataka. It is small slender prostrate plant found in moist shady places. The local people successfully use the juice of fresh plant in few drops once in a day diarrhea in infants due to teething. The present study deals with organoleptic tests, Physico-chemical study and antimicrobial study of diarrhoeagenic organisms E. coli ATCC, E. coli, Salmonella paratyphi-A and Shigella flexneri. The Decoction of whole plant was prepared according to standard norms ie reduced to 1/4th concentration and then used for testing against diarrhoeagenic organisms. In this study Agar dilution and Time kill assay method (TKA) was used to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and bactericidal activity of the antimicrobial agents. The trial drug “Taste with tongue” method showed Bitter as Primary taste, Sweet as Secondary taste. The drug contains chemical constitutions like carbohydrates, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and phenol compounds. HPTLC result showed total 10 peaks AT254 nm and 11 peaks AT366 nm. In Agar Dilution method, there was inhibition of bacterial growth in the media without dilution. In Time Kill Assay method inhibition of bacterial growth was seen after 6 and 8 hours and no growth of bacteria after 24 hours.Present study reveals that the trial drug is more effective against diarrhea causing bacteria like Shigella flexneri, Salmonella paratyphi. Anti-microbial action of trail drug due to presence of Flavonoid and Phenolic compounds. Due to the presence of tannins it prevent elimination of watery stool. This study substantiated that the trial drug can be used for diarrhea of all age groups.
