Kaempferia galanga L. is one of the valuable medicinal plant in Zingiberaceae family, an ingredient of many ayurvedic drug preparations. Antimicrobial efficiency of K. galanga (rhizome) were examined using methanol and chloroform, as solvents and tested against four human pathogenic bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae. Plant extract using both the solvent showed a significant activity against all pathogens, but the chloroform extract of K. galanga showed maximum zone of inhibition and minimum inhibitory concentration against all the microorganisms. The minimum zone of inhibition and comparatively greater inhibitory concentration were determined in methanolic extract. Rhizome extracts of K. galanga with its antimicrobial activity assures it to be a possible and effective source of herbal medicines to treat infections, and thereby justifying its ethnic use in various human ailments
