Therapeutic potential of the age-old Indian herbal remedies needs an immediate scientific validation, against urogenital problems. This study investigates the antibacterial efficacy of the methanolic extract of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. (C. reflexa) stem through multiple diffusion techniques and the zone of inhibitions (ZOIs) are expressed in millimetres. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is found to be 1.25mg/mL against Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 2.5mg/mL against Proteus vulgaris and 0.625mg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus. The MIC for Ciprofloxacin as a control is noted to be 0.062µg/mL against E. faecalis, P. vulgaris, S. aureus and 1.25µg/mL against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. C. reflexa extract exhibited substantial antibacterial activity against all the tested strains, along with significant antibiotic modulating activities specifically against E. coli and E. faecalis. The extract's ability to scavenge free radicals through the DPPH assay is indicated by IC50 value of 212.61 µg/mL with ascorbic acid as a control. The presence of phenols, tannins, glycosides, coumarin, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, steroids, and terpenoids is confirmed from qualitative test. The total phenols and flavonoids contents are determined as 22.54 ± 0.4 mg/g of Gallic acid equivalent and 113 ± 2.88 mg/g of Rutin equivalent, respectively. The vulnerating effect of C. reflexa extract on uropathogens secures its usefulness in pharmaceuticals.

Keywords: Cuscuta reflexa extract, Antibacterial and Antioxidant activities, Phytochemical study, Uropathogens