Verbesina encelioides is an exotic medicinal plant widely used in traditional medicine. Antimicrobial proteins are low molecular weight compounds involved in constitutive or induced resistance to microbial attack. The search for new antimicrobial substances exhibiting minimal side effect is warranted. The study was conducted to estimate some of the biochemical parameters and characterize the antimicrobial proteins from the young leaves of Verbesina encelioides. Plant was surveyed in Eastern dry zones of Karnataka and sample from each places were collected. Among them sample collected from Kolar (Thavarekere village) was found to have maximum total protein, sugar, phenol, tannin and micro-nutrients. SDS-PAGE analysis estimated the low molecular weight protein found to be of 14 k Da which is responsible for the antimicrobial activity. Bioassays were done to test the antibacterial and antifungal activity. Antibacterial activity was determined against selected bacterial pathogens like Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus coagulance, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Later antifungal activity was determined by Aspergillus flavus, Rhizactonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Sclerotium rolfsii. The result confirmed that the protein exhibits moderate antimicrobial activity. This determines the relevance of antimicrobial activity of Verbesina encelioides.

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