The methanolic root extract of tissue cultured Pluchea indica (L.) Less. was tested for its antibacterial potentiality against 102 different strains of bacteria belonging to both Gram positive and Gram negative groups. The bacteria could be arranged according to their decreasing order of sensitivity as follows: Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Bacillus spp. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, shigellae, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli. The extract was found to be bacteriostatic in nature against Salmonella typhimurium NCTC 74. When administered to Swiss strain of white mice at the doses of 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg body weight, the extract could significantly protect the animals challenged with 50 MLD of S. typhimurium NCTC 74. According to the chi-square test, the in vivo data is highly significant (P < 0.001).