Modern antibiotics against acne vulgaris has led to resistance among Propionibacterium acnes. This may be overcome with the use of ancient Indian medicines documented against skin diseases. Methanolic extracts of 21 medicinal plants were screened for antipropionibacterium activity to provide a scientific basis for indigenous cures derived from traditional knowledge. Seven medicinal plants were found to inhibit the gr owth of P. acnes. Of these Embelia ribes, Salmalia malabarica and Terminalia chebula showed strong inhibitory effects. The novel antipropionibacterium activity of embelin isolated from Embelia ribes and chebulagic acid isolated from Terminalia chebula which strongly inhibited the growth of P. acnes with minimum inhibitory concentration of 12.5 μg/ml has been reported.