Introduction: Khyung-lnga, a Bhutanese Traditional Medicine, is composed of five crude ingredients and is commonly used to treat skin diseases, leprosy, neck stiffness, rheumatic arthritis, abscesses, and stomach cramps in Sowa Rigpa and was registered with Bhutan's Drug Regulatory Authority. Despite its widespread use, there is no scientific evidence supporting its antimicrobial properties. To address these, two batches of crude extracts of khyung-lnga, prepared in 2016 and 2018, were tested in 2019 for antimicrobial activity against four bacteria.

Methods: The sample extraction was performed using the cold extraction method, as outlined by Addo PW, which is currently used by Menjong Sorig and Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited for extracting small samples. For testing the antimicrobial properties, the disc diffusion method of Kirby Bauer was used, following the guidelines provided by the Royal Center for Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Bhutan.

Results: The khyung-lnga batch manufactured in 2018 demonstrated a maximum inhibition zone of 20 mm at a concentration of 1000mg/10ml. The 2016 batch of khyung-lnga showed slightly lower inhibition compared to the 2018 batch. Two-factor ANOVA revealed significant differences between batches (p < 0.05) and among concentrations (p < 0.01), with higher inhibition zones observed for the 2018 batch and at higher concentrations.

Conclusion: Recent studies show that khyung-lnga has antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium responsible for skin infections like abscesses and boils. This suggests it could be used as a complementary treatment, reducing reliance on imported medicines. However, further in vivo studies are needed to confirm its clinical effectiveness.