Abstract
Three medicinal plants grown wild in Jordan, namely Achillea santolina L, Achillea fragrantisimma, Asteriscus graveolens (Forssk) Less, were extracted with ethyl acetate by continuous shaking at room temperature for three days. The antibacterial activity of the crude extract was evaluated. The extracts were analyzed for their phenolic and flavonoids content by HPLC-PDA. The HPLC analysis of the plant extracts revealed the presence of flavonoids and phenolic compounds in the three plant extracts. Results revealed a strong antibacterial activity of A. graveolens against three bacterial strains (B. subtilis, E. coli, and S.aureus) while A. fragrantissima inhibited the growth of B. subtilis. Bioactivities were attributed mainly to the immense content of phenol-based compounds in plants.