Abstract
Ducrosia anethifolia (D. anethifolia) is a drought-tolerant plant widely distributed over Arar valley at the Northern region of Saudi Arabia. The aerial parts of this plant were investigated for its phytochemical constituents, antioxidant and antibacterial potential. GC-MS analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction of methanol extract revealed the presence of some major compounds such as 8-Ethoxypsoralen (6.5%), Prangenin (6.26%), Isoaromadendrene epoxide (7.5%), Aromadendrene oxide (0.96%) and Ferulic acid methyl ester (0.46%). FRAP and DPPH method were used to test the antioxidant capacity of ethyl acetate fraction of D. anethifolia, the results revealed the presence of high reduction capacity (EC50 equals 0.63 +/- 0.03g/L), compared with the reducing capacity of the standard ascorbic acid and quercetin which were 0.091 +/- 0.002 g/L and 0.026 +/- 0.002 g/L, respectively. Moreover, the results of the DPPH test showed that the extract presented a remarkable antioxidant capacity with an IC50 of 0.38 +/- 0.02 g/L, This considerable antioxidant capacity is attributed to its richness of some bioactive phytochemical compounds. The antibacterial potential was evaluated by disc-diffusion test, the plant extract was tested on nine different bacterial strains. Results exhibited that, only Gram-positive bacteria recorded good to moderate susceptibility, namely Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 49461, Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876, Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolate and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, which recorded 14.5, 14.0, 9.5- and 7.5-mm zone of inhibition, respectively. In conclusion, the aerial parts of D. anethifolia are rich in some important phytochemical molecules and could be used in the formulation of antioxidant drugs. Whereas, its efficacy against some Gram-positive bacteria only should be studied in-depth. Further studies are also recommended to these phytochemical molecules against various physiological disorders and diseases.