CYTOTOXIC, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF Peganum harmala L. EXTRACTS

Peganum harmala L., known as ′Harmel′, is a plant widely used in the traditional Algerian medicine. Aim. The purpose of this work is to study the antioxidant, antiproliferative and antimicrobial potential of Peganum harmala extracts. Methods. Colorimetric methods were used to quantify phenolic compounds, while the antioxidant activity was estimated in vitro using DPPH/ABTS radical scavenging assay, ferric reducing power, β-carotene bleaching assay, total antioxidant capacity, and ferrous iron chelating assay. The agar well diffusion and the broth microdilution method were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity and the MTT assay was used to test the cytotoxicity of the extracts. Results. The ethanolic extracts of Peganum harmala L. showed the highest polyphenols content and the potent antioxidant, gave a good activity against Gram + and Gram- bacteria and good antifungal effect and were more cytotoxic to the HeLa cell line. Conclusions. It is concluded that selected plants could be a potential source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiproliferative potential. Hence, it is indicated to further investigate this plant in vitro as well as in vivo for new drug discovery.