Our study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant properties, antibacterial and antifungal activities, anti-inflammatory properties, and chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs), total phenol, and total flavonoid of wild Mentha pulegium L. This study also determined the mineral (nutritional and toxic) elements in the plant. The EOs were extracted using three techniques—hydro distillation (HD), steam distillation (SD), and microwave-assisted distillation (MAD)—and were analyzed using chromatography coupled with flame ionization (GC-FID) and gas chromatography attached with mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). The antioxidant effects of the EOs were tested with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), while the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the EO and methanolic extract were tested using Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. Twenty-six compounds were identified in the essential oil, representing 97.73% of the total oil, with 0.202% yield. The major components were pulegone (74.81%), menthone (13.01%) and piperitone (3.82%). Twenty-one elements, including macro- and micro-elements (Ba, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sr, Th, U and Zn), were detected using neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), with the concentration of mineral element close to the FAO recommendation. The results show that the EOs and extracts from Mentha pulegium L. had significant antimicrobial activities against the microorganisms, including five human pathogenic bacteria, one yeast (Candida albicans), and one phytopathogenic fungi. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activities of the leaf extracts were confirmed. The results indicate that the EOs and extracts from Mentha pulegium L. have promising applications in the pharmaceutical industries, clinical applications, and in medical research.

Artemisia campestris L. is commonly used in folk medicine due to its antioxidant, antidiabetic, nutritional, and culinary properties. Our study assessed the total phenolics contents, antioxidant, and pharmacological activities of various organic extracts prepared from the aerial parts of Artemisia campestris, and its mineral elements and chemical profile were analyzed. ICP-OES was used to analyze the mineral profile and the LC-MS/MS analysis was used to characterize the phytochemical profiling. A series of antioxidant tests were carried out using DPPH, ABTS, beta-carotene, GOR, RP, CUPRAC, and O-Phenanthroline assays. In vitro potent inhibitory actions of A. campestris extracts were investigated to evaluate their anti-cholinesterase, anti-lipase and anti-diabetic activities. The photoprotective effect of the plant was measured by the sun protection factor. The most powerful inhibitor of α-amylase was AcPEE (IC₅₀ = 11.79 ± 0.14 μg/mL), which also showed a significant butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory effect (IC₅₀ = 93.50 ± 1.60 μg/mL). At IC₅₀ = 23.16 ± 0.19 μg/mL, AcEAE showed the most powerful inhibitory effects on acetylcholinesterase. A. campestris was found to have a strong photoprotective ability, absorbing UV radiations with SPF values ranging from 26.07 ± 0.22 to 40.76 ± 0.11. The results showed that A. campestris extract has strong antioxidant activity in all the test samples except for the carotene bleaching assay. The LC/MS-MS results showed that AcDE, AcEAE, and AcBE identified 11 compounds belonging to Polyphenols Compounds. Our result also showed that A. campestris contains a high concentration of essential minerals, including macro-and micro-elements with their values close to the FAO’s recommended concentration. A. campestris has the capacity to improve pharmaceutical formulations, health, and medical research, due to its compositions and potent biological properties.

Due to their robust antioxidant capabilities, potential health benefits, wide variety of biological activities, and strong antioxidant qualities, phenolic compounds are substances that have drawn considerable attention in recent years. The main goal of the review is to draw attention to saharian Algerian medicinal plants and the determination of their bioactivity (antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory importance), and to present their chemical composition as well as in vivo and in vitro studies, clinical studies, and other studies confirming their real impact on human health. Research results have revealed a rich variety of medicinal plants used to treat various disease states in this region. Based on in vivo and in vitro studies, biological activity, and clinical studies, a list of 34 species of desert plants, belonging to 20 botanical families, useful both in preventive actions and in the treatment of neoplastic diseases has been established, and polyphenolic compounds have been identified as key to the health potential of endemic diseases and desert plants. It has been shown that people who follow a diet rich in polyphenols are less prone to the risk of many cancers and chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. In view of the increasing antioxidant potential of these plant species, as well as the increasing trade in herbal products from the Sahara region, phytosanitary and pharmaceutical regulations must change in this respect and should be in line with Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and the sustainable use and development of plant products must be addressed at the same time.

This study describes the chemical composition, antitumor, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of the plant Thymus algeriensis Boiss. Essential oils (EOs) were collected in different periods (before, during, and after flowering stage) from the El-Guetfa region, M’sila, Algeria. The EOs extraction was achieved using three distinguishing techniques: hydro (Clevenger trap), steam, and microwave distillations, targeting different aerial parts of the plant (stems, flowers, and leaves). The EOs chemical components were estimated using GC-FID and GC-MS apparatuses. The resulting yield of the extracted oil was moderate and ranged between 0.84 and 1.53% (wt/vol). In total, eighty-five components were identified, in which the oxygenated monoterpenes family formed the main portion, starting from 40.56 up to 70.66%. The obtained essential oil was dominated by five major components that varied from low to quite moderate percentages: camphor (17.45–32.56%), borneol (11.16–22.2%), camphene (7.53–12.86%), 1.8-cineole (5.16–11.21%), and bornyl acetate (3.86–7.92%). The biological results of this oil pointed out that the EOs extracted from the leaves part exposed a weak radical scavenging activity afterward using two well-known antioxidant assays DPPH (IC₅₀ = 8.37 mg/mL) and ABTS (10.84 mg/mL). Meanwhile, this oil presented strong inhibition activity against colon cancer cell line HCT116 (LC50 = 39.8 µg/mL) and a moderate inhibitory against hepatocellular cancer cells HePG2 (LC50 > 100 µg/mL). In addition, this oil antimicrobial activity was quite important against Micrococcus luteus (M. luteus), Staphylococcus aureus CIP 7625, Escherichia coli ATCC 10536, Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 4226, Candida albicans IPA200, Candida tropicalis (Ct), and Candida glabrata (Cg) after using Amoxicillin and Itraconazole as references.

Teucrium polium L. is commonly used in folk medicine to treat hypertension and diabetes and to heal wounds. The present work aimed to evaluate the different biological activities of T. polium hydroalcoholic extract, its total phenol and flavonoid content, and its mineral elements. Results showed that T. polium extract showed significant antioxidant potential in 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay with IC₅₀ equal to 8.68 μg/mL but with moderate activity in galvinoxyl assay with IC₅₀ of 21.82 μg/mL and mild activity in the β-carotene assay. It also showed a pronounced anti-hyperglycemic activity using α-amylase inhibitory assay (IC₅₀ = 111.68 µg/mL) and exceeds that of acarbose. T. polium showed excellent activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with IC₅₀ values of 28.69 and 4.93 μg/mL, respectively, postulating its promising anti-Alzheimer potential. The plant extract exhibited a strong anti-inflammatory effect with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) denaturation inhibitory potential estimated by 97.53% at 2 mg/mL, which was further confirmed by the in vivo carrageen-induced edema model. The extract revealed its richness in flavonoids and phenols, evidenced by its polyphenols content (36.35 ± 0.294 μg GAE/mg) and flavonoids (24.30 ± 0.44 μg QE/mg). It is rich in minerals necessary for human health, such as calcium, potassium, iron, sodium, magnesium, manganese and zinc. Molecular docking performed for previously identified compounds on human α-amylase, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and acetylcholine esterase confirmed the results. Thus, it can be concluded that T. polium can be a good candidate for alleviating many health-debilitating problems and can be highly beneficial in the pharmaceutical industry and medical research.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities of essential oil from Ammodaucus leucotrichus Cosson & Durieu (Apiaceae) growing in South Algeria