SCREENING OF PHYTOCHEMICAL, EVALUATION OF PHENOLIC CONTENT, ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIOXYDANT ACTIVITIES OF EPHEDRA ALATA FROM THE ALGERIAN SAHARA

Ephedra alata is a medicinal plant that has a long history of usage in folk medicine for the treatment of several diseases such as bronchial asthma, digestive system disorders and cancer. The present study aimed to elucidate the chemical constituents of the crude methanolic and hydro-methanolic extracts of Ephedra alata aerial part and to assess their antibacterial and antioxidant activities. In this study, the percentage yield of crude methanolic and hydro-methanolic extracts was 12.92% and 15.01% respectively. Phytochemical screening investigations using standard method showed that E. alata aerial part extracts was rich in flavonoids, reducing sugars, phenols and tannins and quantitative analysis using spectrophotometric assay revealed that the methanolic extract had the highest phenols and flavonoids contents (214.92 mg AGE/g extract and 30.74 mg CE/g extract, respectively). The results of the antibacterial activity by the agar well diffusion and microdilution assays showed that the both extracts displayed antibacterial effect, especially on gram positive strains with S. aureus being the most sensitive. Antioxidant activity was examined by the DPPH radical scavenging method. The methanolic extract has a significant inhibitory activity (IC₅₀= 226.58 μg/mL). These findings revealed that E. alata extracts could be a natural source of antioxidants and antibacterials that can prevent several diseases.