Biological Activities of Plants used in Egyptian Ethnopharmacology

In the present study, six plants traditionally used in Egypt for medical purposes were chosen: Diospyros lotus (Ebenaceae), Bauhinia alba (Fabaceae), Toona ciliata (Meliaceae), Alhagi maurorum (Fabaceae), Terminalia muelleri (Combretaceae) and Pistacia chinensis (Anacardiaceae). Methanol extracts of aerial parts from these plants were tested for biological activities that might corroborate their therapeutic potential. The strongest antioxidant activities, higher than or comparable to the standard compounds used, were presented by Terminalia muelleri and Pistacia chinensis (EC50 of 4.0 and 4.7 µg/mL for DPPH and 7.0 and 49.3 µg /mL for the FeCl3 reduction assay, respectively). These results strongly correlated with the polyphenol content of the extracts. Terminalia muelleri actively inhibited acetylcholinesterase (IC50=222.9 µg/mL), while the other extracts were not active in the range of concentrations tested. Alhagi maurorum presented cytotoxicity against all the cell lines tested, particularly against HeLa tumor cell line (EC50 = 16.8 µg /mL), with a SI (Selectivity Index) of 3 when compared with the control non tumor cell line.