TY - JOUR AU - Mohamed, Amal A. AU - Khalil, Ashraf A. AU - El-Beltagi, Hossam E. S. PY - 2010/03/30 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of kaff maryam (Anastatica hierochuntica) and doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica) JF - Grasas y Aceites JA - Grasas aceites VL - 61 IS - 1 SE - Research DO - 10.3989/gya.064509 UR - https://grasasyaceites.revistas.csic.es/index.php/grasasyaceites/article/view/623 SP - 67-75 AB - The widespread use of medicinal plants for health purposes has increased dramatically due to their great importance to public health. In this study, the levels of phenolic, flavonoid, β-carotene and lycopene compounds of <i>Anastatica hierochuntica</i> and <i>Hyphaene thebaica</i> were determined. The plant extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant activities using various antioxidant methodologies: (i) scavenging of free radicals using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, (ii) metal ion chelating capacity, and (iii) scavenging of superoxide anion radical. The antimicrobial activity of both plant extracts was evaluated against a panel of microorganisms using the agar disc diffusion method. The total phenolic content (51.97 and 64.9 mg/g dry weight in <i>A. hierochuntica</i> and <i>H. thebaica</i>, respectively) was significantly (p < 0.05) different. The antioxidant activity increased with an increase in concentration. The plant extracts were more active against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria. Also, the antimicrobial activity of <i>H. thebaica</i> was higher than that of <i>A. hierochuntica</i> methanolic extracts. This study reveals that the consumption of these plants would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. ER -