Survey and Assessment of Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Some Wild Plants Growing in the Egyptian Eastern Desert

Within the framework of our program for scientific research and exploration for the discovery of new drug raw materials in the Egyptian eastern desert, which extends parallel to the Red Sea coast approximately 1200 km south of Cairo, we focus on the discovery of the areas where these plants grow. The plants were examined in terms of the chemical content of the active chemical groups, as well as study the impact of water and alcoholic extracts on microorganisms. From these plants, five plants belonging to Brassicaceae family i.e.: Morettia phillaeana, Schouwia purpurea, Zilla spinosa and two species belonging to the genus Farsetia; F. longiliqua and F. stylosa were chosen. Also, other three plants were collected belonging to other families. These plants were Limonium axillare (Plumbaginaceae), Moringa peregrine (Moringaceae) and Dadonaea viscosa (Sapindaceae), which collected from wild shrub populations growing in sandy soils in Egyptian eastern desert. They were tested against ten strains of microorganism. Phytochemical investigation of the alcoholic extracts of the aerial parts of the tested plants showed the different profile of their contents. Limonium, Zilla, Moringa and Dodonaea were the richest plants in chemical constituents which may explain their activity against most of the tested organisms. In most cases the activities of the water extracts exceed those of the alcoholic extracts. The higher activity of the water extract may be due to its higher polarity which leads to better extraction of the chemical compounds from the plants. This may play an important role in folkloric use of these plants in treatment of some human infections. This study revealed that the four aforementioned plants are valuable antibacterial agents and their potential use in the ailments caused by bacteria; however, their use should be substantiated by in vivo experiments.