Phytochemical study and biological activity of Morettia philaeana (Delile) DC

Morettia phillaeana (Delile) DC. (family Brassicaceae) is used in Sudan traditionally to treat some skin and digestive tract diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical profile of the root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit of M. phillaeana and to evaluate their cytotoxicity, antibacterial, antigiardial, antimalarial and antioxidant activities. Extracts were prepared by sequential maceration of powder of each organ in acetone and methanol. Cytotoxicity was tested against normal Vero cell line. Antibacterial activity was determined by the disc diffusion method. Antimalarial and antigiardial activities were determined by microplate assay against the K1 parasite strain of Plasmodium falciparum and Giardia duodenalis respectively. The DPPH and ABTS assays were adopted to evaluate the antioxidant activity. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, terpenes and saponins as metabolites. The stem, fruit and leaf accumulated the highest total phenolic (3903.85 GAE mg/g), flavonoids (1078.37 mg QE/g) and tannins (1009.05 TAE mg/g) contents respectively. Results of biological activity revealed that the plant possessed mainly significant antigiardial and antibacterial activities. The highest antigiardial effect was recorded from the acetone and ethanol extracts of the leaf (IC₅₀ 4.40 and 4.49 and µg/mL, p ≥ 0.05) and the highest antibacterial activity was obtained against Escherichia coli from the ethanolic extracts of leaf (inhibition zone = 23.2 mm). The acetone extract of the fruit displayed moderate ABTS radical scavenging activity (66.7 %). All organs’ extracts exerted weak antimalaria activity (IC₅₀ 172.2–238.5 µg/mL). All extracts, except the acetone extract of the stem (IC₅₀ 43.48 µg/mL), were not toxic (IC₅₀ ≥ 222.09 µg/mL). In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that the present study demonstrates for the first time the cytotoxicity, antigiardial and antimalarial properties of M. phillaeana and the results obtained partly supported its traditional uses. The plant could be a promising source of bioactive molecules for different pharmaceutical applications.