Ethnobotanical, phytochemical characterization and biological activities of Ephedra alata Decne extracts, growing wild in Bechar region, south west of Algeria

Abstract

The increased resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics is a serious global problem that has guided research for the identification of new biomolecules with broad antibacterial activity. Ephedra alata has been the object of several researches due to its multiple uses, it known to possess antibacterial and antifungal properties. This study aimed to evaluate the ethnobotanical informations related to the use of E. alata Decne for medicinal purposes, and investigating the antimicrobial, antioxidant effects of this plant which is widely used in traditional therapy. The ethnobotanical study of E. alata Dec-ne in Bechar region is done by using a questionnaire to get an overview on various local traditional uses. Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of E. alata Dec-ne were evaluated in vitro against some bacterial and fungal strains. Broth dilution methods, disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination methods were used to determine the antimicrobial activity of different plant extracts. The phytochimical screening shown that E. alata Decne is rich with Flavonoids, saponins and tannins. The evaluation of anti-microbial activity showed that the aqueous under reflux extraction have the best antibacterial activity with inhibition diameters of 20 mm against Bacillus subtilis. The aqueous extracts have significant activity against tested fungal strains; the inhibition percentage was 64, 44% on Aspergillus ochrasus. For the antioxidant capacities, the ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) free radical scavenging activities of the extracts showed a higher antioxidant activities. The results obtained in this study show the richness of E. alata with chemical substances and may represent a new potential source of bioactive compounds in therapy.