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This study was designed to characterize the phytochemical constituents of Acanthus ilicifolius and Heliotropium curassavicum with antioxidant and nutraceutical activities using different solvents. Analysis of bioactive compounds included the application of common phytochemical screening assays, proximate analysis, FTIR analysis and antioxidant assays. The results showed that the highest extraction yield was observed with methanol. The qualitative phytochemical analysis carried out on the leaves from the methanol extracts of Acanthus ilicifolius revealed the presence of medicinally important constituents such as alkaloids, saponins, phenolics, flavonoids, steroids, cardiac glycosides, tannins and terpenoids. Similarly, H. curassavicum extracts showed the presence of all the phytochemicals including anthocyanin except cardiac glycosides. As a defensive metabolite, both the halophytes accumulate proline in their leaves, but A. ilicifolius has showed relatively high content of proline (37.6 µmol g -1 ) as of true mangrove than H. curassavicum (21.6 µmol g -1 ). The maximum total phenolic content and highest antioxidant potential were obtained in the methanolic extract of A. ilicifolius. The DPPH assay revealed that A. ilicifolius has a maximum of 74.5% radical scavenging activity and comparatively H. curassavicum has a lesser activity of 68.2%. The antimicrobial assays explored that S. aureus and Bacillus sps were susceptible to the extracts at the lowest concentration used (<50 mg/ml) whereas none of the fungi was susceptible to the extracts.