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Several plants contain chemical substances that have various biological activities that might cause harmful effects to cellular membranes. This work deals with Centaurea iberica (Iberian starthistle) plant. The objective of this study is to identify the main chemical groups in the methanolic extract 80% of the plant, determine its total phenolic content, evaluate its toxic effect on human erythrocytes in addition to assessing its activity in protecting normal and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme-deficient human erythrocytes membranes against oxidative hemolysis. Phytochemical analysis revealed that C. iberica extract contains several bioactive compounds. The results also showed that the plant extract contained good level of total phenolic compounds. The extract exhibited low hemolytic effect. It also showed excellent activity in the protection of normal and G6PDdeficient human erythrocytes against oxidative hemolysis.

In the current study, C. cineraria plant was subjected to chemical and biological study. The plant extract was screened for its phytochemical constituents, its quantitative content of phenolics, and its activity in scavenging free radical (DPPH). The plant was subjected to a biological study, which includes investigating the potential cytotoxic effect of the plant towards human erythrocytes membranes, and the ability of the plant to protect erythrocytes against oxidative hemolysis. The results indicated that the extract did not contain saponins. Our study also showed that the extract contains a good content of phenolics (41.12±0.6) mg GAE/g, and has good DPPH radical scavenging activity (79.96%±1.14). The results showed that the extract does not have a toxic effect on erythrocytes membranes, and it is highly effective in protecting the membranes from oxidative damage (IC 50 value was 408.86 μg/ml). We hope that future studies will focus on the pharmaceutical aspects of this plant, and will not be considered as ornamental plant only.

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