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Objective: The aim of this study is the estimation of total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the evaluation of cytotoxic, hemolytic and antioxidant activities of the methanolic extract obtained from the species Nonea vesicaria (L.) Rchb. Methods: The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were quantified by Folin-Ciocalteu and trichloroaluminum methods respectively. The cytotoxic effect was tested by Brine shrimp lethality assay and the hemolytic activity was assessed by spectrophotometric test on human erythrocytes. Moreover, the antioxidant activity was determined by seven different technics. Results: The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of many classes of secondary metabolites, a moderate level of polyphenols and a low content of flavonoids. The methanolic extract showed a significant cytotoxic effect with a value of LC50 at 35.7 ± 0.5 µg/mL and induced hemolysis in a dose-dependent manner with a value of EC50 at 175.6 ± 0.08 μg/mL. The results of antioxidant activities indicated an important effect in nonpolar systems especially in ferric thiocyanate test and β-carotene bleaching inhibition assay. Conclusion: The methanolic extract of N. vesicaria could constitute an important source of antioxidant and cytotoxic compounds but a prudent use is recommended in order to reduce the adverse effects related to the possible hemolysis.

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Objective: In this study, cytotoxic effect, anticholinesterase, hemolytic and antibacterial activities of crude extracts (petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) obtained from the plant Scabiosa stellata L. were evaluated. Methods: The cytotoxicity of extracts was tested by Brine shrimp lethality method; the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity was performed using Ellman's colorimetric method and the hemolytic activity was assessed by spectrophotometric method towards human erythrocytes. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity was estimated by agar disk diffusion assay against ten bacterial strains. Results: The phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of several types of secondary metabolites. A significant cytotoxic effect was observed for the n-butanolic extract with 57.2 ± 0.2 % of mortality at 80 μg/mL, the ethyl acetate extract had a moderate anticholinesterase activity at 200 μg/mL. The hemolytic assay exhibited that n-butanolic and ethyl acetate extracts induce hemolysis in dose-dependent manner with values of EC50 at 37.3 ± 0.5 and 106.6 ± 0.3 μg/mL, respectively. All the crude extracts showed antibacterial activity against most tested strains, with zones of inhibition ranging from 9 to 20 mm. Conclusion: The results indicate that the extracts obtained from S. stellata can be an important source of therapeutic agents against pathological damage due to free radicals inducing neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, while n-butanolic extract could be used as a good source of alternative natural antiproliferative compounds.

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