Comparative Phytochemical Profile and Biological Activity of Four Major Medicinal Halophytes from Qassim Flora

Abstract

Four halophytic plants, <i>Lycium shawii</i>, <i>Anabasis articulata</i>, <i>Rumex vesicarius</i>, and <i>Zilla spinosa</i>, growing in the central Qassim area, Saudi Arabia, were phytochemically and biologically investigated. Their hydroalcoholic extracts' UPLC-ESIQ-TOF analyses demonstrated the presence of 44 compounds of phenolic acids, flavonoids, saponins, carbohydrates, and fatty acids chemical classes. Among all the plants' extracts, <i>L. shawii</i> showed the highest quantities of total phenolics, and flavonoids contents (52.72 and 13.01 mg/gm of the gallic acid and quercetin equivalents, respectively), along with the antioxidant activity in the TAA (total antioxidant activity), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power), and DPPH-SA (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-scavenging activity) assays with 25.6, 56.68, and 19.76 mg/gm, respectively, as Trolox equivalents. The hydroalcoholic extract of the <i>L. shawii</i> also demonstrated the best chelating activity at 21.84 mg/gm EDTA equivalents. Among all the four halophytes, the hydroalcoholic extract of <i>L. shawii</i> exhibited the highest antiproliferative activity against MCF7 and K562 cell lines with IC₅₀ values at 194.5 µg/mL and 464.9 µg/mL, respectively. The hydroalcoholic extract of <i>A. articulata</i> demonstrated better cytotoxic activity amongst all the tested plants' extracts against the human pancreatic cancer cell lines (PANC1) with an IC₅₀ value of 998.5 µg/mL. The <i>L. shawii</i> induced apoptosis in the MCF7 cell lines, and the percentage of the necrotic cells changed to 28.1% and 36.5% for the IC₅₀ and double-IC₅₀ values at 22.9% compared with the untreated groups. The hydroalcoholic extract of <i>L. shawii</i> showed substantial antibacterial activity against <i>Bacillus cereus</i> ATCC 10876 with a MIC value of 12.5 mg/mL. By contrast, the <i>A. articulata</i> and <i>Z. spinosa</i> exhibited antifungal activities against <i>Aspergillus niger</i> ATCC 6275 with MIC values at 12.5 and 50 mg/mL, respectively. These findings suggested that the <i>L. shawii</i> is a potential halophyte with remarkable biological properties, attributed to its contents of phenolics and flavonoid classes of compounds in its extract.