Insight into the biological activities of Fagonia Arabica L. and its phytochemical constituents

In Egypt, the genus Fagonia is found in all the deserts of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula. It is widely used to treat many diseases as a home remedy without sufficient scientific studies, especially Fagonia arabica L. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to evaluate the comprehensive phytochemical profile and biological evaluation of F. Arabica using HPLC method, antimicrobial activity, antioxidants, and cytotoxicity assays. The results showed that the phytochemical components detected in the aerial flowering parts of F. arabica were tannins, steroids, terpenoids, diterpenes, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, fixed oils, carbohydrates, proteins, and amino acids. HPLC highlighted the presence of fifteen phenolic compounds present in F. arabica aqueous extract, and the highest of them were chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, and catechin. The antibacterial study of F. arabica extract showed significant inhibitory actions against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii with zone diameters of 20.0, 22.0, 23.0, 21.0, 17.0, and 18.0 mm, respectively. The extract of aerial flowering parts of F. arabica showed high value (IC₅₀ = 46.25 µg mL^- 1) in its free radical scavenging activity. The F. arabica extract showed low cytotoxicity against the Vero and A549 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 317.09 µg mL^- 1 and 178.08 µg/mL, respectively. Therefore, the F. arabica extract is used as antibacterial and anticancer agents due to their high content of phytochemicals and antioxidants and can be applied in innovative pharmaceutical and medical fields.