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Pulicaria undulata (L.) C. A. Mey has multiple uses as part of traditional medicament, and several biological activities of the plant have been corroborated in the scientific literature. The current work evaluates the phytochemical constituents and biological properties of the water-ethanol extract of the P. undulata growing in Qassim, the central arid regions of Saudi Arabia. Qualitative UPLC-ESIQ-TOF analysis identified 27 compounds belonging to the phenolics, flavonoids, triterpenes, coumarins, and fatty acids chemical class. The quantitative analysis exhibited 33.3 mg/g GAE (Gallic Acid Equivalents), and 10.8 mg/g QE (Quercetin Equivalent) of the phenolics and flavonoids in the plant’s concentrated (to dryness) water-ethanol extract. The trace elements analysis of the plant’s dry powder established the presence of copper (20.13 µg/kg), and zinc (68.2 µg/kg) in the higher levels of occurrences. In terms of the antioxidant potential of the plant’s extract, the ferric-reducing, and free-radicals scavenging activities were recorded at 47.11 mg/g, and 19.13 mg/g equivalents of the concentrated to dryness water-ethanol extract of the plant. The water-ethanol extract of P. undulata also exhibited antimicrobial activity against the tested Gram-positive bacteria, while no activity was observed against the tested Gram-negative bacteria, or the fungi. The MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values were in the range of 49 to 1563 µg/mL, whereas the MBC (minimum bactericidal concentration) values ranged from 49 to 3125 µg/mL, against the tested Gram-positive bacteria. The P. undulata water-ethanol extract also exhibited potent cytotoxic effects with the IC50 value at 519.2 µg/mL against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell-lines, followed by the anticancer activity of erythroleukemic cell-lines, K562 at 1212 µg/mL, and pancreatic cell-lines, PANC-1, at 1535 µg/mL, as compared to the normal fibroblast cells (4048 µg/mL). The Annexin-V assay demonstrated that, as the P. undulata extract’s dose increased from IC50 to twice of the IC50, the percentage of necrosis was found to be increased in the late apoptosis of the cancer cells. These data confirmed the P. undulata extract’s ability to inhibit several human cancer cell lines’ growth in comparison to other local halophytes. The antimicrobial activity of the plant was also confirmed.

Four halophytic plants, Lycium shawii, Anabasis articulata, Rumex vesicarius, and Zilla spinosa, 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, L. shawii 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 L. shawii also demonstrated the best chelating activity at 21.84 mg/gm EDTA equivalents. Among all the four halophytes, the hydroalcoholic extract of L. shawii 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 A. articulata 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 L. shawii 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 L. shawii showed substantial antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876 with a MIC value of 12.5 mg/mL. By contrast, the A. articulata and Z. spinosa exhibited antifungal activities against Aspergillus niger ATCC 6275 with MIC values at 12.5 and 50 mg/mL, respectively. These findings suggested that the L. shawii is a potential halophyte with remarkable biological properties, attributed to its contents of phenolics and flavonoid classes of compounds in its extract.

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