The objective of this study is to valorize Papaver rhoeas L. from the Taounate region of Morocco by determining the total polyphenol content (TPC), the total flavonoid content (TFC) and the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of four organs. The quantification of TPC and TFC in root, stem, leaf and flower extracts (RE, SE, LE and FE, respectively) was estimated by the Folin–Ciocalteu reaction and the aluminum trichloride method, respectively. Two tests were used to assess antioxidant power: the DPPH test and TAC assay. The antimicrobial activity was studied against five pathogenic bacteria and yeast, using two methods: disk diffusion and microdilution. The TPC in LE and LF was twice as high as that in RE and SE (24.24 and 22.10 mg GAE/g, respectively). The TFC values in the four extracts were very close and varied between 4.50 mg QE/g in the FE and 4.38 mg QE/g in the RE. The LE and FE showed low DPPH values with IC50 = 0.50 and 0.52 mg/mL, respectively. The TAC measurement revealed the presence of a significant amount of antioxidants in the studied extracts, mainly in LE and FE (6.60 and 5.53 mg AAE/g, respectively). The antimicrobial activity results revealed significant activity on almost all of the tested strains. The MIC of FE and SE against E. coli 57 was 1.56 and 0.78 mg/mL, respectively, while against the S. aureus it was 50 and 25 mg/mL, respectively. The low MLC value (1.56 mg/mL) was recorded against E. coli 57 by RE and SE.

Context: Medicinal and aromatic plants are used by people for various purposes, whether for health care, beauty, or as a food source. Aims: To valorize the knowledge about their uses, therapeutic, cosmetic, and food. Methods: The ethnobotanical study was conducted from November 1, 2019, to March 1, 2021, in the Moulay Yacoub region. A total of 407 local informants were interviewed. The methodological approach was open-ended and semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions based on therapeutic, cosmetic, and dietary criteria. Quantitative analyses were performed using basic statistics, use value (UV), family use value (FUV), plant part value (PPV), and informant agreement ratio (IAR). Results: A total of 104 plant species belonging to 46 families were identified. The majority of plants are used in phytotherapy (78.30%). The most frequent ailments reported were digestive (IAR = 0.9). The most used method of preparation was infusion (42.68%), the leaves were the most used part of the plant (PPV = 0.45), and Anchusa italica Retz (UV = 0.196) was the most commonly prescribed species by local herbalists, and Oleaceae (FUV = 0.16) was the most dominant family. Conclusions: This study showed the richness of the plants and the consistency of the knowledge of the natives on medicinal and aromatic plants. As part of this study, we are currently working on plants with curative effects to prove their efficacy in animal models, including Anchusa italica Retz, which was widely cited in this ethnobotanical study. Authors invite scientists to conduct further phytochemical and pharmacological research on medicinal plants from this region based on this study.

Anchusa italica Retz has been used for a long time in phytotherapy. The aim of the present study was to determine the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of extracts from the leaves and roots of Anchusa italica Retz. We first determined the content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids using Folin–Ciocalteu reagents and aluminum chloride (AlCl3). The antioxidant activity was determined using three methods: reducing power (FRAP), 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC). The antimicrobial activity was investigated against four strains of Escherichia coli, two strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, and one fungal strain of Candida albicans. The results showed that the root extract was rich in polyphenols (43.29 mg GAE/g extract), while the leave extract was rich in flavonoids (28.88 mg QE/g extract). The FRAP assay showed a strong iron reduction capacity for the root extract (IC50 of 0.11 µg/mL) in comparison to ascorbic acid (IC50 of 0.121 µg/mL). The DPPH test determined an IC50 of 0.11 µg/mL for the root extract and an IC50 of 0.14 µg/mL for the leaf extract. These values are low compared to those for ascorbic acid (IC50 of 0.16 µg/mL) and BHT (IC50 0.20 µg/mL). The TAC values of the leaf and root extracts were 0.51 and 0.98 mg AAE/g extract, respectively. In vitro, the extract showed inhibitory activity against all strains studied, with diameters of zones of inhibition in the range of 11.00–16.00 mm for the root extract and 11.67–14.33 mm for the leaf extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration was recorded for the leaf extract against E. coli (ATB:57), corresponding to 5 mg/mL. Overall, this research indicates that the extracts of Anchusa italica Retz roots and leaves exert significant antioxidant and antibacterial activities, probably because of the high content of flavonoids and polyphenols.

In Morocco, Cynara humilis L. is used in traditional medicine. The objective of this research was to research the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of hydroethanolic extracts from the C. humilis plant’s leaves and roots. The content of polyphenols and flavonoids was evaluated using Folin–Ciocalteu’s and aluminum chloride assays. Two techniques were used to evaluate antioxidant properties: antioxidant capacity in total (TAC) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhdrazyl (DPPH). In antimicrobial assays, five pathogenic microbial strains were studied including two Escherichia coli, one coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and one Candida albicans, by two techniques: agar disk diffusion and microdilution. Leaves had a greater content of flavonoids 27.07 mg QE/g of extract and the polyphenols 38.84 mg GAE/g of extract than root 24.39 mg QE/g of extract and 29.39 mg GAE/g of extract, respectively. The TAC test value of the 0.77 mg AAE/g extract in the leaf extract was found to be significantly greater than that of the 0.60 mg EAA/g extract in the root extract. The DPPH antioxidant assay IC50 values of the root and leaf extract were 0.23 and 0.93 µg/mL, respectively. C. humilis extracts showed an antimicrobial effect against all tested strains, the inhibitory zone (DIZ) have values in the range between 12 and 15 mm. Moreover, the root extract showed the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against coagulase-negative Staphylococcus with an IC50 value of 6.25 mg/mL. The higher content of flavonoids and polyphenols in the hydroethanolic extracts of C. humilis leaves and roots demonstrates that they have a significant antimicrobial and antioxidant effect, as found in this study.

In this research, a comparative analysis was carried out to characterize the content of phenolics and biological activities of the whole plant of Papaver rhoeas L. (P. rhoeas) from different geographical regions of Morocco, as well as to determine the synergistic antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of all parts of P. rhoeas. The determination of total polyphenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and total anthocyanin content (TA) in extracts of whole plants of P. rhoeas from three different geographical regions: Taounate (P1E), Fez (P2E), and Sefrou (P3E) were estimated by the Folin–Ciocalteu reaction, the aluminum trichloride method and the differential pH absorption technique, respectively. Two tests were used to evaluate the antioxidant power of our samples: the DPPH test and the TAC test. Using two methods, disk diffusion and microdilution, antimicrobial activity was studied against four pathogenic bacteria and one yeast. The results of TPC, TFC, and TA show that the P3E sample is the richest in polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, with values 37.33 ± 1.307 mg GAE/g, 4.72 ± 0.346 QE/g, and 1.77 ± 0.026 CGE/g, respectively. In addition, P3E showed the best antioxidant activity with an IC50 = 0.27 ± 0.001 mg/mL and TAC = 9.99 ± 0.768 mg AAE/g, respectively. The results of antimicrobial activity showed significant activity on almost all the tested strains. The lowest MIC was recorded for P3E against E. coli ATCC 25922 and E. coli CIP 53126 strains at 0.78 and 0.78 mg/mL, respectively. These results show that the geographical region can influence the plant’s phytochemistry and then these biological activities.