Chemical Composition, in vitro Cytotoxic, and Antibacterial Activities of Moroccan Medicinal Plants Euphorbia resinifera and Marrubium vulgare

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to bring elements of knowledge on the anticancer and antibacterial effects of two plants, widely used in Moroccan traditional pharmacopeia. These plants are: Marrubium vulgare and Euphorbia resinifera. The aerial parts of each plant were extracted successively with Hexane, Dichloromethane, and finally with methanol. The MTT-based method was applied to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the cancer cells: animal cells BSR and Vero and human cell RD. We evidenced an anticancer activity of the extract of the Marrubium vulgare and the dichloromethane extract of Euphorbia resinifera against the studied cells. The antibacterial activity was evaluated for three species of Rhodococcus: Rhodococcus equi, and strains GK1, GK3, grown in a liquid medium, or this medium solidified with agar. In the last test, the method is based on substance diffusion from well throughout the solid medium. The obtained profiles showed that the growth of bacteria is strongly inhibited by the extracts of Marrubium vulgare. However, the extracts of Euphorbia resinifera had no significant effect on bacterial growth. The chemical analysis of the raw extracts of Marrubium vulgare and Euphorbia resinifera by GC-MS analysis showed the presence of several major chemical compounds, mainly: octadecane, 2,6,10,15-tetramethylheptadecane, 2,6,10-trimethyltetradecane, linoleic acid, and deisopropylatrazine. Our observations an encouraging for deepening the studies of the extracts, in order to target better the active molecules, isolate them and to determine their mechanisms of action. The suggested studies would result in the much better valorization of these two medicinal plants.