PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES OF ALLIUM ROSEUM L., A WILD EDIBLE SPECIES IN NORTH AFRICA

Allium roseum L. var. odoratissimum, a North African endemic species, grows in the Southeast of Tunisia and is used as a vegetable, spice or herbal remedy in traditional medicine. This study deals with the phytochemical analyses and antimicrobial activity screening of A. roseum leaves. Aqueous extracts (maceration, digestion, decoction and infusion) and organic extracts (petroleum ether, dichloromethane, methanol and ethanol) were screened for their phytochemical antibacterial activity. Phytochemical screening of A. roseum showed the presence of antimicrobial active compounds such as saponins, tannins, flavonoids, coumarins, steroids, cardiotonic glycosides, free quinone and iridoids. The dichloromethane, petroleum ether and ethanolic extracts of A. roseum exhibited a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Such results may establish a good support to the use of this plant in herbal medicine and a base for the development of new drugs and phytomedicine. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Allium roseum var. odoratissimum (Desf.) Coss is widely used as a vegetable, spice and herbal remedy. Besides its culinary use, A. roseum is also used in folk medicine for the treatment of headaches, rheumatism, respiratory tract infection and low appetite. In this article, we validate the use of this species through the chemical constituents (saponins, tannins, flavonoids, coumarins, steroids, cardiotonic glycosides, free quinones and iridoids), which are responsible for the pharmacological properties mentioned earlier, particularly the antibacterial activity. For example, A. roseum exhibits a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.