Planta medica
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Medicinal plants have been used as a source of remedies since ancient times in Egypt. The present study was designed to investigate the antibacterial activity and the cytotoxicity of the organic extracts from 16 selected medicinal plants of Egypt. The study was also extended to the isolation of the antiproliferative compound jaeschkeanadiol p-hydroxybenzoate (FH-25) from Ferula hermonis. ⋯ In the cytotoxicity study, IC50 values below 20 μg/mL were recorded for the crude extract of F. hermonis on all four studied cancer cell lines. FH-25 also showed good cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells (IC50: 2.47 μg/mL). Finally, the results of the present investigation provided supportive data for the possible use of the plant extracts investigated herein, mostly F. hermonis and V. vinifera in the treatment of bacterial infections and jaeschkeanadiol p-hydroxybenzoate in the control of cancer diseases.