Biological activities of Peganum harmala leaves.

Ethyl acetate, chloroform, butanol and methanol extracts of the leaves of Peganum harmala were tested for antibacterial, antioxidant and antiviral activities. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by the determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the solid medium technique. The antiviral activity was evaluated against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) strain AD-169 (ATCC Ref. VR 538) and Coxsackie B virus type 3 (CoxB-3) using diagnostic method ‘shell-vial’ culture. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using ammonium thiocyanate method. Among tested extracts, methanol and chloroform extracts displayed a higher antibacterial activity against gram-positive than gram-negative bacteria. The methanol extract demonstrated the highest antioxidant activity and good antiviral activity against HCMV.