Abstract
Libya is rich with wild range of medicinal plants, that represent a valuable source of bioactive compounds with potential therapeutic applications, where many species remain underexplored. Pergularia tomentosa L., a plant widely distributed in arid and semiarid regions of Libya, is subjected to investigation in this study for its phytochemical composition, antibacterial activity, and antioxidant potential. Whole plant material was extracted with Soxhlet method using three solvents of varying polarity (nhexane, chloroform, and methanol) in order to compare the biological effects of the resulting extracts. Antioxidant activity was evaluated through the DPPH radical scavenging assay relative to an appropriate reference standard. Antibacterial activity was assessed using the disc diffusion method against selected Grampositive and Gramnegative bacterial strains, using ciprofloxacin as a positive control and DMSO as negative control. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, steroids, and terpenoids. Notably, the plant was free of alkaloids, coumarins, and saponins. Biological assays showed that the nonpolar and semipolar extracts recorded the highest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, whereas all extracts demonstrated a weak inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli. Conversely, the nonpolar extract exhibited the lowest antioxidant activity, while the semipolar and highly polar extracts demonstrated significant antioxidant potential. This study provides an initial framework for understanding the chemical profile and biological potential of the Pergularia tomentosa L. plant.