Amira Zaïri, Amani Khalifa, Khaled Hibar, Houda Haddad, Sahar Nouir, Lotfi Achour
Datura stramonium is an annual herbaceous plant of the Solanaceae family. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, antifungal and insecticidal activities of aqueous and methanolic extracts. Chemical tests and spectrophotometric methods were used for antioxidant activity. The in vitro and in vivo antifungal potential against Fusarium was assessed by the filter and blotting paper technique, respectively. The insecticidal potential was evaluated by repellency test on Tribolium castaneum. Data showed that the both of the methanolic and aqueous extracts are rich in phenolic compounds. Antioxidant activity showed that the organic leaves extract has the most important antioxidant activity. For the antifungal activity, we noted that aqueous extracts of roots inhibited mycelial growth of fungi. The aqueous extracts by a decoction of the leaves caused 57.5% repulsion. This data demonstrate Datura stramonium may be a new alternative for the development of biological fungicides and insecticides.