Abstract
Bioactive substances of therapeutic and nutritional value can be found in medicinal plants. The phytochemical makeup, cytotoxic capability, and proximate nutritional profile of methanolic extracts from Prosopis juliflora and Morus alba were compared in this study. Standard analytical techniques were used to determine the approximate composition, and qualitative phytochemical screening for key secondary metabolites was carried out. A brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality assay was used to assess the cytotoxic activity at doses of 10, 100, and 1000 µg/mL⁻¹. GC‒MS analysis was used to identify the chemical components. In comparison with M. alba (89.4%, 3.0%, 4.5%, and 3.0%, respectively), P. juliflora had greater nutritional value in terms of dry matter (95.5%), crude protein (9.1%), crude fibre (10.4%), and total ash (9.1%). Compared with P. juliflora (2.1%), M. alba had a higher crude fat content (4.0%). Both species contained alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, coumarins, and saponins, according to the results of the phytochemical screening. In contrast to M. alba, which was characterized by acetone (49.54%), trichloromethane (21.30%), n-hexadecanoic acid (19.10%), and 9-octadecenoic acid methyl ester (8.00%), P. juliflora (81.96%) was characterized by GC–MS analysis, which revealed trichloromethane as the predominant constituent. P. juliflora caused 80% death, and M. alba caused 70% mortality at 1000 µg mL⁻¹, according to cytotoxicity tests that revealed a concentration-dependent increase in mortality. Significant effects of species (P = 0.0032) and concentration (P 0.001) on brine shrimp mortality were confirmed by two-way ANOVA. The results show that whereas M. alba has a more varied phytochemical profile and a higher fat content, P. juliflora has better nutritional quality and stronger cytotoxic activity. Both species are good sources of bioactive substances that can be used in the functional food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries