Multiple approaches of taxonomic analyses (e.g., documentation of the biological origin and morphological characteristics) are important for characterizing herbal drugs in a systematic manner to reach authentication, and thus maintaining herbal drug efficacy. Sixteen ethno-medicinal plant species belonging to sixteen genera and ten families collected from Wadi Alarbaeen of Saint Catherine, Sinai, Egypt were investigated macro- and micromorphologically. 70% ethanolic extracts of these plants also were investigated for their biological activity versus different microorganisms. Results showed that powerfull activity was recorded for some studied taxa viz. Achillea fragrantissima, Alkanna orientalis, Artemisia judaica, Asclepias sinaica, Capparis spinosa, Fagonia glutinosa, Matthiola arabica, Nitraria retusa, Origanum syriacum, Peganum harmala, Phlomis aurea, Pyrethrum santolinoides, Retama raetam, Teucrium polium and Verbascum sinaiticum. These plants of medicinal importance were fully described macro- and micromorphologically for easier and more accurate identification. The conclusion of the obtained results was that morpho-anatomical characters and biological activity not only provide characters for their correct taxonomic authentication, but also serve as standard data for the quality assessment of the pharmaceutical preparation of herbal drugs.
Key words: Antimicrobial Activity, Medicinal Plants, Morphology, Sinai
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