Research Article Open Access Ali-Shtayeh et al., J Biodivers Biopros Dev 2015, 2:3 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2376-0214.1000151 Research Article Open Access Biodiversity, Bioprospecting and Development J o u r n a l o f B i o d i v e r s ity, B io p r o s p e c tin g a n d D e v e l o p m e n t ISSN: 2376-0214 Volume 2 • Issue 3 • 1000151 J Biodivers Biopros Dev ISSN: 2376-0214 IJBBD, an open access journal Keywords: Bioactivity; Medicinal plants; Screens-to-Nature; Anti- infectious disease properties; Anthelmintic activity; Anti-diabetic activity Background Palestine, with its diverse climatic and geographic conditions, is home to some 2780 species of plants belonging to 130 diferent families [1]. his diverse lora grows in four phyto-geographical territories: the Mediterranean Sea, the Irano-Turanian, Sahara-Arabian, and Sudanese Penetration territories [2]. Medicinal plants have been traditionally used in folk medicine for centuries as natural healing remedies with signiicant proven therapeutic efects in many areas including prevention of cardiovascular diseases, anti-inlammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer activity. Several ethnobotanical surveys were conducted on Palestinian plants during the period 2000-2014 to investigate the traditional ecological knowledge of Palestinian plants used in Traditional Arabic Palestinian Herbal Medicine (TAPHM) as passed down through folk medicine over generations [1,3-12]. Many plant-derived medicines used in traditional medicinal systems have been recorded in pharmacopeias as agents used to treat infections and a number of these have been recently investigated for their eicacy against several diseases [13,14]. In Palestine, only a few studies have been performed to determine the biological activities of medicinal plants and plant products responsible for reported medicinal beneits of the used herbal preparations, including antimicrobial, antioxidants, antimalarial, anticancer, and acetylcholine esterase inhibitory activities [15-26]. With a long history of traditional use spanning many centuries, the medicinal plants of Palestine present a unique opportunity for focused screening based on their ethnobotanical use. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive science-based ield assessment of bioactive properties of the native plants of Palestine has been published. In the last few years, functional, powerful, and ield adaptable pharmacological screens (called Screens-to-Nature, STN, technology) were developed under the auspices of the Global Institute for BioExploration (GIBEX). he STN technology has already been successfully transferred to Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and other nations [27-29]. his study adopted the STN technology, to provide a broad- spectrum survey of potential medicinal value of plants growing throughout three of the phytogeographic regions in Palestine. hirteen STN assays were conducted on a large and diverse variety of plant samples with the objective of detecting a maximum number of biological activities in the most eicient manner. he 13 STN assays used in the project are shown to be a potent to evaluate large quantities of plants for their medicinal potential in formulations of new plant- based products. Materials and Methods Field collections Plant material was collected over the period from Apr 2012 to Feb 2014. he samples were collected from 76 natural sites distributed in *Corresponding author: Ali-Shtayeh MS, Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Unit, Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center, BERC, Til, Nablus, Palestine, Tel: 970-9-2536406; E-mail: msshtayeh@yahoo.com Received February 28, 2015; Accepted April 13, 2015; Published April 16, 2015 Citation: Ali-Shtayeh MS, Jamous RM, Abu Zaitoun SY (2015) A Comprehensive Science-Based Field Assessment of Bioactive Properties of the Native Plants of Palestine. J Biodivers Biopros Dev 2: 151. doi:10.4172/2376-0214.1000151 Copyright: © 2015 Ali-Shtayeh MS, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Background: Due to its unique geography, and diverse climate zones, Palestine has a large variety of native plants. However, local species have not been systematically screened for their biological activities. Methods: Plant samples were collected from 76 natural sites distributed in different geographical and climate zones. Samples were assessed for thirteen types of anti-disease/health protection activity using ield-deployable bioassays based on the Screen to Nature (STN) technique developed by the Global Institute of BioExploration (GIBEX). Plant extracts were assessed for medicinal activity on a scale of 0 (no activity) to 3 (most potent). Results: More than 1470 plant samples derived from 588 plant species belonging to 100 families were screened. Approximately 329 species (56%) belonged to 12 families, notably the Papilionaseae, Asteraceae, Liliaceae, Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae, and Apiaceae families. About 93% (1369/1471) of the extracts showed at least one high-potency bioactivity (3/3); 16.4% (241/1471) extracts exhibited 4-5 antiinfectious activities. Plants growing in areas with more extreme conditions (Irano-Turanian and Sudanian Penetration Territories) showed more bioactivity compared to those in less harsh climates (Mediterranean Territory) Antiradical activity, glucosidase inhibition, amylase inhibition, planaria lethality, and glucosidase activity were most common; antibacterial, antifungal, protozoa lethality, protease inhibition, planaria regeneration, anthocyanin, round worm lethality, and protease activity were also seen. Conclusions: The Screen to Nature (STN) technique enables rapid, accurate ield-deployable screening of diverse plant species for multiple anti-infectious/health protection activities. By using this technique several plant samples were identiied as plants with potential to serve as a source of biological material for medicinal purposes. A Comprehensive Science-Based Field Assessment of Bioactive Properties of the Native Plants of Palestine Mohammed S. Ali-Shtayeh*, Rana M. Jamous and Salam Y. Abu Zaitoun Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Unit, Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center, BERC, Til, Nablus, Palestine