Background and Aim: Plants have been used since antiquity to treat different diseases. Artemisia annua is particularly an interesting plant due to its anti-malarial and anti-cancer properties. Argania spinosa is also a bioactive drug. Secondary metabolite histolocalization made it possible here to show molecules presence, with antioxidant properties.
Materials and Methods: The method chosen here is metabolites chemical characterization at tissue level by histolocalization.
Results: The histolocalization study of the drug A. annua showed the presence of phenolic compounds, both at stem level in hypodermis and in marrow as in parenchyma and xylem level leaf. Flavonoids are more particularly localized at xylem and pericycle in stem level and at xylem, pericycle and parenchyma in leaf level. Finally,catechic tannins are found in the parenchyma of these 2 organs. The histolocalization study of A. spinosa showed phenolic compounds precisely located in phelloderm and phloem for vascular bundle. Terpenoids and phenols are found in the bark, parenchyma and marrow for stem and in palisade and spongy mesophyll for leaf. Alkaloids are found in small amounts in stem liber and in leaf parenchyma. Finally, a slight presence of carotenoids is found
in palisade and leaf phloem.
Conclusion: Good antioxidant activity was obtained by DPPH assay for A. annua (aerial part decoction) with an EC50 of 0.29 mg/L and for A.spinosa with an EC50 of 0.20 mg/L (testa decoction), 0.0075 mg/L (testa ethanolic extract), 0.0762 mg/L (ethanolic almond extract) and 0.0206 mg/L (ethanolic leaf extract).The results showed that testa has twice as powerful antioxidant activity as reference control (trolox).