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Helichrysum caespititium is a medicinal plant used in the Kingdom of Lesotho to treat head, chest colds, and during circumcision rites. The aim of this study is to evaluate the free radical scavenging capability of fi ve extracts (n-hexane, dichloromethane, acetone, methanol, and water extracts) of H. caespititium against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and their reducing power and their antibacterial activities. Qualitative and quantitative free radical scavenging activities of the extracts were evaluated using bioautography antioxidant assay, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (RNS) free radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide (ROS) free scavenging, and reducing power assays. In addition, the extracts were tested against 14 bacterial strains that are both Gram positive and Gram negative suspended in Mueller-Hinton Broth. Qualitative antioxidant evaluation of all the extracts by DPPH showed that all fi ve extracts exhibit some antioxidant compounds, and the quantitative results provided the DPPH scavenging activity of 94.38% at 0.4 and 0.5 mg/ml for acetone extract (IC50 5 0.055 mg/ml), 91.2% inhibition of hydrogen peroxide at 0.5 mg/ml for water extract (IC50 5 0.075 mg/ml), and a reducing power of 62.3% at 0.4 mg/ml for n-hexane extract (IC50 5 0.092 mg/ml). The reducing power of n-hexane and the DPPH scavenging ability of acetone extracts were better than ascorbic acid, but less than butylated hydroxytoluene. Ascorbic acid was a slightly better scavenging hydrogen peroxide compared to water extract, both at 0.4 and 0.5 mg/ml. All the bacteria both Gram positive and Gram negative were susceptible to all the extracts, and the minimum inhibitory concentration values of the extracts were below 0.4 mg/ml. These fi ndings justify the utilization of the whole plant in the traditional sector as antibacterial, and the plant could be a better remedy against a broad range of bacteria as well as a good crude natural antioxidant agent.
