## 4 Discussion  
This study was designed to qualitatively and quantitatively assay the phytochemical content of plant parts of _Plantago major_ L., _Armoracia ruscitana_, _Hypericum perforatum_ L., _Rumex acetosa_ L., and _Urtica dioica_ L., obtained from various geographical locations, and to assess the antimicrobial activities of extracts obtained from each plant variety, quantified by their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against seven microorganisms; _Escherichia coli_, _Proteus mirabilis_, _Listeria innocua_, _Microococcus luteus_, _Pseudomonas fluorescens_, _Pseudomonas fragii_, and _Salmonella enteritidis_. Qualitative analysis of _Plantago major_ L. extracts revealed the presence of a host of phytochemical compounds, including gallic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, benzoic acid, ferulic acid, sinapic acid, t-cinnamic acid, chlorogenic acid, protocatechuic acid, rosmarinic acid, salicylic acid, apigenin, catechin, kaempfer, luteolin, naringenin, quercetin, and rutin. This is in conformity with the submissions of [9], who reported the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds (caffeic acid derivatives), iridoid glycosides, fatty acids, polysaccharides, and vitamins in _Plantago major_ L. plant parts. The individual phytochemicals were also found to vary among different locations; syringe acid demonstrated the highest variability of all identified phytochemicals. The plant also has a mean polyphenolic content ranging from 29.04 mg/g to 41.09 mg/g, and an average phenolic acid and flavonoid content of 18.96 and 16.26, respectively, was reported. The obtained results are in contrast with the reports of [20], who found that _Plantago major_ L. leaves contain about 13 mg/g of total phenolic content and 6.4 mg/g of flavonoids. Similarly, several polyphenolic acids, flavonoids, and other bioactive phytochemicals were identified from extracts of _Armoracia ruscitana_. Syringic acid and rutin content, with standard deviations of 2.08 and 1.42 mg/g, respectively, were found to vary the most in the nine _Armoracia ruscitana_ varieties studied. The variations in phytochemical content observed have already been implied in the findings of [21], who demonstrated the susceptibility of _Armoracia ruscitana_ to environmental factors like rainfall, CO\({}_{2}\), and light intensity, among others. The authors studied the \"agronomic characteristics of two horseradish (_Armoracia ruscitana_) accessions grown in an open field under rainfed Mediterranean conditions\". In this study, the total phenolic and TFC content of the plant was obtained to be 25.86 and 14.42 mg/g, respectively. The total phenolic content of _Armoracia ruscitana_ has previously been determined to be between 0.19 and 31.93 mg/g of extract, while the flavonoid content ranged between 7.71 and 89.29 mg/g [22]. _Hyperticum perforatum_ L. was obtained from ten locations, and a significant variability was observed in the phytochemical composition of the plant extract. TPC and TFC have been reported in the literature to range from 182.93 to 125.99 mg/g and from 15.2 to 14.84 mg/g, respectively [23]. _Rumex acetosa_ L. recorded the highest variability in quercetin (SD = 3.69 mg/g) and t-cinnamic acid (SD = 3.48 mg/g) content from varieties obtained in seven locations. The average TPC (SD = 34.88 mg/g) and TFC (SD = 27.18 mg/g) recorded are significantly higher than what has been reported in the past, with a 2021 study finding 3.34 mg of TPC and 1.90 mg/g of TFC [24]. _Urtica dioica_ plants obtained from four locations also had similar results to what has been observed in the four other plants studied. Rutin was the most variable phytochemicalal, with a standard deviation of 1.13 mg/g, while caffeic (0.63 mg/g) and syringic acid (0.58 mg/g) both also recorded slightly elevated variance compared to other polyphenols.