ABSTRACTMulti-contamination of soil by multiple organic and inorganic contaminants is considered an obstacle for the hyperaccumulator plants to develop and phytoextract metals. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in combination with heavy metals on the phytoextraction efficiency and antioxidative response of the Ganges and Chavignée populations of the metal hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens. Plants were cultivated for a duration of 17 days in a co-contaminated soil containing some heavy metals at moderate concentrations and spiked with phenanthrene (PHE), a model PAH, at a concentration of 200 mg PHE kg-1 soil. The presence of PHE in the soil proved to be toxic for N. caerulescens. When exposed to PHE, plants exhibited typical stress response with a reduction in general growth parameters, along with the upregulation of antioxidant compounds and enzymes combined with limitations in nutrient uptake and heavy metals extraction. Variations were observed in the magnitude of enzymatic activities and the amount of extracted metals between the two studied populations. Nevertheless, to some extent, growth, metals extraction, and antioxidant defense responses differed slightly between the studied populations Chavignée plants appeared slightly more tolerant to stress. This population is known to extract more Zinc (Zn) and Nickle (Ni) but less Cadmium (Cd) than the Ganges[1], suggesting that the difference in defense and extraction capacities might ensue different tolerance. This distinction may be related to the adaptations acquired by each population depending on the soil type it originated from.