Nowadays, medicinal plants are considered as a valuable source of natural compounds used in the development
of antimicrobial and antioxidant drugs. The objectives of this study were to evaluate chemical composition,
antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Ziziphus spina-christi var. aucheri (Boiss.) Qaiser & Nazim. essential
oil. Essential oil was obtained by hydro-distillation using Clevenger type apparatus during approximately 3
hours and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Eleven components were identified
in Z. spina-christivar. aucheri essential oil that represented 92.14% of the oil. The main components of the oil
were Carotol (42.20%), hexadecanoic acid (13.75%), linoleic acid (11.76%), vetivenic acid (9.56%) and (-
)(+)valeranone (7.06%). Antioxidant activity of the essential oil was performed using 1,1-diphenyl–2–
picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ribosomal degradation assay (HRS). Antimicrobial activity was investigated by
micro broth dilution method. The antioxidant activity of Z. aucheri was IC50 = 53.91 ± 2.431 and showed only
by DPPH method. The oil had antimicrobial activity in low concentrations against Aspergillusniger, Penicillium
digitatum and Klebsiella pneumonia.
