Ziziphus

About: Ziziphus is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 343 publications have been published within this topic receiving 3278 citations.

The jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruit: a review of current knowledge of fruit composition and health benefits.

Abstract: The nutritional jujube (Ziziphus jujube Mill) fruit belonging to the Rhamnaceous family grows mostly in Europe, southern and eastern Asia, and Australia, especially the inland region of northern C

Anthelmintic activity of Ziziphus nummularia (bark) and Acacia nilotica (fruit) against Trichostrongylid nematodes of sheep.

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance Ziziphus nummularia (Rhamnaceae) and Acacia nilotica (Fabaceae) are being used as anthelmintics in ethnoveterinary medicinal system of Pakistan. Aim of the study Present study was conducted to determine the anthelmintic activity of Ziziphus nummularia (bark) and Acacia nilotica (fruit) in order to justify their traditional use in veterinary medicine. Materials and methods In vitro anthelmintic activity of crude methanolic extract (CME) of both the plants was determined against Haemonchus contortus by the adult motility assay, the egg hatch test and the larval development assay. In vivo anthelmintic activity was evaluated in sheep naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes by administering increasing doses of crude powder (CP) and CME (1.0–3.0 g/kg). Results Both the plants exhibited dose- and time-dependent anthelmintic effects by causing mortality of worms, and inhibiting egg hatching and larval development. Acacia nilotica (LC50 = 512.86 and 194.98 μg/ml) was found to be more potent than Ziziphus nummularia (LC50 = 676.08 and 398.11 μg/ml) in egg hatch test and larval development assay, respectively. In vivo, maximum fecal egg count reduction (84.7%) was recorded on day 13 post-treatment in sheep treated with Ziziphus nummularia CME (3.0 g/kg) followed by 78.5% on same day with Acacia nilotica CME (3.0 g/kg). Conclusions These data show that both Ziziphus nummularia and Acacia nilotica possess anthelmintic activity in vitro and in vivo, justifying their use in traditional veterinary medicine in Pakistan.

Characterization of triterpenic acids in fruits of ziziphus species by HPLC-ELSD-MS.

Abstract: The fruits of Ziziphus species have been utilized as food as well as crude drugs for their health benefits in China for thousands of years. This paper reported a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous characterization and quantitation of 11 triterpenic acids in chloroform extracts of jujube fruits by using an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The results showed that the contents of triterpenic acids in the fruits of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa were higher than those in the fruits of Z. jujuba, especially for the compound pomonic acid. Differences were also found among the different parts of Z. jujuba var. spinosa fruits with the sarcocarp having a higher amount of triterpenic acids than the seed and hard core.

Evaluation of the antimicrobial activities of two Ziziphus species (Ziziphus mauritiana L. and Ziziphus spinachristi L.) on some microbial pathogens

Abstract: The antimicrobial effects Ethanolic extracts of leaves of two species of genusZiziphus were determined against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. S. pyogeneswas the most susceptible followed by E. coli while S. aureus was the least susceptible. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were 1 mg, 5 mg ml-1 and 20 mg, 40 mg ml-1, respectively. Extracts showed no activity against the fungal isolates - A. niger and C. albicans. The plants cannot be used in treating any type of fungal infections (dermatophycoses). The phytochemicals identified were cardiac glycosides, polyphenols, saponins and tannins. Extracts from these plants could be useful in the treatment of nosocomial infections, opportunistic infection of the unary tract (UTI), infantile gastroenteritis, travelers’ diarrhea, wound infection, meningitis, and wounds infection which are diseases caused by some of these organisms. Key words: Antimicrobial activity, pathogenic microbes, phytochemical constituents, Ziziphus.