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The composition of the essential oils of stems and seeds of Pituranthos scoparius was determined by GC-MS. Almost 50 compounds were identified. In the seed oil, the main compounds were α α α α α-pinene (8.2%), β β β β β-pinene (4.6%), p-cymene (7.5%), limonene (11.2%), thymol (5.9%), myristicin (11.1%) and dill apiole (12.2%); in the stem oil, the main compounds were α α α α α-pinene (6.8%), α α α α α-phellandrene (7.1%), limonene (9.8%), methyl eugenol (5.6%) germacrene D (12.7%), myristicin (7.2%), spathulenol (4.5%) and β β β β β-eudesmol (4.1%).

and B. Ait-Kaki 2Pituranthos scoparius (Coss. & Dur.) Schinz (Umbelliferae) is a saharian species [1] used in traditional medicine for the treatment of asthma and rheumatism [2][3], Touareg people also use it in food as aroma for meal and bread [3]. The GC and GC/MS analysis of the essential oils of Pituranthos scoparius stems and seeds, collected from Ghardaia [4] (septentrional Sahara) during spring, allowed us to identify the respective components with relative percentages which appeared to be different from those reported from the species collected during winter at Ain Diss [5] (presaharian). The comparative percentages of the major components (more than 3%) of the stem and seed oils for each specimen (saharian and presaharian) are given in Table1.The species Pituranthos scoparius has not been the subject of biological studies. We report here the comparative antibacterial activities of the essential oils of stems and seeds of the species collected at Ghardaia, using the disk diffusion method. The MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values are given in Table 2-3. Both of the essential oils inhibited the growth of the tested strains, but the stems oils inhibited remarkably the growth of the microorganisms namely Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Proteus mirabilis, and Klebsiella pneumoniae at the respective concentation levels 1mg/ml, 2 mg/ml, and 16mg/ml with 32 mm, 30 mm, and 28 mm inhibition zone diameters while the seed essential oil showed lowest MIC values with Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923 at 0.156 mg/ml, 1.25 mg/ml, and 20 mg/ml with 30 mm, 28 mm, and 28 mm inhibition zone diameters, respectively.

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