Phytochemical and Physicochemical Studies of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.)

Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) (ZSC) commonly known as Christ‘s thorn or Jerusalem-thorn in English and Sidr in Arabic belongs to family Rhamnaceae. It is a deciduous tree, native to the warm-temperate and subtropical regions, including south and east of Asia and Middle East [1]. In this study, Ziziphus spina-christi was collected on April 2016 from shiraz (Fars Province, Iran) and subjected to extraction by maceration method with water, methanol, ethanol and acetone. The phytochemical screening in four crude extracts showed the presence of Steroids, Alkaloids, Tannins, Coumarins, Proteins, Flavonoids, Terpeniods, Phenols and Carbohydrates. Also, total Phenolic, total Flavonoids and Tannins contents were determined in four different extracts with spectrophotometer [2]. In addition, determination of mineral elements amount like K, Fe, Ca, Mn, Mg, Na, Zn and Cu were investigated. Among the four selected solvents, methanol was the best for total Flavonoids and total Phenolic contents extraction. The total ash value was found to be 3.97% w/w indicating the considerable presence of inorganic radicals [3].