Abstract :

Juniperus phoenicea from five natural populations in southern Jordan were collected and their genetic variations using inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) were studied. The hydro-distilled essential oils (EOs) from three geographical regions were characterized by their chemical composition and antibacterial activity. ISSR data analysis for the two groups showed a significant amount of genetic variations (0.47% and 5.3%) due to differences between regions and variations between individuals within populations, respectively. The chemical analyses, by GC/MS, allowed identification of ~99.5% of the total volatile products for J. phoenicea where the main constituent in aerial parts was α-pinene (49.15%) in leaves and (71%) in berries. EOs of both berries and leaves reveal in vitro antibacterial activity on the studied bacteria, confirmed by MIC ranging from (4.0 to 17.5 µl/mL). A relationship between the variations in geneti