Pak. J. Pharm. Sci., Vol.24, No.4, October 2011, pp.489-493 489 THE ANTIFUNGAL, CYTOTOXIC, ANTITERMITE AND INSECTICIDAL ACTIVITIES OF ZIZYPHUS JUJUBE BASHIR AHMAD 1* , IBRAR KHAN 1 , SHUMAILA BASHIR 2 , SADIQ AZAM 1 AND NIAZ ALI 3 1 Pharma Biotech Research Lab, Centre of Biotechnology and Microbiology, 2 Department of Pharmacy, University of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 3 Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ABSTRACT Plants are very useful, self-generating machines, producing a variety of useful bioactive products. Keeping in view this idea, the crude methanolic extract and various fractions of Zizyphus jujuba were screened for antifungal, cytotoxic, antitermite and insecticidal activities. Low activity was shown by the crude methanolic extract (12%), n-hexane (9%), chloroform (20%) and ethyl acetate (14%) fraction against Penicillium notatum. Low activity was shown by the n-hexane fraction against Aspergillus niger (10%) and Trichoderma harzianum (13%) and inactive against Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus stolonifer. The CHCl 3 fraction exhibited low activity of 10% against F. oxysporum while showing no activity against the rest of the test fungi. All the test samples were inactive against Rhizopus stolonifer. The crude methanolic extract was highly cytotoxic (73.33%) at the concentration of 1000 (μg/ml) while the rest of the test samples were low in toxicity at the same concentration. The crude methanolic extract of Zizyphus jujuba showed significant antitermite activity against Heterotermes indicola, among the test samples. Against Tribolium castaneum, Rhizopertha dominica and Callosbruchus analis the insecticidal activity was determined. All the test samples except n-hexane showed low activity (20%) against T. castaneum. The n-hexane fraction showed low activity (20%) against R. dominica while the rest of the fractions were inactive against it. Low activity of 40% and 20% was shown by the chloroform and n-hexane fraction respectively against C. analis. The results of the present study revealed that the plant could be as potent source of cytotoxic drugs. Keywords: Zizyphus jujuba, Antifungal, Cytotoxic, Antitermite, Insecticidal, Tribolium castaneum, Rhizopertha dominica and Callosbruchus analis. INTRODUCTION Medicinal plants are an important health and economic component of the biodiversity (Rahman et al., 2004). Most of the world population exclusively relies on medicinal plants for primary health care (Farnsworth, 1994). The importance of medicinal plants for the treatment of various diseases is now being recognized by many people. The main reason behind this is that they have fewer side effects and are economical. Thirteen natural product (NP) derived or semi synthetic NP drugs are available in the market since 2005 for the treatment of ailments like multiple sclerosis, pain, cancer etc (Butler, 2008). Z. jujuba belongs to family Rhamnaceae and is commonly called, Red date or Chinese date or Bera (Pushto). 50 genera and more than 900 species constitute this family. This family is almost cosmopolitan and found mainly in tropical to subtropical regions. The leaves, bark and fruit of several species of Rhamnaceae notably Rhamnus cathartica and Rhamnus frangula have been used as laxatives. Edible fruit are produced by many Ziziphus species, among them; Z. mauritiana and Z.jujuba (Indian jujube) are the most important species which are cultivated on a commercial scale (Yilin and Carsten, 2007). For curing jaundice, the juice of fresh leaves of Z. mauritiana L and roots of Z. oxyphylla Edgew is used (Jan et al., 2009). For prevention of malaria, cold suspension of dried roots powder of Ampelozyziphus amazonicus is used (Neto-Andrade et al., 2008). An infusion of fruits of R. cathartica L is used as an antiseptic for wounds (Ivancheva and Stantcheva, 2000). Origanum majorana L is used in indigestion, asthma, rheumatism and headache (Jun et al., 2001). Origanum majorana L protect against Hydroquinone induced cytogenesis and histological changes (Ghaly et al., 2001). N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) induced neuronal cell damage in vitro is being prevented by the methanolic extract of Zizyphi Spinosi Semen, over a concentration range of 0.05–5 μg/ml (Park et al., 2004). Seeds of Z. jujuba have been used as tranquilizer, convulsant, analgesic, for treating anxiety and insomnia (Peng and Zhu, 2001). Jujube is used for liver diseases (Khare, 1995). For treating sore throats, decoctions of jujube have often been used in pharmacy. Fruits of Z. jujuba yield, Theasinensin A, a polyphenol, which suppresses the antibiotic resistance of Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (Tsutomu et al., 2005). *Corresponding author: bashirdr2001@yahoo.com