Antimicrobial activity of Paliurus spina-christi Mill. (Christ's thorn).

Paliurus spina-christi Mill. (Rhamnaceae), also known as Christ's thorn, is a perennial thorny shrub of widespread distribution in dry and rocky places in the Mediterranean region and Asia. In Croatia, this plant grows along the Adriatic coast and on the islands (Polunin and Huxley, 1981). Christ's thorn is used as a diuretic, against diarrhoea and rheumatism in traditional Croatian herbal medicine (Gdi6, 1986). Chemical investigations of Paliurus spina-christi fruits and leaves indicated the presence of the flavonoids isoquercitrin, rutin, hyperoside (Dalakishvili et al., 1986, Ku~trak et al., 1990) and a quercetin-3-O-triglycoside (Brantner and Maleff, 1990). All plant parts contain flavonoids and tannins (Maleg,