A wide range of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been explored for their essential oils in the past few decades. Essential oils are complex volatile compounds, synthesized naturally in different plant parts during the process of secondary metabolism. They have great potential in the field of biomedicine as they effectively destroy several bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens. The presence of different types of aldehydes, phenolics, terpenes and other antimicrobial compounds means that the essential oils are effective as antioxidants as well as against a diverse range of pathogens. The goals of the study were to determine and compare the phytochemical screening, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils of Azadirachta indica and Vitex negundo. The phytochemical screening of the two plants showed presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, phenolic and tannin compounds, flavonoids, saponins, lipids and terpenoids. About the antioxidant potential, Azadirachta indica showed a higher ability to scavenge free radicals as compared to Vitex negundo, which was investigated by 2, 2- diphenyl- 1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Regarding the antimicrobial activity, Vitex negundo showed a better ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms as compared to Azadirachta indica, which was investigated by the Agar diffusion method (Kirby-Bauer method, Bauer et. al.; 1966).
