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Essential oils from 8 Cuminum cyminum local populations collected in Morocco were investigated for their chemical composition and antimicrobial activity. The chemical composition, investigated by gas chromatographic technique, revealed a common fingerprint in all Moroccan samples: twenty-five compounds were identified with γ-terpinen-7-al being the major component in all samples studied. The antimicrobial activity of cumin essential oils were tested against 10 bacterial strains, belonging to 8 different species, and 6 yeast strains, belonging to 4 species. Lactic acid bacteria showed a good resistance to all essential oil tested while overall the cumin essential oils showed a strong antifungal activity that affected both maximum specific growth rate and lag time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]