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ContextTo date, there are no reports to validate the Tunisian traditional and folklore claims ofEruca vesicaria(L) Cav. subsp.longirostris(Brassicaceae) for the treatment of disease. ObjectiveInvestigation of the chemical composition antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of essential oils fromEruca longirostrisleaves, stems, roots and fruits. Materials and methodsThe essential oils ofE.longirostrisfrom leaves, stems, roots and fruits were obtained after 4 h of hydrodistillation. Chemical compositions were determined using a combination of GC/FID and GC/MS. Thein vitroantimicrobial activity of the volatile constituents ofE.longirostriswas performed in sterile 96-well microplates against three Gram-positive, four Gram-negative bacteria and one strain as yeast. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration values were reported. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH and ABTS assays. ResultsThe main compound for fruits, stems and roots was the erucin (96.6%, 85.3% and 83.7%, respectively), while β-elemene (35.7%), hexahydrofarnesylacetone (23.9%), (E)-β-damascone (15.4%), erucin (10.6%) and α-longipinene (9.6%) constituted the major compounds in the essential oil of the leaves. The experimental results showed that in all tests, essential oil of fruits showed the better antioxidant activity than the others. On the other hand, the oils of stems, fruits and roots showed significant antimicrobial activity with MIC values ranging from 0.125 to 0.31 mg/mL againstCandidaspecies, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, mainlySalmonella enterica. ConclusionsThe present results indicate that essential oils ofE.longirostriscan be used as a source of erucin. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]