Antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of two extracts from Capparis spinosa L. and Rumex nervosus and molecular docking investigation of selected major compounds

Lujain A AlMousa; Nora A AlFaris; Ghedeir M Alshammari; Jozaa Z ALTamimi; Muneer M Alsyadi; Reham I Alagal; Mohammed Abdo Yahya

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103346

Antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of two extracts from Capparis spinosa L. and Rumex nervosus and molecular docking investigation of selected major compounds

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022 Aug;29(8):103346. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103346. Epub 2022 Jun 16.

Authors

Lujain A AlMousa¹, Nora A AlFaris¹, Ghedeir M Alshammari², Jozaa Z ALTamimi¹, Muneer M Alsyadi³, Reham I Alagal¹, Mohammed Abdo Yahya²

Affiliations

¹ Nutrition and Food Science, Department of Physical Sport Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Ibb University, Ibb, Yemen.

Abstract

The present study examined the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial properties, and molecular docking of different solvents extracts (methanol and water) of two medicinal plants, namely, Capparis spinosa L (CS) and Rumex nervosus (RN). Phytochemical analysis showed that total phenol, flavonoids, alkaloids, and vitamin C were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher in the methanolic extract of both plants than in other solvents. However, tannin content was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) high in the water extract for both plants. Chloroform and acetone extracts were significantly lower in phytochemicals than other solvents, therefore excluded in this study. GC-MS analysis showed one dominant compound in CS (isopropyl isothiocyanate) and two in RN (pyrogallol and palmitic acid). The antioxidant methods applied (DPPH, ABTS, β-Carotene/linoleic acid assay, and reducing the power) showed that the methanolic extract of CS exerted higher activity in methanolic extract but lower than that of BHA standard. The methanolic extract of both plants inhibited the bacterial pathogens when a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method was applied, compared to water extract with RN-methanolic extract had a lower inhibition concentration than CS-methanolic extract. The molecular interactions study revealed that the palmitic acid and pyrogallol interacted with the receptors' active site. This work concluded that CS and RN showed a remarkable antioxidant and antibacterial effect with the high antimicrobial activity of RN extract.

Keywords: Antimicrobial; Antioxidants; CS, Capparis spinosa L; Capparis spinosa L (CS); DPPH, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; Docking; FRAP, Ferric reducing antioxidant power; GC–MS analysis; MIC, Minimum inhibitory concentration; Phytochemicals; RN, Rumex nervosus; Rumex nervosus; TFC, Total flavonoid content.