GC-MS Profiling, In Vitro Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and In Silico NADPH Oxidase Inhibition Studies of Essential Oil of Juniperus thurifera Bark

Soufyane Lafraxo; Abdelfattah El Moussaoui; Yousef A Bin Jardan; Azeddin El Barnossi; Mohamed Chebaibi; Soukayna Baammi; Aziz Ait Akka; Khalid Chebbac; Mohamed Akhazzane; Tarik Chelouati; Hiba-Allah Nafidi; Khallouki Farid; Mohammed Bourhia; Amina Bari

doi:10.1155/2022/6305672

GC-MS Profiling, In Vitro Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and In Silico NADPH Oxidase Inhibition Studies of Essential Oil of Juniperus thurifera Bark

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Sep 27:2022:6305672. doi: 10.1155/2022/6305672. eCollection 2022.

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Biotechnology and Environment, Agri-Food and Health, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, P.O. Box 1796 (Atlas), 30000 Fez, Morocco.
² Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Laboratory of Biomedical and Translational Research, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Fez, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, BP 1893, Km 22, Road of Sidi Harazem, Fez, Morocco.
⁴ African Genome Centre (AGC), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Benguerir, Morocco.
⁵ Laboratory of Biotechnology, Conservation and Valorisation of Natural Resources, Faculty of Sciences Dhar ElMahraz, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah University, P.O. Box 1796 (Atlas), Fez 30000, Morocco.
⁶ Engineering Laboratory of Organometallic and Molecular Materials and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, P.O. Box 1796 (Atlas), 30000 Fez, Morocco.
⁷ Substance Naturelle Pharmacologie Environnement Modelisation Sante et Qualite de Vie, Fez, Morocco.
⁸ Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Laval University, 2325 Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
⁹ Biology Department, FSTE, University Moulay Ismail, BP. 609, 52000 Errachidia, Morocco.
¹⁰ Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Technical Health, Laayoune 70000, Morocco.

Abstract

Juniperus thurifera is a native species to the mountains of the western Mediterranean region. It is used in traditional medicine as a natural treatment against infections. The present study aimed to carry out the chemical analysis and evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, as well as in silico inhibition studies of the essential oils from Juniperus thurifera bark (EOEJT). Chemical characterization of EOEJT was done by gas chromatography (GC-MS). We have performed three antioxidant assays (Reducing power (FRAP), 2, 2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)) of the EOEJT. We next evaluated the antimicrobial activity against in silico study, which was carried out to help evaluate the inhibitory effect of EOEJT against NADPH oxidase. Results of the GC/MS analysis revealed seven major compounds in EOEJT wherein muurolol (36%) and elemol (26%) were the major components. Moreover, EOEJT possessed interesting antioxidant potential with an IC₅₀ respectively of 21.25 ± 1.02 μg/mL, 481.02 ± 5.25 μg/mL, and 271 μg EAA/mg in DPPH, FRAP, and total antioxidant capacity systems. Molecular docking of EOEJT in NADPH oxidase active site showed inhibitory activity of α-cadinol and muurolol with a glide score of -6.041 and -5.956 Kcal/mol, respectively. As regards the antibacterial and antifungal capacities, EOEJT was active against all tested bacteria and all fungi, notably, against Escherichia coli K12 with an inhibition diameter of 21 mm and a MIC value of 0.67 mg/mL, as well as against Proteus mirabilis ATCC 29906 with an inhibition diameter of 18.33 ± 1.15 mm and a MIC value of 1.34 mg/mL. A more pronounced effect was recorded for the fungal pathogens Fusarium oxysporum MTCC 9913 with inhibition of 37.44 ± 0.28% and MIC value of 6.45 mg/mL, as well as against Candida albicans ATCC 10231 with an inhibition diameter of 20.33 ± 1.15 mm and a MIC value of 0.67 ± 0.00 mg/mL. Altogether, these results highlight the importance of EOEJT as a source of natural antibacterial and antioxidant drugs to fight clinically important pathogenic strains.