Insights into the Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and Cytotoxic Activities of <i>Pistacia lentiscus</i> Bark and Phytochemical Profile; In Silico and In Vitro Study
Samy Selim,
Mohammed S. Almuhayawi,
Mohanned T. Alharbi,
Soad K. Al Jaouni,
Afaf Alharthi,
Basel A. Abdel-Wahab,
Mervat A. R. Ibrahim,
Amnah Mohammed Alsuhaibani,
Mona Warrad,
Khaled Rashed
Affiliations
Samy Selim
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed S. Almuhayawi
Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Mohanned T. Alharbi
Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia
Soad K. Al Jaouni
Department of Hematology/Oncology, Yousef Abdulatif Jameel Scientific Chair of Prophetic Medicine Application, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Afaf Alharthi
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Basel A. Abdel-Wahab
Department of Medical Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Mervat A. R. Ibrahim
Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Amnah Mohammed Alsuhaibani
Department of Physical Sport Science, College of Education, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Mona Warrad
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences at Al-Quriat, Jouf University, Al Qurayyat 77425, Saudi Arabia
Khaled Rashed
Pharmacognosy Department, National Research Centre, 33El Bohouth Str., Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt
Foodborne infections and antibiotic resistance pose a serious threat to public health and must be addressed urgently. Pistacia lentiscus is a wild-growing shrub and has been utilized for medicinal applications as well as for culinary purposes. The antibacterial and antioxidant activities of P. lentiscus bark in vitro, as well as the phytochemical composition, are the focus of this inquiry. The bark extract of P. lentiscus showed significant antimicrobial activity in experiments on bacteria and yeast isolated from human and food sources. The exposure time for the complete inhibition of cell viability of P. aeruginosa in the extracts was found to be 5% at 15 min. Phytochemical inquiry of the methanol extract demonstrates the existence of carbohydrates, flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, triterpenes, and alkaloids. Deep phytochemical exploration led to the identification of methyl gallate, gallic acid, kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol 3-O-α-rhamnoside, kaempferol 3-O-β-glucoside, and Quercetin-3-O-β-glucoside. When tested using the DPPH assay, the methanol extracts of P. lentiscus bark demonstrated a high free radical scavenging efficiency. Further, we have performed a molecular modelling study which revealed that the extract of P. lentiscus bark could be a beneficial source for novel flavonoid glycosides inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Taken together, this study highlights the Pistacia lentiscus bark methanol extract as a promising antimicrobial and antiviral agent.
