Novel landmarks on the journey from natural products to pharmaceutical formulations: Phytochemical, biological, toxicological and computational activities of Satureja hortensis L.

Abstract

This study examined the ethanolic extract of the Satureja hortensis L. plant's aerial parts to describe its phytochemical makeup, biological functions, toxicity tests, and in-silico molecular docking tests. The GC-MS analysis was used to evaluate the phytochemical composition of the tested extract, and the ABTS and hydrogen peroxide antioxidant assays were used to measure antioxidant activity. Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Proteus vulgaris were tested for antimicrobial potential. On cell lines such as HepG-2, MCF-7, A-549, and Panc-1, the in-vitro toxicity was also examined. The A-549cell line was also used for flow cytometry analysis of apoptosis and cell cycle. Additionally, the compounds discovered by the GC-MS analysis were used in silico tests against biological targets. Eight different phytocompounds were tentatively identified as a result of the GC-MS analysis. The compounds also demonstrated significant antioxidant potential for the ABTS and H2O2 assays (IC50: 2.44 and 28.04 μg/ml, respectively). The tested extract was found to have a range of inhibition zones and to be significantly active against the tested bacterial and fungal strains. Apoptosis and cell cycle analysis for the A-549cell line showed that the cell cycle was arrested at S-phase, and the extract was also found to be most active against this cell line with an IC50 value of 113.05 μg/ml. The docking studies have emphasized the compounds' interactions and binding scores with the EGFR-TK target as determined by the GC-MS.