Phytochemical characterization of Styrax benzoin resin extract, molecular docking, ADME, and antibacterial activity study

Abstract

Styrax benzoin fumes have a spiritual aspect from ancient times, magical essence like a pleasant perfume, and are employed in religious ceremonies in India. This study aims to identify the volatile compounds in S. benzoin extract, their binding affinity to the bacterial target proteins, and study the antibacterial activity of the potential extract. The compounds obtained from GC-MS analysis of S. benzoin extract were subjected to molecular docking studies against DHFR of Staphylococcus aureus, tRNA synthetase of Escherichia coli, DHPS of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Molecular docking studies revealed that seventeen compounds out of 20 compounds exhibited higher binding affinity than co-ligand (-7.00 kcal/mol) against the Staphylococcus aureus enzyme DHFR. Consequently, the crude extracts were evaluated for antibacterial activity against S. aureus, and the acetone extract showed promising findings. S. benzoin fumes might replace synthetic room fresheners, and promising compounds could be exploited in the cosmetics industry.