Abdelfattah El Moussaoui

The African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Solanaceae family that is used in traditional pharmacopeia. Here, its biological potential was assessed by analyzing the essential oil from its leaves (EOLF), extracted by hydro-distillation and major terpenes characterized by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS analysis of EOLF identified fourteen compounds representing 99.95% of the total mass, which was dominated by carvacrol (35.96%) and sabinene (17.06%). EOLF exhibited antioxidant activity as characterized by several assays, including 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) and the β-carotene/linoleic acid test. According to the results obtained, EOLF exhibited antioxidant activity, as measured by the DPPH assay, with a mean IC₅₀ of 96 µg/mL, which is relatively close to that of quercetin (74 µg/mL) and BHT (49.16 µg/mL). Furthermore, the activity assessed using the FRAP method showed an EC₅₀ of 282 µg/mL, comparable to that of BHT (292 µg/mL). Based on the results of the TAC method, the antioxidant activity was 880 ± 4 µg AAE/mg, while the efficacy for inhibition of β-carotene was 80%. Effective antimicrobial activity against several bacterial and fungal strains was assessed by measuring inhibition zones and Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs). EOLF exhibited significant antimicrobial activity, particularly against Klebsiella pneumoniae, with an inhibition zone of 25.08 ± 0.93 mm and an MIC of 15.68 ± 0.83 µg/mL. For Staphylococcus aureus, an inhibition zone of 23.84 ± 0.88 mm and an MIC of 11.03 ± 0.27 µg/mL were recorded. Strong antifungal activity was also observed against Candida albicans, with an inhibition zone of 22.55 ± 0.87 mm and an MIC of 10.51 ± 0.47 µg/mL. The conducted in-silico analysis confirmed the affinity of the main compounds with key biological targets, suggesting their likely roles in the observed antimicrobial effects. The ADEM-Tox properties demonstrated that the analyzed compounds would only be lethal at very great concentrations, indicating low acute toxicity, and would not be expected to elicit toxic effects at therapeutic doses.

Background/Objectives: The phytochemical composition, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of Vitex agnus-castus L. essential oil (VACEO), extracted from fruit harvested in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco, were investigated. Methods/Results: A full chemical analysis of VACEO was performed to identify the principal components of the oil using GC–MS, demonstrating that caryophyllene (13.87%), 1-(4-Isopropylphenyl)-2-methylpropyl acetate (12.20%), and τ-Cadinol (5.41%) were the most important constituents of this oil. In addition, antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH, FRAP, TAC, and beta-carotene bleach tests; the oil demonstrated an IC50 of 0.93 ± 0.03 mg/mL (DPPH), an EC50 of 0.146 ± 0.004 mg/mL (FRAP), and a total antioxidant capacity of 0.794 ± 0.02 mg BHT equivalent/g EO, with relative antioxidant activity at 72.69 ± 0.3%. Antibacterial assays revealed inhibition diameters ranging from 13.25 ± 1.00 mm to 21.11 ± 0.25 mm, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 0.02–0.04 mg/mL against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, ADMET analysis suggested VACEO potential for drug development, with specific insights into pharmacokinetics, safety, and molecular docking, clarifying its interactions with key bacterial proteins. Conclusions: These results confirm the promising therapeutic and pharmaceutical potential of VACEO through its bioactive compounds.

Marine algae are renowned for their health benefits due to the presence of functional bioactive compounds. In this context, this study aims to valorize the extract of a seaweed, Dictyota dichotoma (D. dichotoma), through phytochemical characterization using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), as well as in vitro and in silico evaluation of its biological activities (antioxidant and antimicrobial). Phytochemical characterization revealed that the ethanolic extract of Dictyota dichotoma (DdEx) is rich in phenolic compounds, with a total of 22 phycocompounds identified. Antioxidant activity, measured by various methods, showed an IC₅₀ of 120 µg/mL for the DPPH assay, an EC₅₀ of 120.53 µg/mL for the FRAP assay, and a total antioxidant power of 685.26 µg AAE/mg according to the phosphomolybdate (TAC) method. Evaluation of antibacterial activity showed a zone of inhibition diameter ranging from 11.93 to 22.58 mm, with the largest zone observed for the Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain. For antifungal activity, inhibition zone diameters ranged from 22.38 to 23.52 mm, with the largest recorded for the Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) strain. The in silico study identified tetragalloyl-glucose, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, and pentagalloyl-glucose as the most active compounds against NADPH oxidase, with docking scores of −7.723, −7.424, and −6.402 kcal/mol, respectively. Regarding antibacterial activity, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside, and secoisolariciresinol demonstrated high affinity for E. coli beta-ketoacyl-[acyl carrier protein] synthase, with docking scores of −7.276, −6.811, and −6.594 kcal/mol, respectively. These in vitro and in silico evaluations showed that D. dichotoma extract possesses antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, due to its richness in bioactive compounds identified by HPLC.