ANTIMICROBIAL, PHYTOCHEMICAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE OF ESSENTIAL OIL EXTRACTED FROM PANDANUS ODORIFER WITH AN AVAILABLE SIMULATION STUDY

Plant-derived essential oils are natural sources of antimicrobial and pharmaceutical agents besides their broad spectrum of use in the cosmetic, food, and perfume industries. The essential oil from the flowers of P. odorifer was extracted using the hydro distillation method. The major compound from the essential oil was identified by high-resolution mass spectroscopy (HRMS) analysis the identified phytochemicals include p-benzoquinone, 2-phenethyl alcohol, p-cymene, 2-phenethyl methyl either alpha-Terpineol, Psoralen, Isoplumbagin, Genipin, Artemidiol, Pinocembrin, (-)-Glycinol and, Iprobenfos. Two of its major phytochemicals,2-phenethyl methyl ether (PEME) and alpha-terpineol identified through HRMS were procured from Sigma-Aldrich. The antimicrobial properties of the PEME, essential oil, and terpineol was determined using agar well diffusion and micro broth dilution method against four clinically isolated multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogenic bacteria viz. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Acinetobacter baumanni, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PEME and alpha-terpineol exhibited significant antibacterial activity against all the isolated pathogenic MDR bacteria. No pathological abnormalities were noticed even if it was provided at the highest treatment dose of 800 mg/kg body weight. Further In silico study of molecular interaction analyses have been performed for the proteins Extracellular Adhesion Protein (EAP), Protein A, and Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin (TSST) of Staphylococcus aureus with the ligand 2-methoxyethyl benzene which shows better interaction with the target. This study validated the robust antibacterial activity of the essential oil of P. odorifer against both gram-positive and negative bacteria. Further, it is validated that the antibacterial activity was mainly because of the presence of two major phytochemicals, PEME and terpineol identified by HRMS analysis.