Bridging the Chemical Profile and Biomedical Effects of <i>Scutellaria edelbergii</i> Essential Oils

• Main Authors: Muddaser Shah (Author), Shabana Bibi (Author), Zul Kamal (Author), Jamal Nasser Al-Sabahi (Author), Tanveer Alam (Author), Obaid Ullah (Author), Waheed Murad (Author), Najeeb Ur Rehman (Author), Ahmed Al-Harrasi (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antiox11091723; 2076-3921
• Keywords: <i>S. edelbergii</i>; essential oils; GC-MS analysis; in vitro and in vivo biological activities; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antioxidants, Vol 11, Iss 9, p 1723 (2022)

The present study explored chemical constituents of <i>Scutellaria edelbergii</i> essential oils (SEEO) for the first time, extracted through hydro-distillation, and screened them against the microbes and free radicals scavenging effect, pain-relieving, and anti-inflammatory potential employing standard techniques. The SEEO ingredients were noticed via Gas Chromatography-Mass-Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and presented fifty-two bioactive compounds contributed (89.52%) with dominant volatile constituent; 3-oxomanoyl oxide (10.09%), 24-norursa-3,12-diene (8.05%), and methyl 7-abieten-18-oate (7.02%). The MTT assay via 96 well-plate and agar-well diffusion techniques against various microbes was determined for minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), IC₅₀, and zone of inhibitions (ZOIs). The SEEO indicated considerable antimicrobial significance against tested bacterial strains viz. <i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>, and <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> and the fungal strains <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> and <i>Candida albicans</i>. The free radicals scavenging potential was noticed to be significant in 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) as compared to 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzotiazolin-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assays with IC₅₀ = 125.0 ± 0.19 µg/mL and IC₅₀ = 153.0 ± 0.31 µg/mL correspondingly; similarly, the antioxidant standard in the DPPH assay was found efficient as compared to ABTS assay. The SEEO also offered an appreciable analgesic significance and presented 54.71% in comparison with standard aspirin, 64.49% reduction in writhes, and an anti-inflammatory potential of 64.13%, as compared to the standard diclofenac sodium inhibition of 71.72%. The SEEO contain bioactive volatile ingredients with antimicrobial, free radical scavenging, pain, and inflammation relieving potentials. Computational analysis validated the anti-inflammatory potential of selected hit "methyl 7-abieten-18-oate" as a COX-2 enzyme inhibitor. Docking results were very good in terms of docked score (−7.8704 kcal/mol) and binding interactions with the functional residues; furthermore, MD simulation for 100 ns has presented a correlation with docking results with minor fluctuations. In silico, ADMET characteristics supported that methyl 7-abieten-18-oate could be recommended for further investigations in clinical tests and could prove its medicinal status as an anti-inflammatory drug.