Antibacterial and Anti-quorum Sensing Activities of Erianthemum dregei`s Leaf Extract and Molecular Docking

Background: The increasing incidence of multi-drug resistance among pathogens has propelled researchers to search for novel antimicrobial and anti-quorum sensing agents characterised by different mechanisms and high potency. Objective: The study aimed at investigating the antibacterial and antiquorum sensing properties of compounds from Erianthemum dregei and their molecular interactions with the target proteins. Methods: The methanolic leaf extract from E. dregei was evaluated for its chemical composition and antibacterial activity using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) and micro-dilution method, respectively. The inhibition of violacein production in Chromobacterium violaceum (ATCC 07) was assayed as anti-quorum sensing activity using micro-dilution method. The molecular docking of the GC-MS ligands and penicillin‑binding protein 2x (PDP2) and CviR was executed using AutoDock Vina. Results: The two volatile compounds namely phytol (93.58%) and 3-tetradecyn-1-ol (6.42%) were shown by GC-MS. The extract exhibited antibacterial activity against the selected bacterial strains with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 1.56 to 3.125 mg/mL. The maximum inhibition of violacein production of 53.93% was observed at 1.56 mg/mL. Both compounds had docking scores of more than -6.0 kcal/mol against the target proteins. Conclusion: The results revealed that the extract is a potential source of antibacterial and anti-quorum sensing compounds and thus can have pharmacological applicability.