Boswellia Essential Oil: Natural Antioxidant as an Effective Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Agent

Abstract

The research aimed to determine the chemical composition, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity as well as the antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative and two fungal Candida ATCC strains of a commercial Boswellia essential oil (BEO) containing Boswellia carteri, Boswellia sacra, Boswellia papryfera, and Boswellia frereana. Additionally, molecular docking was carried out to show the molecular dynamics of the compounds identified from the essential oil against three bacterial protein targets and one fungal protein target. The major components identified by GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) were represented by α-pinene, followed by limonene. Evaluation of antioxidant activity using the DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl) method showed high inhibition comparable to the synthetic antioxidant used as a control. Oxidative stability evaluation showed that BEO has the potential to inhibit primary and secondary oxidation products with almost the same efficacy as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). The use of BEO at a concentration of 500 ppm provided the best protection against secondary oxidation during 30 days of storage at room temperature, which was also evident in the peroxide value. Regarding the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, the membrane lysis assay and the protein denaturation test revealed that even if the value of protection was lower than the value registered in the case of dexamethasone, the recommendation of using BEO as a protective agent stands, considering the lower side effects. Gram-positive bacteria proved more sensitive, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa presented different sensitivity, with higher MICs (minimal inhibitory concentration). Haemophilus influenzae demonstrated a MIC at 2% but with consecutive inhibitory values in a negative correlation with the increase in concentration, in contrast to E. coli, which demonstrated low inhibitory rates at high concentrations of BEO. The computational tools employed revealed interesting binding energies with compounds having low abundance. The interaction of these compounds and the proteins (tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase, DNA gyrase, peptide deformylase, 1,3-β-glucan synthase) predicts hydrogen bonds with amino acid residues, which are reported in the active sites of the proteins. Even so, compounds with low abundance in BEO could render the desired bioactive properties to the overall function of the oil sustained by physical factors such as storage and temperature. Interestingly, the findings from this study demonstrated the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of Boswellia essential oil against food-related pathogens, thus making the oil a good candidate for usage in food, feed or food-safety-related products.

An Evaluation of the Impact of 60Co Irradiation on Volatile Organic Compounds of Olibanum Using Gas Chromatography Ion Mobility Spectrometry

“…Moreover, it is often used for chest disorders, heart pain, pain in the stomach duct, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, postpartum stasis and obstruction, abdominal pain caused by masses, rheumatalgia (i.e., the localized or systemic pain caused by diseases of the joints, muscles, bones, and tissues around the joints), hypertonicity of the sinews and vessels, traumatic injuries, swelling abscess, sores, and ulcers [4]. Clinically, it is also used for antibacterial [5][6][7], anti-tumor, and antiviral effects [8], as well as for the treatment of rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis [9].…”

Romanian Bee Product Analysis: Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial Activity, and Molecular Docking Insights

“…By stabilising the lysosomal membrane, the release of chemical mediators involved in the activation of neutrophils is inhibited. Denaturation of tissue proteins is also a cause of inflammatory or arthritic diseases, being associated with the loss of the protein's biological functions and production of autoantigens [33,89]. Generally, bee products are well-known for their anti-inflammatory activity, even though the mechanism of action is unclear [90,91].…”

“…Recent Furthermore, in silico molecular modelling has been shown to give insight into the antimicrobial activities of docked phytocompounds in the crystal structure (macro-molecular targets) of bacteria and fungi. These biologically active compounds effectively allow the mechanism of cell wall disruption of the microbial pathogens to be biochemically elucidated [33]. Bacterial proteins such as tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (PDB: 1JII) are identified to be an interesting target for drug-resistant bacteria [34], and peptide deformylase (PDB: 1G27) has gained attention as a novel attractive target of major antibiotics due to its mode of catalysis involving the removal of N-formylmethionine as the initiator of newly synthesised polypeptides, which is a crucial step in the maturation of bacterial protein [35].…”