Antibacterial, antibiofilm activities of <i>Jatropha gossypiifolia</i> L. floral extracts and molecular docking study of the major compound

This study looked at the phytochemical composition, antimicrobial, and antibiofilm properties of <i>Jatropha gossypiifolia</i> L. floral extracts. Broth dilution determined the minimum inhibitory (MIC) and bactericidal concentrations (MBC). MOE software was utilised to perform molecular docking against some biofilm-forming proteins. The extracts and the major compound (vitexin) showed different degrees of activity against strains of <i>S. aureus, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, A. baumannii, and S. mutants</i> but had moderate activity against <i>P. aeruginosa</i>. The diameters of the clear zones surrounding the wells ranged from 12.0 ± 1.0 to 25.0 ± 1.0 mm. Methanolic extracts were higher in antibacterial activity than the methylene chloride extract. The MIC values of the extracts ranged from 12.5 to 200 mg/mL. The extract's MBC values ranged from 50 to >400 mg/mL. The Vitexin exerted significant biofilm attenuation against the <i>S. aureus, A. baumannii, and P. aeruginosa</i> biofilm, with maximum activity measured at 78, 156, and 525 mg/mL doses, respectively. Docking results revealed that vitexin fitted well in the active sites of these proteins forming stable complexes with significant binding scores. Interestingly, both the glycoside and flavone moieties of vitexin were highly involved in the binding with the three examined proteins <i>via</i> making a network of hydrogen bond interactions and non-polar interactions.