Investigation of Antioxidant, Anti‐Inflammatory, Antimicrobial, and Antigenotoxic Capacities, HPLC Phenolic Profile, and Computational Study of <i>Cistus albidus</i>

Natural products from flora possess bioactive constituents. This investigation evaluated the phenolic composition of the methanolic extract of Cistus albidus (CAME) from Algeria using HPLC and assessed its bioactivity. Key components of CAME were identified as rutin (24.03%), vanillic acid (15.22%), and myricetin (5.69%). The extract demonstrated antioxidant capabilities with an IC₅₀ of 37.28 µg/mL in DPPH assays and an EC₅₀ of 53.06 mg/mL in reducing power assays. In addition, the extract exhibited in vitro anti-inflammatory properties with an IC₅₀ of 98.22 µg/mL. Antimicrobial evaluations indicated inhibition zones of 15.00-26.50 mm and MICs of 0.5-12.5 mg/mL against various Gram-negative pathogens, particularly Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris. The antifungal activity was variable, with DZI values ranging from 11 to 23 mm, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae 9763 displayed the highest susceptibility. Genotoxicity evaluations affirmed the extract's safety, revealing no mutagenic properties and significant antigenotoxic activity (92% inhibition at 50 µg/test). Genotoxicity assays (Ames and SOS chromotests) validated CAME's non-mutagenic profile and considerable antigenotoxic efficacy (92% inhibition). Furthermore, molecular docking analyses indicated that rutin interacts stably with E. coli gyrase B, potentially acting as a competitive ATP inhibitor with a binding energy of -7.56 kcal/mol. Moreover, rutin demonstrated notable stability within the active site of PDE4, an enzyme associated with anti-inflammatory activities.