Employment of Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Analysis to Estimate Phytochemical Constituents and Antimicrobial Activity of Bidens pilosa Along Habitat Heterogeneity in Egypt

Background: Continuous exposure to a range of environmental conditions can induce the production of primary and secondary metabolites in plants. Thus, this study aimed to examine variations in phytochemical compounds and antimicrobial activity of crude extracts from Bidens pilosa plants across various Egyptian habitats. Methods: Plants were gathered from 10 habitats across five Southern and Middle Nile Delta Governorates. The phytochemical components of B. pilosa extracts were estimated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results and Conclusion: The plant was found to contain terpenoids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, alkaloids, sterols, saponins, carbohydrates, and amino acids, which are mainly concentrated in shoots. Citrus, guava, and mango orchards and wasteland habitats contained the highest contents of total flavonoids, phenols, tannins, and alkaloids. Fifty compounds were identified in the ethanol extract; the most dominant groups were aromatic and aliphatic compounds (22 and 17 compounds, respectively) with the highest peak area % recorded for nonadecane (9.58%), 14α-H-pregna (7.15%), pentane, 3-methyl (3.40%), and dodecane (4.20%). While 30 compounds were recorded in the chloroform:methanol extract with the dominance of organosilicons (30.00% of the total compounds), dicarboxylic acids (16.67%) and carboxylic acids (13.33%), in addition to the highest peak area % was recorded for cyclononasiloxane, octadecamethyl (10.98%), (Z)-5-ethylidene-3-hydroxy-4-(3'-methylbutanoyl)-2(5H)-furanone (9.55%), and silicone oil (7.95%). The raw extract of the B. pilosa shoots exhibited antimicrobial activity against many bacterial and fungal isolates. Most of the identified secondary metabolites exhibited physiological and ecological roles in plants and play roles in adverse environmental stressors. Many of the identified compounds possessed nutritional value and therapeutic effects. In addition, the methanol extract had a beneficial impact on these bioactive phyto-organic constituents, which can be harnessed and used in the food and pharmaceutical industries to produce drugs and raw materials for industrial purposes.