In Vitro Antimicrobial Analysis of <i>Origanum vulgare</i> Oil Extract and First‐Time Evaluation of Its Effects on <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> Acetyl‐ <scp>CoA</scp> Carboxylase ( <scp>accA</scp> ) Protein: Computational Analysis of Protein–Compou

ABSTRACT The emergence of multidrug‐resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains highlights the urgent need for novel antimicrobial agents. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of Origanum vulgare essential oil and its potential therapeutic relevance against Acinetobacter baumannii , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis . In addition, computational approaches were employed to explore plausible molecular target interactions that may contribute to the observed antibacterial effects. The antimicrobial activity of O. vulgare essential oil was assessed using agar well diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)/minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays against A. baumannii , P. aeruginosa , S. aureus and S. epidermidis . In parallel, molecular docking analyses were performed to investigate potential interactions between major oil constituents and the A. baumannii acetyl‐CoA carboxylase α‐subunit (AccA). Origanum vulgare essential oil exhibited strong antibacterial activity against A. baumannii , producing inhibition zones of up to 55 mm. The MIC and MBC values for A. baumannii were determined as 1/32 and 1/16, respectively. In silico docking analyses identified β‐caryophyllene and carvacrol as the compounds showing the most favourable predicted binding affinities toward the AccA subunit. AutoDock Vina predicted docking scores of −6.8 kcal/mol for β‐caryophyllene and −5.3 kcal/mol for carvacrol, with interactions predominantly driven by hydrophobic contacts. These findings suggest that β‐caryophyllene and carvacrol may contribute to the antibacterial activity of O. vulgare essential oil and represent promising candidates for further investigation, pending experimental and mechanistic validation.