An Experimental and Computational Analysis of Plant Compounds from Whole Urtica dioica L. Plant’s Essential Oil for Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities

Abstract

As the Urtica dioica L. whole plant’s essential oil has presented significant multiple activities, it was therefore evaluated using the GC–MS technique. This essential oil was investigated for its antioxidant, phytotoxic, and antibacterial activities in vitro. The GC–MS analysis data assisted in the identification of various constituents. The study of the essential oil of U. dioica showed potential antioxidant effects and antibacterial activity against the selected pathogens Escherichia coli -ATCC 9837 (E. coli), Bacillus subtilis-ATCC 6633 (B. subtilis), Staphylococcus aureus-ATCC6538 (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa-ATCC 9027 (P. aeruginosa), and Salmonella typhi-ATCC 6539 (S. typhi). The library of 23 phytochemicals was docked by using MOE software, and three top virtual hits with peroxiredoxin protein [PDB ID: 1HD2] and potential target protein [PDB ID: 4TZK] were used; hence, the protein–ligand docking results estimated the best binding conformations and a significant correlation with the experimental analysis, in terms of the docking score and binding interactions with the key residues of the native active binding site. The essential oil in the silico pharmacokinetic profile explained the structure and activity relationships of the selected best hits, and their additional parameters provided insight for further clinical investigations. Therefore, it is concluded that the U. dioica essential oil could be a potent antioxidant and antibacterial agent for aromatherapy through its topical application, if further tested in a laboratory and validated.