Chemical Composition, and Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Crude Extracts from Pistacia lentiscus L. Fruit

Abstract

Pistacia lentiscus L is a widely distributed species with ethnopharmacological uses. Despite the large body of literature on its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities, several aspects of its biological activities remain unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial potential of chloroform and methanol crude extracts of P. lentiscus fruit and to characterize the chemical composition of these crude extracts. The microorganisms employed were four bacteria strains, namely,Staphylococcu aureus,Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and one fungus Candida albicans. The susceptibility of microorganisms against the two extracts was determined using the disk diffusion method. Preliminary phytochemical screening showed the presence of saponins and terpenoids in both extracts. Alkaloids, tannins, and flavonoids were found only in methanol extract, whereas coumarins and steroids were found only in chloroform extract. The chloroform and methanol extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), which showed the presence of many biologically important compounds. The major compounds identified in chloroform extract were phenol,3-pentadecyl (36.21%), benzene,1-(1,1-dimethylpropoxy)-4-methyl (14.53%), and isobutyl-3-methylpyrazine (9.17%). In comparison, the major compounds identified in methanol extract were 1,2,3-benzenetriol (24.4%), benzoic acid,3-hydroxy (22.69%), and quinic acid (20.41%). Methanol extract exhibited significant activity against S. aureus (22 mm), B. subtilis (19 mm), P. aeruginosa (17 mm), E. coli (15 mm), and C. albicans (8 mm). Whereas chloroform extract exhibited moderate inhibitory activity only against C. albicans (10 mm). The findings of this study indicated that the fruit of P. lentiscuspossesses various secondary metabolites having the potential for developing antibacterial agents.