Assessment of Sesame and Sweet Almond Oils Efficacy Against Food-Borne and Human Illness Microorganisms with Molecular Docking Study

Mohamed Al Abboud, Abdel-Rahman Shater, Hanan Moawad, Abdullah Mashraqi, Yahya Ali and Tarek Abdelghany

Background and Objective: Human and food-born pathogenic microorganism’s resistance to antibiotics has been a significant problem in the last decades. The main objective of this study was to assess the antimicrobial activities of sesame and sweet almond essential oils (EOs) alone and in dual combinations. Materials and Methods: The sesame oil was extracted from the heated sesame seeds at 35°C utilizing the cold pressing procedure, while almond oil was extracted at temperatures ranging from 50 to 70°C. Chemical constituents of the used EOs were determined via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), antimicrobial activity was detected using well-diffusion method, while antioxidant potential was assessed using 1,1-Diphenyl-2-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Results: The GC-MS analysis indicated that sesamin, sesamolin, β-sitosterol and campesterol represent the main components of sesame essential oil (EO), while β-sitosterol, glycidol oleate and vitamin E represent the main components of sweet almond EO. Some compounds such as 3-methylpentane, dodecane, (Z)-2-decenal; undec-2-enal, tetradecane, hexadecane, docosane, dihydrodehydrocostus lactone, α-tocopherol and squalene were detected in both sesame and sweet almond EOs. Almond EO was effective against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae compared to sesame EO. Less IC₅₀ value (28.19 μg/mL) of sweet almond EO than the IC₅₀ value (60.5 μg/mL) of sesame EO for DPPH scavenging activity was recorded. Molecular docking interaction indicated sesamin and β-sitosterol have enough potential to inhibit the proteins of K. pneumoniae (PDB: 8FFK) and E. faecalis (PDB: 2OMK). Conclusion: The EOs of sesame and sweet almonds have the potential to inhibit the tested microorganism in vitro and in silico.

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