Potential of Neolignan from Piper Crocatum as Antimicrobial Against Pathogenic Oral Microbes and Its Prospects as an Oral Medication
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48048/tis.2026.11608Keywords:
Red betel (Piper crocatum), Neolignan, Antimicrobial, Oral Microbes, ADMET, Drug likeness analysis, In vitro, In silicoAbstract
Red Betel (Piper crocatum) is one of the potential medicinal plants in several traditional medicines, one of which is in the treatment of microbial dental and oral infections. This activity comes from the presence of active secondary metabolite compounds such as neolignan groups which have unique and diverse structures and activities. The aim of this study was to isolate antimicrobial active compounds from red betel leaves and predict their inhibitory mechanism against DNA ligase and lanosterol 14α demethylase enzymes. This study was conducted by isolating red betel leaf extract using column chromatography method in a bioassay guided. The compounds obtained were analysed using UV-Vis, IR, NMR, MS and their antimicrobial activity was tested in vitro and in silico against S. mutans, S. sanguinis, E. faecalis bacteria, and C. albicans fungi. Two compounds were successfully isolated from P. crocatum leaves, namely crocatin B (1) and crocatin A (2). crocatin B (1) was found to be capable of inhibiting the growth of S. mutans ATCC 25175, S. sanguinis ATCC 10556 and E. faecalis ATCC 29212. crocatin A demonstrated inhibitory activity against S. sanguinis. The binding affinity of crocatin B (1) and crocatin A (2) to the DNA ligase enzyme was –6.14 and –7.27 kcal/mol, respectively, while the binding affinity of crocatin B (1) and crocatin A (2) to lanosterol 14α demethylase was –7.91 and –9.04 kcal/mol, respectively. It is evident from the analysis of pharmacokinetic (ADMET) parameters that both crocatin B (1) and crocatin A (2) demonstrate a satisfactory alignment with the predicted pharmacokinetic parameters. In the context of drug likeness analysis, crocatin B and crocatin A do not demonstrate any violation of the established parameters and are thus classified within the toxicity class 4 category. The data demonstrate the potential of crocatin B (1) and crocatin A (2) as antimicrobials against oral pathogenic microbes, as evidenced by in vitro and in silico studies.
HIGHLIGHTS
- crocatin A and crocatin B were successfully isolated from red betel leaves.
- This first report on the antimicrobial activity of crocatin A and B against oral pathogenic microbes (in vitro)
- crocatin A and B have the potential to inhibit the enzymes DNA ligase and lanosterol 14α-demethylase (in silico).
- ADMET studies and drug-likeness analysis indicate that crocatin A and B can be used as candidate drug ingredients.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
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