The Potential Impact of Edible Fruit Extracts on Bacterial Nucleases in Preliminary Research-In Silico and In Vitro...

The extracts from fruits of Chaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. ex Spach (CJE), Cornus mas L. (CME), and Hippophaё rhamnoides L. (HRE) are known inhibitors of a variety of eukaryotic hydrolases, engaged in the digestion of fats and polysaccharides. However, there are no data on their potential interaction with the bacterial hydrolases participating in the replication of microbial nucleic acids. This analysis predicted the interaction of the most abundant constituents of HRE, CJE, and CME with the bacterial nucleases. The analysis covered the molecular docking of isorhamnetin glycosides, procyanidins C1 and B2, epicatechin, loganic acid, and cornuside with bacterial enzymes (Escherichia coli endonuclease 1, colicin E9, and ribonuclease H; or Staphylococcus aureus thermonuclease and nuclease SbcCD). The suggested complexes have been subjected to molecular mechanics with generalized Born and surface area solvation (MM/GBSA) calculations. The second aim was the in vitro evaluation of the influence of the CJE, HRE, and CME on the metabolic activity of bacterial biofilm of selected microbial strains, as well as fibroblasts (L929) and adenocarcinoma intestinal cells (Caco-2) toxicity. Among all extracts, CME showed the most relevant effect on the survival of planktonic cells and biofilm of E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As a result of in silico studies, most virtual hits were predicted to inhibit the proteins under investigation, except for procyanidin C1. Further research on the direct interaction of phytochemicals and selected enzymes in vitro is required and challenged.