article · Molecules
Essential oil extracted from the aerial parts of star anise, Illicium verum, contains twenty-four identified chemical constituents, dominated by (E)-anethole, limonene, and alpha-pinene. Laboratory tests demonstrate antibacterial activity across eight bacterial strains to varying extents. In biofilm assessments using sub-inhibitory concentrations, purified trans-anethole outperforms the whole essential oil in preventing biofilm formation. Conversely, the whole essential oil demonstrates superior capacity in disrupting bacterial swarming, inhibiting Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility by thirty-eight percent at one hundred micrograms per millilitre. Computational modelling and pharmacokinetic profiling indicate favourable drug-likeness characteristics and strong binding interactions between the identified compounds and bacterial target enzymes linked to quorum sensing and antimicrobial mechanisms. These collective findings indicate that star anise essential oil serves as a candidate natural agent for controlling foodborne pathogenic bacterial contamination.
Foodborne pathogens present ongoing hazards to public health and cause significant spoilage across supply chains. Demonstrating how plant-derived extracts such as star anise essential oil interrupt bacterial communication, motility, and biofilm formation provides evidence for developing natural alternatives to synthetic antimicrobial agents, potentially improving food safety standards without relying entirely on traditional chemical preservatives.
The findings suggest potential applications as natural antimicrobial preservatives for the food processing and packaging sectors to prevent bacterial contamination. Target users include food manufacturers seeking bio-based shelf-life extenders. Because the evidence is limited to laboratory-scale distillation, in vitro bacterial assays, and computational modelling, this work sits at an early stage of research and requires formulation testing, sensory analysis, and food-matrix validation before commercial use.
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Illicium verum, or star anise, has many uses ranging from culinary to religious. It has been used in the food industry since ancient times. The main purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition, antibacterial, antibiofilm, and anti-quorum sensing activities of the essential oil (EO) obtained via hydro-distillation of the aerial parts of Illicium verum. Twenty-four components were identified representing 92.55% of the analyzed essential oil. (E)-anethole (83.68%), limonene (3.19%), and α-pinene (0.71%) were the main constituents of I. verum EO. The results show that the obtained EO was effective against eight bacterial strains to different degrees. Concerning the antibiofilm activity, trans-anethole was more effective against biofilm formation than the essential oil when tested using sub-inhibitory concentrations. The results of anti-swarming activity tested against P. aeruginosa PAO1 revealed that I. verum EO possesses more potent inhibitory effects on the swarming behavior of PAO1 when compared to trans-anethole, with the percentage reaching 38% at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. The ADME profiling of the identified phytocompounds confirmed their important pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness properties. The in silico study using a molecular docking approach revealed a high binding score between the identified compounds with known target enzymes involved in antibacterial and anti-quorum sensing (QS) activities. Overall, the obtained results suggest I. verum EO to be a potentially good antimicrobial agent to prevent food contamination with foodborne pathogenic bacteria.
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DOI: 10.3390/molecules28237691
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