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University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy, Bulevar vojvode Petra Bojovića 1A , Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina
University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Forestry, Bulevar vojvode Petra Bojovića 1A , Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina
University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Save Mrkalja 14 , Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina
University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy, Bulevar vojvode Petra Bojovića 1A , Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy, Hajduk Veljkova 3 , Novi Sad , Serbia
University of East Sarajevo, Faculty of Technology, Department of Food Technology, Karakaj 34A , Zvornik , Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lemon essential oil is widely used in both commercial and domestic products. It consists of a mixture of volatile liposoluble compounds responsible for its characteristic fragrance and bioactive properties such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. The importance of lemon essential oil is even more significant when considering the increasing interest in natural products that offer positive effects on human health. In this study, lemon grown domestically in the area of Mostar, in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was used. The essential oil was extracted from the peel using the hydrodistillation method in a Clevenger apparatus, which is completely environmentally safe. The composition of the resulting essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS identified the presence of 18 constituents, of which the most abundant components in lemon essential oil were monoterpene olefins with a content of 95,97%. D-limonene was the main component, with a content of 63,48%, followed by β-pinene and γ-terpinene with content of 13, 3 % and 10, 42 % respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil was tested, demonstrating effectiveness against Staphylococcus aureus with a clear inhibitory zone in a diameter of 21 mm, which is considered as bacterial sensitivity to the testing substance. Molecular docking analysis revealed that all three principal compounds were able to bind to the DNA gyrase enzyme. Among them, d-limonene exhibited the lowest binding energy (-5.9 kcal/mol), which was comparable to that of ciprofloxacin (-5.9 kcal/mol), a well-known DNA gyrase inhibitor. The lemon essential oil also exhibited significant DPPH radical scavenging activity, highlighting its potential as an antioxidant. The results indicate that both the concentration and incubation time affect the antioxidant capacity of the essential oil. Our study results indicate that the antioxidant activity of lemon essential oil increases as the concentration rises, both after 20 minutes and 60 minutes of incubation. At the highest concentration of 150 mg/mL, LEO had a good DPPH free radical scavenging rate (76.0% for 20 min incubation time; 82.1% for 60 min incubation time).
This study was carried out within a project "Hydrodistillation and analysis of essential oils and hydrolates from medicinal and herbal plants from Herzegovina: Research on composition and effect as well as possible application in pharmacy and industry." No. 125 7064, financed by the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska.
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