Terfezia claveryi and Terfezia boudieri extracts: An antimicrobial and molecular assay on clinical isolates associated with eye infections

Background: Ocular infections are capable of spreading to different anatomical sites of the eyes and, if not appropriately treated, can lead to blindness. The emergence of difficult to treat microbial infections has led to the search of alternatives from natural sources. Objectives: The antimicrobial effects of Terfezia claveryi and Terfezia boudieri (T. boudieri) against bacteria isolates associated with eye infections and their molecular mechanism were investigated. Materials and Methods: Crude aqueous and methanolic extracts, including fractions of chloroform, petroleum, and ethyl acetate of T. claveryi and T. boudieri, were used for the investigation. Bacterial isolation and identification were carried out using basic microbiological and biochemical techniques. scanning electron microscopy.(SEM) and molecular docking were used to adduce possible antimicrobial mechanism of these extracts and their fractions. Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus hominis, Staphylococcus lugdunensis, Serratia odorifera, Serratia liquefaciens, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Proteus mirabililis, Kocuria kristinae, Kocuria rosea, and Micrococcus luteus were isolated from patients with ocular infections. Results: Isolates were resistant to benzylpenicillin (78.0%), rifampicin (57.0%), tetracycline (56.0%), clindamycin (33.3%), and tigecycline (24.0%). Furthermore, the percentage resistance to gentamicin and ciprofloxacin was 13.0% each. All isolates were susceptible to extracts/fractions of T. claveryi and T. boudieri. Docking analysis showed binding with surface protein Sortase A of Staphylococcus aureus, indicating that stigmasterol, the active compound in both Terfezia species, interacted with valine amino acid 110. SEM imaging showed morphological alterations in treated isolated Staphylococcal species. Conclusion: Therefore, extracts of both Terfezia species have demonstrated the potential to possess antibacterial activity, which can be further exploited for clinical use.