Antimicrobial evaluation of Cardiospermum halicacabum L. leaf fractions and its usage in active bioactive film formation for shelf-life enhancement in fresh-cut fruits

Food wrapping plays a critical role in maintaining the superior quality, protection, and preservation of food commodities by preventing contamination and spoilage. The current study investigated the biological potential, chromatographic profiling, molecular docking, and simulation studies of Cardiospermum halicacabum L. leaf fractions. Furthermore, the bioactive fraction of C. halicacabum was incorporated with chitosan and pectin matrices (Chi/Pec/CF) to develop an innovative antioxidative and antibacterial edible film for packaging fresh-cut fruit. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were estimated using different solvent extracts (petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethanol). Among these, the ethanol extract exhibited the highest free radical scavenging activity and the strongest antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, bioactivity-guided fractionation with antimicrobial activity was performed using column chromatography. The bioactive fraction was subjected to GC–MS analysis, identifying 27 phytocomponents, which were subsequently evaluated by docking analysis against DNA gyrase B from S. aureus and dihydrofolate reductase from E. coli. The results indicated that three compounds exhibited higher binding affinities than the reference compounds. The docking scores of Hit 1 (4′-pentylbicyclohexyl-4-carboxamide) were −9.57 and −16.33 kcal/mol, Hit 2 (2-formyl-9-[beta-d-ribofuranosyl] hypoxanthine) were −10.95 and −15.00 kcal/mol, and Hit 3 (2-hydroxymethyl-9-[beta-d-ribofuranosyl] hypoxanthine) were −11.18 and −14.80 kcal/mol against the respective target proteins. Moreover, the overall bioactive fraction was used to develop the Chi/Pec/CF film as a packaging material, and it was evaluated for extending the shelf life of fresh apple slices stored for 6 days at 4 °C. Overall, the results highlight the potential of these composite films as promising food packaging materials owing to their antimicrobial, antioxidative, and biodegradable properties.