Biological Properties of Eucalyptus globulus Oil and Eucalyptol, Chemical Composition and Molecular Docking

Background: Moroccans employ Eucalyptus globulus Labill., a medicinal herb, to cure a variety of ailments. This research aimed to evaluate the chemical constituents of Eucalyptus globulus essential oil (EGEO) to determine their composition and potential use as hemolytic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial agents. Methods: GC analysis was utilized to determine the composition of EGEO harvested in the province of Meknes. Using the disk diffusion technique, MIC, MBC, and MFC tests, antibacterial and antifungal activity were assessed against pathogenic microorganisms. DPPH, TAC, and FRAP experiments were used to evaluate the antioxidant potential of EGEO and Eucalyptol. The main chemical binding affinities were predicted by Molecular Docking analysis. GraphPad Prism (v8) was used to evaluate these findings using a Tukey and ANOVA analysis. Results: GC-MS revealed 27 components, including Eucalyptol (1,8-Cineole) (55.07%). Hemolysis recorded the greatest value, 8.16 ± 0.13. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest MIC values (1.25 mg/mL). Bacillus subtilis had a 65 mm inhibitory zone. The fungicidal effectiveness of EGEO and its major component varies according to the studied fungus strain. In terms of antioxidant characteristics, DPPH radical inhibition revealed that 1,8-Cineole has a higher IC50 (4.7 ± 0.5 µg/mL). The Total Antioxidant Capacity was 22 ± 0.02 mg AAE/g. FRAP analysis showed that Eucalyptol is more potent than EGEO. Conclusion: Antimicrobial and antioxidant studies support the use of EGEO and eucalyptol in traditional and therapeutic medicine, and show their numerous possible uses as natural preservatives for perfumes and foods, as well as anticancer agents due to their hemolytic capacity.