Enhanced Antimicrobial and Antidiabetic Activities of Matricaria chamomilla and Anastatica hierochuntica Extracts Toward Pathogenic Microorganisms: Phytochemical Profiling and Biomedical Applications

Abstract

This research examined the in vitro antibacterial, potential antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities of Matricaria chamomilla extract (MCE), Anastatica hierochuntica extract (AHE), and their combination against selected foodborne pathogens. Agar well diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC), as well as time-kill effect experiments, were applied to evaluate the antimicrobial characteristics. The combined extract showed better antibacterial qualities than the individual extracts. Results revealed that the tested microbes, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans, were among the studied pathogens, with inhibition zones ranging from 24 to 31 mm. By contrast, the inhibition zones of MCE and AHE were 20–26 mm and 19–23 mm, respectively. Furthermore, compared with MCE (150–275 µg/mL; 175–300 µg/mL) and AHE (200–350 µg/mL; 225–375 µg/mL), the combined extract showed reduced MIC (100–200 µg/mL) and MBC/MFC (125–225 µg/mL), indicating even greater antimicrobial efficacy. With an IC₅₀ of 24.44 µg/mL, the combined extract exhibited the greatest radical-scavenging activity in the DPPH experiment, whereas the corresponding values of IC₅₀ for MCE and AHE were 38.19 and 54.49 µg/mL, respectively. The combined extract showed the greatest inhibitory activity against both α-glucosidase and α-amylase. The combined extract showed the strongest and fastest bactericidal action in time-kill tests. Overall, the combined extract demonstrated enhanced, reliable, and repeatable in vitro antibacterial activity, as well as potential antioxidant and antidiabetic properties.