Secondary Metabolites Profiling, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Properties of Commiphora gileadensis L. Leaves, Seeds, Callus, and Cell Suspension Extracts

Commiphora gileadensis L. is an important endangered medicinal plant that belongs to the family Burseraceae. In this study, C. gileadensis callus culture was established successfully using mature leaves as explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with 24.50 μM of indole butyric acid (IBA) and 2.22 μM 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) (callus induction media). The obtained callus was maintained on MS medium supplemented with 16.11 μM naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) in combination with 6.66 μM BAP, which resulted in a substantial increase in callus fresh and dry weights. The cell suspension culture was established successfully using liquid callus induction media supplemented with 3.0 mg·L⁻¹ proline. Thereafter, the chemical constituents of different C. gileadensis methanolic extracts (callus, cell suspension, leaves, and seeds) were profiled, and their cytotoxic and antimicrobial properties were investigated. The LC-MS GNPS analyses were applied for chemical profiling of the methanolic plant extracts, and several natural products were identified, including flavonols, flavanones, and flavonoids glycosides, with two unusual families that included puromycin, 10-hydroxycamptothecin, and justicidin B. The methanolic extracts have shown selective antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties against different microbes and cancer cell lines. For instance, leaf extract showed the highest zone of inhibition for Staphylococcus aureus, while cell suspension culture was effective against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. All extracts showed selective activity against A549 cell lines for the cytotoxicity assay, while the leaf extract had a broad cytotoxic effect against all tested cell lines. This study revealed that C. gileadensis callus and cell suspension cultures can be employed to increase the in vitro formation of biologically active compounds that may have cytotoxicity and antibacterial action against different cancer cell lines and bacterial species. Further studies are required to isolate and identify such constituents that corroborate the observed activities.