ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Food Chemistry
This article is part of the Research TopicAntioxidant Activities and Induction Production Approaches (Physical, Chemical and Biotechnological) of Plant-based Bioactive NutrientsView all 6 articles
Article Chemical Analysis, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Nardostachys jatamansi Essential Oil, and Computational Evaluation of Mechanisms
Provisionally accepted
- Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
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Abstract :Nardostachys jatamansi DC. (N. jatamansi) is a valued herb traditional Chinese medicine, historically employed to regulate qi flow, alleviateg pain, and enhance digestive function. Contemporary research have demonstrated that its essential oil (EO) exhibits broad spectrum of biological activities, including antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. This study aimed to characterize the chemical composition of essential oil extracted form Nardostachys jatamansi essential oil (NJEO) and to evaluate its antioxidant and antibacterial activities, complemented by computational analyses to elucidate underlying mechanisms. NJEO was obtained via hydrodistillation with a yield of 4.28%. Subsequent GC-MS analysis revealed 30 compounds, accounting for 99.61% of the total oil content. The major constituents were terpense (68.83%) and aromatic compounds (15.01%). In vitro antioxidant assays revealed significant radical sacvenging ativity against 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation (ABTS+), superoxide anion (O2•-) Notably, the superoxide scavenging capacity was superior to that of ascorbic acid (AA). NJEO demonstrated considerable antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) and Escherichia coli (E.coli). Molecular docking analysis indicated that the 2,4,5-Trifluoro-3-methoxybenzamide, N-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-, a key constituent, binds strongly to relevant antioxidant and antibacterial targets, offering a mechanistic explanation for the observed bioactivities. Collectively, These findings collectively suggest that NJEO holds promise as a natural source of both antioxidant and antimicrobial agents, with potential applications in pharmaceutical development and functional food formulations.
Keywords: Antibacterial, antioxidant, GC–MS, molecular docking, Nardostachys jatamansi essential oil
Received: 09 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhang, Qin, Zha, Zheng, Ji, Chen, Liu and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Taoshi Liu
Jianming Cheng
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