Phytochemicals of Euphorbia tirucalli and their Inhibitory Potential against Xanthomonas oryzae Ddl Enzyme: An In silico Evaluation for Potential Agrochemical

The Bacterial Rice Blight (BRB), caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), has had severe global health, social, and economic consequences due to its rapid transmission rate and lack of effective and targeted agricultural interventions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel anti-BRB repellants and therapeutics. In vitro studies have shown that Euphorbia tirucalli and its bioactive compounds have promising antimicrobial activity. However, their efficacy against the Xanthomonas oryzae Ddl enzyme, a key enzyme that acts as a protective barrier and replicator, is unknown. To address this gap, the researcher used bioinformatics, specifically molecular docking, to dock 8 (eight) phytochemicals from Euphorbia tirucalli onto the Xanthomonas oryzae Ddl enzyme and evaluated their drug-likeness and toxicity risk. The results indicate that Afzelin (4) has a strong binding affinity at -8.0 kcal/mol to the Ddl enzyme and meets the necessary criteria for drug-likeness and toxicity risk. These findings suggest that the plant compound could be a potential candidate for the development of anti-BRB repellants and therapeutics. Further studies are needed to explore its efficacy in vivo and its potential as an agrochemical agent for Bacterial Rice Blight.