ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MARINE SPONGE TETILLA DACTYLOIDEA: A COMPREHENSIVE PHYTOCHEMICAL, IN-VITRO, IN-SILICO, AND ADMET STUDY

Marine sponge (Tetilla dactyloidea) of the family Tetillidae is an unexplored medicinal sponge. This marine sponge from the Demospongia class, and its active ingredients have a number of possible medical uses. The study was for the assessment of Phytochemical, GC-MS, and antimicrobial potential of the acetone extract of Tetilla dactyloidea. Antimicrobial activity of T. dactyloidea acetone extract (25 µg) in terms of zone of inhibition (ZOI) varied from 9 ± 1.33 mm, 0 mm, 0 mm, and 0 mm while, Pefloxacin (5µg) showed ZOI ranged from 18 ± 1.35 mm, 16 ± 0.87 mm, 19 ± 1.16 mm, and 22 ± 1.22 mm against tested bacteria E. coli, S. typhe, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus, respectively. Molecular docking demonstrated that compounds exhibited good binding affinity with the E. coli bacterial target. MD simulation demonstrated the stability of the top compounds complexed with the target proteins over 200 ns. All of the best compounds met the Lipinski rule and displayed traits found in medications. Thus, the current study suggests that the acetone extract of T. dactyloidea and its main phytocompounds can boost the bioactivity of its antibacterial action and may be a viable option for combating antibiotic drug resistance.