Influence of solvent polarity on extraction yield, chemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and molecular docking analysis of Baccaurea lanceolata seed oil

Abstract

Baccaurea lanceolata (Miq.) Müll.Arg., locally known as liposu, is an indigenous Bornean fruit species whose seeds are commonly discarded despite potential bioactive value. To address the limited scientific evidence on B. lanceolata seed oil (BLSO), this study provides a comparative evaluation of how solvent polarity influences its yield, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) chemical profile, in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, and in silico molecular interactions. BLSO was obtained by Soxhlet extraction using ethanol (EtOH), butanol (BuOH), petroleum ether (PE), and hexane (Hex). Antioxidant activity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays, while antimicrobial activity was assessed by disc diffusion against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Molecular docking was performed on 2-methyl-2-dodecanol using chloramphenicol as the reference ligand. BuOH produced the highest oil yield (9.75 ± 0.05%), whereas Hex yielded the lowest (5.56 ± 0.15%). GC–MS analysis tentatively identified 61–84 compounds across extracts, with 2-methyl-2-dodecanol predominating in most extracts. PE and Hex exhibited the lowest IC50 values in the DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. BuOH showed the largest inhibition zones against S. aureus, E. faecalis, and K. pneumoniae EtOH showed the largest inhibition zone against A. baumannii among the BLSO extracts. Docking analysis provided supportive evidence of potential ligand–protein interactions but did not confirm antimicrobial efficacy. These findings suggest that BLSO is a potential source of bioactive compounds, although further GC–MS validation, MIC/MBC determination, toxicity assessment, oxidative stability analysis, and scale-up studies are required before practical application can be proposed.