Antibacterial prophylaxis and molecular docking studies of ketone and ester compounds isolated from Cyperus rotundus L. against Aeromonas veronii

Microbial infection outbreaks and the indiscriminate use of therapeutants, and other chemicals are causing an inevitable economic loss in the aquaculture industry. There is an ample research on plant-derived antimicrobial agents that can prevail over microbial resistance. The inflorescence of an invasive aquatic weed, Cyperus rotundus, was examined for its antibacterial properties against Aeromonas veronii in this study. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of lead compounds isolated from an antioxidant-rich purified methanol fraction was 31.25 µg/ml against the fish pathogen. Pre-feeding compound-based feed to experimentally challenged catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, resulted in a cumulative survival probability of 85% against A. veronii infection, compared to 10% in untreated challenged fish. Curative outcomes were also obtained from haematological and histopathological investigations. Compared to the conventional antibiotic, Oxytetracycline (−259.95 kcal/mol), the isolated ketone compound, 2-tert-Butyl-9, 10-anthraquinone (−267.14 kcal/mol), exhibited the most favourable docking with aerolysin. This study is the first to report on Cyperus inflorescence's prophylactic antibacterial activity against one of the most prevalent fish pathogens.