Effect of hawan samagri used for the agnihotra against human pathogenic bacteria responsible for foodborne and airborne infections

The practice of performing hawan in India is not a new concept, it is old age practice. Nowadays people used to perform Hawan on several occasions such as housewarming ceremonies, childbirth, marriage, birthday, cremation, and other functions. While performing hawan there is customary to use hawan samagri made up of important medicinal herbs and wood which is responsible for purifying the air and reducing the load of airborne microorganisms and other pathogenic microorganisms. The present study investigated the role of medicinal herbs, cow dung cake, stems, cow ghee, and wood scraps used in hawan samagri against airborne and foodborne pathogenic microorganisms. The methanolic extract of hawan samagri was tested against foodborne and airborne pathogenic bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi, and Enterococcus faecalis. The methanolic extract of hawan samagri showed maximum activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae followed by Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, B. cereus, Salmonella typhi, B. subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The GC MS analysis of methanolic extract showed 12 peaks of a chemical compound that revealed the maximum concentration of cyclohexane-3-carboxylic acid and trimethylsilyl ester. The molecular docking of this molecule showed maximum activity against pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The binding energy of Cyclohexanone-3-carboxylic acid against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was reported − 3.7 and − 4.6 kcal/mol respectively.