Novel multi-analytical and in silico investigation of poultry egg-derived bioactives: FTIR-ATR characterization, molecular docking, and mechanistic insights into wound-healing and anti-aging activities.

Abstract

Egg-derived oils are used in folk wound care, yet comparative, mechanism-oriented evaluation across poultry species and extraction routes is limited. Oils from quail, chicken, and goose eggs were produced by thermal rendering and solvent extraction; solvent extraction increased yield (chicken 6.5380%, goose 5.7027%) versus rendering (goose 4.3628%, quail 0.6700%). gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) showed fatty acid methyl esters dominated by methyl oleate (38.635-57.635%) and methyl hexadecanoate (24.543-26.920%), consistent with FTIR-ATR lipid bands. No radical scavenging activity was detected in the DPPH• and ABTS•+ assays, but selective enzyme inhibition was observed: hyaluronidase 18.54-34.69%, collagenase up to 52.81% (quail-extraction), and elastase up to 46.17% (chicken-extraction; EGCG 26.68%); tyrosinase inhibition was absent. In a scratch assay, 10 µg/mL oils increased closure to 80.43-100% by day 5 (control: 67.85%), whereas 30-100 µg/mL were cytotoxic. ICP-MS indicated essential minerals with sporadic heavy-metal signals, supporting purification before topical development. Docking supported preferential hydrophobic binding to hyaluronidase/collagenase pockets, aligning with bioassay selectivity and permeability predictions.