Chemotaxonomic diversity of three Ficus species: Their discrimination using chemometric analysis and their role in combating oxidative stress

Background: Genus Ficus (Moraceae) constitutes more than 850 species and about 2000 varieties and it acts as a golden mine that could afford effective and safe remedies combating many health disorders. Objectives: Discrimination of Ficus cordata, Ficus ingens, and Ficus palmata using chemometric analysis and assessment of their role in combating oxidative stress. Materials and Methods: Phytochemical profiling of the methanol extracts of the three Ficus species and their successive fractions was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Their discrimination was carried out using the obtained spectral data applying chemometric unsupervised pattern-recognition techniques, namely, principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. In vitro hepatoprotective and antioxidant evaluation of the samples was performed using human hepatocellular carcinoma cells challenged by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄). Results: Altogether, 22 compounds belonging to polyphenolics, flavonoids, and furanocoumarins were identified in the three Ficus species. Aviprin is the most abundant compound in F. cordata while chlorogenic acid and psoralen were present in high percentages in F. ingens and F. palmata, respectively. Chemometric analyses showed that F. palmata and F. cordata are more closely related chemically to each other rather than F. ingens. The ethyl acetate fractions of all the examined species showed a marked hepatoprotective efficacy accounting for 54.78%, 55.46%, and 56.42% reduction in serum level of alanine transaminase and 56.82%, 54.16%, and 57.06% suppression in serum level of aspartate transaminase, respectively, at 100 μ g/mL comparable to CCl₄-treated cells. Conclusion: Ficus species exhibited a notable antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity owing to their richness in polyphenolics and furanocoumarins.