Profiling the chemical content of Ficus lyrata extracts via UPLC-PDA-qTOF-MS and chemometrics

Abstract

This study attempts to elucidate the secondary metabolite profiles of Ficus lyrata leaves and fruits grown in Egypt. Non-targeted metabolite profiling via ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-qTOF-MS was used to identify various chemical classes in F. lyrata fruits and leaves (i.e. flavonoids, phenolic acids and fatty acids) analysed by chemometrics. A total of 72 metabolites were evaluated via a UPLC-qTOF-MS-based metabolomic study. Seventeen flavonoids were characterised and tentatively identified with the main constituents being catechins/procyanidins, O- and C-linked flavonoid glycosides. The major procyanidins were dimers and trimers comprising (epi)catechin and (epi)afzelechin units, whereas the predominant flavones were C-glycosides of luteolin and apigenin. Aside from these major flavonoid classes, a group of benzoic acids, caffeoylquinic acids, fatty acid and sphingolipids were also annotated. This study provides the most complete map for polyphenol distribution in F. lyrata leaves and fruits and the basis for future investigation of its fruits nutritional value or possible nutraceutical uses.

Keywords::

• Ficus lyrata
• metabolite profiling
• UPLC/MS
• flavonoids
• fatty acids
• PCA

Acknowledgements

Dr M.A. Farag thanks the Alexander von Humboldt foundation, Germany for financial support. We are grateful to Dr Christoph Böttcher for assistance with the UPLC-MS and Dr Steffen Neumann for providing R scripts for MS data analysis (Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Halle, Germany). Dr M.S. Abdelfattah is grateful to the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Helwan University for valuable assistance.