A comparative study on the extracts from the fruits of Ficus auriculata L.: GC-MS profiling, phytochemical composition, biological activities and in-silico ADMET study

Ficus auriculata L., commonly known as, “elephant ear fig” is a species of fig tree in Moraceae family and globally found in tropical and subtropical forests. The present comparative study investigated the GC-MS analysis, phytochemical composition, in vitro antioxidant assays and antidiabetic activity of methanol and hexane extracts from the fruits of Ficus auriculata which was collected from two different agro-climatic conditions in Uttarakhand, namely Almora (Hill region) and Haldwani (Tarai region). The GC-MS analysis of Almora unripe hexane fruit extract (AUFHE) and Haldwani unripe hexane fruit extract (HUFHE) gave rise to the characterization of two chemical profiles composed of 37 and 40 bioactive compounds with γ-sitosterol (15.46% and13.44%) as the most abundant component, respectively. Moreover, in Almora unripe methanol fruit extract (AUFME) and Haldwani unripe methanol fruit extract (HUFME), 24 and 23 bioactive compounds were characterized among which linoleic acid (71.41%) and hexadecadienoate (26.42%) were the most prevalent compounds, respectively. In view of the obtained results, HUFME exhibited prominent total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents. AUFME also showed potent antioxidant activity when using DPPH (2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity assay (IC50 =447.45 ± 0.53 µg/mL), whereas strong metal chelation assay was found for HUFHE (IC50= 502.07 ± 2.50 µg/mL). Furthermore, AUFME and HUFME displayed potent anti-diabetic activity. In addition, ADMET study predicted that F. auriculata could be considered an effective bioactive source of phytoconstituents for various biological efficacies. The observed pharmacological properties could be attributed to the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids and fatty acids in F. auriculata fruit.