Phytochemical Profiling of Ficus religiosa Using Solvent Extractions with Antimicrobial Assay and Antioxidant Analysis

Ficus religiosa (L.) Roxb.,the Peepal tree, a large and evergreen medicinal plant of the sacred fig family, has many therapeutic uses in traditional medicine. In the present investigation, we conducted a qualitative and quantitative phytochemical profile of F. religiosa leaf extracts and determined the in vitro antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities of the extracts, thus providing a scientific basis for its ethnomedicinal use. Sequential extractions of both the Leaf and Stem were performed with polar solvents in following order: distilled water, followed by methanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate for 4 h each. Results: Qualitative screening detected high amounts of tannins and phenols, especially in methanolic and aqueous extracts, whereas saponins, steroids, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, and coumarins were also present. A marker for all solvents but concentrated, alkaloids, anthraquinones, and anthocyanins were also absent across the board. The total phenolic, tannin, and flavonoid contents, as determined by quantitative spectrophotometric analysis, were 8.68 mg/g (R² = 0.9443), 506 mg/g (R²=0.9817), and 47.8 mg/g, respectively (R²=0.9462). Antibacterial activity tested using the agar well diffusion method showed low inhibition zones (0.1–0.3 mm) only for the methanolic extracts of four bacterial strains, with Serratia marcescens being the most sensitive, followed by Pseudomonas putida, and Enterobacter cloacae. DMSO and methanol also showed antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger at 4 mm and 1 mm, respectively. Antioxidant activity (FRAP method) showed the highest absorbance at 60 µl concentration (O.D. = 0.604). Together, these findings highlight the potential of F. religiosa as an excellent source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical standardization and drug development.