Polyphenolic Content and In Vitro Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Leaf Fractions from a Bulgarian Fig Cultivar (Ficus carica L.)

The fig tree (Ficus carica L.) is a valuable medicinal and food crop known for its rich content of biologically active compounds. The present study aims to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as the in vitro anti-inflammatory potential of fractions (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and aqueous) obtained from the leaves of a Bulgarian fig cultivar. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were determined spectrophotometrically and expressed as mg GAE/g extract and mg QE/g extract, respectively. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using the inhibition of albumin denaturation (IAD) assay and expressed as IC₅₀ values (µg/mL). The results demonstrated significant variations among the different fractions. The ethyl acetate fraction (EtOAc) exhibited the highest phenolic (458.79 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (219.66 mg QE/g) contents, followed by the butanol (BuOH; TPC: 64.70 mg GAE/g; TFC: 40.96 mg QE/g) and aqueous fractions (H₂O; TPC: 59.75 mg GAE/g; TFC: 11.64 mg QE/g). Flavonoids were not detected in the n-hexane (n-H) and chloroform (CHCl₃) fractions. In the inhibition of albumin denaturation assay, the lipophilic n-hexane fraction demonstrated the highest anti-inflammatory activity with the lowest IC₅₀ value (27.54 µg/mL), followed by the ethyl acetate (30.74 µg/mL), butanol (32.11 µg/mL), and chloroform (37.47 µg/mL) fractions. The aqueous fraction showed no inhibitory activity. In conclusion, extraction with solvents of varying polarity enables the effective fractionation of bioactive compounds from fig leaves. The lipophilic and ethyl acetate fractions possess pronounced anti-inflammatory potential, making the Bulgarian fig cultivar a promising source of natural biologically active substances.