Phytochemical Profile and Biological Activities of  Ficus carica Latex from the West Bank, Palestine

Faud Al-Rimawi; Aya Mahamda; Wadie Sultan; Michel Hanania

doi:10.14233/ajchem.2026.35994

Issue

Vol. 38 No. 6 (2026): Vol. 38 Issue No 6, 2026

Issue Published : 31 May 2026

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Phytochemical Profile and Biological Activities of Ficus carica Latex from the West Bank, Palestine

https://doi.org/10.14233/ajchem.2026.35994

Faud Al-Rimawi

Department of Chemistry, Al-Quds University, Abu Dies, Palestine

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9341-6993

Aya Mahamda

Department of Chemistry, Al-Quds University, Abu Dies, Palestine

Wadie Sultan

Department of Chemistry, Al-Quds University, Abu Dies, Palestine

Michel Hanania

Department of Applied Sciences, Bethlehem University, Bethlehem, Palestine

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5980-0772

Corresponding Author(s) : Michel Hanania

mhanania@bethlehem.edu

Asian Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 38 No. 6 (2026): Vol. 38 Issue No 6, 2026
Article Published : 31 May 2026

Abstract

Ficus carica, commonly known as the fig tree, is widely cultivated across many regions of the world, particularly in the Middle East, due to its nutritional, medicinal and economic importance. The latex of this tree is a milky white sap that can be found in all tissues, particularly the unripen leaves and fruits. In this study, fig latex collected from the West Bank of Palestine was extracted using 100% ethanol, 70% ethanol, 80% methanol and ethyl acetate. Antioxidant activity assessed by the DPPH assay showed high inhibition for 80% methanol (79.5 ± 1.4%) and 70% ethanol (71.1 ± 1.5%), moderate inhibition for 100% ethanol (66.3 ± 1.6%) and low inhibition for ethyl acetate (20.2 ± 1.3%), compared with vitamin C (94.0 ± 1.5%). Antibacterial testing revealed activity of the 70% ethanol extract against Escherichia coli only, with no activity against Staphylococcus aureus or Staphylococcus epidermidis. HPLC analysis identified gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, ellagic acid, rutin, quercetin and trace levels of sinapic acid and chrysin.

Keywords

Fig tree latex Antioxidant activity Antibacterial activity HPLC analysis

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Al-Rimawi, F.; Mahamda, A.; Sultan, W.; Hanania, M. Phytochemical Profile and Biological Activities of Ficus Carica Latex from the West Bank, Palestine. ajc 2026, 38, 1613-1618.

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S. Mawa, K. Husain, and I. Jantan, Evid.-Based Complement. Altern. Med., 2013, 974256 (2013); https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/974256

M.I. Barolo, N. Ruiz Mostacero and S.N. López, Food Chem., 164, 119 (2014); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.04.112

S. Radwan, G. Handal, F. Rimawi and M. Hanania, Int. J. Pharm. Tech. Res., 13, 329 (2020); https://doi.org/10.20902/IJPTR.2019.130404

M.Y. Alzahrani, A.I. Alshaikhi, J.S. Hazzazi, J.R. Kurdi and M.F. Ramadan, Food Safety Health, 2, 179 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh3.12034

M. Trad, C. LeBourvellec, B. Gaaliche, C. Renard and M. Mars, Int. J. Food Prop., 17, 491 (2013); https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2011.642447

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T.A. Abid and Kh.A. Ali, Iraqi J. Vet. Sci., 28, 49 (2014); https://doi.org/10.33899/ijvs.2014.89471

I. Pal, Int. J. Adv. Res. (Indore), 8, 876 (2020); https://doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/12227

G.J. Martínez, Dominguezia, 24, 27 (2008).

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S.A. Hashemi, S. Abediankenari, M. Ghasemi, Y. Yousefzadeh, M. Azadbakht and A.A. Dehpour, Iran. Red Crescent Med. J., 13, 272 (2011).

H. Soltana, A. Pinon, Y. Limami, Y. Zaid, L. Khalki, N. Zaid, D. Salah, U.Y. Sabitaliyevich, A. Simon, B. Liagre and M. Hammami, Cell. Mol. Biol., 65, 6 (2019); https://doi.org/10.14715/cmb/2019.65.6.2

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M.A. Auda, T. Elbashiti and S. Alghuff, An-Najah Univ. J. Res. A, 37, 21 (2023); https://doi.org/10.35552/anujr.a.37.1.2059

I. Ali, T. Zahid, H.M.A. Rehman and Amirullah, Pak. J. Med. Cardiol. Rev., 4(3), 708 (2025).

N.-A. Coman, M. Babota, I. Nadasan, A. Nicolescu, A.R. Pitaru, R. Stefanescu, A. Mocan, O. Frumuzachi and C. Tanase, Appl. Sci., 13, 10184 (2023); https://doi.org/10.3390/app131810184

F.J. Álvarez-Martínez, E. Barrajón-Catalán and V. Micol, Biomedicines, 8, 405 (2020); https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8100405

M. Balouiri, M. Sadiki and S.K. Ibnsouda, J. Pharm. Anal., 6, 71 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpha.2015.11.005

R. Aslan, Cumhuriyet Univ. Tip Fak. Derg., 46, 253 (2024); https://doi.org/10.7197/cmj.1560852

H. Lazreg-Aref, B.H. Salah, C. Karima, F. Jean, A. Abdelwaheb and S. Mahjoub, Pak. J. Pharm. Sci., 23, 53 (2010).

R. Ghanimi, A. Ouhammou, Y. El Atki, M. El Hassan Bouchari and M. Cherkaoui, Ethiop. J. Health Sci., 32, 1231 (2022); https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhs.v32i6.21

S. Hemwimon, P. Pavasant and A. Shotipruk, Sep. Purif. Technol., 54, 44 (2007); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2006.08.014

I.S. Che Sulaiman, M. Basri, H.R. Fard Masoumi, W.J. Chee, S.E. Ashari and M. Ismail, Chem. Cent. J., 11, 54 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1186/s13065-017-0285-1

Author biographies is not available.