Abstract:
Introduction: Ficus sycomorus (F. sycomorus), also known as fig-mulberry belonging to the
family of Moraceae. It is locally named as “Bamba‖ in Amharic. The plant contains different
groups of biologically active compounds which are responsible for the biological activity. It has
several medicinal and culinary uses. Objectives: This study is aimed at investigating
phytochemicals, evaluating their in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activities, and analyzing
the GC-MS profile of essential oils in the stem bark of F. sycomorus L. Methodology: The stem
bark of F. sycomorus L was collected, air dried, and successively extracted with petroleum ether,
ethyl acetate, and methanol, and the extracts were screened for their chemical constituents and
studied there in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The antimicrobial activity of the
plant extracts was assayed using the agar plate disc diffusion and also antioxidant activity of
plant extracts was assayed using DPPH assay. The essential oils were extracted using the hydro
distillation method, and their chemical compositions were characterized using GC-MS. Result:
The qualitative phytochemical analysis results revealed the presence of terpenoids, steroids,
phenol, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, and coumarins. The total phenolic content (TPC) and
total flavonoid content (TFC) of the extracts were also determined. As a result, the TPC of
methanol extract was found to be 45.61 mg GAE/g, and the TFC was 6.006 mg QE/g while the
TPC of ethyl acetate extract was found to be 39.34 mg GAE/g and the TFC was 3.021 mg QE/g.
The antibacterial activity study of methanol extract was better than that of ethyl acetate. The
zone of inhibition for methanol extract was varied from 0-11 mm whereas for ethyl acetate
extract it was varied from 0-9 mm. the maximum zone of inhibition of the extract (11 and 9 mm)
was recorded at 40 mg/mL. Antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate and methanol crude extracts was
also evaluated by DPPH assay, and the results showed inhibitory concentration (IC 50) values
of methanol extract was 0.10065 and 0.13354 mg/mL ethyl acetate extract. GC-MS analysis of
essential oils gave 28 compounds. Terpenoids, phenols, and esters were the major components of
essential oil. Conclusion, the methanol extract had become higher in all parameters such as
antioxidant activities, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antibacterial activity
than the ethyl acetate extracts. This result partly explains why solvent polarity has a significant
effect on the extracted materials of a given sample.
Key words: Total phenolic content, Total flavonoid content, Antibacterial, Phytochemical
analysis, and Antioxidant.