Comparative LC-MS/MS-based molecular networking, DNA fingerprinting, and in vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of three Egyptian Ficus cultivars

Ficus species (Moraceae) have been used for nutrition and traditional medicine, and it is believed that plants from this family are phytochemically abundant and serve as an endless source of natural products. As a result of the inherent complexity of the plant metabolomes and the fact that these Ficus species chemical space has not yet been fully decoded, it is still difficult to characterize their phytochemistry. Therefore, in this study, we suggest the use of the molecular networking to elucidate the chemical classes existing in leaves of three different Ficus species (F. deltoidei Jack, F. drupacea Thunb and F. sycomorus L.) and highlight the importance of molecular networking in examining the chemotaxonomy of these plants. By using computational tools, 90 metabolites were annotated from different classes of metabolites, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, furanocoumarins, fatty acids and terpenoids. In instant, phenolic acids were detected as the main class present in the three studied species. Flavonoids-C-glycosides, flavonoids-O-glycosides and isoflavonoids were mainly present in F. drupacea and F. sycomorus, while furanocoumarins were proposed in F. sycomorus. Vomifoliol-based sesquiterpenes were proposed in F. deltoidei. The chemotaxonomic differentiation agreed with the DNA fingerprinting using SCOT and ISSR markers. F. deltoidei, in particular, had a divergent chemical fingerprint as well as a different genotype. Chemotype differentiation using chemical fingerprints, in conjunction with the proposed genetic markers, creates an effective identification tool for the quality control of the raw materials and products derived from those three Ficus species. As well, F. drupacea exploited the most potent inhibition of H. pylori with MIC of 7.81 µg/ mL compared with clarithromycin. Overall, molecular networking provides a promising approach for the exploration of the chemical space of plant metabolomes and the elucidation of chemotaxonomy.