Discriminating Factors for Ficus deltoidea Jack Varieties by HPTLC coupled with Chemometrics

Ficus deltoidea Jack (FD) is a highly potential herb. However, there is serious confusion on selecting the right plant as FD occurs in several varieties. In this study, a high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed to determine the discriminating factors of FD varieties. Eight varieties of methanol extract, five varieties of water extract and marker compounds, vitexin and isovitexin were analysed. Chemometric analysis; principal component (PCA), hierarchical cluster (HCA) and discriminant (DA) on HPTLC Rf value were performed. For methanol extracts, total variance of PCA score was 66.78% and clustered apart from each other. Total variance of water extract was 82.25%, which grouped into three clusters. HCA analysis produced three clusters for both types of extracts. Discriminant analysis revealed that methanol and water extracts were 100% discriminated. This finding suggests that the discriminant factors between methanol extracts were unidentified compounds at Rf value of 0.51, 0.72 and isovitexin. Meanwhile, isovitexin and vitexin were identified as discriminant factors for water extract

APPLICATION OF HPTLC AND FTIR PROFILINGCOUPLED WITH CHEMOMETRICS FOR THE DIFFERENTIATION OF THE VARIETIES OFFICUS DELTOIDEAJACK

Objective: The aims of this study were to identify and evaluate the chemical markers of Ficus deltoidea Jack (FD)varieties namely var. deltoidea, var. trengganuensis, var. kunstleri, var. motleyana, var. intermedia, var. borneensis, var. bilobata and var. angustifolia by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and to discriminate between the varieties based on Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) data. Methods: Methanol extracts of eight varieties and water extracts of five varieties were subjected to HPTLC and FTIR fingerprinting analysis. Quantification of markers (vitexin and isovitexin) was performed by HPTLC. Cluster analysis of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was employed to discriminate between the varieties based on their FTIR data. Results: Two markers, vitexin and isovitexin, were found in all of the varieties, but their contentswere varied in the different samples.Cluster analysis (PCA and HCA) was employedto discriminate between the varieties based on their FTIR data. Clear separation between the methanol extracts of the varieties was observed, whereas the discrimination of the water extracts of the varieties showed some disparities. Conclusion:The findings indicate that HPTLC combined with FTIR coupled with chemometricanalysis isa reliable analytical tool for the identificationand discrimination of Ficus deltoideavarieties. Keywords:Ficus deltoidea Jack, HPTLC, FTIR profiling, vitexin, isovitexi