Purification and characterization of a potentially novel polysaccharide FMP-2 from Ficus microcarpa fruit: comparative extraction, LC-QTOF-MS monosaccharide profiling, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactivities.

Ficus fruit polysaccharides were extracted from four species (F. racemosa, F. microcarpa, F. amplissima, and F. auriculata) using hot-water, enzymatic, ultrasonication, and ultrasonic-enzyme-assisted methods, representing the first comparative extraction-purification framework applied to this nutritionally neglected indigenous resource. The maximum polysaccharide content was obtained from F. auriculata (3.55%) and F. microcarpa (3.45%), with hot-water extraction proving to be the most effective. F. microcarpa showed outstanding carbohydrate content (835.46 mg GE/g extract), low secondary metabolite background, and the strongest in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and ECM enzyme-inhibitory activities. Two-step DEAE ion exchange and Sephadex G-100 purification yielded FMP-2 as a chromatographically enriched fraction (83.06% carbohydrate purity). LC-QTOF-MS resolved the compositionally diverse framework of the 19 monosaccharides. 1D 1H and 13C NMR revealed two distinct anomeric resonances (δC 98.97 and 97.60) provisionally assigning FMP-2 as a potentially novel α-linked heteropolysaccharide producing a pyranose ring framework, supporting its potential for functional food and nutraceutical applications.