Phenolics from the roots of hairy fig (Ficus hirta Vahl.) exert prominent anti-inflammatory activity

The roots of hairy fig (Ficus hirta Vahl.), known as Cantonese ginseng, is widely used as a plant-derived popular food to improve fatigue resistance by Hakka people in southern China. In the current study, four new phenolics (17, 18, 22 and 24) along with twenty-five known congeners were isolated and purified from the roots of hairy fig. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and chemical degradation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the purified compounds were also evaluated. Results indicated that some phenolics showed moderate antioxidant activity compared to those of l-ascorbic acid in DPPH and superoxide anion radical scavenging capacity assay. Most of the isolated compounds exhibited pronounced inhibitory effects on the lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in murine macrophage RAW264.7. The results strongly demonstrated that the phenolics may be partially responsible for the roots of hairy fig’s anti-inflammatory activity.