| Summary: | The research was conducted to optimize the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) process for the extraction of bioactive components from fruits of Ficus racemosa, which is considered as an underutilized and extreme source of various polyphenols. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used and the influence of different variables i.e., pH (3.5–5.5), microwave power (360–720 W) and time (30–90 s) on the extraction of bio-active compounds, viz. ascorbic acid, total phenols, flavonoids, tannins as well as the antioxidant activity of the extract was studied. The maximum phytochemical attributes were found in the optimized conditions, i.e. 3.5 pH, 360.55 W microwave power and 30 s time. No specific cluster was observed during cluster analysis of the whole data obtained which depicted the individual and significant effect of all variables under study on MAE extraction of bio-active compounds. The optimized conditions were further analyzed using HPLC-DAD, that identified and quantified the presence of ascorbic acid (31.19 ± 1.05mg/100 mL), gallic acid (35.14 ± 1.35 mg/100 mL), catechin (23.49 ± 0.91 mg/100 mL), tannic acid (14.06 ± 1.19 mg/100 mL), chlorogenic acid (50.86 ± 1.3 mg/100 mL), ferulic acid (22.18 ± 1.08 mg/100 mL), quercetin (36.96 ± 1.4 mg/100 mL). The studies indicated that F. racemosa can be successfully utilized for the extraction of phytochemicals using microwave-assisted extraction method, which can be further used in food and pharmaceutical industries.
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