3.12 Antituberculosis activity

#### 3.12.1 Leaf extracts

Colorimetric microplate-based assay of methanolic (80%) leaf extract exhibited effect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv with MIC value of 1600 μg/mL [2].

### 3.13 Anti-calpain activity

#### 3.13.1 Fruit extracts

Calpains are calcium-dependent enzymes that determine the fate of proteins through regulated proteolytic activity. These enzymes have been linked to the modulation of memory and are keys to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease [37]. Calpain activity was examined after treatment of cells with dry extracts. Fig extracts decreased the fluorescence of the fluorogenic calpain substrate tertbutoxycarbonyl-Leu-Metchloromethylaminocoumarin (t-boc-LM-CMAC) and consequently inhibited the activity of calpain. Fig extracts showed the same capacity to inhibit calpain as carob and holm oak acorn extracts. The incubation time (2, 4, and 6 h) and the concentrations tested (25, 100, and 250 μg/ml) had no effect on the inhibitory activity of calpain in the presence of fig extracts. After 2 h of treatment, the extracts already inhibited more than 50% for all the concentrations tested. This inhibitory activity of the studied extracts could be attributed to its

chemical composition that contains several antioxidant groups, especially phenolic compounds such as flavonoids and flavonols [7].

demonstrated in several in vitro and ex vivo tests. In addition, the use of new environmentally friendly extraction processes, such as ionic liquids or deep eutectic solvents, and the use of fig phytochemicals as additives for new food applications (nutraceuticals and functional foods) are highly researched topics in recent times. However, research on different alcoholic beverages derived from both parts of the plant, such as wine, liqueur, and spirit, is still scarce. These beverages represent an important source of sustenance for the local economy of different countries from the Mediterranean basin, so that their study could provide an improvement in the quality of the products and publicize the chemical and biological properties derived

Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Ficus carica L. Fruits, Leaves...

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86660

This work received financial support from the project INTERREG—MD.Net: When Brand Meets People. R. Rodríguez-Solana acknowledges the financial support from the Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal (Grant SFRH/BPD/

from their consumption.

Acknowledgements

Conflict of interest

Author details

Portugal

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Raquel Rodríguez Solana and Anabela Romano\*

\*Address all correspondence to: aromano@ualg.pt

provided the original work is properly cited.

Faculty of Sciences and Technology, MeditBio, University of Algarve, Faro,

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

103086/2014).
