Differentiation of Ficus deltoidea varieties and chemical marker determination by UHPLC-TOFMS metabolomics for establishing quality control criteria of this popular Malaysian medicinal herb

Background Ficus deltoidea Jack (Moraceae) is a plant used in Malaysia for various diseases including as a supplement in diabetes management. Morphology distinction of the 7 main varieties (var. angustifolia, var. bilobata, var. deltoidea, var. intermedia, var. kunstleri, var. motleyana and var. trengganuensis) is challenging due to the extreme leaf heterophylly and unclear varietal boundaries, making it difficult for quality control of F. deltoidea products.