Isolation and physicochemical characterization of Ficus reticulata fruit mucilage

The Ficus reticulata fruit mucilage is an edible fruit and its pulp is rich in mucilage. But there are no reports on isolation and characterization of F. reticulata fruit mucilage. Hence, the present study was designed to isolate, purify and characterization of F. reticulata fruit mucilage. F. reticulata fruit mucilage was extracted purified and identified by official methods. The isolated mucilage was characterized for physical, chemical and flow properties. The mucilage was further characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The F. reticulata fruits gave sufficient quantity of mucilage and it has good physical, chemical, and flow properties. The FTIR spectrum of F. reticulata fruit mucilage showed characteristic peaks. It was concluded that the F. reticulata fruit mucilage can be used as a binder and excipient in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Key words: Characterization, Ficus reticulata, isolation, mucilage