Ficus carica L. (Moraceae)

Abstract

Fig tree is a flowering, mulberry family deciduous tree growing in India, Asia Minor, Iran, West Asia, and subtropics; also naturalized in North America. Fig has been known to ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Persians, and has been valued from prehistoric times for its nutritious fruits. It is mentioned in the sacred books of the Hebrews, early Greek and Latin writers, and has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. Hippocrates described it as aperient, emollient and nutritious, and being useful as an article of diet in phlegmatic affections. It carries off phlegm, and gravel in the kidneys or bladder, and removes obstruction of the liver and spleen, and it cures piles and gout. Both fresh and dried figs are important components of the Mediterranean diet, are laxative, and pectoral, and are used in catarrh of respiratory passages. Dried figs are carminative, laxative, nutritious, and beneficial for people with cold temperament, backache and urinary incontinence. Fresh fruits are sweet, wholesome and delicious; taken in moderate quantity they are digestive, laxative and nutritious. Excessive use leads to flatulence, enteralgia and diarrhea. A poultice of figs is used over gum boils and abscesses on the anus and vulva to hasten suppuration. In some rural areas of Iran fig tree latex is traditionally used as topical application for the treatment of warts. Latex is also traditionally used as a vermifuge in Central and South America. Monomer sugars predominate in figs, and sugars as well as organic acids contents are higher in dried figs; also, the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity are higher after drying. Its crude extracts have shown anticancer, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antimicrobial effects. Supplementation of diet with fig paste in Korean patients with functional constipation for 8-weeks, significantly improved abdominal discomfort and constipation. In a randomized study involving a small number of insulin-dependent Spanish diabetic patients with HbA1c of 7.6, supplementation of fig leaf decoction with breakfast to insulin treatment significantly lowered postprandial blood sugar levels without affecting the preprandial level, and significantly reduced the required insulin dose.