Ficus carica Linn. is commonly referred as "Fig", grows in tropical and subtropical regions of India. In traditional medicine the roots are used in treatment of leucoderma and ringworms and its fruits which are sweet, have antipyretic, purgative, aphrodisiac properties and have shown to be useful in inflammations and paralysis [21]. F. carica has been reported to have numerous bioactive compounds such as arabinose, Earlier chemical examination of this plant have shown the presence of psoralen, bergapten, umbelliferone, campesterol, stigmasterol, fucosterol, fatty acids, 6-(2- methoxy-Z-vinyl)-7-methyl-pyranocoumarin and 9,19-cycloarlane triterpenoid as an anticancer and antiproliferative agent: 6-O-acyl-β-Dglucosyl -β-sitosterol, calotropenyl acetate, and lupeol acetate. In addition, several therapeutic effects have been shown for different parts of Ficus carica, such as hypoglycemia, cancer suppressive, anthelmintic [De-Amorin et al; 1999], hypotriglyceridemia hypocholestrolemia and bovine papilomatosis. The chloroform extract obtained from a decoction of Ficus carica leaves improved the blood cholesterol status in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats[22].Many neutraceuticals are not very popular but they are having great potential to produce certain pharmacological properties. Study of evidence based scientific reportings can become the foundation for further research keeping in view of the phytochemical constituents and their pharmacological responses. Ficus Carica is one such plant which has not grabbed considerable attention .This article was designed with an intention to provide complete review of its pharmacognostic details, phytochemical constituents and pharmacological activities.
Loading....