Ficus carica / Vijg

De vijg is de vrucht van de vijgenboom "Ficus carica" uit de moerbeifamilie (Moraceae). De vrucht is van oorsprong vrij droog en zoet van smaakDe wilde vijg produceert niet eenmaal, maar driemaal per jaar bloemen en vruchten. Aan de buitenzijde lijkt de bloem nog het meest op een onrijpe groene vrucht. Zij is gevormd uit de tot een harde schil peervormig uitgegroeide bloembodem (syconium). Aan de binnenzijde bevinden zich in een holle ruimte de werkelijke bloemetjes; de vrouwelijke onderin, de mannelijke boven bij de zeer kleine opening. De bevruchting van de vijg vindt plaats door een kleine galwesp (Blastophaga psenes) die door de opening naar binnen kan dringen. Na bevruchting ontwikkelen de vrouwelijke bloemen hun zaden. De vijg gaat rijpen, verandert van kleur en geur en wordt zacht, ook de schil. Het vruchtvlees is groen of rood, smaakt aangenaam zoet en bevat een heleboel kleine zaadjes.

Dodonaeus over Cracht ende werckinghe van de vijg

A Die versche ende groene Vijghen/ voeden meer dan andere vruchten/ maer sy maken oock winden ende opblasinghen in den buyck/ ende doen lichten camerganck hebben.

B Die selve Vijghen vercoelen oock die hitte ende verslaen seer den dorst/ maer te veel inghenomen maken sy die maghe cranck ende weeck/ ende doen die lust van eten vergaen.

C Die drooghe Vijghen voeden meer dan die versche/ maer tvoetsel dat sy aen brenghen en es niet seer goet/ want die vele Vijghen eten worden vol wormen ende luysen. (commentaar Maurice: vreemd, want vijgen worden nu juist als wormdrijvend beschouwd. Mogelijk een vorm van signatuurleer, een doorgesneden rijpe vijg lijkt vol te zitten met wormpjes)

D Drooghe Vijghen voor den eten ghebruyckt doen oock camerganck hebben/ ende sijn goet voor die nieren/ want sy doen dat graveel lossen ende met die urine rijsen.

E Die selve Vijghen doen oock sweeten/ ende doen daer mede afgaen vele stancken ende vuylicheden/ ende daer om sijn sy goet ghebruyckt tot die kinder pocxkens ende maseren/ want sy doen die selve uutslaen ende lichtelijcken voortcomen.

F Item drooghe Vijghen sijn goet voor die borste ende longhene/ sy versueten den hoest verlanghen den adem ende maken die fluymen rijp ende doen die selve lossen/ in alder manieren ghebruyckt/ tzy rouw oft ghebraden oft met Hysope ghesoden ende gedroncken.

G Dwater daer Vijghen in ghesoden sijn es goet ghedroncken den ghenen die ghevallen/ van binnen ghequetst ende gheborsten sijn/ want het doet dat gheronnen bloet sceyden ende versuet die pijne.

H Vijghen met sout/ Ruyte/ ende Okernoten vermenght/ wederstaen alle fenijn/ ende alle corruptien van der lucht. Ende es een secreet van Methridates coninck van Pontus/ daer mede dat hy hem ghepreserveert heeft tseghen alle pestilentien ende vergiftheyt.

I Vijghen in water ghesoden ende daer mede ghegorgelt oft in die mont ghehouden/ sijn goet voor die rouwe ende heessche keele/ ende tot alle gheswillen ende apostumatien van den mont keele amandelen ende tantvleesch/ ende dijsghelijcx oock tot alle gheswillen van der tonghen.

K Vijghen versueten oock die pijne van den tanden/ ende van dat tantvleesch daer tseghen in den mont ghehouden.

L Item Vijghen met terwen meel vermenght maken morw ende rijp alle apostumatien/ bloetsweeren/ gheswillen ontrent den ooren ende andere/ sonderlinghe als tsaet van Vlas ende van Fenigrieck daer toe vermenght wordt. Ende als wortelen van Lelien daer by ghedaen worden/ zoo doen sy die gheswillen uutbreken.

M Die selve Vijghen met Gersten meel vermenght/ verteeren die gheswillen/ ende doen die selve sceyden ende vergaen als Galenus seyt.

Medicinal Uses Pfaff database

Cancer; Demulcent; Digestive; Emollient; Galactogogue; Laxative; Pectoral; Stings; Stomachic; Tonic; Warts.

A decoction of the leaves is stomachic. The leaves are also added to boiling water and used as a steam bath for painful or swollen piles. The latex from the stems is used to treat corns, warts and piles. It also has an analgesic effect against insect stings and bites. The fruit is mildly laxative, demulcent, digestive and pectoral. The unripe green fruits are cooked with other foods as a galactogogue and tonic. The roasted fruit is emollient and used as a poultice in the treatment of gumboils, dental abscesses etc. Syrup of figs, made from the fruit, is a well-known and effective gentle laxative that is also suitable for the young and very old. A decoction of the young branches is an excellent pectoral. The plant has anticancer properties.

FICUS CARICA PROPERTIES

FICUS CARICA ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES

The leaves of Ficus carica have also been a long-standing remedy against hemorrhoids, and some of the active constituents found on Ficus carica are known to exert antioxidant properties, but what is more amazing know is to discover that Ficus carica latex may even exert anticancer properties in certain types of cancers.

FICUS CARICA ANTI-CANCER PROPERTIES

Some studies suggest that Ficus carica latex exerts inhibitory effects on the proliferation of various cancer cell lines, probably due to the high amount of phytosterols and polyunsaturated fatty acids as linoleic acid found on Ficus carica latex. It is also known that phytosterols and some polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, also found in ficus carica, are known for their anti-carcinogenic properties, another reason to believe that ficus carica may exert anti-cancer effects.

FICUS CARICA ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES

Recent studies reveal that ficus carica latex may not only be good on the treatment of warts and other traditional herbal remedies but also exert certain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity.

Due to these properties, Ficus carica latex was used in some preparations to treat painful or swollen piles, insect sting and bites, but it was never thought that additionally this herb could also exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. This can probably be the most important of the ficus carica medicinal uses mentioned about this plant, because as we already know, inflammatory processes are in many cases the initial stage of many types of tumors and cancers.

The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of ficus carica is probably exerted due to the presence of steroids and flavonoids, responsible for its free radical scavenging activity [15].

FICUS CARICA ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES

In a study performed on the latex of a Tunisian variation of Ficus carica, the Jrani caprifig, it was observed that almost 91% of the active constituents found on it were coumarins. It was also notice that the ficus carica latex from this variety of fig exerted powerful anti-bactericidal properties against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and the Staphylococcus saprophyticus [12].

FICUS CARICA LEAVES ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES

There are also studies on Ficus carica where it exerted different beneficial properties and was even able to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as in some extents against Enterococcus fecalis, Citobacter freundei, Echerchia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis.

FICUS CARICA FOR HERPES SIMPLEX (HSV-1), ECHOVIRUS AND ADENOVIRUS

Also very interesting is the use of Ficus carica latex for Herpes simplex treatment. In spite this later use hasn't been documented very much on the scientific domain there are some studies suggesting that extracts of Ficus carica latex were able to inhibit growth of herpes virus, echovirus and adenovirus infectious diseases, exerting an antiviral potential activity against herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1), echovirus type 11 (ECV-11) and adenovirus (ADV).

REFERENCES:

[1] Suppressors of cancer cell proliferation from fig (Ficus carica) resin: isolation and structure elucidation.

Rubnov S, Kashman Y, Rabinowitz R, Schlesinger M, Mechoulam R.

Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.

[2] Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of Ficus carica Linn. leaves. Ali B, Mujeeb M, Aeri V, Mir SR, Faiyazuddin M, Shakeel F.

Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, New Delhi 110062, India.

[3] In vitro cytotoxic and antiviral activities of Ficus carica latex extracts. Lazreg Aref H, Gaaliche B, Fekih A, Mars M, Aouni M, Pierre Chaumon J, Said K.

Laboratoire de Génétique, Biodiversité et Valorisation des Bio Ressources, UR 03ES09, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie, 5000 Monastir, Tunisie.

[4] Immunotoxicity activity of natural furocoumarins from milky sap of Ficus carica L. against Aedes aegypti L.

Chung IM, Kim SJ, Yeo MA, Park SW, Moon HI. Department of Applied Life Science, Kon Kuk University, Seoul, South Korea.

[5] Further Insight into the Latex Metabolite Profile of Ficus carica.

Oliveira AP, Silva LR, Andrade PB, Valenta~o P, Silva BM, Gonc¸alves RF, Pereira JA, Guedes de Pinho P.

REQUIMTE/Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Porto University, Rua Ani´bal Cunha 164, 4050-047 Porto, Portugal.

[6] Plant crude extracts could be the solution: extracts showing in vivo antitumorigenic activity. Amara AA, El-Masry MH, Bogdady HH.

Protein Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications, Alexandria, Egypt.

[7] Comparative study of fig tree efficacy in the treatment of common warts (Verruca vulgaris) vs. cryotherapy.

Bohlooli S, Mohebipoor A, Mohammadi S, Kouhnavard M, Pashapoor S.

Pharmacology Department, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.

[8] Comparative study of fig tree efficacy in the treatment of common warts (Verruca vulgaris) vs. cryotherapy.

Bohlooli S, Mohebipoor A, Mohammadi S, Kouhnavard M, Pashapoor S.

Pharmacology Department, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

[9] Antioxidant activities and anthocyanin content of fresh fruits of common fig (Ficus carica L.). Solomon A, Golubowicz S, Yablowicz Z, Grossman S, Bergman M, Gottlieb HE, Altman A, Kerem Z, Flaishman MA. Department of Fruit Tree Sciences, Institute of Horticulture, ARO, The Volcani Center, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel. [10] Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of Ficus carica Linn. leaves. Ali B, Mujeeb M, Aeri V, Mir SR, Faiyazuddin M, Shakeel F. Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, New Delhi 110062, India. [11] Further Insight into the Latex Metabolite Profile of Ficus carica. Oliveira AP, Silva LR, Andrade PB, Valentão P, Silva BM, Gonçalves RF, Pereira JA, Guedes de Pinho P.

REQUIMTE/Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Porto University, Rua Aníbal Cunha 164, 4050-047 Porto, Portugal.

[10] Antibacterial activity in spices and local medicinal plants against clinical isolates of Karachi, Pakistan. Ali NH, Faizi S, Kazmi SU.

Department of Pathology, Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan.

[11] In vitro cytotoxic and antiviral activities of Ficus carica latex extracts. Lazreg Aref H, Gaaliche B, Fekih A, Mars M, Aouni M, Pierre Chaumon J, Said K.

Laboratoire de Génétique, Biodiversité et Valorisation des Bio Ressources, UR 03ES09, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie, 5000 Monastir, Tunisie.

[12] Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of a hexane extract of Tunisian caprifig latex from the unripe fruit of Ficus carica.

Lazreg-Aref H, Mars M, Fekih A, Aouni M, Said K.

Laboratoire de Génétique, Biodiversité et Valorisation des Bio ressources (UR 03ES09), Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie , Monastir , Tunisie.

[13] Zohary and Spiegel-Roy 1975 & Zohary and Hopf 1994

[14] Flickr photo by Whologwhy under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license.

[15] Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of Ficus carica Linn. leaves.

Ali B, Mujeeb M, Aeri V, Mir SR, Faiyazuddin M, Shakeel F.

a Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry , Faculty of Pharmacy , Jamia Hamdard , New Delhi 110062 , India.

[16] Plant names in other languages: Porcher Michel H. et al. 1995 - 2020, Sorting Origanum Names. Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database - A Work in Progress. Institute of Land & Food Resources. The University of Melbourne. Australia. < http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Origanum.html > (2007).

Links

http://ansm.sante.fr/var/ansm_site/storage/original/application/572ce9bc474e24a12ad627729b4b8ea3.pdf

http://www.herbcyclopedia.com/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=285&Itemid=193

http://www.sphinxsai.com/Vol.3No.1/pharm_jan-mar11/pdf/JM11(%20PT=03)%2008-12.pdf