Natural Product Radiance, Vol. 8(1), 2009, pp.84-90 Review Paper Ficus racemosa Linn.–An overview Padmaa M Paarakh Department of Pharmacognosy The Oxford College of Pharmacy J P Nagar, I Phase Bangalore-560 078, Karnataka, India E-mail: [email protected]; Phone: 09880681532 (Mob) Received 22 February 2008; Accepted 26 July 2008 ovate, ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, sub Abstract acute, entire and petiolate. Leaves are shed Ficus racemosa Linn. is a moderate-sized avenue tree found throughout India either wild or cultivated for its fruits eaten by villagers. It is popular in Indigenous System of by December and replenished by January Medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy. In the Traditional System of Medicine, and April, when the tree becomes bare various plant parts such as bark, root, leaves, fruits and latex are used in dysentery, diarrhoea, for a short period. Figs subglobose or diabetes, bilious affections, stomachache, menorrhage, haemoptysis, piles and as carminative and pyriform, red when ripe, borne in large astringent. The present review is therefore, an effort to give a detailed survey of the literature on its clusters, on short, leafless branches pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, traditional and pharmacological uses. emerging from the trunk and the main Keywords: Ficus racemosa, Cluster Fig, Gular Fig, Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, branches1, 9. The tree is without aerial roots Pharmacology, Traditional medicine. unlike its many family members. It 8 IPC code; Int. cl. —A61K36/00, A61P1/04, A61P1/12, A61P1/16, A61P3/06, A61P7/12, naturally comes up in wasteland and A61P11/14, A61P17/02, A61P31/04, A61P33/10, A61P39/06. forests in subtropical climate. It is seen dwelling in areas up to 1200m altitude Introduction regard, one such plant is Ficus on hilltop. This requires well-drained India has an ancient heritage of racemosa Linn. syn. Ficus glomerata medium to heavy soils for its successful traditional medicine. The Materia Medica Roxb. (Family — Moraceae). The plant cultivation and comes up in all kinds of 8 of India provides a great deal of is a large deciduous tree distributed all soil except in water logged and clay soil . information on the folklore practices and over India from outer Himalayan ranges, The plant is propagated by using cuttings traditional aspects of therapeutically Punjab, Khasia mountain, Chota Nagpur, of stem and root suckers. Hardwood important natural products. Indian Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Rajasthan, cutting 0.5 to 1.5cm in diam and about traditional medicine is based on various Deccan and common in South India1. It 30 cm long are taken from straight, systems including Ayurveda, Siddha,Unani is the member of the four sacred trees healthy 1-2 year old shoots and planted and Homoeopathy. The evaluation of these Nalpamara (Ksirivrksas) meant to be in December to February. Seeds can also drugs is primarily based on planted around the home and temples. It used for propagation. Natural regeneration phytochemical, pharmacological and is found throughout the year, grows in is very good from seeds dispersed by allied approaches including various evergreen forests, moist localities and animals and birds. Four months old instrumental techniques such as bank of streams, deciduous forests, to the seedlings are transplanted to polythene chromatography, microscopy and others. elevation of 1800m above sea level, bags and then planted in field after one 8 With the emerging worldwide interest in often cultivated in villages for shade month . adopting and studying traditional systems and its edible fruits2-5. It is commonly In the traditional system of and exploiting their potential based on known as Gular fig, Cluster fig in English, medicine, the plant is used for various 2-4 different health care systems, the Gular in Hindi and as Udumbara in health problems and diseases . evaluation of the rich heritage of Sanskrit6-8. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to traditional medicine is essential. In this The tree is up to 18m high, leaves present an overview of 84 Natural Product Radiance Review Paper pharmacognostical, traditional, rays. Sclereids have lignified walls with and also recommended in urological phytochemical and pharmacological simple pits like those of cortex. Phloem disorders, diabetes, hiccough, leprosy, investigations carried out on the plant. fibres are non-lignified, having narrow dysentery, sasthma and piles. The leaves lumen without any septa. Prismatic are good wash for wounds and ulcers. They Pharmacognostical crystals of calcium oxalate and few are useful in dysentery and diarrhoea. The characteristics clustered crystals are also present. Starch infusion of bark and leaves is also Macroscopical grains are ovoid to spherical. Laticiferous employed as mouth wash to spongy gums A moderate to large sized vessels with a light brown granular and internally in dysentery, menorrhagia, spreading laticiferous tree without much material are present in the phloem region. effective remedy in glandular swelling, prominent aerial roots. Leaves dark green, Cambium when present 2-3 layered of abscess, chronic wounds, cervical adenitis 12, 13 ovate or elliptical; fruits receptacles 2-5cm tangentially elongated thin walled cells . and haemoptysis. Tender leaves are used in diam, subglobose or pyriform, smooth in bilious affection and also to improve or rarely covered with minute soft hairs, Powder skin complexion. Tender fruits are when ripe; they are orange, dull reddish Powder is light pink to light astringent, stomachic, refrigerant, dry or dark crimson and have pleasant smell brown in colour, faint odour and cough, loss of voice, diseases of kidney resembling that of cidar apples. Bark astringent in taste. Microscopically it and spleen, astringent to bowel, styptic, grayish green, soft surface and uneven, shows presence of abundant prismatic tonic, useful in the treatment of 0.5-1.8cm thick, on rubbing white papery crystals of calcium oxalate, either free or leucorrhoea, blood disorder, burning flakes come out from the outer surface, in detached parenchymatous cells. sensation, fatigue, urinary discharges, inner surface light brown, fracture fibrous, Sclereids are separated or more or less in leprosy, menorrhagic, epitasis, intestinal taste mucilaginous without any small intact groups. Portions of broken worms and carminative. They are useful characteristics odour9-11. unlignified fibres with narrow lumen are in miscarriage, menorrhagia, at times associated with sclereids and or spermatorrhoea, epididymitis, cancer, Microscopical with cells containing calcium oxalate myalgia, scabies, haemoptysis, intrinsic The cork is made up of polygonal crystals. Medullary ray cells have a wavy haemorrhage, excessive thirst, visceral or rectangular cells. The phellogen is outline and contain minute starch grains obstructions. Latex is aphrodisiac and made up of 1-2 layers of thin walled cells. which are spherical or ovoid, simple or 2 administered in hemorrhoids, diarrhoea, Phelloderm is well marked compact tissue to 4 compound. Occasionally diabetes, boils, alleviates the edema in consisting of mainly parenchymatous cells parenchymatous cells with brownish adenitis, parotitis, orchitis, traumatic with isolated or small groups of sclereids, contents are seen. Cork cells are polygonal swelling, toothache and vaginal 14 2, 3,7, 16-19 particularly in inner region. Sclereids are in surface view . disorders . lignified with simple pits. Several Some important Ayurvedic parenchymatous cells contain single prism Physical constants marketed formulations are: of calcium oxalate or some brownish Foreign matter about 2, total ash Asamgrahaniya kasaya churna, content. The cortex is wide with 14, acid soluble ash 1, alcohol soluble extrac- Udumbarasara, Udumbaravaleha, 15 numerous sclereids and some cortical tive 7 and water soluble extractive 9% . Udumbramtra. cells contain resinous mass. Prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate are present in Traditional uses Phytochemical properties some of the cells. Sclereids are rectangular Root is used in dysentery, Very little phytochemical work or isodiametric and pitted thick walled. pectoral complaints, diabetes, applied in has been carried out on this plant Phloem composed of sieve tubes, mumps, other inflammatory glandular F. racemosa. The stem bark showed the companion cells, phloem parenchyma, enlargements and hydrophobia. The bark presence of two leucoanthocyanins: sclereids, phloem fibres and medullary is highly efficacious in threatened abortion leucocyanidin-3-O-β-glucopyranoside, Vol 8(1) January-February 2009 85 Review Paper hypoglycemic activity33. The ethanol renal carcinogen40. Both the result proves extract (250mg/kg/day, p.o.) lowered that the extract is a very potent chemo blood glucose level within 2 weeks in the preventive agent. alloxan diabetic albino rats confirming its hypoglycemic activity34. In another study, Antidiuretic the glucose lowering effect of methanol The decoction of stem bark was extract of stem bark was studied at the investigated for antidiuretic potential in doses of 200 and 400mg/kg, p.o., both in rats at a dose of 250, 500 and normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. 1000mg/kg, p.o. It had a rapid onset The activity was comparable to that of a (within 1h), peaked at 3h and lasted standard antidiabetic agent Glibenclamide throughout the study period of 5h and it (10mg/kg) proving its folklore claim as also caused reduction in urinary Na+ level, antidiabetic agent35, 36. β-sitosterol Na+/K+ ratio and an increase in urinary