Figs: Traditional Medicinal

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Figs: Traditional Medicinal JoAnn Guest Mar 21, 2005 14:32 PST

 

http://www.innvista.com/health/herbs/figs.htm

 

Family Moraceae -Ficus carica (Fig, Ficca; Spanish: Higueroa, Amate;

Nahuatl: Amatl, Tepe-Amatl, Texcal-Amatl)

Ficus benghalensis (Banyan Tree)

Ficus religiosa (Peepal)

-

The fig is often referred to in the Bible, including its leaves

supposedly being used to cover the modesty of the first man and woman.

The ancient king Mithrydates proclaimed figs a health tonic in 1551 BCE.

 

 

Pliny wrote of no fewer than twenty-nine different kinds of figs,

regarding them as a great aid to strength and swiftness. Pliny also

noted that ancient sports warriors, called gladiators, were fed a diet

of figs to bring out their strength and stamina.

 

Spartan athletes in ancient Greece were said to eat figs in order to

improve their performance.

 

A cough remedy taken from The Queen's Closet Opened (1655) by W.M., a

cook to Queen Henrietta Maria of England, says:

 

" Take a handful of Hysop; of Figs, Raisins, Dates of each an ounce,

French Barley one ounce, boyl therein three pintes of fair water to a

quart, strain it and clarifie with two Whites of Eggs, then put in two

pounds of fine Sugar and boyl it to a syrup " .

 

Variations of this recipe are still used today and, not only for queens.

 

 

Gerard recommended the fruit for such ailments as those of the throat

and lungs, for tumors, and skin problems from freckles and warts, to

small pox and leprosy, for hemorrhoids and kidney stones, for toothaches

and other maladies.

 

He summed it up best when he said that figs preserved us from all

pestilence.

 

The Aztecs made paper, called " amatl " , from the inner white bark of both

the fig tree and another tree called Anacauite (Cordia boissieri). Their

important codices were recorded on that paper. Each year, subject states

were required to deliver thousands of pounds of " amatl " paper to the

Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán.

 

Because the paper was used in religious ceremonies, it was banned by the

Catholic Church during the colonial era, but remnants of the old

religious traditions have survived in parts of rural Mexico where fig

bark paper, cut into shapes of crops, is planted along with the seeds as

an offerring to ensure good harvest.

 

Mexican " witches " still use the paper for sorcery, making paper dolls as

a love object or a hated enemy.

 

Artisans in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, use brown " amatl " paper as a

canvas for the colorful paintings of flowers, animals, and country life

scenes that have become popular tourist souvenirs sold in many shops and

markets.

---Key

Actions

 

(a) Fig

 

anti-inflammatory

analgesic

emollient

expectorant

laxative

(b) Banyon Tree

astringent

laxative

lowers blood sugar

© Peepal

astringent

laxative

 

 

 

 

Key Components

fruit sugars (50% mainly glucose)

flavonoids

vitamins (especially B and C)

enzymes

furanocoumarins

fruit acids

mucilages

pectin

ficusin and bergaptin (Banyon Tree)

 

-

 

 

Medicinal Parts

(a) Fig

 

Fruit, latex

(b) Banyon Tree

Fruit, bark, leaves, latex, aerial roots

© Peepal

Fruit, leaves, bark, latex

 

As for a cancer remedy, researchers at the Insititute of Physical and

Chemical Research at the Mitsubishi-Kasel Insitutue of Life Sciences in

Tokyo discovered a chemical contained in figs that does treat the

disease.

 

When mice were injected with an extract from the fruit, they found that

their tumors shrank by one-third.

 

They took that substance, benzaldehyde, and tested it on cancer

patients with remarkable success.

----------------------------Traditional

Uses

(a) Fig

 

The dried fruit has a pronounced, but gentle, laxative effect; and a

syrup made from the fruit is a remedy for mild constipation and much

better for the body than commercial laxatives.

 

The fruits emollient pulp helps relieve pain and inflammations and has

been used to treat tumors, swellings, and gum abscesses although, the

fruit is often roasted before application.

 

It is also a disinfectant. A poultice of dried figs will considerably

reduce the foul stench given off by chronic leg ulcers when applied

directly to the wound.

 

Being mildly expectorant, the fruit, when combined with such herbs as

elecampane, is helpful in treating dry, irritable coughs and bronchitis.

 

 

The milky latex from the leaves and stems is reputed to be an analgesic,

as well as being used on warts, insect bites, and stings. However,

caution is advised.

 

In Ayurvedic medicine, the fig is used as a tonic, diuretic, and a

treatment for gonorrhea.

 

In Chinese medicine, a related species, F. lacor, is used to induce

sweating.

 

A species native to China, Indonesia, and Australia, (F. retusa) is used

in Chinese medicine to treat toothache and tooth decay.

 

The juice and powdered bark of a related Central American species (F.

cotinifolia) are applied to wounds and bruises. Medicinally, the sap is

applied to scorpion stings, boils, and such other skin afflictions as

ringworm. It is sometimes used as an emergency bandage to protect

wounds.

 

The dried leaves are sometimes smoked to treat asthma, while the fruit

is a standard remedy for constipation.

 

Traditional Arabian medicine uses figs, which they believe to be

diuretic, laxative, and emollient, to treat conjunctivitis, leprosy, and

hemorrhoids.

 

They see figs as being strengthening to the body, building stamina and

vigor.

 

(b) Banyon

The leaves and bark are employed to relieve diarrhea and dysentery and

to reduce bleeding.

 

The latex is used in the same way as other Fiscus species, including

application to hemorrhoids, warts, and aching joints.

 

The fruit is laxative and the roots are chewed to prevent gum disease.

 

In Ayurvedic medicine, the bark is used to treat diabetes.

 

© Peepal

Its uses are relatively the same as those of the Banyon Tree, with the

bark and leaves taken for diarrhea and dysentery, while the leaves alone

are used to treat constipation.

 

The leaves are used with " ghee " (a clarified butter) as a poultice and

applied to boils and to swollen glands in mumps.

 

The powdered fruit is taken for asthma, and the latex is used to treat

warts.

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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