Ficus spp. (fig): Ethnobotany and potential as anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents

This review explores medieval, ancient and modern sources for ethnopharmacological uses of Ficus (fig) species, specifically for employment against malignant disease and inflammation. The close connection between inflammatory/infectious and cancerous diseases is apparent both from the medieval/ancie...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ethnopharmacology 2008-09, Vol.119 (2), p.195-213
Main Authors: Lansky, Ephraim Philip, Paavilainen, Helena M., Pawlus, Alison D., Newman, Robert A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anti-inflammatory
anti-inflammatory activity
Anti-Inflammatory Agents - isolation & purification
Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology
Anticancer
anticarcinogenic activity
antimicrobial properties
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - isolation & purification
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology
Biological and medical sciences
botany
Cancer
carcinogenesis
chemical constituents of plants
Clinical Trials as Topic
ethnobotany
Ficus
Ficus - chemistry
Figs
General pharmacology
Humans
Hymenoptera
Inflammation
Inflammation - drug therapy
latex
literature reviews
mechanism of action
Medical sciences
medicinal plants
neoplasms
Neoplasms - drug therapy
Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
phytochemicals
processing technology
traditional medicine
Vitaceae
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This review explores medieval, ancient and modern sources for ethnopharmacological uses of Ficus (fig) species, specifically for employment against malignant disease and inflammation. The close connection between inflammatory/infectious and cancerous diseases is apparent both from the medieval/ancient merging of these concepts and the modern pharmacological recognition of the initiating and promoting importance of inflammation for cancer growth. Also considered are chemical groups and compounds underlying the anticancer and anti-inflammatory actions, the relationship of fig wasps and fig botany, extraction and storage of fig latex, and traditional methods of preparing fig medicaments including fig lye, fig wine and medicinal poultices.
ISSN:0378-8741
1872-7573
DOI:10.1016/j.jep.2008.06.025