WILD HIMALAYAN FIG: A NUTRACEUTICAL UNDER EXPLOITED FRUIT OF WESTERN HIMALAYAN REGION – A REVIEW

Kajal Kumari, * Somesh Sharma and Ravinder Kaushik. School of Bioengineering and Food Technology, Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India, 173229. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History


Chemical Composition:-
The previous studies with figs indicated that they are an excellent source of minerals, vitamins A, B1, B2 and C, dietary fibre, carbohydrates, essential amino acids as well as phenolic substances (37,38). Table 1 (23,22). Microbial diseases such as epilepsy and jaundice (28,3), bronchitis, influenza whooping cough, tonsillitis, toothache, bacillary dysentery, enteritis and bruises were also reported to be treated by fig extracts. The fig fruits contain chiefly sugars and mucilage and also acts as a demulcent and laxative (31). The raw figs of F. palmata subsp. virgata are used as vegetable and ripened as fruit generally by tribal and local people in hilly and forest areas. They are principally used as an item of diet in the treatment of constipation and diseases of the lungs and bladder (21,6). They are also used as a poultice (43,20,6). The twigs are used as fodder.
The latex is said to be employed in curdling of milk and sap in the treatment of warts (25,11). Fig is also (34). It is used for digestive disorders and to control bleeding wounds (30). Roasted figs are taken for diarrhea and dysentery (26). Wild fig is used traditionally in the treatment of constipation and diseases of the lungs and bladder (15).
Saklani and Chandra (35) reported that Bark, root, leaves fruit and latex of this plant are also frequently used for the treatment of various illnesses.

Pharmacological activity of fig:-
The Ficus palmata fruits showed significant antioxidant potential using free radical scavenging and ferric reducing activities (35).
(2) demonstrated the ethyl acetate fraction ( Table 2) was able to reduce the stable free radical DPPH, to yellow-colored DPPH at low concentrations (50 and 100 g/ml). The effect was almost similar to that of the standard ascorbic acid. The higher concentrations (500 and 1000 g/ml) of the crude extract and chloroform fraction were able to reduce the DPPH although the lower concentrations showed only weak activity. Saklani and Chandra (35) reported that Ficus palmata is a rich source of polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, which are responsible for strong antioxidant properties that help in prevention and therapy of various oxidative stress related diseases such as neurodegenerative and hepatic diseases.  The antioxidant activities of Ficus palmata fruit were determined using DPPH scavenging activity and found to be 104.9 mg Catechin equivalents/100 g in methanol extract while 146.9 mg Catechin equivalents/ 100 g in acetone extract. The ABTS cation scavenging activity was found to be 557.09 mg Butylated hydroxyl anisole/100 g in the methanol extract, while, in acetone extract, it was 729.45 mg Butylatedhydroxyanisole /100 g. Ferric reducing activity was found to be 77.6 mg Ascorbic acid /100 g in the methanol extract while in acetone extract, it was 146.67 mg Ascorbic acid /100 g (33,2). Total phenolics (463.00 mg GAE/ 100g of fresh weight), flavonoids (45.60 mg CE/ 100g) and anthocyanins (27.30 mg/ 100g) of fig were found in methanol/ HCl solvent quantified by spectrophotometric measurement (38). Vinson et al. (42) reported significant antioxidant activity in dried fruits of Ficus carica Linn.These findings suggest that dried fruits should be a greater part of the diet as they are dense in phenol antioxidants and nutrients, most probably fibre.

837
Antiproliferative activity:-The antiproliferative activity of the fruit extract was analyzed against cervical cancer cell lines, namely C33A, HeLa and one normal Peripheral Blood Mononuclear (PBM) cells using colorimetric 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assays. C33A and HeLa cells were cultured with an extract concentration equivalent to 0.667, 1.66, 3.33, 5.0 and 6.67 mg/ml of fruit while primary culture of PBMCs was incubated with 5.0 and 6.67 mg/ml fruit extracts. All the extracts demonstrated potent antiproliferative activity against C33A cells. The extracts did not show antiproliferative activity against HeLa cells. Acetone extract showed highest antiproliferative activity while it was low for methanol extract (33).The high anticancer effects of acetone extracts of Ficus palmata were supported by its relatively higher ellagic acid content as revealed by RP-HPLC analysis. Ellagic acid was earlier shown to possess antiproliferative activity against cervical cancer cells (24).
Khodarahmi et al. (19) reported that extracts of different species of Ficus are cytotoxic to some human cancerous cell lines. Therefore, fruit, leaf, with ethyl acetate and dichloromethane and latex extracts were prepared through percolation and after 24 h incubation at 37°C, the cells were treated with different concentrations of the extracts or latex. The viability of the cells was determined by the reduction of 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) from formazan following 48 h incubation and the latex and different extracts of