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Friday, 1 November 2013

Chinese Herbs– Wu Hua Gou (Fructus fici)

Wu Hua Gou is also known as fig. The sweet and cool herb has been used in TCM to treat coarse voice, dry coughs, constipation, weak digestion, hemorrhoids, prolapse of rectum, etc., as it strengthens the Stomach, clears the Intestine, disperses swelling, removes Toxin, etc. by enhancing the functions of Lung, Spleen and Stomach channels.
Ingredients
1. Citric acid
2. Ffumaric acid
3. Ssuccinic acid
4. Malonic acid
5. Proline
6. Oxalic acid
7. Malic acid
8. Shikimic acid
9. Quinic acid
10. Alkaloids
11. Glucosides
12. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Antioxidant activities and anthocyanin content 
Fig fruit has been a typical component in the health-promoting Mediterranean diet for millennia. Extracts of darker varieties showed higher contents of phytochemicals compared to lighter colored varieties. Fruit skins contributed most of the above phytochemicals and antioxidant activity compared to the fruit pulp. Antioxidant capacity correlated well with the amounts of polyphenols and anthocyanins (R2 = 0.985 and 0.992, respectively). In the dark-colored Mission and the red Brown-Turkey varieties, the anthocyanin fraction contributed 36 and 28% of the total antioxidant capacity, respectively. C3R contributed 92% of the total antioxidant capacity of the anthocyanin fraction. Fruits of the Mission variety contained the highest levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins and exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity, according to  Dr. Solomon A, and researcher team at the Institute of Horticulture, ARO, The Volcani Center(1)
2.  Human melanoma
In the examine the effects of Coumarin and fatty acid content in F. carica leaves, bark and woody parts  and compared by capillary GC and GC/MS, found that  this type of fig tree may constitute an excellent source of bioactive compounds, such as phenolics, coumarins and fatty acid and offers a new perspective in developing others formulations potentially useful in photodynamic therapy for treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers(2).
3. Antiproliferative activity
In the study of Changes in the phenolic and lipophilic composition, in the enzyme inhibition and antiproliferative activity of Ficus carica L. cultivar Dottato fruits during maturation, showed that the total extracts of F. carica cv. Dottato exhibited a significant dose-dependent antiradical and inhibition of lipid peroxidation activity, particularly fruits of the first harvest (June) that showed the highest activity with IC50 of 1.64 mg/mL and 0.004 mg/mL, respectively. Among single fractions, the ethyl acetate fraction from the second harvest (July) showed the highest antiradical activity with an IC50 value of 0.05 mg/mL while the dichloromethane fraction showed the best inhibition of lipid peroxidation with an IC50 value of 0.02 mg/mL. Dichloromethane fractions showed the highest photodynamic cytotoxicity with an IC50<5 μg/mL(3).
4. Antibacterial activity 
In the study of Hexane extract of the Tunisian common Jrani caprifig latex for sts antibacterial activity against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, showed that 36 compounds of the extract were identified, 90.56% of the total area of peaks were coumarins. A strong bactericidal effect was demonstrated. The most sensitive bacteria were Staphylococcus saprophyticus clinical isolate, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, with a MIC of 19 µg/mL(4).
5. Etc.

Side Effects
1. Do not use the herb in case of spleen deficiency with diarrhea.
2. Prolonged period of using of the herb may cause loss of appettite
3. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with the related field specialist.
4. Etc.


Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17002444 
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22469077
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22222929
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22136172

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