Fig tree: benefits, dosage, contraindications

The fig tree is a fruit tree that can reach 8 meters in height, prefers rocky soils, and grows around the Mediterranean basin. Its deciduous foliage includes large leaves, 25 cm wide, thick, leathery, with 3 to 5 deep lobes, smooth-edged, velvety underneath and rough on top. Its fruits, the figs, are purple or green in color and have fragrant, sweet flesh. The branches and the skin of the fig contain latex. It is believed that figs were cultivated for the first time in Egypt. They spread to ancient Crete and, later, to ancient Greece where they became a staple food. Figs even held the status of a sacred fruit during Roman times. The buds, leaves and fruits of the fig tree are used in phytotherapy. The leaf contains alkaloids, flavonoids, psoralen, psoralenic acid glycoside, beta-sitosterol, bergapten and taraxasterol. The latex or sap of the leaves contains ficin, a proteolytic enzyme that causes itching, as well as other enzymes. The leaves and fruits contain flavonoids, anthocyanins, coumarins, saponins and terpenes and other phenolic compounds. The plant hormones of the fig bud are the following: auxins (growth) and gibberellins (germination). The fig bud acts on the endocrine system contributing to the regulation of nervous disorders. In gemmotherapy, it constitutes a key remedy in the psychosomatic field. It is notably used for digestive disorders (acid reflux, ulcers, gastritis, colitis...).