Bioactive Compounds, Pharmacological Activity and Food Application of Ficus racemosa: A Critical Review

ABSTRACT

Ficus racemosa

Linn. (Moraceae) is a popular medicinal plant found throughout India, which has long been used in Ayurveda as a source of medicine for curing various diseases/disorders including diabetes, liver disorders, diarrhea, inflammatory conditions, hemorrhoids, respiratory and urinary diseases. It is commonly known as “Gular” in India and widely distributed throughout the world. The different parts of the plant have numerous phytochemical compounds (alkaloids, tannins, saponins, β-sitosterol, lupeol and other compounds) and it possesses numerous therapeutic properties. Despite various pharmacological properties possessed by the plant, it remains underutilized because of its limited availability, i.e., found at limited places and for a limited time period. However, to date, no scientific report has witnessed its effective utilization in the food and feed industry. Therefore, an attempt has been made to explore F. racemosa in terms of its composition, health benefits, value addition and future perspective so that its future can be enlightened.

KEYWORDS:

• Ficus racemosa
• phytochemicals
• pharmacological profile
• therapeutic properties
• traditional uses
• toxicology

Introduction

Medicinal plants are an important therapeutic agent for eliminating health-related risks of human being and its witness has been given by their presence in Rigveda and Ayurveda. The rate of prevalence of diseases, as well as discomfort, has increased in the recent era. This situation has to lead the researchers to explore different medicinal as well as herbal plants to eliminate this problem. As per the reports presented by WHO, 80% of the population all over the world implement remedial herbs to heal diseases as the most important therapy at a basic stage (Akerele, 1993). The use of these medicinal plants having disease curing activity has been widely proposed in most developing countries, on a normal basis these plant sources act as a remedy for health benefits (UNESCO, 1996; Salehi et al., 2018a, 2018b; Sharifi-Rad et al., 2018a). Nowadays, an increasing trend for the utilization of medicinal plants in the industrial sector has been seen in the different sectors such as extraction and development of several drugs having disease curing as well as biological properties (Sharifi‐Rad et al., 2018b; UNESCO, 1998).

Among all the medicinal plants, F. racemosa Linn. (Moraceae) is one of them which is a member of Fig family generally known as Gular in India which is widely distributed throughout India (Himalayan ranges from Punjab, Khasia mountain, Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Deccan and South India) and world (Australia, Malaysia, Burma, China, Indonesia); and is known by different names.

Traditionally the crop is being utilized as fodder for feeding the animals, food (as fermented and non-fermented products), as well as ceremonial application. All parts of this plant (leaves, fruits, bark, latex, and sap of the root) have medicinal as well as therapeutic importance in the traditional system of medicine in India for curing piles, dysentery, asthma, gonorrhea accompanied by gleet, menorrhagia, leucorrhea, hemoptysis and urinary diseases (Swain, 1990). Recently, these different parts have been explored by various researchers for their different biological functions/activities such as hepatoprotective, chemopreventive, antidiabetic, antipyretic, antitussive and antidiuretic activity (Rao et al., 2002).

Despite the numerous health benefits possessed by the plant, the crop remains underutilized because of its limited availability in a limited time period. Moreover, the presence of fig wasp present inside the fruit is another obstacle for its utilization. Therefore, the present review has been prepared to explore the utilization, phytochemical constituents, traditional uses, and pharmacological activities of F. racemosa, with the aim to attract readers, researchers and industrialists for its effective utilization.

Proximate composition of F. racemosa fruit

The fruit, bark, roots, and latex of F. racemosa possess a number of phytochemical, physicochemical compounds along with minerals (Ca, K, Mg, P, Fe). The fruit and bark of trees contain a sufficient amount of nutrients (crude protein, total lipids, crude fat, sugars, and starch). The leaves of F. racemosa are rich in reducing sugars, polyphenols and minerals. The fruit contains digestible carbohydrates and yields a high-energy value along with phytotherapeutic constituents (Singh et al., 2013). The detail of these phytochemicals (Figure 1) along with their pharmacological activity has been presented in (Tables 1 and Table 2). Thus, it can be concluded that these physicochemicals and phytochemicals are obtained from different extracts of F. racemosa which is useful for further studies of pharmacological parameters. A detailed study in this regard must be done for further isolation leading to the extraction of pure compounds.

Table 1. Phytochemical and Pharmacological potential of different parts of F. racemosa.

Plant Part	Phytochemicals	Pharmacological Activity	References
Root	Cycloartenol, Euphorbol Taraxerone Tinyatoxin Flavanoids Tannins Saponins Alkaloids Steroids	These exhibits anti-analgesic, antidiuretic, anti-hydrophobic, anti-Microbial, anti-oxidant activity. It also possesses wound healing property.	(Fawzy et al., 2008); (Dreosti, 2000); (Raju and Balaraman, 2008); (Punitha et al., 2005); (Varma et al., 2009); (Sharma and Gupta, 2008); (Murti and Kumar, 2011); (Goyal, 2012)
Stem	Campesterol Hentriacontane Hentriacontanol Kaempferol Stigmasterol Methyl ellagic acid Lupeolacetate β-Sitosterol α-Amyrin acetate Glauanol acetate	These phytochemicals show evidence of activities like anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, anti-diarrheal, anti-ulcerative, anti-asthmatic, antipyretic and wound healing.	(Paarakh, 2009); (Joy et al., 2001); (Joseph and Raj, 2010a); (Warrier, 1996), (Babu et al., 2010)
Leaves	Tetra triterpene Glauanolacetate Racemosic acid Alkaloids Glycosides Flavonoids Phenolic compound Tannins.	These have been reported to show anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties.	(Patil et al., 2010); (Paarakh, 2009); (Kirtikar and Basu, 1975)
Fruit	Glauanol Hentriacontane β sitosterol, Glauanolacetate Tiglic acid Esters of Taraxasterol Lupeolacetate Friedelin Phytosterol Tannins Steroids Flavonoids Alkaloids	The phytochemicals present in the fruit of F. racemosa exhibit hypolipidemic, anti-diabetic, anti-carcinogenic and anti-leucohorric effect.	(Babu et al., 2010); (Asolkar and Chopra, 1992), (Paarakh, 2009); (Zulfiker et al., 2011)
Latex	α-Amyrin β-Sitosterol Cycloartenol Cycloeuphordenol 4-Deoxyphorbol and its esters Euphorbinol Isoeuphorbol Palmitic acid Taraxerol Tinyatoxin, Trimethylellagic acid.	These phytochemicals have been reported to exhibit activities like antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial.	(Paarakh, 2009)

Table 2. Pharmacological profile of F. racemosa.

Plant Part	Extract Used	Animal/Strain Used	Administrative Dose and Method	Bioactivity	Key Findings	Reference
Root	90% (v/v) Ethanol	Wistar albino rats	Ketamine injection (0.5 mL/kg b.w. i.p.)	Wound Healing	It was found that the aqueous extract of F. racemosa shows better-wound healing activity as compared to the ethanol extract.	(Murti and Kumar, 2012)
	Ethanol Extract (10 lit × 3)	Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (in -vitro models)	25, 50 and 75 mg/ml of Aqueous and ethanol extract	Antimicrobial Activity	The study revealed that the roots show antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, E. coli, and K. pneumonia.	(Murti and Kumar, 2011)
		Bacterial culture (E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeroginosa and Enterobacter cloacae), Fungal culture (Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus niger, Trichophyton rubrum and Candida albicans	8, 6, 4 and 2 mg/disc of the test extracts and control streptomycin (for bacteria) and ketoconozole (for fungi) using Disk Diffusion method		The ethanolic extract exhibited good activity against E. coli and E. cloacae, moderate activity against the P. aeroginosa, while trace activity was observed against B. subtilis at all concentrations.	(Goyal, 2012)
	Ethyl acetate extract (400 ml)	In vitro Antioxidant model	The method used was hot continuous extraction method using soxhlet apparatus.	Antioxidant activity	The study reported that roots possess antioxidant activity through the DPPH radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, reducing power, hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity due to the presence of polyphenolic content.	(Sharma and Gupta, 2008)
Stem Bark	70%(v/v) extract of acetone	Male wistar rats (150–200 g) were used for this investigation.	Oral administration of tannin fraction (TF) (100 & 200 mg/kg body weight) to rats fed with high fat meal for 30 days (4% cholesterol, 1% cholic acid, 0.5% egg albumin) and injected with streptozotocin (35 mg/kg i.p. in citrate buffer on 14th day).	Hyperglycemic activity, Hypoglycemic activity	Two different doses of tannin supplementation had a favorable effect on plasma glucose and lipid profile concentrations. It also shows an influence on attenuating oxidative stress in diabetic rats.	(Ravichandiran et al., 2012)
	Ethanol Extract	In Vitro ATP Based Luminescence assay	A panel of enzyme assays including cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and phospholipase A2 (PA2) were used for the in-vitro study.	Anti-Inflammatory activity	The inhibitory effect of the F. racemosa extract on the biosynthesis of PGE 2 and PGD 2 observed in COX-1 assay with IC50 value of 83.1 µg/mL, whereas COX-2 value show effect on IC50 value of 8.4 µM. It identifies a new compound racemosic acid that possesses inhibitory activity against COX-1 and 5-LOX in vitro with IC-50 values of 90 and 18 µM.	(Li et al., 2003)
	Bark powder and aqueous extract (12% w/w)	Healthy adult male Wistar rats between eight and nine weeks of age and weighing 140–160 g	Single intramuscular injection of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg, Sigma Aldrich, India) dissolved in citrate buffer (0.1 M, pH 4.5) after 24 h of fasting.	Anti-hyperglycemic, hepatoprotective and hypolipidemic activity	It was observed that the aqueous extract was more effective than the bark powder, indicating the role of water-soluble phytoconstituents rather than the plant fiber for the observed biological effects.	(Ahmed and Urooj, 2009)
	Ethanol extract (500 mg/kg)	Healthy strain of Wister albino rats (150–250 g) and Swiss albino mice (18–20 g) of either sex were used as experimental models for testing of activity.	The Wister rats were administered with 5 % gum acacia, petroleum ether, ethanolic, hydro-alcoholic extracts (100, 300, 500 mg/kg) p.o respectively. In Hot plate method Swiss albino mice were administrated withpetroleum ether, ethanolic, hydro-alcoholic extracts (100, 300, 500 mg/kg) p.o respectively.	Anti-inflammatory activity	The results showed that the stem bark is useful in inflammatory and painful conditions.	(Harer Sunil and HarerPriyanka, 2010)
	Carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzyme	Male healthy rats of Wistar strain 140–160 g	The bark powder was subjected to heat treatment in a vacuum oven at 100°C for 60 min, cooled in a desiccator, and used for the preparation of emulsion.	Anti-diabetic activity	It was reported that heat treatment increased the inhibitory activity of F. racemosa bark against phenolic extract It could be used in the formulation of functional foods for the effective management of diabetes.	(Ahmed and Urooj, 2010)
	Isolated Flavonoids	Albino Wistar rats were kept in standard temperature (25 ± 5°C), relative humidity (55 ± 10%).	The plant materials (2 kg stem bark) were air-dried under shade, powdered and defatted with petroleum ether (60–80°C) using Soxhlet apparatus by successive solvent extraction method	Anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic activity	The results revealed anti-diabetic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant properties in Streptozotocin (STZ) rats which supported the use of F. racemosa stem bark as a useful supplementary drug for future anti-diabetic therapy.	(Keshari et al., 2016)
Stem	Dried extract of phenolics	The stock of B. subtilis and Enterobacter sp. strains were taken out of −20° and revived in LB medium. The culture was incubated at 37°C overnight.	Dried leaf and bark samples wereground into coarse powder using a grinding machine. 100 g of powdered plant material was used	Anti-oxidant activity	The results revealed that barks possess high antioxidant activity. IC50 value of bark extract was found to be 19 μg/ml which is even better than of the standard BHT.	(Tariq et al., 2013)
	Ethanolic Extract	The alloxan-induced rats with blood glucose levels above 260 mg/dl were selected for the experimental study.	Different doses of (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg/kg.bw) FrEBet were assessed to find out the effective antidiabetic dose in alloxan induced diabetic rats. The antidiabetic effect was assessed by giving the different doses of extract (100 to 500 mg/kg.bw) daily for 45 days, to severely diabetic rats [blood glucose 260 mg/dl and urinary sugar (+++)] and studied their effect on fasting blood glucose and urine sugar.	Hypolipidemic and anti-diabetic activity	The results showed that it reduced the blood sugar level (80%) and restored the status of lipids and lipoproteins (60–70%) near the normal range.	(Sophia and Manoharan, 2007)
	Methanol and Petroleum Ether extract	In vitro antimicrobial activity tested against B. subtilis and E. coli by cup plate diffusion method	The sample was extracted by using petroleum ether (60–80° C) and methanol (90–100∘C) under a rotary vacuum evaporator.	Anti-microbial activity	Methanolic extract shows good antimicrobial activity at a concentration of 100 mg/ml and it shows more potency toward gram-positive bacteria.	(JagtapSupriya et al., 2012)
	Dichloromethane and hexanes	Antibacterial assay was carried out against Staphylococcus and Bacillus species and antifungal activity against Saccharomyces spp. and C. albicans.	Stem bark extracts of F. racemosa were evaluated using scratch wound assay (SWA) on Baby Hamster Kidney (BHK 21) and Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell lines and Kirby Bauer disc diffusion assay	Wound healing activity	Suspensions of these cultures were prepared in sterile distilled water having predetermined cell densities measured as OD value. It shows enhancement of cell migration as well as anti-microbial activity, this dual-action of F. racemosa stem bark provides scientific support for its traditional use in wound healing.	(Bopage et al., 2018)
Leaves	Powdered leaves were extracted with petroleum ether (B.P. 60–80°C) in a soxhlet extractor	Male albino Wister rats weighing 200–250 g were placed in cages with wire-net floors in a controlled room temperature 2292°C, relative humidity 60–70% and provided with food and water ad libitum	a weighed amount of the dried extract was suspended in a 2% (w/v) aqueous Tween 80 solution.	Anti-inflammatory	The extract efficiently suppressed the inflammatory activity produced by histamine and serotonin.	(Mandal et al., 2000a)
	Leaves were powdered (500 g) and extracted using petroleum ether (60–80∘C)	Antibacterial potential against E. coli ATCC 10536, B. pumilis ATCC 14884, B. subtilis ATCC 6633, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 25619 and S. aureus ATCC 29737	For evaluation of antibacterial activity at different concentrations (150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 mg/ mL) by using the filter paper disc diffusion method (Pelczar et al., 1993).	Anti-bacterial activity	The results showing that extract of the leaves of F. racemosa may contribute to its use in the Indian traditional system of medicine.	(Mandal et al., 2000b)
	Toluene and Ethanol(10 µg/ml)	The test organisms used were E. coli (MTCC43), B. subtilis (MTCC121), P. aeruginosa (MTCC424), K. pneumonia (MTCC432), S. aureus (MTCC96) and Streptococcus mutans (MTCC497)	Leaves (50 g) of F. racemosa Linn was extracted using toluene and ethanol separately in the soxhlet extractor by not exceeding the boiling point of the solvent.	Anti-microbial activity	The ethanol extract of F. racemosa shows phytochemical compounds and 10 μg/mL of the extract shows good antimicrobial activity.	(Danie Kingsley et al., 2014)
	Hydro-alcoholic extracts (50% v/v)	Bacterial test organisms used were E. coli, K. pneumoniae, Lactococcus sp., and S. pyogenes and the fungal test organisms used for study were C. albicans, A. niger and S. Cerevisae	The hydro-alcoholic extracts (50% v/v) were prepared according to a cold percolation method	Anti-microbial activity	The leaves extract showed no effect against K. pneumoniae, S. pyogenes, and S. cerevisae.	(Mathur et al., 2011)
	Chloroform extract	Swiss albino mice of either sex, average weight 20–25 g were used for experiments.	100 gm of dried coarse powdered leaves were charged in to the soxhlet’s apparatus (hot extraction) and extracted successively with chloroform	Analgesic activity	A dose of 100 and 200 mg/kg showed significant analgesic activity as compared to the control group.	(Rai et al., 2013)
	Ethanolic extract	Female albino mice were used to carry out the experiment	Ethanolic extract of plant material was prepared using a soxhlet extractor. Aqueous extract was prepared freshly. The extract was evaporated and the powder was stored in a sterile container until use.	Anti-oxidant activity	The results show that the ethanolic extract of F. racemosa is a better scavenger for NO and SO radicals than DPPH radical.	(Khan et al., 2017)
	Dried powder (50∘C) and hydro alcoholic extract	Extract was screened against bacteria i.e. Actinomyces viscosus	Leaves of F. racemosa were prepared and dried at 50°C. The the coarse powder was extracted using hydroalcohoic (methanol:water) in soxhlet apparatus.	Antibacterial activity	The hydroalcoholic extract of F. racemosa was found effective against A. vicosus (MTCC 7345).	(Shaikh et al., 2010)
Fruits	95% ethanol	Young Swiss-albino mice of either sex aged 4–5 weeks, average weight 20–25 gm were used for the experiment.	F. racemosa were extracted in 95% ethanol to evaluate for centrally acting analgesic potential using hot plate method and peripheral pharmacological actions using acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice.	Analgesic activity	F. racemosa fruit show central and peripheral analgesic properties.	(Zulfiker et al., 2010)
	50% Ethanol	Sprague Dauley rats of either sex weighing 200–250 g were used. Animals were kept under standard laboratory conditions at 25 °± 2°C, 50 ± 15% RH and normal photoperiod (12 h dark/12 h light).	Air-dried powdered fruits of F. racemosa (1000 g) were powdered and exhaustively extracted by overnight maceration with 10 volumes of 50% ethanol and centrifugation at 10,000 rev/min. The extract was separated by filtration and concentrated on Rota vapor (Buchi, USA) and then dried in lyophilizer	Anti-oxidant activity	Ethanolic extracts of F. racemosa possess high phenolics content and antioxidant activity.	(Ramana et al., 2011)
	Methanolic Extract	Antibacterial activity against all the tested four Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria: S. aureus, B. subtilis, Vibrio cholera, B. cereus, S. typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, P. aeruginosa, Klebsiella species and Proteus species as well four fungi: Alternaria spp., Colletotrichum spp., Curvularia spp. and Fusarium spp.	The dried samples were ground to a coarse powder with a mechanical grinder and extracted with methanol for 7 days with occasional shaking in a beaker. The antimicrobial activity was measured using disk diffusion method	Antimicrobial activity	The result shows highest inhibition at a concentration of 200 μg/disc for S. aureus (18 mm) and in the concentration of 150 μg/disc for Fusarium spp. (12 mm).	(Hossain et al., 2014)
	50% Ethanolic extract	Sprague–Dawley rats (140–180 g) were procuredwith rodent pellet dietand the food was withdrawn 18–24 h before the experiment though water was allowed ad libitum.	Air-dried powdered fruit of F. glomerata (1000 g) was exhaustively extracted with 50% ethanol (3 × 10 L) and concentrated under reduced pressure to yield 7.25% w/w (FGE).	Gastroprotective activity	HPTLC analysis shows gastroprotectiveactivity which might be due to gastric defense factors and phenolics.	(Rao et al., 2008)
	Aqueous (80%) EtOH extract	Male long Evans rats weighing 180–200 g fasted for 18 h were injected Streptozotocin intraperitoneally	F. racemosa L. (70 kg) were sliced and dried at 40_C in an electric oven and then grounded into powder. Powdered material (6 kg) was soaked into aqueous (80%) EtOH 400 I.A.	Hypoglycemic and antioxidant activity	The extract FR-p also showed 60% DPPH scavenging activity and its 1-BuOH soluble part showed an 80% inhibition activity.	(Jahan et al., 2009)
	Hydro-alcoholic Extract	The media used for the test was Nutrient agar/broth and Sabouraud’s dextrose agar/broth	The hydro-alcoholic extracts (50% v/v) were prepared according to cold percolation method.	Anti-microbial activity	The plant showed maximum potency against E. coli at MIC value 0.6 mg/ml while moderate activity against Lactococcus sp. and minimum activity against A. niger.	(Mathur et al., 2011)
Latex	Metronidazole (10 mg/ml), Vidangasav as a reference standard	Adult Indian earthworms Pheritima posthuma was used in the present study due to its anatomical and physiological resemblance with the intestinal roundworm parasites of human beings.	Metronidazole (10 mg/ml), Vidangasav was used as a reference standard and distilled water as a control group.	Antihelmintic activity	The antihelmintic activity of F. racemosa was tested against Indian earthworm and showed less death rate with latex.	(Adsul and Patil, 2013)

Figure 1. Phytochemicals of F. racemosa.

Phytochemical potential of different parts of F. racemosa

The different parts of F. racemosa possess various potential phytochemicals such as the roots of this plant constitute cycloartenol, euphorbol, and its hexacosanoate, taraxerone, tinyatoxin, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids (Sharma and Gupta, 2008; Murti and Kumar, 2011; Goyal, 2012); stem consists of campesterol, hentriacontane, hentriacontanol, kaempferol, stigmasterol, methyl ellagic acid, lupeol acetate, β-sitosterol, lupeol, α-amyrin acetate, glauanol acetate (Joy et al., 2001; Paarakh, 2009; Joseph and Raj, 2010b; Babu et al., 2010) and leaves consist of tetra triterpene, glauanolacetate, racemosic acid, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, tannins (Patil et al., 2010). Moreover, the fruit and latex of F. racemosa are also rich in certain phytochemicals including glauanol, hentriacontane, β-sitosterol, glauanolacetate, tiglic acid, esters of taraxasterol, lupeol acetate, friedelin and α-amyrin, β-sitosterol, cycloartenol, cycloeuphordenol, 4-deoxyphorbol and its esters, euphol, euphorbinol, isoeuphorbol, palmitic acid, taraxerol, tinyatoxin, tri-methyl ellagic acid, respectively (Babu et al., 2010). All these phytochemicals have been reported to exhibit numerous pharmacological properties that are beneficial for human health. A complete detail of the phytochemical and pharmacological properties is given in Table 1.

Pharmacological profile and health benefits of F. racemosa

Several studies have been conducted on animal strains by different researchers in order to explore the pharmacological profile of F. racemosa. It has been reported that the different parts of this plant (roots, stem, stem bark, leaves, fruit, and latex), when treated with chemical extracts, were known to exhibit biological activities like anti-microbial (Goyal, 2012; Murti and Kumar, 2011), antioxidant (Sharma and Gupta, 2008), anti-hyperglycemic (Ahmed and Urooj, 2009), hypoglycemic (Jahan et al., 2009), anti-inflammatory (Mandal et al., 2000a), hepatoprotective (Ahmed and Urooj, 2009), hypolipidemic (Keshari et al., 2016), anti-diabetic (Ahmed and Urooj, 2010), anti-microbial (JagtapSupriya et al., 2012), anti-bacterial (Mandal et al., 2000), anti-helminthic (Adsul and Patil, 2013), gastroprotective (Rao et al., 2008) and wound healing (Murti and Kumar, 2012). Therefore, F. racemosa possesses various health benefits owing to its pharmacological profile. It protects against different types of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, liver diseases, ulcers, microbial (bacterial, fungal, parasitic) infections, diarrhea, inflammatory conditions, respiratory and urinary diseases. According to research studies, it has been revealed that the bark of F. racemosa possesses anti-dementia activity by enhancing the neurotransmitter levels in the body, i.e., acetylcholine. It also possesses the potential to reduce toxicity caused in the body due to oxidative stress as the plant exhibits antioxidant activity owing to the presence of numerous phenolics compounds including quercetin, ellagic acid, gallic acid and terpenoids (Yadav et al., 2015). Many researchers have conducted in vitro research studies on different animals, bacterial and fungal strains in order to reveal the bioactivity of the different parts of F. racemosa. A detail of the complete pharmacological profile of F. racemosa as explored by the different researchers has been presented in Table 2.

Traditional and modern uses of F. racemosa

F. racemosa has numerous traditional applications in curing diseases like bilious infection, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, hemoptysis, visceral obstruction, diarrhea, constipation, leprosy, diabetes, uropathy, cholera, mumps, gonorrhea and many more. In the traditional system, the parts of this plant can be used internally as well as externally. As per the literature, all the parts of this plant are useful and have an excellent medicinal value which can benefit the human in various possible ways (Table 3). However, still it is unexplored and not that much research has been carried out for its efficient utilization. Different ranges of the products, i.e., fermented and non-fermented food products can be prepared using F. racemosa fruit (Figure 2). In fermented food products, it can be utilized for the production of wine and vinegar whereas in non-fermented food products, it can be used in its raw form or dried form. A complete detail of the future prospects of F. racemosa is presented in Figure 2.

Table 3. Traditional utilization of F. racemosa.

Plant Part	Traditional Disease Curing Applications	References
Leaves	Mixture of leaves and honey is used to cure bilious infection. Decoction of leaves is used to cure dysmenorrhea. Leaf juice massaged on hair to prevent splitting. Leaf latex is used to prevent boils, blisters, and measles.	(Kirtikar and Basu, 1975); (Siwakoti and Siwakoti, 2000)
Fruits	Act as a stimulant tonic for the proper functioning of the stomach. Fruit juice is used for the treatment of menorrhagia and hemoptysis. Act as a remedy for visceral obstruction, diarrhea, and constipation. Curing agent for leprosy and diabetes.	(Chopra et al., 1958); (Vihari, 1995)
Bark	Infusion of bark is used in mouth wash of spongy gum condition, dysentery, and menorrhea. Decoction of bark is used in the washing of wounds, burns, asthma and piles and swelling. It has also great importance in uropathy to prevent various urinary tract diseases.	(Chopra et al., 1958); (Kirtikar and Basu, 1975); (Paudyal, 2000); (Tiwari, 2001)
Latex	It is used in the preparation of aphrodisiac drugs to boost fertility system. It acts as a curing agent in the stomach, cholera, and mumps. It is used in the treatment of the skeletal fracture. It is also used as adhesive for many purposes.	(Yadav, 1999); (Ghimire et al., 2000); (Ekanayake, 1980); (Bheemachari et al., 2007); (Dangol, 2002).
Sap of Root	Sap of root is used in the treatment of gonorrhea and diabetes. Root sap is also used to prevent muscle pain, headache, heat stroke, chronic wounds, and malaria in cattle.	(Chopra et al., 1958); (Thapa, 2001)

Figure 2. Modern utilization of F. racemosa.

Toxicology of F. racemosa

Very few studies have been carried out regarding the study of the toxicity of this plant. However, one study has been performed in order to determine the effect of F. racemosa on human physiology. Different parameters including hemoglobin, red blood cell count, white blood cell count, urea, glucose, creatinine, cholesterol, and serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase were determined and it was found that the aqueous extract of F. racemosa bark was safe up to a certain limit but after that, it produced an abnormal effect on the liver as well as kidney (Jaykaran et al., 2009; Panwar et al., 2010; Yadav et al., 2015). As very few studies have been conducted about the toxicity; therefore, it emphasizes the need for further research regarding this aspect.

Conclusion and future perspective

Different parts of F. racemosa comprise a number of phytochemicals that possess numerous biological activities and health benefits. In the present review, authors have tried to review the diversity, phytochemical and therapeutic potential, pharmacological profile, traditional uses and toxicology of this plant. But the utilization of fruits of F. racemosa is being neglected by the researchers, processors, and industrialists besides its high potential. It is because of its limited availability at fewer places and ultimately remains underutilized. Therefore, the need of the present era is to explore F. racemosa for its further utilization in the food industry, which is quite possible with the scientific intervention to make it available throughout the year and different places. The review at hand aims to attract processors and researchers for its value addition, which may enhance the socio-economic status of the folk.

Authors’ Contributions

GKC and VK carried out a major part of the literature review, drafted the manuscript and are equally first author. SK and PK co-authored, supervised the manuscript preparation and helped to finalize the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Acknowledgments

The authors are highly grateful to School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University Phagwara, Punjab, India for providing financial assistance and infrastructure for preparation of this review.