Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Toxicological Properties of Ficus deltoidea: A Review of a Recent Research

Ficus deltoidea (Mas Cotek) is one of the commonly used medicinal plants in Malaysia and it belongs to the family of Moraceae. It is a shrub that reaches a height of six feet, used as an ornamental plant in the tropics or in the home and conservatories. This plant is native to Southeast Asia and Philiphines. It has been used to relieve headache, fever, pneumonia, heart problems, migraines, skin diseases, diarrhea, and toothache. It is also used as an aphrodisiac tonic. Decoction of the whole plant has been used as herbal drink by women after birth to strengthen the uterus and vaginal muscles. It also improves blood circulation and regains body strength as well as treats disorders related to menstrual cycle. This plant is basically a Malay traditional medicine which was very popular ever since it has good medicinal properties. Based on ethnobotanical approaches, F. deltoidea has been claimed to possess antidiabetic, antiulcerogenic, antioxidant, anti-melanogenic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antihypertensive properties. Recently, there were a lot of investigations that was carried out to isolate some of the chemical constituents in F. deltoidea to understand how it influences the pharmacological properties of the plant. The plant contains flavonoid, tannins, triterpenoids and phenols. It has been investigated that generally F. deltoidea is safe and nontoxic. However, there are different studies that are still going on to investigate more about the toxicological effects and drug interactions in the long run of human consumption. Therefore, the objective of the review is to summarise the phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties of this important medicinal plant.