Fig (Wuhuaguo): Clearing Heat and Engendering Fluids, Strengthening the Spleen and Stimulating Appetite, Resolving Toxin and Dispersing Swelling

The fig is the fruit of Ficus carica L. (family Moraceae, genus Ficus), and is both a food and a medicinal. It is sweet in flavor and cool in nature, enters the Lung, Stomach and Large Intestine meridians. It clears heat and engenders fluids, strengthens the spleen and stimulates the appetite, resolves toxin and disperses swelling. It is mainly used for sore and swollen throat, dry cough with hoarseness, scanty lactation, intestinal heat constipation, poor appetite, indigestion, diarrhea, dysentery, carbuncles and swellings, and tinea.

The fig tree, as well as ripe and unripe figs, all have anti-cancer effects. The latex of the fig contains components that inhibit transplanted sarcoma in rats. The substance obtained by treating the water extract of dried figs with activated carbon and acetone has an anti-Ehrlich-sarcoma effect. The latex of unripe figs can inhibit transplanted sarcoma in rats and spontaneous breast cancer in mice, causing tumor necrosis; it can also delay the development of transplanted adenocarcinoma, myelogenous leukemia and lymphosarcoma, causing them to regress. The water extract of figs has a marked tumor-inhibiting effect on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (solid tumor) in mice, mouse sarcoma S180, mouse hepatoma ascites (HepA), and Lewis lung cancer. Figs can also improve the erythrocyte immune function of tumor-bearing mice and have a bidirectional regulatory effect on macrophages. Therefore, the fig is a good anti-cancer food; patients with gastric, intestinal or esophageal cancer should eat more figs, but those with spleen-stomach deficiency-cold should avoid them.

Figs can also treat hemorrhoids. Take 10–20 figs, add 2000 ml of water and decoct. Half an hour before bedtime each evening, fumigate and wash the anus once; seven consecutive applications form one course, and a second course may be used again. In treating 77 cases of hemorrhoids, all were cured: 36 cases were cured in 10 days, and the other 41 in 14 days.

Figs also have a good effect on sore throat, dry cough and chronic cough. For sore throat, use 7 figs plus 15 g of Jinyinhua (Honeysuckle flower), decoct and take. For dry cough and chronic cough, use 9 g of figs, 15 g of raisins and 6 g of Gancao (raw Glycyrrhiza), decoct in water and take. In addition, eating figs also improves constipation.