Anggun Selvya Arsyad
1 
, Arief Nurrochmad
2 , Nanang Fakhrudin
3,4* 1 Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara, Sleman 55281, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2 Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara, Sleman 55281, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
3 Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara, Sleman 55281, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
4 Medicinal Plants and Natural Products Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara, Sleman 55281, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Abstract
Ficus elastica Roxb. ex Hornem is usually found in tropical and subtropical areas, used in traditional medicine for various health problems, including pain, rheumatism, diarrhea, hypertension, infection, skin allergies, anemia, wound, hernia, and hemorrhoids. This review aims to present the phytoconstituents and pharmacological activities of F. elastica. A literature search employing PubMed, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, and Library was done to retrieve the relevant articles. F. elastica is a good source of traditional medicine for the treatment of various types of diseases, especially for microbial infections and preeclampsia. Quercitrin and myricetrin, having strong antioxidant activity, as well as ficusamide, ficusoside B, elastiquinone, elasticoside, and elasticamide are compounds, which have potential to be developed as new drugs for these conditions. In sum, the data regarding the pharmacological and safety aspects of this plant and its components are still limited. However, F. elastica is a natural product that has beneficial to human health and might be a good source for the preparation of new drugs.
Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: This review provides a detailed insight into the F. elastica plant, which can be considered as a potential source of candidate drug compounds, representing a new, safe, and effective agent to manage antimicrobial, anti-preeclampsia, antioxidant, and several other pharmacological activities.
Please cite this paper as: Arsyad AS, Fakhrudin N, Nurrochmad A. Phytochemistry, traditional uses, and pharmacological activities of Ficus elastica Roxb. ex Hornem: A review. J Herbmed Pharmacol. 2023;12(1):41-53. doi: 10.34172/jhp.2023.04.