I was taking a walk recently and saw Ficus exasperata, known as ewe eepin, in front of a house, and it reminded me of the story I shared about how this plant induced a woman’s menstruation.
So, on our visit to nature’s pharmacy this week, we shall be discussing Ficus exasperata, in the family Moraceae.
It is popularly known as sandpaper leaf and ewe eepin in Yoruba.
The fresh leaf is locally added to oil palm fruits during the milling or pounding stage in order to improve the quality and stability of the oil obtained.
It is commonly employed in African traditional medicine for the treatment of a wide range of conditions, and several investigations have been conducted into its medicinal actions.
The inclusion of Ficus exasperata leaves in the processing of oil palm fruits has resulted in better stabilisation of red oil in Nigeria. Antioxidant activities were enhanced, while saponins, where present, were eliminated and sterols reduced.
The leaves of Ficus exasperata are mashed and prepared as poultices, which are placed on swellings, wounds, and arthritic joints to relieve swelling and pain by the Igede tribe in Benue State, Nigeria.
The Yoruba-speaking people of Western Nigeria often use Ficus exasperata leaves traditionally for the management, control, and/or treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular dysfunctions.
Different methods such as soaking, boiling, hand maceration, and blending have been employed in preparing sandpaper leaf extracts for hypertensive patients.
Scientific studies confirm the antihypertensive activity and also conclude that the soaking method appears to be the most promising among the methods of using the plant to treat hypertension.
I stumbled upon a research study conducted on the leaves of this plant in Ghana. The leaves were collected from the campus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, in June 2007.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the anti-arthritic and antioxidant properties of F. exasperata leaf extract, with the aim of establishing the scientific basis of its traditional medicinal uses in inflammatory conditions. The results clearly indicated that the leaf extract exhibits anti-arthritic and antioxidant effects.
This conclusion validates its traditional use in the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions.
Aqueous extracts of the leaf have shown gastrointestinal protective effects, diuretic activity, lipid-lowering effects, and hypotensive effects.
Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaf did not show any toxicity in various bioassays.
A compound with nematicidal activity, 5-methoxysporalen, has been isolated from the leaf. Its content was six times higher in young leaves than in mature leaves.
The stem and leaf contain alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and cyanogenic glycosides. The fruit contains flavonoids and xanthones.
Root decoctions are used in the treatment of urinary tract ailments, gonorrhoea, asthma, and tuberculosis. The root is chewed in cases of cough and is also an ingredient in prescriptions used to expel worms.
The root bark is used against eye problems. The body is rubbed with root scrapings as a tonic.
Wood ash or charcoal is applied to lesions caused by leprosy.
Decoctions of the bark are used in the treatment of coughs, worms, haemorrhoids, and abnormal enlargement of the spleen. They are also used as ingredients in the treatment of heart problems.
A cold bark extract is drunk in cases of dizziness. A maceration of the bark, combined with Senna occidentalis and Setaria megaphylla, is taken to facilitate childbirth or to treat gonorrhoea.
Sap from the stem bark is used to stop bleeding and to treat wounds, sores, abscesses, eye ailments, stomach ache, and for the removal of spines. However, some traditional healers consider it corrosive to the skin and dangerous to ingest. The ash of burnt stem bark is sprinkled on wounds.
Scrapings from the bark are made into an embrocation with stimulant and tonic properties. The stem bark is locally applied to the body for the treatment of malaria.
The leaves and young stems are abortifacient, analgesic, antidote, diuretic, emetic, oxytocic, and stomachic.
A decoction is taken for the treatment of dysentery, diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, respiratory conditions such as coughs, colds, flu, and asthma, and hypertension. The young leaf is chewed and swallowed in cases of gastric ulcers.
Leaf juice or a decoction of the leaf is applied as an enema for the treatment of stomach ache, and as an antidote to poison.
The leafy shoot is used in preparations applied externally against jaundice. Leaf pulp or sap is externally applied for the treatment of eye ailments, rashes, wounds, leprous sores, fungal infections, itching, oedema, ringworm, rheumatism, and lumbar and intercostal pain.
Powder from the dried leaf is sprinkled on burns. The leaves are used as a mouthwash against thrush, inflammation of the gums, and other mouth and throat ailments.
The head is rubbed with warmed leaves for the treatment of headaches; tumours are also rubbed with warmed leaves. In cases of severe headache, the patient’s head is washed with a decoction of the leaf.
The abrasive leaf surface is used to scarify the skin to promote penetration of medicines and to scour the tongue and throat for the treatment of mouth and throat ailments.
The leaf is also used to scratch itching parts of the body and is ingested for mechanical treatment of diarrhoea and intestinal worms.
The fruit is eaten for the treatment of coughs and venereal diseases. The dried and powdered fruit is added to porridge for the treatment of sterility in women.
Water mixed with seed powder is drunk as a tonic in cases of fever.
The rough leaves are widely used as sandpaper for polishing wooden, metal, or ivory articles such as kitchen utensils, gourds, sticks, bows, spear shafts, chairs, boards, and bracelets.
The wood is used for making canoes, house posts, furniture, stools, utensils, containers, and drums. It is also used as fuelwood and for making charcoal. Young branches are used for making pipe stems.
The results of a study titled. ‘Effects of Ficus exasperata on neurotransmission and expression of BDNF, tau, AChE, and BACE in diabetic rats by Adeyomoye et al demonstrate that Ficus exasperata Vahl leaf extract exerts significant effects on neurotransmitter levels, antioxidant enzyme activity, and mRNA expression of key biomolecules in diabetic rats.’
The extract’s ability to reduce blood glucose and modulate neurotransmitter systems highlights its potential as a therapeutic agent for managing diabetic neuropathies.
In another study titled ‘Extracts of Ficus exasperata leaf inhibit topical and systemic inflammation in rodents and suppress LPS-induced expression of mediators of inflammation in macrophages’ by Nworu et al, results show that F. exasperata leaf extracts possess anti-inflammatory properties that could underlie the benefits associated with the folkloric use of the plant. The study also shows that the extracts may act through the suppression of mediators of inflammation, such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and iNO. This suggests that F. exasperata should be explored further as a potential source of anti-inflammatory compounds.
Fresh or dried leaves may be boiled in water to create a tea, though soaking may be preferable to boiling for antihypertensive properties, according to some studies.
The leaves may also be mashed and applied directly to the skin for swelling, wounds, itching, or inflammation.
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