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Botany
Glabrous spreading tree, up
to 8 meters high, with numerous adventitious roots from the trunk
and branches.
Leaves are large and smooth, leathery and shiny, slenderly acuminate
and entirem with prominent midribs. The stipules are usually
red, often as long as the leaves.
Distribution
Introduced, but now pantropic
in cultivation. Popularly planted as a roadside tree.
Chemical constituents
and characteristics
The latex contains caoutchouc, 10-30
per cent; a bitter substance; albuminoid. The wax contains cerotic acid.
Parts utilized
Rootlets and bark.
Uses
Folkloric
- Skin eruptions and dermatitis: Boil
one cup of chopped bark in 1/2 gallon of water for 10 mins; use decoction
to wash involved areas, twice daily.
- Decoction of aerial rootlets used for wounds, cuts and sores.
- Bark is astringent and used as styptics for wounds.
- Decoction of latex for parasitic worms (trichuris trichura).
• In northern Cameroon,
used as fertility enhancement. source
Plant that Detoxify the
Air
- Of the ficus plants tested, the rubber
plant is the best for removing chemical toxins from the indoor environment,
especially formaldehyde.
Studies
• Antiinflammatory:
Study showed marked inhibition of experimentally induced inflammation,
similar to those achieved with indomethacin, an effect attributed to
the presence of flavonoids.
• Hypoallergenicity:
(1) Ficus elastica has been suggested as a possible source of natural
rubber latex without the allergenicity of latex protein from Hevea basiliensis.
(2) Prelim studies showed that natural rubber from Ficus elastica do
not cause allergic reactions in hypersenstivie humans
• Antimicrobial / Constituents:
Study isolated four known compounds from the leaves of F elastica – emodin, sucrose, morin and rutrin. Results showed antimicrobial activity against B cereus and Pseudomoas aeruginosa. No Antifungal activity was observed.
Superstition
An occasional folkloric advice against
having it as a decorative bonzai inside the house as it is believed
to invite ghosts.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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