Tropical and subtropical fruits (2+1)

Composition and Uses

• The fresh fruit contains 11.5 percent total sugars, traces of iron, Vit. A, Vit. C, Protein, Fat, Calcium, Riboflavin, Thiamine, etc. Dry fruits are very delicious. It is also used for preparation of Jam and Jelly. Figs boiled in milk are repeatedly packed against swollen gums; The fruits are also used against tumor and other abnormal growth. Leaves are used as fodder. In southern France, fig leaves are used as a source of perfume extraction called “Fig – leaf absolute”.
• The fruits are consumed as fresh, dried, preserved, candied or canned products. The latex is widely applied on warts, skin ulcers and sores. A decoction of the fruits is gargled to get relief from sore throat. The leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diabetes and calcifications in the kidneys and liver. Latex is used to coagulate milk, unripe fruits are used as vegetables after cooking.
• The latex of the unripe fruits and also any part of the tree may be severely irritating to the skin and may cause hazard to the fig harvester, packers and also workers of food industries and to those who employ the latex to treat skin diseases.
• The edible fruit of fig botanically called as ‘Synconium’ which consists of hollow receptacle with a narrow aperture called as ‘Ostiole’ at tip and numerous small flowers living the inner surface. The true fruit is tiny drupelets inside the cavity of the fused peduncle.