Gen info
- Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae.
- There are about 97 species of Ficus distributed in the Philippine archipelago (Barcelona 2011).
- Etymology: Ficus derives from Latin, meaning fig or fig tree; minahassae relates to Minahassa, an Indonesia name for the northern arm of the Island of Sulawesi, east of Borneo.

Botany
• Hagimit is a widely spreading tree, with the stem more or less buttressed at the base, and grows to 15 meters or more in height. Branchlets are long, and setosely hairy. Leaves, arising mainly from the ends of the twigs, are papery, flat, covered with long reddish-brown hairs especially beneath, ovate, 10 to 20 centimeters long, with entire or minutely toothed margins, upon 3- to 5-centimeter long, very stout, and long-haired petioles. Midrib has a pair of glands at the base. Fruit is stalkless, small, and angularly obovoid, and occurs in small, nearly spherical heads or long, hanging branches which grow in large numbers from the trunk and larger branches.

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- In primary forests, chiefly along streams, at low and medium altitudes, ascending to 1,350 meters, throughout the Philippines.
- Also native to Borneo, Sulawesi.

Constituents
- Study of dichloromethane extract of leaves isolated 20hydroxyethyl benzoate (1), phytyl fatty acid (2), squalene (3), ß-sitostrol (4). (2)
- Phytochemical screening of leaves have yielded tannins, steroids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, and flavonoids.
- Study of fruits yielded steroids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and polyphenols. (7)

Properties
- Antirheumatic, astringent.
- Studies have suggest antibacterial, fruit-storage sustaining, radical scavenging, anti-SARS-CoV-2 properties.

Parts used
Leaves, bark, sap.

Uses
Edibility
- Sap from roots employed as beverage.
- Fruits are edible.
- Leaves, roots, and stems are edible, usually boiled.
Folkloric
- Leaves used topically as antirheumatic.
- Reddish color of bark decoction suggest astringent properties.
- In Mindanao, the Higaonon tribe of Rogongon, Iligan City, use the roots, boiled in water, and drank three times daily, to enhance milk production in lactating mothers; also for relief of muscle pains or for fatigue or "bughat" in women. Leaves, roasted, pounded and mixed with oil, are applied directly to heal boils and bruises. (1)
- Ayta communities use the fruit for childbirth. (6)
- In Indonesia, used for treatment of rheumatism, bodily pains, bruises, fatigue, fever, relapse, migraines, convulsions, colds, cough, influenza, fractures, and for stimulation of lactation in breastfeeding women. (9)
- In Agusan del Sur, juices squeezed from young shoots mixed with Alphitonia excelsa drunk for convulsion, colds, cough, fever, influenza. (11)
- In Agusan del Norte, decoction of roots drunk for relapse. Root paste used for fractures. (12)
- Manobo tribe of Surigao del Sur use decoction of roots for fever and headaches. (13)
Others
- Bark: Used for making rope.

Studies
• Antibacterial / Endophytic Bacteria from Leaf: Study sought to identify the endophytic bacteria residing in the leaf of Ficus minahassae, and their antibacterial activity against lab bacterial strains, S. aureus and E. coli. A yellow-pigmental (YL1) and beige-pigmental (YL2) bacteria were isolated from the internal tissue of langusei. YL1 had 100% identity with Brachybacterium muris, while YL2 had 99% identity with Pseudacidovoras intermedius. Isolate YL2 was about to inhibit growth of S. aureus but not E coli. YL1 inhibited neither of the reference bacteria.(4)
• Effect of Hagimit Extract Coating on Radical Scavenging Activity of Red Tomato Fruit: Study evaluated the effect of storage time on free radical scavenging activity (FRSA) of mature red tomatoes with hagimit extract. Results showed free radical scavenging activity of untreated tomato fruit drastically reduced after six days of storage. Tomato fruits coated with polar hagimit extracts showed sustained free radical scavenging activity until 12 days of storage. Application of hagimit extracts 4, 6 and 8 days after harvest showed similar preservation of FRSA. Optimum FRSAs of tomato fruits coated with aqueous, ethanolic, and acetic acid extracts were 340.54, 349.01, and 348.88 µmol TE/100g, respectively. (5)
• Potential Inhibitory Effect against SARS-CoV-2 / Leaves: Study evaluated the inhibitory potential of bioactive compounds from langusei leaves against SARS-CoV-2 using an in silico approach. Best docking results was the lowest binding free energy value (kcal/mol). Results showed ß-sitosterol and phytyl fatty acid esters exhibited highest binding affinity for several SARS-CoV-2 receptors. Results suggest the leaf compounds have potential to be developed as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs. (10)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Medicinal Plants Used by the Higaonon Tribe of Rogongon, Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines / Lilybeth F. Olowa, Mark Anthony J. Torres, Eduardo C. Aranico and Cesar G. Demayo / Advances in Environmental Biology, 2012; 6(4): 1442-1449
(2)
Chemical Constituents of Ficus minahassae (Teijsm. & de Vriese) Miq. / Phelan Apostol, Mariquit de los Reyes, Emelina Mandia, Chien-Chang Shen, Consolacion Ragasa / Der Pharma Chemica, Dec 2016; 8(20)
(3)
Ficus minahassae / Synonyms / The Plant List
(4)
Endophytic Bacteria isolated from the leaf of Langusei (Ficus minahassae Tesym. & De Vr.) and their antibacterial activities / T E Tallei, Y T Linelejan, S D Umboh, A A Adam, Muslem, and R Idroes / IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 796, 2020; 012047 / doi:10.1088/1757-899X/796/1/012047
(5)
Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Mature Red Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Fruit Coated with Hagimit (Ficus minahassae Miq.) Extract / Jesriel Mancao Boko, Felix Managbanag Salas / Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences. Special Issue: Food Processing and Food Quality., 2015; Vol 3, No 1-2: pp. 100-105. / doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.s.2015030102.29
(6)
Useful Plants of Selected Ayta Communities from Porac, Pampanga, Twenty Years after the Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo / Elena M Ragragio, Cynthia Neri Zayas, and Jasper John A Obico / Philippine Journal of Science, Special Issue; 142: pp 169-181
(7)
Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Activity of Edible Wild Fruits in Benguet, Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines / Racquel Barcelo / Electronic Journal of Biology, 2015; 11(3): pp 80-89
(9)
Ficus minahassae (Teijsm. & de Vriese) Miq.: A Fig Full of Health Benefits from North Sulawesi, Indonesia: A Mini Review / Abdul Hawil Abas, Tirna Ekawati Tallaei, Rinaldi Idroes, Fatimawali Fatimawali / Malacca Pharmaceutics, 2023; 1(1) / ISSN: 2988-1064
(10)
Analysis of Inhibitory Potential of Bioactive Compounds from Langusei (Ficus minhassae Tesym. & De Vr.) against SARS-CoV-2 using an in silico Approach / Mutiara Elanda Tallungan, Edwin de Queljoe, Fatimawali Fatimawali, Trina Ekawati Tallei / Journal of Biotechnology and Conservation Wallacea (JBCW), 2021; 1(1) / DOI: 10.35799/jbcw.v1i1.35722
(11)
Medicinal Plants used by the Manobo Tribe of Prosperidad, Agusan Del Sur, Philippinesan Ethnobotanical Survey / Lyn de la Rosa Paraguison, Danilo Niew Tandang, Grecebio Jonathan Duran Alejandro / Asian Journal of Biological and Life Sciences, 2020; 9(3) / DOI: 10.5530/ajbls.2020.9.49
(12)
Medicinal plants used by the local communities of Sitio Lomboyan, Barangay Guinabsan, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, Philippines / Michelle G Omac, Achie A Along, Florence Jhun F Almadin et al / Annals of Studies in Science and Humanities, 2021; 3(1): pp 1-14 / pISSN: 2408-3623 / eISSN: 2408-3631
(13)
Ethnopharmacological documentation and molecular authentication of medicinal plants used by the Manobo and Mamanwa tribes of Surigao del Sur, Philippines / Vince Adrian D Ilagan, Grecebio Jonathan D Alejandro, Freddie A Blasco et al / BIODIVERSITAS, 2022; 23(6): pp 3185-3202 / eISSN: 2085-4722 /
pISSN: 1412-033X / DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d230646

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)