Review finds cytotoxicity and apoptotic effects of Artocarpus heterophyllus, suggesting further pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies are needed for Ficus racemosa.
Moraceae yield diverse bioactives with anticancer potential. This review synthesizes preclinical evidence on Artocarpus heterophyllus and Ficus racemosa (syn. F. glomerata), while treating F. carica only as related-species context. Searches in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar (through December 2023) identified in vitro and in vivo studies reporting anticancer endpoints. Potency was standardized to µM for pure compounds and µg/mL for extracts; where multiple observations existed per cell line, medians and interquartile ranges were summarized. Mechanistic support was graded: Tier 0 (phenotypic only), Tier 1 (cell signaling by Western blot/ELISA/IF), Tier 2 (transcript-level), and Tier 3 (in vivo target modulation). Prenylated flavonoids from A. heterophyllus (e.g., artocarpin) showed consistent cytotoxicity with apoptosis and PI3K/Akt involvement (Tiers 1–2), whereas F. racemosa extracts exhibited modest antiproliferative activity with Tier-1 markers. Selectivity was reported when normal-cell comparators were available. Translation is limited by heterogeneous extraction/reporting, sparse animal-tumor studies for F. racemosa, and the absence of clinical trials. Priorities include composition-defined materials, pharmacokinetics/toxicology, and mechanism-anchored in vivo studies.
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Bodele et al. (2025) studied this question.
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