Etymology

According to Merriam-Webster, in ancient Greece, sykophantēs meant “slanderer.” This word is derived from sykon (meaning “fig”) and phainein (meaning “to show or reveal”). Fig farmers had to pay taxes on the number of figs brought to market, and sometimes they counted low. Someone else might tell the tax collector on them—the “fig revealers”—and they would be forced to pay. Through time the meaning of sykophantēs evolved from squealer to flatterer.³

Medical Uses

Fig plants and derivatives have been used for a variety of illness through time.

Wound coverings from fresh or dried figs, fig leaves, or fig wines have been used. The sap has been used as an expectorant, diuretic, and de-worming agent.

Fig leaves have been used for their antidiabetic and vermifugal effect.

Toxicity

Handling the plant, especially the leaves and sap, can cause a contact phytophotodermatitis and eye irritation if topically introduced.

The sap of fig trees contains furocoumarins (5-methoxypsoralen) and other defensive chemicals to protect the tree from fungal pathogens. When the fig latex (white sap) comes in contact with skin it causes a keratolytic effect, resulting in delayed blistering and vesicle formation.

The main symptoms of phytophotodermatitis are burning, itchy erythema, and edema, which usually begin 24 hours after exposure. Post-burn, it can also cause long term hyperpigmentation.

Imen describes four young children who used fig leaves to create a paste that they colored and spread on their skin in play resulting in severe second-degree burns sending them to the burn unit for care. The article’s pictures of blistering and skin sloughing clearly demonstrate the severe dermatological reactions that can occur.⁴

There is no antidote.

Dr. Hack is chief of the division of medical toxicology and vice chair for research at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

References

1. Kislev ME, et al. Early domesticated fig in the Jordan Valley. Science. 2006;312:1372–1374.
2. Giordano C, et al. Ficus carica L. leaf anatomy: Trichomes and solid inclusions. Annals of Applied Biology. 2020;176:47-54.
3. Merriam Webster online dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sycophant. Accessed May 16, 2023.
4. Imen MS, et al. The curious cases of burn by fig tree leaves. Indian J Dermatol. 2019;64:71-73