Medicinal pteridophytes: ethnopharmacological, phytochemical, and clinical attributes

Abstract

Background: Almost from the very beginning of human existence, man has been interacting with plants. Throughout human history, plants have provided humans with basic needs such as sustenance, firewood, livestock feed, and wood. The world has approximately 3 million vascular plants. The treatment of primary health problems is provided primarily by traditional medicines by around 80% of the world's population. Compared to other vascular plants, pteridophytes remain underexplored in ethnobotanical aspects, despite being regarded as a valuable component of healthcare for centuries. As an alternative medicine, pteridophytes are being investigated for their pharmacological activity. Almost 2000 years ago, humans were exploring and using plant species from this lineage because of its beneficial properties since pteridophytes were the first vascular plants. Main body of the abstract: All popular search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were searched to retrieve the relevant literature using various search strings relevant to the topic. Pteridophytes belonging to thirty different families have been documented as medicinal plants. For instance, Selaginella sp. has been demonstrated to have numerous therapeutic properties, including antioxidative, inflammation-reducing, anti-carcinogenic, diabetes-fighting, virucidal, antibacterial, and anti-senile dementia effects. In addition, clinical trials and studies performed on pteridophytes and derived compounds are also discussed in details. Short conclusion: This review offers a compilation of therapeutically valuable pteridophytes utilized by local ethnic groups, as well as the public. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].