A comprehensive review on the pharmacological properties of Diplazium esculentum, an edible fern

Abstract

Diplazium esculentum (Family: Athyriaceae), one of the most popular wild edible fern, is considered as a pharmacologically diverse ethnomedicinal plant. The coiled fronds and young leaves of this plant have a wide range ethnomedicinal uses in folk medicine around the world directed for a number of ailments. The present article is the first comprehensive review on the pharmacological activities of this particular edible fern. The structural formulas of all the chemical constituents identified and isolated so far from D. esculentum are also provided in the present review. The most thoroughly studied pharmacological activities viz., antioxidant, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, neuromodulatory, anti-fertility, cytotoxic, etc.) of the D. esculentum extracts have been discussed. This comprehensive review will be of help for the future researchers investigating for more potent compounds and their pharmacological activities.