State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Southern Subtropical Plant Diversity, Fairy Lake Botanical Garden / Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518004, China.
J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2018;19(2):85-119. doi: 10.1631/jzus.B1600344.
The aim of this review was to explore the pharmacological activity of early tracheophytes (pteridophytes) as an alternative medicine for treating human ailments. As the first vascular plants, pteridophytes (aka, ferns and fern allies) are an ancient lineage, and human beings have been exploring and using taxa from this lineage for over 2000 years because of their beneficial properties. We have documented the medicinal uses of pteridophytes belonging to thirty different families. The lycophyte Selaginella sp. was shown in earlier studies to have multiple pharmacological activity, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antidiabetic, antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-Alzheimer properties. Among all the pteridophytes examined, taxa from the Pteridaceae, Polypodiaceae, and Adiantaceae exhibited significant medicinal activity. Based on our review, many pteridophytes have properties that could be used in alternative medicine for treatment of various human illnesses. Biotechnological tools can be used to preserve and even improve their bioactive molecules for the preparation of medicines against illness. Even though several studies have reported medicinal uses of ferns, the possible bioactive compounds of several pteridophytes have not been identified. Furthermore, their optimal dosage level and treatment strategies still need to be determined. Finally, the future direction of pteridophyte research is discussed.
本次综述的目的是探索早期维管植物（蕨类植物）作为治疗人类疾病的替代药物的药理学活性。作为第一批维管植物，蕨类植物（又名蕨类植物和蕨类植物联盟）是一个古老的谱系，由于其有益特性，人类已经探索和使用了来自这个谱系的分类群超过 2000 年。我们已经记录了属于三十个不同科的蕨类植物的药用用途。在早期研究中，石松属 Selaginella sp. 被证明具有多种药理学活性，如抗氧化、抗炎、抗癌、抗糖尿病、抗病毒、抗菌和抗阿尔茨海默病特性。在所有检查过的蕨类植物中，来自凤尾蕨科、水龙骨科和铁角蕨科的类群表现出显著的药用活性。根据我们的综述，许多蕨类植物具有可用于替代医学治疗各种人类疾病的特性。生物技术工具可用于保存甚至改善其生物活性分子，以制备治疗疾病的药物。尽管有几项研究报告了蕨类植物的药用用途，但几种蕨类植物的可能生物活性化合物尚未被确定。此外，它们的最佳剂量水平和治疗策略仍有待确定。最后，讨论了蕨类植物研究的未来方向。
