Adebayo Oluwatoyin Temilolu, Oluremi Bolaji Bosede, Ogunlakin Akingbolabo Daniel, Gyebi Gideon Ampoma, Sonibare Mubo Adeola
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 9;20(4):e0318943. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318943. eCollection 2025.
Traditionally, Pteridium aquilinum L. has been utilized as medicine for ages, however, it is not listed in the Nigerian herbal pharmacopeia, and there is no information regarding its standardization and antimicrobial activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the pharmacognostic parameters and antimicrobial activity of Pteridium aquilinum leaf.
Macroscopy, chemo-microscopy, fluorescence, and microscopic analyses of the leaf were investigated using standard methods. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical screening, thin layer chromatography (TLC), GC-MS, and FTIR were also determined using standard procedures. Antioxidants were evaluated using DPPH. The antimicrobial activities of methanol extract and fractions were evaluated using Agar well diffusion method against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The macroscopic features of P. aquilinum leaf include a bi-pinnate leaflet and alternate pinna arrangement. The GC-MS-identified compounds in the most active (DCM fraction) were docked against Candida albicans Sterol 14-alpha demethylase (5TZ1) and Escherichia coli DNA gyrase subunit B (6YD9).
The macroscopic features and microscopic features such as anomocytic stomata, numerous stomata in the abaxial layer, and absence of stomata in the adaxial layer were observed. Chemomicroscopy of the powdered leaves shows that the leaf contains tannins, starch, and lignin. GC-MS detected eighteen compounds. The antimicrobial test revealed that the dichloromethane fraction of P. aquilinum leaf was most active on all the test strains (bacteria and fungi) at 25 mg/mL to 100 mg/mL concentrations. Through in silico research, the binding of 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, (4-hydroxybenzoyl) hydrazine, octadecadienoyl chloride, and 11,14-Eicosadienoic acid, detected in the DCM fraction by GC-MS analysis, to the active sites of 5TZ1 and 6YD9 was stable.
This research gave scientific credence to the traditional medical practice of treating infections with P. aquilinum leaves.
传统上，蕨菜长期以来一直被用作药物，然而，它未被列入尼日利亚草药药典，且关于其标准化和抗菌活性的信息也不存在。因此，本研究的目的是考察蕨菜叶片的生药学参数和抗菌活性。
采用标准方法对叶片进行宏观、化学显微、荧光和显微分析。还使用标准程序进行定性和定量植物化学筛选、薄层色谱（TLC）、气相色谱 - 质谱联用（GC - MS）和傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）分析。使用二苯基苦味酰基自由基（DPPH）评估抗氧化剂。采用琼脂扩散法评估甲醇提取物及其馏分对白色念珠菌、黑曲霉、金黄色葡萄球菌、鼠伤寒沙门氏菌、大肠杆菌和铜绿假单胞菌的抗菌活性。蕨菜叶片的宏观特征包括二回羽状小叶和互生羽片排列。对气相色谱 - 质谱联用鉴定出的最具活性馏分（二氯甲烷馏分）中的化合物，针对白色念珠菌甾醇14 - α脱甲基酶（5TZ1）和大肠杆菌DNA促旋酶亚基B（6YD9）进行对接。
观察到宏观特征和显微特征，如不规则型气孔、下表皮层有大量气孔以及上表皮层无气孔。粉末状叶片的化学显微分析表明叶片含有单宁、淀粉和木质素。气相色谱 - 质谱联用检测到18种化合物。抗菌试验表明，蕨菜叶片的二氯甲烷馏分在25 mg/mL至100 mg/mL浓度下对所有受试菌株（细菌和真菌）的活性最强。通过计算机模拟研究，气相色谱 - 质谱分析在二氯甲烷馏分中检测到的1,2 - 苯二甲酸、（4 - 羟基苯甲酰）肼、十八碳二烯酰氯和11,14 - 二十碳二烯酸与5TZ1和6YD9活性位点的结合是稳定的。
本研究为用蕨菜叶片治疗感染的传统医学实践提供了科学依据。
