Insights into Chemical Diversity and Potential Health-Promoting Effects of Ferns

Abstract

The scientific community is focusing on how to enhance human health and immunity through functional foods, and dietary supplements are proven to have a positive as well as a protective effect against infectious and chronic diseases. Ferns act as a taxonomical linkage between higher and lower plants and are endowed with a wide chemical diversity not subjected to sufficient scrutinization before. Even though a wealth of traditional medicinal fern uses were recorded in Chinese medicine, robust phytochemical and biological investigations of these plants are lacking. Herein, an extensive search was conducted using the keywords ferns and compounds, ferns and NMR, ferns and toxicity, and the terms ferns and chemistry, lignans, Polypodiaceae, NMR, isolation, bioactive compounds, terpenes, phenolics, phloroglucinols, monoterpenes, alkaloids, phenolics, and fatty acids were utilized with the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT. Databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Reaxys were utilized to reveal a wealth of information regarding fern chemistry and their health-promoting effects. Terpenes followed by phenolics represented the largest number of isolated active compounds. Regarding the neuroprotective effects, Psilotium, Polypodium, and Dryopteris species possessed as their major phenolics component unique chemical moieties including catechins, procyanidins, and bioflavonoids. In this updated chemical review, the pharmacological and chemical aspects of ferns are compiled manifesting their chemical diversity in the last seven years (2017–2024) together with a special focus on their nutritive and potential health-promoting effects.