Bringing Back the Lost Value of Philippine Edible Ferns: Their Antioxidant, Proteins and Utilization.

Abstract

Ferns have myriad compounds and are used by native people as food for a long time but this use seems to diminish over time. Knowing their use as food, bioactives and proteins were determined to demonstrate their health and wellness benefits. Ten species of edible ferns were collected and propagated in the Pteridogarden. The young sterile fronds were used to determine bioactives and proteins. The bioactives were determined by thin layer chromatography, DPPH assay, Bradford assay and SDS-PAGE. A seminar-field visit was conducted to disseminate the new information gathered and a recipe book was prepared. Phytochemical analysis revealed alkaloids, saponins, phenolics, terpenes and flavonoids. The antioxidant activity ranged from 32.5-76.0% relative to ascorbic acid or 31-152µmol ascorbic acid/g wet weight. The protein content ranged from 0.1-4.4mg/g wet weight. The molecular weights of component proteins ranged from 10-250kDa. Marsilea crenata, Acrostichum aureum, Pteris ensiformis¸ Angiopteris palmiformis, Asplenium nidus and Diplazium esculentum exhibited high quantifiable antioxidant activity. On the other hand, M. crenata, A. aureum, P. ensiformis, A. palmiformis, D. esculentum and Stenochlaena palustris have high protein content. These results together with food recipes were disseminated to the public. The ten species of edible ferns contain quantifiable amounts of antioxidants and proteins. Based on these data and the dishes prepared, M. crenata, D. esculentum¸ S. palustris, P. ensiformis, A. palmiformis, A. nidus and A. aureum are potential and alternatively good food source.

Evaluation of Anti-Tyrosinase and Antioxidant Properties of Four Fern Species for Potential Cosmetic Applications

“…The antioxidant properties of ferns are not new; in fact, extracts of some ferns, such as Pityrogramma calomelanos and Polypodium leucotomos, were recently reported as antioxidants due to the presence of polyphenols and flavonoids [21,41]. Different types of flavonoids have been described on selected Aspleniaceae ferns [42] and in ferns of the Dryopteris genus [43].…”

Cyclooxygenase (COX) and 15-Lipoxygenase (15-LOX) Inhibitory Activity and HPTLC Profile of Asplenium Nidus, Diplazium Esculentum, and Drynaria Quercifolia in Bukidnon, Philippines

“…In the literature, flavonoids (Malterud and Rydland, 2000), terpenoids (Amagata et al, 2003), allyl benzenes, allyloxy benzenes, heterocylic, and phenolic compounds (Sadeghian et al, 2015) are reported as 15-LOX inhibitors. Nevertheless, phytochemical screening of A. nidus also revealed the presence of compounds claimed to inhibit 15-LOX such as phenolic, terpene, and flavonoids (Amoroso et al, 2017). The presence of phytochemicals with known anti-inflammatory properties in the D. esculentum, D. quercifolia, and A. nidus extracts is further supported by their HPTLC profile.…”

“…In addition, Chai et al (2015) have also reported a significant amount of phenolic and flavonoids in the aqueous extract of D. esculentum. The phytochemical screening via the TLC method by Amoroso et al (2017) also reported the detection of phenolics and flavonoids using potassium ferric cyanide-ferric chloride and vanillin/sulfuric acid as a confirmatory test.…”

A comprehensive review on Nepalese wild vegetable food ferns

“…The plant extracts possess antibacterial [ 273 ], anti-inflammatory [ 274 ], antioxidative [ 275 ] and antidiabetic activities [ 276 ].…”