Abstract
BackgroundFor generations, the rhizomes of Drynaria ferns have been used as traditional medicine in Asia. Despite this, the bioactivities of Drynaria rhizomes and leaves have rarely been studied scientifically.MethodsThis study evaluates the antioxidant properties of the methanolic extracts of the fertile fronds and rhizomes from three species in this genus: Drynaria quercifolia, Drynaria rigidula and Drynaria sparsisora. The phenolic and flavonoid contents of the samples were respectively quantified with the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) assays, while the antioxidant activities were determined via measuring the DPPH radical scavenging activity (FRS), ferric reducing power (FRP), ferrous ion chelating (FIC) activity and lipid peroxidation inhibition (LPI). The tyrosinase inhibition activity of all three species was also reported.ResultsThe fertile fronds of D. quercifolia were found to exhibit the highest overall TPC (2939 ± 469 mg GAE/100 g) and antioxidant activity amongst all the samples, and the fertile fronds of D. quercifolia and D. rigidula exhibited superior TPC and FRP compared to their rhizomes, despite only the latter being widely used in traditional medicine. The fronds of D. quercifolia had high tyrosinase inhibition activity (56.6 ± 5.0 %), but most of the Drynaria extracts showed unexpected tyrosinase enhancement instead, particularly for D. sparsisora’s fronds.ConclusionThe high bioactivity of the fertile fronds in the fern species indicate that there is value in further research on the fronds of ferns which are commonly used mostly, or only, for their rhizomes.
Highlights
The rhizomes of Drynaria ferns have been used as traditional medicine in Asia
The total phenolic content (TPC), free radical scavenging activity (FRS), ferric reducing power (FRP) and total flavonoid content (TFC) results reported in Table 1 are a measure of the primary antioxidant activity—the ability to scavenge free radicals, inhibiting chain initiation and terminating chain propagation [26]
D. quercifolia fertile fronds exhibited a very high TPC of 2939 ± 469 mg GAE/100 g—consistent with previous findings reported by our research group where D. quercifolia fertile fronds ranked second highest in TPC amongst the fifteen ferns screened with an average TPC exceeding 2500 mg GAE/100 g [27]
Summary
The rhizomes of Drynaria ferns have been used as traditional medicine in Asia. Interest in phenolic compounds has been on the rise due to their potential human health benefits [1]. They are the most abundant class of plant antioxidants—compounds capable of deactivating or stabilizing free radicals, thereby reducing free-radical-mediated cellular and tissue damage [2]. The rhizomes of the Drynaria genus of ferns have a long history of being used as traditional medicine, in India [8], China [9] and Southeast Asia [10]. Smith is one of the best-known members of this genus, commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine (“Ashwakatri”) [8] where its boiled rhizome decoction is consumed orally for its anti-pyretic properties; and used as a treatment for tuberculosis
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