Phytochemical Fingerprinting and In Vitro Bioassays of the Ethnomedicinal Fern Tectaria coadunata (J. Smith) C. Christensen from Central Nepal.

Shyam Sharan Shrestha,Deepak Raj Pant,Michele De Franco,Serena Barbon Di Marco,Mohamad Fawzi Mahomoodally,Gokhan Zengin,Stefano Dall’Acqua,Stefania Sut,Sangeeta Rajbhandary,Valentina Gandin

doi:10.3390/molecules24244457

Abstract

Tectaria coadunata, an ethnomedicinal fern used in Nepal to treat a large number of diseases, has been poorly studied with regard to its phytochemical composition and possible bioactivity. This study was performed with the aim of supporting traditional medicine as a new source of bioactive constituents. Phytochemical compositions of methanol extracts were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), liquid chromatography–diode array detector–mass spectrophotometry (LC-DAD-MS), and liquid chromatography–fluorescence–mass spectrometry. Quali-quantitative data revealed large amount of procyanidins, mainly of the A-type, as well as eriodictyol-7-O-glucuronide and luteolin-7-O-glucoronide as main constituents. The antioxidant, cytotoxic, and inhibitory activity of five enzymes that are implicated in human diseases was evaluated for the extract and fractions. High free-radical scavenging activity in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays and inhibitory activities against cholinesterases and tyrosinase were observed. Furthermore, a moderate cytotoxic effect was observed on the 2008 and BxPC3 cell lines. Overall results showed potential usefulness of this fern as a source of phytochemicals for pharmaceutical uses.

Highlights

The use of medicinal plants has been rooted in Nepalese culture since ancient times, but this traditional knowledge is threatened by the loss of oral tradition and the use of synthetic drugs.The richness of Nepalese flora is well described and is mainly related to the peculiar geographic and pedoclimatic conditions of this country, characterized by large altitudinal variations ranging from nearly 59 m up to 8848 m in height (Mount Everest)
The present paper aimed to study T. coadunate, bridging the gap between its common medicinal use in Nepalese traditional medicine and the scarce knowledge related to its constituents and possible bioactivity
As starting point for extract characterization, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was chosen as a technique due to its ability to detect all kinds of phytoconstituents and their response factors, which are independent depending on the detected compound, following procedures previously used for other plant extracts [8,9]

Summary

Introduction

The richness of Nepalese flora is well described and is mainly related to the peculiar geographic and pedoclimatic conditions of this country, characterized by large altitudinal variations ranging from nearly 59 m up to 8848 m in height (Mount Everest). In this context, the exploration of Nepalese flora used in traditional medicine is a unique opportunity to study bioactive extracts as sources of new Molecules 2019, 24, 4457; doi:10.3390/molecules24244457 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules. The study of ethnopharmacology is fundamental to providing scientific support to the users, to preserve the knowledge in this field, and to offer the opportunity to explore scarcely studied medicinal plants

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Discussion

Conclusion