Biopotency of Pteridophytes: A Review

Abstract

From Silurian period, pteridophytes exist in the nature and expected to harbour various useful secondary metabolites. By the presence of secondary metabolites, pteridophytes are able to survive for more than 450 million years and house various biological activities, viz. anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, hepatoprotectivity, wound healing, etc. The review intends to summarize the available biopotential of pteridophytes from 2000 to 2021. A total of 244 species are taken into account for the present review. This chapter recorded anti-oxidant potential (135), anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities (97), cytotoxic properties (61), anti-cancer activities (39), anti-inflammatory activities (26), anti-diabetic potential (23), hepatoprotective properties (9), wound healing potential (7) and larvicidal activities (6) of pteridophytes. We made an attempt to provide an update on the biopotential of pteridophytes. This review might be useful for the pteridologist, phytochemist and pharmacist for further research.