Ferns and Lycopods—A Potential Treasury of Anticancer Agents but Also a Carcinogenic Hazard

摘要: Many species of seedless vascular plants—ferns and lycopods—have been used as food folk medicine since ancient times. Some them have become the focus intensive research concerning their anticancer properties. Studies on effect crude extracts are being increasingly replaced by bioactivity-guided fractionation, well detailed assessment mechanism action. Numerous compounds—especially flavonoids such amentoflavone protoapigenone, also simpler phenolic compounds, steroids, alkaloids terpenoids—were isolated found to be cytotoxic, particularly pro-apoptotic, or induce cell cycle arrest in cancer lines vitro. In vivo experiments, some fern-derived compounds inhibited tumour growth with little toxicity. On other hand, many ferns—not only well-known Bracken (Pteridium)—may pose a significant hazard human health due fact that they contain carcinogenic sesquiterpenoids analogues. The objective this review is summarise recent state properties ferns lycopods, characteristic bioactive constituents. posed mentioned. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.