Author(s):

Barine Innocent Nwiloh, Comfort Chinazo Monago-Ighorodje and Grace Nnenna Onwubiko

Abstract: Pteridium aquilinum fiddleheads are eaten as vegetable by the Ogonis of Nigeria, and decoctions taken as remedy for malaria. The analyses of bioactive compounds in extract from fiddleheads of P. aqiulinum from Khana, Southern Nigeria were done using GC-FID. Results revealed the present of quercetin-7-methyl ether, quercetin-3-o-rutinoside, quercetin-4-methyl ether, quercetin-3,7-dimethyl ether, kaempferol-3-0-rutinoside, kaemferol-4’-methyl ether, taxifolin-4’-methyl ether, taxifolin-7-methyl ether, aromadendrin-4’-methly ether, naringenin-4’-methyl ether, and eroidictyol-7,4’-dimethyl ether, as flavonoids, tannic acid, as the only tannin, digoxin, ouabain, salicin, amygdalin, arbutin, and digitoxin, as glycosides, avenacin A-1, and avenacin B-1 as saponin, buphanidrine, crinamidine, crinane-3α-ol, epoxy-3,7-dimethoxycrinane-11-one, oxoassoanine, dihydro-oxo-demethoxyhaemanthamine, 1-β, 2-β-epoxyambelline, 6-hydroxypowelline, undulatine, 6-hydroxyundulatine, powelline, augustamine, ambelline, 6-hydroxybuphanidrine, 9-octadecenamide, voacangine, mitraphylin, and akuammidine as alkaloids present in P. aquilinum extract. The results showed that P. aquilinum fiddleheads extract contained phytocconstituents with pharmacological potentials that makes it a good health promoting vegetable and a potential raw material for the production of supplements and novel drugs.

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