Abstract

Many of the secondary metabolites produced by plants serve as a chemical defense mechanism against herbivory, some of which have been utilized by humans for medicine (Kusari et al., 2014, Facchini and De Luca, 2008). While many phytochemicals have been identified in angiosperms, other major land plant lineages have received less attention despite their taxonomic diversity and putative utility. For instance, some species of monilophyte (ferns), are used medicinally by indigenous cultures to treat various ailments (Wong et al., 2018). Of focus in this manuscript is the genus, Lygodium (Sw.) which is comprised of climbing ferns exhibiting worldwide distribution. Previous studies on Lygodium venustum and Lygodium flexuosum indicate medicinal usage in Mesoamerica and India (Morais-Braga et al., 2012, Achari et al., 1986). We investigated the bioactive compounds in two North American species, Lygodium palmatum and Lygodium japonicum. Metabolites were identified using acetonitrile and hydrochloric acid extracts from fresh and herbarium tissue samples, analyzed through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Our results identified the presence of two flavonoids; quercetin and kaempferol in L. palmatum, and the absence of kaempferol in the herbarium samples of L. japonicum. We found that kaempferol production can vary significantly among individuals from different populations, which may be correlated with the biosynthesis of phenylalanine as a result of differing environmental stressors (Kumari et al., 2023). Future work will include other Lygodium species, such as L. microphyllum and L. venustum, with the goal of constructing a chemical phylogeny to better understand the evolution of secondary metabolism in the genus.

Semester/Year of Award

Fall 2024

Mentor

Dr. Sally Chambers

Mentor Department Affiliation

Biological Sciences

Access Options

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Scholars

Degree Level

Bachelors

Department

Biological Sciences

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