Hemionitis calomelanos (Sw.) Christenh.: From traditional medicinal uses to chemical identification of active principles

Abstract

Hemionitis calomelanos (Sw.) Christenh. is a fern widely used as a traditional medicine throughout its distributional range. This study aims to record, analyze, and provide insights into the historical, scientific, and ethnopharmacological properties of H. calomelanos. Multiple searches on existing literature on the medicinal, phytochemical, and pharmacological properties of H. calomelanos were conducted in online databases such as Scopus, JSTOR, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct as well as using pre-electronic literature sources obtained from the university library. This study revealed that the leaves, rhizomes, roots, stems and whole plant parts of H. calomelanos are mainly used as ethnoveterinary medicines, lucky and protective charm, and traditional medicine for colds, boils, cough, sores, and diarrhoea. Phytochemical research showed that the species is characterized by flavonoids, steroids, tannins, esters, alcohols, ketones, and alkanes. Ethnopharmacological research revealed that the extracts of the species demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal activities. H. calomelanos is an important medicinal plant species in several countries with numerous medicinal applications. Despite its historical and traditional medicinal uses, many questions regarding the species’ ethnopharmacological properties and potential therapeutic effects remain to be answered. Therefore, future research should focus on validating the medicinal uses of H. calomelanos through elucidation of phytochemical composition, pharmacology, clinical application, toxicology, and safety.