Botany
The plant is a large fern growing to a meter or more in height, covered with dense yellow hairs at the base. Fronds are a meter or two long, ovate, hardly tripinnate and glabrous beneath. Lower pinnae are ovate-lanceolate, 30 to 60 cm long. Pinnules are linear-lanceolate. Sori are 2 to 12, rarely one, on each side of the segment. The indusium is brownish.
Distribution
Found in the mountains, from Luzon to Mindanao.
Parts
utilized
Hairy filaments, rhizomes.
Properties and constituents
• Considered tonic, styptic.
Uses
Folkloric
• Rhizomes are used as topicals for wounds and ulcers.
• In Chinese medicine, used to tonify yang; used as antirheumatic, for strengthening the bones and muscles, and to replenish the liver, kidneys and the male generative organs. Recommended as an "old man's remedy."
• Also used for frequent enuresis.
• In China and Malaysia, rhizomes are used as styptic for coagulating the blood to arrest capillary hemorrhages.
• In Europe, hairy filaments from stipes used as hemostatic in wounds.
Others
• One of 30 components in a Chinese herb pill used in regimen of therapy- herb therapy, foot massage, leg traction and exericise - for femoral head necrosis.
Studies
• Sesquiterpenes / Permeability Studies: Study yielded three unusual sesquiterpenes from the rhizomes. Compound 1 was assigned good human intestinal absorption and permeability.
• Osteoclast Inhibition/ Constituents / Anti-Osteoporosis: Study of methanol extract yielded 8 compounds including two new furan derivatives ( cibotiumbarosides A and B) and a new glycoglycerolipid (cibotiglycerol). Compounds 2 to 5 showed inhibition of osteoclast formation with no effect on BMM cell viability. Results suggest a potential for developing new treatments for osteoporosis.
• Antioxidative / Antibacterial: Study of leaf extracts of five medicinal ferns that included C barometz showed it to exhibit antioxidative potential. All the ferns showed antibacterial activity.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
