Search Results (20)

Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn, known as bracken fern, is considered a poisonous plant due to its toxic substances. This species contains toxic substances and enzymes: thiaminase and an anti-thiamine substance, which cause thiamine deficiency syndrome. Prunasin induces acute cyanide poisoning. Ptaquiloside causes haematuria, retinal atrophy, immunodeficiency, and lymphoproliferative disorders. It also induces carcinogenesis in livestock, and in animals and human cell lines. Ptaquiloside has been found in the milk of cattle, goats, and sheep that grazed on P. aquilinum in pastures. Ptaquiloside is water-soluble and washes away from the plants into the soil with rainwater. It has been found in streams and groundwater wells. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified bracken fern as a Group 2B carcinogen. However, P. aquilinum has long been used as a folk remedy in various regions. Several studies have identified its medicinal value and bioactive compounds with potential pharmacological activity. Pterosin B and its analogues exhibit anti-osteoarthritis, anti-Alzheimer’s disease, neuroprotective, anti-cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, anti-diabetic, and smooth muscle relaxant properties. Ptaquiloside also induces apoptosis in certain human cancer cell lines and acts as an anticancer agent. Therefore, pterosins and ptaquiloside have therapeutic properties. Other compounds, including some flavonoids and polysaccharides, act as antimicrobial, antifungal, and immunomodulatory agents. Based on their structures, it is possible to develop medicines with these therapeutic properties, particularly those containing pterosins and ptaquiloside. However, more research is needed on their use in medicinal treatments. Full article

Xylella fastidiosa was first detected in Portugal in 2019 in Lavandula dentata. In response, the national plant health authorities promptly established a Demarcated Zone in the affected area and implemented a series of eradication and control measures, including the systematic removal and destruction of infected and host plants. This study analyzes the economic and operational impacts of these eradication efforts in the northern region of Portugal, with a focus on Demarcated Zones such as the Porto Metropolitan Area, Sabrosa, Alijó, Baião, Mirandela, Mirandela II, and Bougado between 2019 and June 2023. During this period, about 412,500 plants were uprooted. The majority were Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern), with 360,324 individuals (87.3%), reflecting its wide distribution and the large area affected. Olea europaea (olive tree) was the second most common species removed, with 7024 plants (1.7%), highlighting its economic relevance. Other notable species included Quercus robur (3511; 0.85%), Pelargonium graveolens (3509; 0.85%), and Rosa spp. (1106; 0.27%). Overall, destruction costs were estimated at about EUR 1.04 million, with replanting costs of roughly EUR 6.81 million. In parallel, prospection activities—conducted to detect early signs of infection and monitor disease spread—generated expenses of roughly EUR 5.94 million. While prospecting represents a significant financial investment, the results show that it is considerably more cost-effective than large-scale eradication. Prospection enables early detection and containment, preventing the widespread destruction of vegetation and minimizing disruption to agricultural production, biodiversity, and local communities. Importantly, our findings reveal a sharp decline in confirmed cases in the initial outbreak area—the Porto Demarcated Zone—from 124 cases in 2019 to just 5 in 2023, indicating the effectiveness of the eradication and monitoring measures implemented. However, the presence of 20 active Demarcated Zones across the country as of 2023 highlights the continued risk of spread and the need for sustained vigilance. The complexity of managing Xylella fastidiosa across ecologically and logistically diverse territories justifies the high costs associated with surveillance and targeted interventions. This study reinforces the strategic value of prospection as a proactive and sustainable tool for plant health management. Effective surveillance requires the integration of advanced methodologies aligned with the phenological stages of host plants and the biological cycle of vectors. Targeting high-risk locations, optimizing sample numbers, ensuring diagnostic accuracy, and maintaining continuous training for field teams are critical for improving efficiency and reducing costs. Ultimately, the findings underscore the need to refine and adapt monitoring and eradication strategies to contain the pathogen, safeguard agricultural systems, and prevent Xylella fastidiosa from becoming endemic in Portugal. Full article

Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern) poses a global threat to biodiversity and to the health of both animals and humans due to its toxic metabolites and aggressive ecological expansion. In northern Spain, particularly in regions of intensive livestock farming, these risks may be exacerbated, calling for urgent assessment and monitoring strategies. In this study, we implemented a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate the toxicological and ecological relevance of P. aquilinum through four key actions: (a) quantification of pterosins A and B in young fronds (croziers) using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS); (b) analysis of in vivo genotoxicity of aqueous extracts using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism; (c) a large-scale survey of local livestock farmers to assess awareness and perceived impact of bracken; and (d) the development and field application of a drone-based mapping tool to assess the spatial distribution of the species at the regional level. Our results confirm the consistent presence of pterosins A and B in croziers, with concentrations ranging from 0.17 to 2.20 mg/g dry weight for PtrB and 13.39 to 257 µg/g for PtrA. Both metabolite concentrations and genotoxicity levels were found to correlate with latitude and, importantly, with each other. All tested samples exhibited genotoxic activity, with notable differences among them. The farmer survey (n = 212) revealed that only 50% of respondents were aware of the toxic risks posed by bracken, indicating a need for targeted outreach. The drone-assisted mapping approach proved to be a promising tool for identifying bracken-dominated areas and provides a scalable foundation for future ecological monitoring and land management strategies. Altogether, our findings emphasize that P. aquilinum is not merely a local concern but a globally relevant toxic species whose monitoring and control demand coordinated scientific and policy-based efforts. Full article

Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn) is ubiquitous and acts as a cosmopolitan weed in pastures and similar environments. Despite its historical uses, it presents risks due to toxicity. This study, conducted in the second half of 2023, aimed to assess the environmental and health hazards of P. aquilinum, primarily focusing on its carcinogenic compound, ptaquiloside. The literature was comprehensively reviewed using diverse databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Information was synthesized from original research articles, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and relevant animal studies. Animals grazing on bracken fern face annual production losses due to toxin exposure. The substantial impact on biodiversity, animal health, and human well-being arises from the presence of ptaquiloside and related compounds in milk, meat, and water, along with the increasing global prevalence of P. aquilinum and its swift colonization in acidic soil and fire-damaged areas. The objectives were to identify major bioactive compounds and explore their effects at molecular, cellular, pathological, and population levels. Various cooking techniques were considered to mitigate toxin exposure, although complete elimination remains unattainable. Therefore, the findings emphasize the need for cautious consumption. In conclusion, continued research is necessary to better understand and manage its environmental and health implications. Full article

Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn, commonly known as bracken fern, is a cosmopolitan plant species absent only from polar and desert regions. Worldwide, Pteridium aquilinum has been rapidly spreading due to the neglect of agricultural fields and the growing wave of forest fires. This plant has several toxic components such as thiaminases, brains, active glucosides, beta-glucopyranosides and ptaquloside in its constitution that can be lethal to animals. The animals do not normally choose it as food, except in situations of food shortage, in periods of drought, when the ferns are still green or when the animals graze in places with large amounts of the plant in question. In order to revisit the major syndromes caused by P. aquilinum’s major toxins, the authors present several cases of acute and chronic ruminant poisoning associated with ingesting P. aquilinum in Portugal in sheep and cattle. The primary associated syndromes observed in animals that consume this plant were thiamine deficiency, blindness in sheep, acute or subacute poisoning with bone marrow depression, and consequently, leucopenia and bladder tumors in cattle. Given the economic impact of the diseases caused by the toxins of this plant, and the possible public health implications, it is imperative to minimize these syndromes in animals and establish measures for their prevention. Full article

Ptaquiloside, a naturally occurring cancer-causing substance in bracken fern, has been detected in the meat and milk of cows fed a diet containing bracken fern. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitative analysis of ptaquiloside in bracken fern, meat, and dairy products was developed using the QuEChERS method and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated according to the Association of Official Analytical Chemists guidelines and met the criteria. A single matrix-matched calibration method with bracken fern has been proposed, which is a novel strategy that uses one calibration for multiple matrices. The calibration curve ranged from 0.1 to 50 µg/kg and showed good linearity (r² > 0.99). The limits of detection and quantification were 0.03 and 0.09 µg/kg, respectively. The intraday and interday accuracies were 83.5–98.5%, and the precision was <9.0%. This method was used for the monitoring and exposure assessment of ptaquiloside in all routes of exposure. A total of 0.1 µg/kg of ptaquiloside was detected in free-range beef, and the daily dietary exposure of South Koreans to ptaquiloside was estimated at up to 3.0 × 10⁻⁵ µg/kg b.w./day. The significance of this study is to evaluate commercially available products in which ptaquiloside may be present, to monitor consumer safety. Full article

This study was conducted to determine the optimal boiling time to reduce ptaquiloside (PTA) and to carry out a risk assessment for PTA, a representative toxic substance found in bracken fern (BF; Pteridium aquilinum), which is frequently consumed as food in East Asian countries. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that the concentration of PTA in BF was reduced by up to 99% after boiling for 20 min. Risk assessment results showed that the cancer margin of exposure (MOE; ≥ 25,000 = safe) to PTA for an average daily exposure scenario after boiling BF for 20 min was considered safe. In addition, the non-cancer MOE (≥ 300 = safe) to PTA under an average daily exposure scenario after BF boiling for 20 min was considered safe. However, human exposure to PTA was considered unsafe under the non-boiled BF exposure and maximum daily exposure scenarios. Therefore, boiling BF for at least 20 min is recommended before consumption, to reduce exposure to PTA as much as possible. Full article

Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilium, BF) is a widely consumed vegetable. It has the potential to be manufactured as a ready-to-eat (RTE) product as a cooking ingredient and a side dish. The aim of the current study was to develop sterilized BF RTE products and to investigate textural qualities depending on the size of the pouches. The F₀-value at the cold point according to pouch size (100, 150, and 200 g) targeted at 15 min was determined through heat transfer simulation using the calibrated heat transfer coefficient. The location of the cold points in the stand-up pouches was moved upward from the bottom of the pouch by increasing the pouch size. The sterilization time for 100, 150, and 200 g was evaluated as 35.0, 41.5, and 47.5 min, respectively. The textural properties measured using the cutting test showed significant differences according to the location in the pouch. The textural degradation of BF in the top part of the pouch was more extensive than that at the bottom due to the smaller dimensions. In addition, the percentage of textural degradation in the top part increased with increasing pouch sizes. The methods introduced in this study can be applied to validate the degree of sterilization and the texture of various stalk vegetables used for ready-to-eat products packed in stand-up pouches. Full article

Plant toxicology has affected animals throughout evolution. Plants have adapted themselves to the environment. This adaptation has led to the development of defensive strategies to avoid being consumed. Plants have several chemical compounds, which can cause deleterious effects on people or animals that consume them, causing a wide variety of clinical signs. Plants from various latitudes, both cultivated for human and animal feeding or decorative purpose and even wild growth plants are able to generate anaemia in ruminants. Coumarins or ptaquiloside predispose bleeding and haemorrhages, causing a haemorrhagic disease in affected animals. In this group, some important fodder plants, such sweet clover (Genus Melilotus spp.), or other weeds distributed worldwide, such as bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) of giant fennel (Ferula communis), are included. On the other hand, sulfur-containing chemicals (e.g., n-propyl disulfate and S-propyl cysteine sulfoxides (SMCOs)) may cause severe direct damage to the erythrocyte and their membrane, leading to their destruction and causing haemolytic anaemia in the animal. This review presents the most frequent intoxication by plants causing anaemia in ruminants. Toxic compounds, clinical signs, diagnosis and possible treatments are also presented. Full article

Young fronds of ferns are consumed as a vegetable in many countries. The aim of this study was to analyze three fern species that are available for sale in the Russian Far East as dietary sources in terms of fatty acids that are important for human physiology: arachidonic acid (20:4n-6, ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and other valuable long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The content of ARA and EPA was 5.5 and 0.5 mg/g dry weight, respectively, in Pteridium aquilinum, 4.1 and 1.1 in Matteuccia struthiopteris, and 2.2 and 0.8 in Osmundastrum asiaticum. Salted fronds of P. aquilinum contained less these fatty acids than the raw fronds, with a decrease of up to 49% for ARA and 65% for EPA. These losses were less pronounced or even insignificant in dried fronds. Cooked ferns preserved significant portions of the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: cooked P. aquilinum contained 4.4 mg/g dry weight ARA and 0.3 mg/g dry weight EPA. The ferns may provide a supplemental dietary source of these valuable long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially for vegetarian diets. Full article

Ptaquiloside (PTA) is a carcinogenic compound naturally occurring in bracken ferns (Pteridium aquilinum). It is highly water soluble and prone to leaching from topsoil to surface and groundwaters. Due to possible human exposure via drinking water, PTA is considered as an emerging contaminant. We present a sensitive and robust method for analysis of PTA and its degradation product pterosin B (PtB) in groundwater. The method comprises two steps: sample preservation at the field site followed by sample pre-concentration in the laboratory. The preservation step was developed by applying a Plackett–Burman experimental design testing the following variables: water type, pH, filtering, bottle type, storage temperature, transportation conditions and test time. The best sample preservation was obtained by using amber glass bottles, unfiltered solutions buffered at pH 6, transported without ice, stored at 4 °C and analysed within 48 h. The recovery was 94% to 100%. The sample purification step had a pre-concentration factor of 250, and the recovery percentages of the entire method were 85 ± 2 (PTA) and 91 ± 3 (PtB). The limits of detection (LOD) of the full method were 0.001 µg L⁻¹ and 0.0001 µg L⁻¹ for PTA and PtB, respectively. The method enables sensitive monitoring of PTA and PtB in groundwater. Carcinogenic PTA was detected in one groundwater well (0.35 µg L⁻¹). Full article

Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum (Desv.) Underw. ex A. Heller) has long been grown industrially in South Korea. Conventional propagation methods, including planting rhizomes and in vitro seedling culture, are labor intensive and expensive, and thus not commercially suitable. We aimed to develop a system to produce synthetic seeds using fern spores (SFS). Synthetic seeds were prepared by mixing bracken spores and alginate matrix. Spore germination and gametophyte and sporophyte growth and development from SFS proceeded normally. Spore density affected gametophyte and sporophyte numbers. SFS prepared using cold (4 °C) long-term storage spores (even 7-year-old spores) could effectively form sporophytes. The highest germination was observed at 25 °C. Soaking-treated SFS successfully formed sporophytes, even after 30 days of storage at 4 °C; indeed, sporophytes formed even after five days of storage at 25 °C during transport conditions. SFS were sown in plug trays for commercial use. Young sporophytes grown from plug seedlings were greenhouse cultivated, and transplanting within eight weeks was effective for root growth and growing-point formation. Developing synthetic seeds is a feasible solution for facilitating efficient transport and the handling of small-sized fern spores; furthermore, this SFS technology provides the basis for fern seedling culture and fern spore industrialization. Full article

To investigate fuel flammability, we quantified burning characteristics of 21 fuel categories in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) woodland in central Alabama, USA. Litter was burned under controlled laboratory conditions. Flammability characteristics, including resistance to ignition, flaming duration, smoldering duration, maximum flame height, and percent consumption, were measured. The fuels were hierarchically clustered into five groups of similar flammability characteristics that explained 89% of the variance. Percent consumption and maximum flame height values ranged from 7% ± 1 standard errors (SE) and 12 cm ± 1 SE for the low flammability group (bark and charcoal), to 86% ± 1 SE and 62 cm ± 3 SE for the high flammability group (bracken fern (Pteridium latiusculum (Desv.) Hieron. ex R.E.Fr. = {syn: P. aquilinum}), grass, and fire-facilitating oak (Quercus spp.) leaves). Results support observed flammability differences between fuel types such as oak and pine (Pinus spp.) litter, and duff, and provide a previously unquantified comparison of surface fuels comprehensive of a longleaf pine community. Further, clustering analysis indicated that plant species that become abundant post-disturbance may help maintain fire-vegetation feedbacks in the absence of pine litter. Understanding flammability characteristics of surface fuels may further inform prescribed fire application in stands where fuels have been altered. Full article

Pteridium arachnoideum, a fern of the Pteridium aquilinum species complex found in South America, is responsible for several different syndromes of poisoning. Cases of bovine enzootic hematuria and upper alimentary squamous cell carcinoma are both frequent occurrences in Brazil, whereas only bovine enzootic hematuria is noted with any frequency around the world. The reason for the high frequency of upper alimentary squamous cell carcinoma in Brazil is not currently known. One possible explanation may be the higher levels of ptaquiloside and pterosin B in Brazilian Pteridium than those present in the plant in other countries. However, these levels have not yet been determined in P. arachnoideum. Thus, the present study aimed to measure and compare ptaquiloside and pterosin B levels in mature green fronds and sprouts of P. arachnoideum collected from different locations in Brazil. Samples of P. arachnoideum were collected from the states of Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul. A total of 28 mature leaf samples and 23 sprout samples were used. The mean concentrations of ptaquiloside and pterosin B present in the mature green fronds of P. arachnoideum ranged from 2.49 to 2.75 mg/g and 0.68 to 0.88 mg/g, respectively; in P. arachnoideum sprouts, mean concentrations of ptaquiloside and pterosin B ranged from 12.47 to 18.81 mg/g, and 4.03 to 10.42 mg/g for ptaquiloside and pterosin B, respectively. Thus, ptaquiloside and pterosin B levels in P. arachnoideum samples collected in Brazil were higher in sprouts than in mature green fronds, as observed in other countries. However, there was no variation in ptaquiloside levels among plants collected from different cities in Brazil. The high frequency of upper alimentary squamous cell carcinoma in Brazilian cattle may not be attributed to greater levels of ptaquiloside and pterosin B in P. arachnoideum than in other Pteridium species in other countries. Full article

Ptaquiloside, along with other natural phytotoxins, is receiving increased attention from scientists and land use managers. There is an urgent need to increase empirical evidence to understand the scale of phytotoxin mobilisation and potential to enter into the environment. In this study the risk of ptaquiloside to drinking water was assessed by quantifying ptaquiloside in the receiving waters at three drinking water abstraction sites across Ireland and in bracken fronds surrounding the abstraction sites. We also investigated the impact of different management regimes (spraying, cutting and rolling) on ptaquiloside concentrations at plot-scale in six locations in Northern Ireland, UK. Ptaquiloside concentrations were determined using recent advances in the use of LC-MS for the detection and quantification of ptaquiloside. The results indicate that ptaquiloside is present in bracken stands surrounding drinking water abstractions in Ireland, and ptaquiloside concentrations were also observed in the receiving waters. Furthermore, spraying was found to be the most effective bracken management regime observed in terms of reducing ptaquiloside load. Increased awareness is vital on the implications of managing land with extensive bracken stands. Full article