|  Botany
Pakong-roman is a floating or loosely rooted aquatic fern, stout, fleshy, tufted with leaves
that are divided into numerous narrow segments. Rhizomes are erect.
Stipes are tufted, thick, naked, and succulent, 3 to 20 centimeters long. Young
plants with sterile leaves are up to 15 centimeters high, with rounded pinnules or
segments, 6 to 8 millimeters wide. The mature plants, which produce only the fertile
fronds, grow up to 70 centimeters high, more compound, with thick, acute, ultimate
segments, 10 to 30 centimeters long, 3 millimeters wide.
 Distribution
- Widely distributed in the Philippines,
in open waste places, in mud, and in shallow water.
- A
common weed
in rice fields.
- Pantropic.
Constituents
- Green parts yield alkaloids, arbutin and tannin.
- Three novel compounds, 13-chlorospelosin 3-O-ß-d-glucopyranoside (1), (3R)-pterosin D 3-O-ß-d-(3'-p-coumaroyl)-glucopyranoside (2), and (2R,3R)-pterosin L 3-O-ß-d-(3'-p-coumaroyl)-glucopyranoside (3) were isolated for the first time from fern species (Ceratopteris thalictroides, H. punctata, N. multiflora, and P. revolutum) along with 27 known compounds. (see study below) (9)
Properties
- Tonic and styptic.
- Studies have suggested antibacterial and antidiabetic potential.
Parts utilized
Whole plant, fronds , leaf juice.
Uses
Culinary
- Uncurled young leaves are eaten; increasingly popular for use in salads or as substitute for asparagus.
- In Madagascar, eaten like watercress.
- In Malaysia and Japan, an established luxury vegetable.
-
In Assam, India, fronds are cooked with pork, an essential dish of Mishing people in all festivals.
Folkloric
- Poultice of leaves used for skin complaints.
- Used as drawing agent in treatment of carbuncles.
- In China, used as styptic to stop bleeding.
- In India, leaf powder along with tumeric is applied to unhealed wounds. Fresh juice of leaves applied on wounds to stop bleeding. In Tamil Nadu whole plant grounded into paste, mixed with tumeric, applied over skin diseases and wounds. (4)
- In North Eastern India, fronds used as poultice in skin diseases. Reported to be toxic and styptic. (5)
Others
- Ornamental: Fish aquarium or pond ornamental.
- Green manure: Used as green manure in rice fields.
Studies
• CtCVNH / Novel Anti-HIV Protein: Study investigated the purification and identification of CtCVNH protein. CVN (cyanovirin-N) is an anti-HIV protein; CVNH (cyanovirin-N homology) represents its homology. The purified protein was identified to be the recombinant CtCVNH by Western blot and peptide mass fingerprinting analysis. (6)
• Antibacterial: Study of various fractions of five selected pteridophytes viz. Ceratopteris thalictroides, Christella dentata, Lygodium flexuosum, Pteris vitata, and Salvinia molesta showed antibacterial activity against human pathogens E. coli, S. aureus, K. pneumonia and B. cereus. Chloroform and acetone extracts of C. thalictroides showed maximum inhibitory effect against E. coli. (8)
• Pterosins / Anti-Diabetic Potential: Pterosins are abundant in ferns. Pterosin A is a novel activator of AMP-activated protein kinase, crucial for regulating blood glucose hemostasis. Study yielded three novel pterosin compounds for the first time from four fern species, including Ceratopteris thalictroides, along with 27 compounds. Although all the pterosin analogs exhibited same effects in glucose uptake assays, pterosin A prevented cell death and reduced ROS production. The potential antidiabetic activity of the novel compounds warrants further studies. (see constituents above) (9)
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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