Liquorice fern

It is not too surprising that many plants produce ecdysteroids to defend themselves against potential insect pests. The so-called phyto-ecdysones have a potent molt-inducing effect, and some of them may be even more potent than p-ecdysone. Gymnosperms and ferns often contain much of phyto-ecdysones. Bracken (Pteridium aquilium) and the rhizomes of the well-known liquorice fern (Polypodium vulgare), for instance, have up to 1% of their dry weight of p-ecdysone, and the rhizomes of liquorice can be used as a commercial source of P-ecdysones. A Siberian medicinal plant (Leuzea carthamoides) was recently studied by Zeleny et al. (1997). The plant has as... 

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