ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the potential for bioprospecting of metabolic compounds produced by bryophytes and ferns in Brazil. A brief introduction to the morphology of these groups, their life cycles, as well as techniques for field collections, taxonomic identifications, and herborization are provided. Information on the bryophytes and pteridophytes, occurring in Brazil having high potential for synthesizing medicinal compounds, is summarized through an extensive literature review. This chapter comments and discusses the major secondary metabolite classes, their occurrence in different taxa of bryophytes and pteridophytes, and their biological activities. The geographical distributions of Brazilian bryophytes and pteridophytes are also presented, focusing on the Amazon, Atlantic forest, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pampa, and Pantanal biomes. Finally, this chapter presents the current state of knowledge of the phytochemical compounds produced by Brazilian species and discusses future perspectives in this generally neglected field of knowledge.
