Ptaquiloside

Ptaquiloside is the major toxin of bracken, and was first isolated in 1983. Its chemical stereostructure was determined to be norsesquiterpene glucoside of illudane type by Yamada and co-workers.

The carcinogenicity of ptaquiloside was proven in 1984, and ptaquiloside was shown to be responsible for the characteristic biological effects of bracken, such as acute bracken poisoning, bright blindness in sheep, mutagenicity, clastogenic effects and genotoxicity.