Dryopteris crassirhizoma is a semi-evergreen fern that grows in deciduous forests and is commonly referred to as a wood fern. Its rhizome is a well-known Chinese drug widely used as an anti-infective, especially for the common cold and seasonal flu. It has also been used clinically as a vermicide in Korea, Japan, and China.

D. crassirhizoma rhizome is a rich source of phloroglucinol derivatives (albaspidin, aspidin, flavaspidic acids, and dryocrassin) kaempferol acetyl rhamnosides. Several research papers have reported that phloroglucinol derivatives exhibited various pharmacological activities such as anti-bacterial, anti-viral, nitric oxide inhibition, anti-tumor, and anti-oxidant activities.