<i>Houttuynia cordata</i> Thunb: A Review of Phytochemistry and Pharmacology and Quality Control

Abstract

Houttuynia cordata Thunb is an important medicinal plant widely distributed in East Asia. The collected information is an attempt to cover recent developments in the pharmacology, phytochemistry and quality control of this species. During the past several decades, the medicinally important phyto-constituents have been identified including essential oil, flavonoids and other polyphenols, fatty acids and alkaloids. A survey of the literatures shows H. cordata possesses a variety of pharmacological activities including antiviral, antitumor, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative effects. Little attempt has been done to review the techniques used for its quality control. Future efforts should concentrate more on in vitro, in vivo studies and clinical trials in order to confirm traditional wisdom in the light of a rational phytotherapy. The information summarized here is intended to serve as a reference tool to practitioners in the fields of ethnopharmacology and natural products chemistry. [13,14] and anti-cancer [15] activities. It was reported that H. cordata contains groups of such chemical components as flavones, essential oil and alkaloids [16].Over the last few years, there has been a rapid increase in the information available on the structures and pharmacological activities of H. cordata (Figure 1). In this review, we present recent H. cordata plant research in three sections: phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and quality control. The information was mainly collected from databases (Scifinder, ISIWeb of Knowledge) and several books. Morphological DescriptionH. cordata is herbaceous perennial plant growing to 20 -80 cm, the flowers are greenish-yellow, borne on a terminal spike 2 -3 cm long with 4 -6 large white basal bracts; spike terminal yellowish-brown. The odour is fishy on rubbing and the taste is slightly adstringent (Figure 2).-myrcene, houttuynin, decanal, trans-caryophyllene, decanoic acid, camphene, β-pinene, lauraldehyde, bornyl acetate, α-pinene, limonene, 4-terpineol, caryophyllene oxide, nonanol and linalool so on. Flavonoids and Other PolyphenolsAs would be expected in biologically active plants, a number of flavonoids and other polyphenols have been isolated and identified from H. cordata ( Table 3). The quercitrin is the first flavonoids extracted from the leaves and stems of H.

Oral fungi inHIV: challenges in antifungal therapies

“…Besides EA, other herbal plant‐derived compounds such as H. cordata water extract have been shown to up‐regulate the expression of hBD2 and SLPI without cytotoxic effect (Satthakarn et al , ). H. cordata is a plant in Saururaceae family usually consumed as a fresh side dish vegetable and has been used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries (Lu et al , ; Fu et al , ). It possesses various antimicrobial activities (Hayashi et al , ; Lu et al , ) and anticancer property (Tang et al , ; Lai et al , ).…”

Chemical Composition and Allelopathic, Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Antiacetylcholinesterase Activity of Fish‐mint (Houttuynia cordataThunb.) from India

“…Due to various pharmacological activities, this herb finds uses in many types of products, including food supplements, drugs, beverages, and cosmetics . It is prepared in the form of injection, combined with other herbal plants in capsule dosage form and injection . In the north‐east region of India, leaves and rhizomes are consumed as vegetable, condiments, and spices .…”

Anti-hyperglycemic and Anti-hyperlipidemic Effects of Extract from Houttuynia cordata Thumb. in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

“…In contrast, HCE slightly increased HDL which was reduced in diabetic control rats. β-myrcene, was frequently found in H. cordata 22 Lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) whose essential oil consists of equal amounts of myrcene and citral. 23 Lemongrass intake provides a beneficial effect of reducing the blood cholesterol level.…”