Quality and production enhancement of fish mint, Houttuynia cordata Thunb., cultivated in a hydroponic planting system with designed plant growth-promoting additives

Yen Chi Loo; Yi-Hong Tsai; Hsieh Chen; Hui-Ping Hsieh; Yen-Chang Chen; Hsueh-Er Chen; Zhi-Hu Lin; Hung-Tse Huang; I-Min Liu; Chia-Ching Liaw; Fang-Rong Chang

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28755

Quality and production enhancement of fish mint, Houttuynia cordata Thunb., cultivated in a hydroponic planting system with designed plant growth-promoting additives

Heliyon. 2024 Mar 26;10(7):e28755. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28755. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Authors

Yen Chi Loo¹, Yi-Hong Tsai^{1

2}, Hsieh Chen^{3

4}, Hui-Ping Hsieh⁴, Yen-Chang Chen⁴, Hsueh-Er Chen⁴, Zhi-Hu Lin^{5

6}, Hung-Tse Huang⁵, I-Min Liu², Chia-Ching Liaw^{5

7}, Fang-Rong Chang^{1

8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807378, Taiwan.
² Department of Pharmacy and Master Program, College of Pharmacy and Health Care, Tajen University, Pingtung County, 907101, Taiwan.
³ Graduate Institute of Science Education and Environment Education, College of Science, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Research and Development, We-Win Bio-Medical Co., Ltd., Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan.
⁵ Division of Materia Medica Development, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Taipei, 112026, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, 112026, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, 600355, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807377, Taiwan.
⁹ Drug Development and Value Creation Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807378, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, 804201, Taiwan.

Abstract

Fish mint, Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (HCT) is an edible vegetable that has also been used in traditional folk medicines. As both a medicinal herb and a dietary source, HCT has been clinically proven to be a pivotal ingredient in formulas administered to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms. With the increasing market demand for imported materials, ensuring the quality consistency of HCT becomes a significant concern. In this study, the growing time for hydroponically-cultivated HCT with seaweed extract and amino acids added (HCTW) reduced by half compared to conventional soil-cultivated HCT (HCTS). Key quantified components in HCTW, flavonoid glycosides and caffeoylquinic acid derivatives, exhibited a 143% increase over HCTS. These crucial constituents were responsible for possessing antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ < 25 μg/mL) and anti-nitrite oxide production (IC₅₀ < 20 μg/mL). An economically-designed hydroponic system with appropriate additives is proposed to replace HCTS with improvements of growth time, overall production yields, and bioactive qualities.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Flavonoid glycosides; Houttuynia cordata Thunb.; Hydroponics; Plant growth-promoting additive; anti-inflammation.