Deciphering Houttuynia cordata extract as electron shuttles with anti-COVID-19 activity and its performance in microbial fuel cells

Chia-Kai Lin; Bor-Yann Chen; Jasmine U Ting; Kristian Gil G Rogio; Po-Wei Tsai; Yung-Chuan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jtice.2023.104838

Deciphering Houttuynia cordata extract as electron shuttles with anti-COVID-19 activity and its performance in microbial fuel cells

J Taiwan Inst Chem Eng. 2023 Apr:145:104838. doi: 10.1016/j.jtice.2023.104838. Epub 2023 Apr 3.

Authors

Chia-Kai Lin¹, Bor-Yann Chen², Jasmine U Ting³, Kristian Gil G Rogio⁴, Po-Wei Tsai⁵, Yung-Chuan Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan.
² Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National I-Lan University, I-Lan 260, Taiwan.
³ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, De La Salle University, Metro Manila 1004, Philippines.
⁴ School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering and Sciences, Mapúa University, Metro Manila 1002, Philippines.
⁵ Department of Medical Science Industries, College of Health Sciences, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan 711, Taiwan.

Abstract

Background: Traditional herbal medicines usually contain electron shuttle (ES)-like structures compounds which are potential candidates for antiviral compounds selection. Houttuynia cordata is applied as a biomaterial to decipher its potential applications in bioenergy extraction in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and anti-COVID-19 via molecular docking evaluation.

Methods: H. cordata leaves extracts by water and 60% ethanol solvent were analyzed for total polyphenols, antioxidant activity, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and MFCs. The bioactive compounds of H. cordata leaves extracts were assayed via LC/MS analysis. Identification of the marker substances for potential antiviral activity using a molecular docking model was provided.

Significant findings: 60% ethanol extract exhibits the highest total polyphenols and antioxidant activity compared with water extracts. Bioenergy extraction in MFCs showed that 60% ethanol extracts could give 1.76-fold more power generation compared to the blank. Flavonoids and their sugar-to-glycan ratios increased after CV scanning and they are expected to be effective ES substances. Quercitrin, from the H. cordata extract that shares an ES-like structure, was found to exhibit strong binding affinities towards ACE2 and RdRp. This indicated the potential of H. cordata leaves as a promising antiviral herb.

Keywords: Bioenergy extraction; Electron shuttles (ESs); Flavonoids; Houttuynia cordata; Microbial fuel cells (MFCs); Quercitrin.