Abstract
(1)Effects of Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Improve sleep
(2)Suitable Supplement Forms
- Capsules: Convenient for immune enhancement and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Tablets: Useful for respiratory infections and inflammation treatment.
- Powders: Easy to mix with drinks or food for daily intake.
- Liquid Extracts: Quick absorption, ideal for boosting immunity.
- Functional Foods: Incorporated into teas, health drinks, and candies.
(3)Market Prospects/Advantages
- High Demand in Traditional Medicine: Extensively used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditional medicine for treating inflammation and infections.
- Modern Health Products: Increasing popularity in modern supplements for its anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties.
- Global Reach: Recognized in the US, EU, and Southeast Asia for its natural health benefits.
- Expanding Applications: Potential use in high-end processed products like selenium-rich tea, essential oils, and health foods.
(4)Extraction Methods
- Enzymatic Extraction: High efficiency and mild conditions but higher cost due to enzyme use.
- Acid Extraction: Cost-effective but potential environmental impact.
- Alcohol Extraction: Low cost, widely used.
- Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction: High extraction rate, commonly used for enhancing yield.
- Microwave-Assisted Extraction: Maximizes yield under optimal conditions.
- Supercritical Fluid Extraction: High purity but expensive.
- Fermentation and Membrane Separation: Used for specific high-purity needs.
Article Content
Houttuynia cordata is a traditional Chinese medicinal material, also known as Houttuynia cordata. It is mainly distributed in China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and India. Houttuynia cordata is widely used in traditional medicine in these regions. It is used as both medicine and food and has a wide range of clinical applications. Houttuynia cordata is the whole herb of Houttuynia cordata of the genus Houttuynia of the family Tripterygium wilfordii. It is pungent and cold in nature. It has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and draining pus, and diuresis and relieving stranguria. It is mainly used to treat swelling, carbuncle, purulent phlegm, asthma, cough, heat dysentery, heat stranguria, carbuncle, sore and so on. Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide, as one of the main active ingredients in Houttuynia cordata, is a high molecular compound with multiple biological activities, including immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antioxidant, maintaining intestinal health, antiviral and antibacterial effects. These effects make Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide show application potential in the prevention and treatment of various diseases.
1. Effects of Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide
A. Anti-inflammatory
Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide can synergize the bioactive enzymes in the anti-inflammatory pathway, anti-inflammatory cytokines or interfere with the expression and release of cyclooxygenase, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin, nitric oxide, mitogen-activated protein, nuclear transcription factor, etc. in the inflammatory pathway, and exert anti-inflammatory activity at the molecular level or cellular level. Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide can effectively inhibit the deposition of complement. The complement system is part of the innate immune system, which enables the body to resist the invasion of foreign pathogens. However, excessive activation of the complement system can also lead to inflammation of acute lung injury. Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide can effectively inhibit the deposition of complement after acute lung injury in mice, and there is a significant dose dependence. Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide can also effectively alleviate mouse enteritis induced by dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS), reduce the expression level of TNF-α, etc.
B. Antioxidant
The antioxidant activity of Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide has been effectively verified. Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide shows a good hydroxyl free radical scavenging effect, and the scavenging effect shows a significant dose-effect relationship with the concentration of Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide, that is, the higher the concentration, the better the scavenging effect; Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide also has a certain ferrous ion chelating ability, and similarly, this chelating ability also shows a significant dose-effect relationship, that is, as the concentration increases, the chelating ability increases. These antioxidant mechanisms may be related to the active groups in the polysaccharide molecules, which can effectively scavenge free radicals and block oxidation chain reactions, thereby protecting cells from oxidative damage.
C. Improve sleep
For symptoms such as difficulty falling asleep, waking up easily after sleeping, or treating primary insomnia, Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide shows a significant improvement effect, enabling people with sleep disorders to fall asleep, fall asleep quickly, reduce the latency of falling asleep, or prolong sleep time. The experiment on the effect of Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide extract on the sleep of mice induced by subthreshold doses of sodium pentobarbital proved that Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide extract has a good effect on improving sleep, which has important theoretical and application value for broadening the scope of Houttuynia cordata and developing functional drugs and foods for improving sleep.
2. Market Prospects
Since Houttuynia cordata is a herb native to East Asia, Houttuynia cordata and its extracts are currently popular in the following countries and regions:
China: Houttuynia cordata is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and is used to treat a variety of inflammatory and infectious diseases.
Japan: Houttuynia cordata is also common in traditional Japanese medicinal herbs, mainly used for anti-inflammatory and antibacterial treatments.
South Korea: In traditional Korean medicine, Houttuynia cordata is used to treat respiratory diseases and skin diseases.
Vietnam: Houttuynia cordata is widely used in cooking and medicine in Vietnam, and has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying.
Thailand: In Thailand, Houttuynia cordata is used in traditional herbal treatments and modern health products.
With the deepening of scientific research, the medicinal value of Houttuynia cordata has gradually been recognized by other countries, including:
The United States: Houttuynia cordata extracts are popular in the dietary supplement market and are often used in immune enhancement and anti-inflammatory products.
EU countries: Some EU countries also recognize the value of Houttuynia cordata in the field of natural medicines and health products, especially its antibacterial and antiviral properties.
Southeast Asian countries: As the origin of Houttuynia cordata, Southeast Asian countries widely recognize and apply Houttuynia cordata and its extracts.
In terms of laws and regulations, as early as 2002, Houttuynia cordata was included in the "List of Items that are Both Food and Medicine" by the National Health Commission of China, officially becoming a medicine and food of the same origin. "T/AHSX 10-2023 Feed Natural Plant Houttuynia Cordata Crude Extract" stipulates the requirements, test methods, inspection rules, marking, packaging, transportation, storage and shelf life of the feed natural plant Houttuynia Cordata crude extract.
3. Product Application and Dynamics
With the improvement of people's health awareness and the continuous development of the traditional Chinese medicine market, the demand for Houttuynia Cordata extract is expected to continue to grow. Houttuynia Cordata polysaccharide is an active ingredient extracted from Houttuynia Cordata, which has multiple biological activities, including immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects. Recent studies have shown that Houttuynia Cordata polysaccharide extract has potential application value in the preparation of sleep-improving drugs and health products.
Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide is commonly used in the following supplement forms:
Capsules: Houttuynia cordata extract capsules, used for immune enhancement and anti-inflammatory.
Tablets: Houttuynia cordata tablets, mainly used for adjuvant treatment of respiratory infections and inflammation.
Powder: Houttuynia cordata powder can be used in mixed drinks or foods for daily intake.
Liquid extract: Houttuynia cordata liquid extract, easy to absorb quickly, is often used in supplements to enhance immunity.
Functional food: Functional food with Houttuynia cordata extract, such as tea, health drinks, etc.
In addition, Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide has also been studied for the preparation of drugs for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, showing therapeutic effects on inflammatory bowel disease model animals. The Houttuynia cordata extract market is experiencing rapid development. Global and Chinese Houttuynia cordata extract industry research reports point out that Houttuynia cordata extract is widely used in pharmaceutical and healthcare, cosmetics and skin care products, food and feed additives, etc.
4. Current status of production technology
Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide is currently extracted by enzymatic hydrolysis, acidification extraction, alcohol extraction, etc. The extraction rate of Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide under ultrasound assistance is as high as 16.31%. The enzymatic hydrolysis method has mild reaction conditions and high efficiency, but the price of enzyme preparations is relatively high; the acidification extraction method is prone to environmental pollution; the alcohol extraction method has low cost and easy to obtain raw materials. In addition, polysaccharide extraction methods also include microwave-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, biological fermentation, membrane separation and other methods.
5. Introduction to scientists' technological achievements
This patent provides an alcohol extraction method for Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide. In this patent, Houttuynia cordata is dried (5070℃, preferably 60℃), crushed (sieved through 20200 mesh, preferably 30150 mesh, more preferably 40100 mesh, further preferably 5080 mesh, most preferably 60 mesh or 70 mesh), soaked in pure water for 1236 hours for extraction, ultrasonically discarded residue, repeated extraction 25 times, combined extracts for concentration, and then added with 95% ethanol. After standing and settling, the upper suspended matter is centrifuged, taken out, and the precipitate is combined. The precipitate is dissolved in acetone, fully washed and allowed to stand overnight. The precipitate is again fully washed in anhydrous ethanol and allowed to stand. After the precipitation is complete, the precipitate is placed in a rotary evaporator and heated to a certain volume, and vacuum dried to obtain Houttuynia cordata crude polysaccharide.
The Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide extracted by the method provided in this patent is used in mice experiments to improve sleep conditions, which proves that it has a significant effect on improving sleep and can be used to prepare drugs or foods for improving sleep.
6. Conclusion
Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide is an active ingredient derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Houttuynia cordata, which has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and sleep-improving effects. It works by regulating the immune system, inhibiting inflammatory factors, and scavenging free radicals. Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide can also effectively improve sleep quality and is beneficial to people with sleep disorders. In terms of regulations, Houttuynia cordata is recognized as a medicine and food, and its extracts are subject to standard specifications. In the market, Houttuynia cordata extracts have applications in many fields, especially in improving sleep and treating inflammatory bowel disease. Extraction technology includes a variety of methods, and ultrasound-assisted extraction has a higher efficiency. With the improvement of health awareness and the development of the traditional Chinese medicine market, the demand for Houttuynia cordata polysaccharide is expected to grow.
