Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of Houttuynia cordata Thunb.

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. were investigated to develop a natural food preservative from it. Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine and arginine were major amino acids of Houttuynia cordata Thunb., but were present in a trace amount. Free sugars were composed of glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose and major fatty acids were linolenic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid. Mineral elements were potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper. Antimicrobial activities were shown in acidic, neutral and phenolic fraction of Houttuynia cordata Thunb., but not in basic fraction. Among the four fractions, neutral fraction showed the strongest antimicrobial activities against microorganisms tested, such as Pseudomnas aeruginosa, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum lethal concentration (MLC) of the neutral fraction varied according to microoganisms tested. The lowest values of MIC (0.0075 g eq./mL) and MLC (0.10 g eq./mL) were obtained from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.