Preliminary screening of Houttuynia cordata for biological potential and chemical components using TLC and GC–MS analysis

The objective of the study is to ascertain the biological potential and to identify the bioactive compounds of the four crude extract hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol from the roots of Houttuynia cordata. The chemical compounds of the extracts have analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) and Thin Layer Chromatography. The biological potential of H. cordata extract was investigated by an antibacterial assay using the disc diffusion method. The four crude extracts of H. cordata, examined on five test microorganisms Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klepsilla pneumoniae, Shigella dysentriae, and Bacillus subtilis at a consistency of 1 mg/ml in the study. The outcomes illuminated that ethyl-acetate extract and chloroform extract exhibited significant activity than those of methanol and hexane extract. The GC–MS analysis revealed the presence of sixteen bioactive compounds, three of them are novel (14-Bromo-2-methyltetradec-1-en -3-ol, 6-[4-Hydroxymethyl-4-methylpentyl amino] purine, and Cholest-5-en-3-ol (3Beta), propanoate) and their biological attributes are not yet proclaimed. The effects of the investigation exhibited the presence of the bioactive components in the odorous herb possesses antibacterial activity and may find a place in the pharmaceutical industry as an element of antibiotics.