Characterization of antioxidant Houttuynia cordata extracts loaded polyurethane nanofibers

Herein, we analyzed total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, and the antioxidant activity of the ethanol and distilled water extracted Houttuynia cordata perennial herb. Later, we investigated the possibility of producing Houttuynia cordata extract (HCE) loaded Polyurethane (PU) nanofibers via the electrospinning technique. The analysis confirmed that the total polyphenol, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of the ethanol extracted HCE were higher than the distilled water extracted HCE. Therefore, the ethanol extracted HCE was used to prepare HCE/PU nanofibers by varying concentrations of HCE and PU. The HCE/PU nanofibers showed a mixed pattern of beads and fibers at a PU concentration of 10 wt%. However, at 12 wt% PU concentration, relatively uniform nanofibers with an average diameter of about 200 nm were formed at 1.0% and 1.5 wt% of HCE. The successful incorporation of HCE in PU nanofibrous matrix was confirmed by the presence of its characteristic bands in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra. The addition of HCE increased the crystallinity, the amount of heat required for pyrolysis, and the thermal stability of HCE/PU nanofibers, which must be credited to the HCE-derived quercitrin and quercetin crystallite solids.

Automated summary

In this study, the total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of Houttuynia cordata extracted with ethanol and distilled water were analyzed. The results showed that the ethanol extracted Houttuynia cordata had higher total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity than the distilled water extracted Houttuynia cordata. Therefore, the ethanol extracted Houttuynia cordata was used to prepare Houttuynia cordata extract loaded polyurethane (HCE/PU) nanofibers. The addition of Houttuynia cordata extract increased the crystallinity, thermal decomposition temperature, and thermal stability of the HCE/PU nanofibers, which can be attributed to the presence of quercitrin and quercetin crystallite solids in the extract.