Patent Application
20230389492
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 111121087 filed in Taiwan on Jun. 7, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention generally relates to a hydroponic culture medium and a hydroponic planting system, more particularly to a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium, a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system, Houttuynia cordata extracts, a method, and applications thereof.
Houttuynia cordata is a high-value Chinese herbal crop with anti-inflammation and anti-virus properties, and also used in medicine and food. Houttuynia cordata Thunb, which belongs to the Saururaceae family, can be derived from either the fresh or dried aerial portions of the plant (whole herb). The Latin pharmaceutical name is Houttuyniae Herba.
However, the domestic supply of Houttuynia cordata is mainly from China, and most of them are planted through traditional soil cultivation. However, the crop quality and production capacity may be bothered deeply due to the key factors that affects the traditional soil cultivation, which are the varieties of climates and environments.
Therefore, there are a few traders who use closed fields with hydroponic planting technology, Internet and big data growth control systems to form smart agriculture solutions, but they are all closed plant factory application mode. As it is known that, crop growth requires not only nutrients and water, but also the sunlight. Currently, plant factories always consume a lot of electricity on LED lighting equipment, so as to make a very high cost for planting Houttuynia cordata. For the “hydroponic nutrient solution” required in the hydroponic planting mode, there is currently no nutrient medium developed for the nutrient ratio and composition differences in the growth process of Houttuynia cordata. Therefore, the production rate of cultivated crops could not be effectively increased to meet the industry demands; therefore, in view of the shortcomings in the prior arts, the applicant of this case finally conceived this case after careful research and experimentation, and in the spirit of perseverance, to overcome the deficiencies of the previous technology, the following is a brief description of the present invention.
The main purpose of the present invention provides a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium that has a plant fertilizer and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, wherein the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof.
Preferably, a pH value of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium is between 5.5 and 7.0.
Preferably, an electronic conductivity of the Houttuynia hydroponic culture medium is between 0.4s/cm and 2.0s/cm.
Preferably, the microorganism is selected from the groups consisting of: Azotobacter, lactic acid bacteria, phosphate solubilizer, yeast, potassium solubilizer, Bacillus subtilis, and a combination thereof.
Preferably, the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium further comprises natural plant extracts, which are extracted from one of the groups consisting of: Houttuynia cordata leaf, camphor leaf, juniper leaf, Incense Cedar leaf, and a combination thereof.
The other purpose of the present invention is to provide a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system, which has a cultivating carrier, comprising a case and an accommodation room wrapped around by the case, a translucent portion being disposed on the case, in order for sunlight to go through the translucent portion to irradiate into the accommodation room to shine upon Houttuynia cordata; a hydroponic module, disposed in the accommodation room of the cultivating carrier, and comprising at least one hydroponic culture medium tank for planting the Houttuynia cordata; and a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device, connecting with the hydroponic module, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device provides a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium, which is supplemented to the hydroponic culture medium tank by means of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device, the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium comprising a plant fertilizer and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, wherein the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof.
Preferably, a pH value of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium is between 5.5 and 7.0, an electricity conductivity value of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium is between 0.4 s/cm and 2.0 s/cm, and the microorganism is selected from the group consisting of: Azotobacter, lactic acid bacteria, phosphate solubilizer, yeast, potassium solubilizer, Bacillus subtilis, and a combination thereof.
The other object of the present invention is to provide a Houttuynia cordata extract comprising flavonoids and caffeic acid derivatives, wherein a concentration of the Houttuynia cordata extract acting on an chromatographic fingerprint of chemical markers is 1 mg/1 mL solvent, in order to obtain the caffeic acid derivatives corresponding to a retention time between 8 and 13, a peak area of the retention time of the caffeic acid derivative ranges from 447834 to 1689264, and flavonoids corresponding to the retention time between 17.5 and 19.5 and the retention time between 23.5 and 24.5, and the peak area of the retention time of the flavonoids is between 265716 and 2229774, wherein a method for manufacturing the Houttuynia cordata extract comprises that of: providing a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium to a Houttuynia cordata by means of hydroponic planting, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium comprises a plant fertilizer and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, and the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof; adopting a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system to hydroponically plant the Houttuynia cordata, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system comprises a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device for sunlight shining upon the Houttuynia cordata; and extracting the Houttuynia cordata by ethanol to obtain the Houttuynia cordata extract, wherein the Houttuynia cordata is processed by the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium.
The other object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing Houttuynia cordata extracts comprising: providing a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium to a Houttuynia cordata by means of hydroponic planting, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium comprises a plant fertilizer and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, and the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof; adopting a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system to hydroponically plant the Houttuynia cordata, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system comprises a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device for sunlight shining upon the Houttuynia cordata; and extracting the Houttuynia cordata by ethanol to obtain the Houttuynia cordata extract, wherein the Houttuynia cordata is processed by the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium; wherein the Houttuynia cordata extract comprising flavonoids and caffeic acid derivatives, and a concentration of the Houttuynia cordata extract acting on an chromatographic fingerprint of chemical markers is 1 mg/1 mL solvent, in order to obtain the caffeic acid derivatives corresponding to a retention time between 8 and 13, a peak area of the retention time of the caffeic acid derivative ranges from 447834 to 1689264, and flavonoids corresponding to the retention time between 17.5 and 19.5 and the retention time between 23.5 and 24.5, and the peak area of the retention time of the flavonoids is between 265716 and 2229774.
The other object of the present invention is to provide a Houttuynia cordata extract for preparing compositions with antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidative and antibacterial effects, wherein a method for manufacturing Houttuynia cordata extracts comprising that of: providing a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium to a Houttuynia cordata by means of hydroponic planting, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium comprises a plant fertilizer and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, and the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof; adopting a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system to hydroponically plant the Houttuynia cordata, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system comprises a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device for sunlight shining upon the Houttuynia cordata; and the Houttuynia cordata extract comprising flavonoids and caffeic acid derivatives, and a concentration of the Houttuynia cordata extract acting on an chromatographic fingerprint of chemical markers is 1 mg/1 mL solvent, in order to obtain the caffeic acid derivatives corresponding to a retention time between 8 and 13, a peak area of the retention time of the caffeic acid derivative ranges from 447834 to 1689264, and flavonoids corresponding to the retention time between 17.5 and 19.5 and the retention time between 23.5 and 24.5, and the peak area of the retention time of the flavonoids is between 265716 and 2229774.
The Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system provided by the present invention have following advantages listed below:
Other and further features, advantages, and benefits of the invention will become apparent in the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawings. It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory but are not to be restrictive of the invention. The accompanying drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention in general terms. Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the disclosure.
The objects, spirits, and advantages of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be readily understood by the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions, wherein:
Following preferred embodiments and figures will be described in detail so as to achieve aforesaid objects.
To achieve above objectives, the present invention provides an embodiment that is a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium, and it has plant fertilizers and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, wherein the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof.
In this embodiment, the plant fertilizers include three elements, such as nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, etc., which are generally called essential nutrients. The Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is beneficial to the growth of Houttuynia cordata. For example, vitamin B complex is a nutrient for biological maintenance of physiological metabolism, and it is able to improve the good growth vigor of the leaves and roots of plants. For instance, seaweed extract is a natural extract from seaweed, and it is rich in various forms of nutrients and trace elements, and also contains a variety of natural plant growth regulators. The natural auxin and cytokinin contained in it have a development-inducing effect on plant roots and leaves. For example, amino acid is an organic acid, which contains nitrogen for accelerating the growth of plants and making the roots develop vigorously, in order to achieve the effect of strengthening rooting. Another example, microorganisms are additives used to provide nutrient sources during plant growth, and they increase the overall growth and absorption speed of crops, and rapidly enhance the growth of roots. Microorganisms include Azotobacter, lactic acid bacteria, phosphate solubilizer, yeast, potassium solubilizer, Bacillus subtilis, etc. and other single or unlimited strains of combined flora.
Besides, for some embodiments, the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium further comprises natural plant extracts, which are extracted from one of the groups consisting of: Houttuynia cordata leaf, camphor leaf, juniper leaf, Incense Cedar leaf, and a combination thereof. The natural plant extracts can be another role of extra nutrient supplement in the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium for providing elements required for the growth of Houttuynia cordata.
The pH value and electronic conductivity of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium may affect the growth of the Houttuynia cordata. Therefore, by way of the pH value and electronic conductivity, the pH value and concentration of the hydroponic culture medium are monitored, and whether the hydroponic culture medium is supplemented is a judgement simultaneously. The pH value of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium is between 5.5 and 7.0, and the electronic conductivity of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium is between 0.4 s/cm and 2.0 s/cm. In case of the electronic conductivity being lower than the range, nutrients are easily lacked so as to affect the growth of crops. On the other hand, if the pH value is lower than the range of to 7.0, the absorption of corps is decreased so as to also affect the growth; on the contrary, if it exceeds this range, the problem of precipitation of metal elements in the culture medium will occur. The present invention effectively promotes the growth of the Houttuynia cordata by means of controlling the pH value and electrical conductivity.
Through controlling aforesaid Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additivity, natural plant extract, pH value, and electrical conductivity, the growth cycle (planting to harvest) of the Houttuynia cordata through the hydroponic planting falls within days. Compared to the traditional soil cultivation, the present invention reduces the growth cycle about one time, since the harvest time of traditional soil cultivation is about days. The production of the hydroponic planting rose to one time of the traditional soil cultivation (and/or above). The sizes of the leaves of both the hydroponic planting and the soil cultivation are around 7-7.5 cm while in harvest. Please refer to Table 1, which shows the experiment data of the leaf growth record of the hydroponic planting and the soil cultivation.
According to researches, the bioactive chemical markers contained in Houttuynia cordata include caffeic acid derivatives, and there are three types of caffeic acid derivatives, namely 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid. By way of the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the bioactive chemical markers of Houttuynia cordata, the chromatographic fingerprint of Houttuynia cordata can be obtained. Therefore, the chromatographic fingerprint is able to compare the ratio differences of the bioactive chemical markers of the soil cultivation and the hydroponic planting.
With reference to
It can be seen that compared with the results of traditional soil cultivation, the hydroponic Houttuynia cordata of the present invention is not only very close to the ratio of the bioactive chemical markers of those in traditional soil cultivation, but the results of some hydroponic additives can also be better than traditional soil cultivation. In addition, the growth speed of the hydroponic Houttuynia cordata of the present invention is at least twice that of traditional soil cultivation, so it brings great economic benefits and application values.
Based on researches, one of the bioactive chemical markers of Houttuynia cordata are flavonoids, which are rutin, quercetin-3-galactoside, quercetin-3-glucoside, and quercetin-3-rhamnoside. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses to the bioactive chemical markers of Houttuynia cordata, the chromatographic fingerprint for Houttuynia cordata is obtained. Thus, the ratio differences of the bioactive chemical markers of the soil cultivation Houttuynia cordata and the hydroponic Houttuynia cordata can be compared via the chromatographic fingerprints.
With reference to
Another target of the present invention is to provide a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system 4. Regarding
The cultivating carrier 41 includes a case 411 and an accommodation room 412 wrapped around by the case 411. A translucent portion 413 is disposed on the case 411, in order for sunlight to go through the translucent portion 413 to shine into the accommodation room 412 to shine upon Houttuynia cordata. Talking to the current embodiment, the cultivating carrier 41 is made of a traditional 20 ft container, and the plurality of transparent portion 413 are disposed at the top surface and lateral surfaces of the long sides of the container. The transparent portion 413 is a translucent cover and made by acrylic. Through the translucent acrylic cover, the Houttuynia cordata in the container receives natural sunlight, instead of the traditional planting factory that adopts a large number of LED lights. Obviously, the natural sunlight is saving a lot of power cost, thus the present invention is much more economic.
The hydroponic module 42 is disposed in the accommodation room 412 of the cultivating carrier 41, and includes a plurality of hydroponic culture medium tanks 421, connecting tubes 422 and control volves 423 for planting the Houttuynia cordata. The Houttuynia cordata is planted in the hydroponic culture medium tanks 421. The connecting tube 422 is connected with the hydroponic culture medium tank 421 and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 43. The control valve 423 is a switch disposed at the connecting tube 422 for controlling the connecting tube 422. About some embodiments, the hydroponic module 42 can be divided into two types: the floor-standing hydroponic planting bed module and the horizontal hydroponic planting tube module. Each of the hydroponic modules 42 is equipped with the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 43 for a whole cycle. In addition, each set of the hydroponic module 42, including the hydroponic culture medium tank 421, the connecting tube 422 and the control volve 423, is designed to be flexibly dismantled for conveniently cooperating with different types of container factory outputs or plantings in the future.
The Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 43 is connected with the hydroponic module 42, and provides a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium L, which is supplemented to the hydroponic culture medium tank 421 via the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 43, for the Houttuynia cordata planted in the hydroponic culture medium tank 421 obtaining enough nutrition. With reference to
The Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium L in the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 43 adopts aforesaid the ingredients of the culture medium, and it has plant fertilizers and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, and the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof. Specifically, the four sets of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage devices 43 contain four kinds of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture mediums individually, and they are vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, and microorganism, but not limited thereto. Further, the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic mediums L in the four sets of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage devices 43 may be partially or totally the same, and it depends on the practical conditions.
With respect to
Regarding to
The cultivating carrier 51, the hydroponic module 52 and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 53 of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system 5 are similar to the cultivating carrier 41, the hydroponic module 42 and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 43 of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system 4 in the aspects of the structures and functions. The main difference between is the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 53 is outside a case 511 of the cultivating carrier 51, but the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 43 is inside the case 411 of the cultivating carrier 41. Thus, for the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system 5, an accommodation room 512 of the cultivating carrier 51 may not be occupied by the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 53. It will have more room for the hydroponic module 52 for increasing the area of planting the hydroponic Houttuynia cordata to manufacturing.
The case 511 has also a translucent portion 513 in order for sunlight to go through the translucent portion 513 to shine into the accommodation room 412. For the embodiment, the translucent portion 513 can be a window or an opening, but not limited thereto. The Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system 5 further has an accommodation room temperature control device 55 that is to control the temperature of the accommodation room 512. The accommodation room temperature control device 55 is a negative pressure fan. The Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system 5 further has a culture medium temperature control device (not shown in figure), in order to control the temperature of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium.
In the preferred embodiment, the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system 5 adopts the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device 53 that has the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium L as aforesaid. The ingredients of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium L has a plant fertilizers and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, wherein the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof. The pH value of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium is between 5.5 and 7.0, and the electricity conductivity value of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium is between 0.4 s/cm and 2.0 s/cm. Further, natural plant extracts are included as well and extracted from one of the groups consisting of: Houttuynia cordata leaf, camphor leaf, juniper leaf, xiaonan (Incense Cedar) leaf, and a combination thereof. For other embodiments, the microorganisms include Azotobacter, lactic acid bacteria, phosphate solubilizer, yeast, potassium solubilizer, Bacillus subtilis, etc. and other single or unlimited strains of combined flora.
The plantation of Houttuynia cordata is through the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting systems 4 and 5 and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium, and thus the Houttuynia cordata extract can be obtained by air-drying, taking 10 g of Houttuynia cordata for powdering, adding 500 ml of 95% ethanol for extraction, ultrasonic vibration for 1 hour, filtration, and solvent removal. The formula for calculating the extraction rate of the Houttuynia cordata extract is the weight after extraction (mg)/original weight (mg)×100%, and the results of the relevant extraction rates are shown in table 4 below. The extraction rate for the hydroponic Houttuynia cordata adding the seaweed essence is 7.84%. After comparing with 10.91% of the extraction rate of the traditional soil cultivation, the extraction rate is greater than or equal to 71.9% of the traditional soil cultivation. That is, the original expected target is achieved, although the extraction rate for the hydroponic Houttuynia cordata is lower than the soil-cultivated ones. Further, the growth period is only half of the soil-cultivated ones, hence the production is twice than soil-cultivated ones.
Then, adding 1 mg of Houttuynia cordata extract weighing 1 mL of HPLC grade methanol is to obtain a sample with a concentration of 1 mg/mL solvent, and it is filtered through a 0.22 μL filter. The HPLC instruments and appropriate conditions are analyzed to obtain chromatographic fingerprint of chemical markers. Please refer to table 2, table 3,
Due to the high ingredient of flavonoids and caffeic acid derivatives in this Houttuynia cordata extract, the Houttuynia cordata extract of the present invention is for preparing compositions with antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidative and antibacterial effects, wherein a method for manufacturing Houttuynia cordata extracts comprises that of: providing a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium to a Houttuynia cordata by means of hydroponic planting, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium comprises a plant fertilizers and a Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive, and the Houttuynia cordata growth-promoting additive is selected from the groups consisting of: vitamin B complex, seaweed essence, amino acid, microorganism, and a combination thereof; adopting a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system (4) to hydroponically plant the Houttuynia cordata, wherein the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system (4) comprises a Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium storage device (43) for sunlight shining upon the Houttuynia cordata; and extracting the Houttuynia cordata by ethanol to obtain the Houttuynia cordata extract, wherein the Houttuynia cordata is processed by the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system (4) and the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium; wherein the Houttuynia cordata extract comprising flavonoids and caffeic acid derivatives, and a concentration of the Houttuynia cordata extract acting on an chromatographic fingerprint of chemical markers is 1 mg/1 mL solvent, in order to obtain the caffeic acid derivatives corresponding to a retention time between 8 and 13, a peak area of the retention time of the caffeic acid derivatives ranges from 447834 to 1689264, and flavonoids corresponding to the retention times between 17.5 to 19.5 and 23.5 to 24.5, and the peak area of the retention time of the flavonoids is between 265716 and 2229774. For some embodiments, the microorganism is selected from the group consisting of: Azotobacter, lactic acid bacteria, phosphate solubilizer, yeast, potassium solubilizer or Bacillus subtilis and other single or combined flora with unlimited strains and species.
The ingredients of the Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium selected by the present invention can effectively promote the growth rate of the Houttuynia cordata, so that the growth cycle time required for the Houttuynia cordata from the beginning of plantation to harvest is reduced compared with the traditional soil-cultivated ones. Relatively speaking, the hydroponic production capacity of the present invention is capable of rising at least one time (including more) than that of the traditional soil cultivation, so it can successfully increase the production capacity to meet industrial demands.
The Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system of the present invention is advanced by traditional container, by replacing LED lights with natural sunlight to shine upon the Houttuynia cordata. Hence, the present invention saves a large number of costs compared with the present hydroponic planting's.
The planted Houttuynia cordata from aforesaid Houttuynia cordata hydroponic culture medium and Houttuynia cordata hydroponic planting system is extracted through air-drying, powdering, adding ethanol for extraction, ultrasonic vibration, filtration, and solvent removal to obtain the Houttuynia cordata extract, which contains the high amounts of flavonoids and caffeic acid derivatives as ingredients. Therefore, the Houttuynia cordata extract successfully prepares compositions with antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidative and antibacterial effects.
Although the invention has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, the principle involved are susceptible for use in numerous other embodiments that will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. This invention is, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 111121087 | Jun 2022 | TW | national |
