The Impact of Metal Exposure, Vaginal Microbiota, and Their Interactions on Fertility: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract: Houttuynia cordata is a plant that can be used as both medicine and food. Its medicinal parts are mostly above-ground, while its edible parts are mostly under-ground. However, this usage method has always lacked reasonable theoretical support. Therefore, metabolomics and transcriptomics were employed to analyze the roots, stems, and leaves of Houttuynia cordata, aiming to investigate the metabolites and genes in its different tissues. After data analysis, flavonoids are the main differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in different parts of Houttuynia cordata. Flavonoids such as quercetin, kaempferol, and rutin are the largest in the leaves, followed by the stems, and the least in the roots. Combining transcriptomic data and Realtime quantitative PCR (RTqPCR), flavonoid biosynthesis genes such as PAL, 4CL, CHS, CHI, and F3H were found to be most expressed in the leaves , and they may play a role in the flavonoid biosynthesis of Houttuynia cordata. This work emphasizes the distribution of metabolites in different parts of Houttuynia cordata and preliminarily explores the biosynthesis pathways of flavonoids, laying the foundation for the rational use and subsequent development of Houttuynia cordata.