Boehmeria pannosa (Urticaceae) is a perennial herb widely distributed in Korea. In this study, investigation on the constituents of B. pannosa was conducted by chromatographic techniques and spectroscopic analysis. As a result, nine compounds including eight phenolic compounds, 3-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-1-one (1), β-hydroxypropiovanillone (2), C-veratroylglycol (3), 3-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-propan-1-one (4) 2,3-dihydroxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl) -1-propanone (5), p-coumaric acid (6), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (7), vanillic acid (8) and one lignan, (-)-(7R,8S)-dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (9) were isolated from the EtOAc-soluble fraction of B. pannosa. Among them, compounds 5, 6 and 9 inhibited α-glucosidase inhibitory activity more than 50% at the concentration of 100 μM.

This study was initially explored to procure biomaterials capable of inhibiting cancer cell growth from nine Persicaria species (Polygonaceae). The extract of P. nepalensis that was selected from the initial screenings was further fractionated to identify bioactive compounds. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction was shown to be the most active in the inhibition of cell growth against six cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ value of 3.77-12.87 ㎍/ml). Phytochemical study led to the isolation of two galactolipids of 1,2-di-O-linolenoyl-3-O-β-D-galactospyranosyl-sn-glycerol (1) and 1-O-linolenoyl-3-O-β-D-galactospyranosyl-sn-glycerol (2) from the hexane fraction and three phenylpropanoyl sucroses of lapathoside A (3), vanicoside B (4) and lapathoside C (5) from the EtOAc fraction. These isolated compounds have not been reported from this plant. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited the effective growth inhibition against a panel of cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ value of 6.90-18.09 μM). In addition, the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated to determine lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) formation in RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cells. The EtOAc fraction (IC₅₀; 34.14 ㎍/ml) and its constituents, 3 (8.55 μM) and 4 (7.83 μM) were shown to be effective in the inhibition of LPS-induced NO production. Therefore, compounds 3 and 4 were considered to be active constituents for anti-inflammatory and antitumor activity from P. nepalensis.

Chaenomeles speciose Nakai (CSP) or Chaenomeles sinensis Koehne (CSS) (Rosaceae) has been used, traditionally, to treat muscle problems and gastric dampness in eastern Asia countries. Therefore, many studies have focused on investigating its active compounds and effects on muscle pain, arthritis and gastro-intestinal diseases. Recently, several studies reported that CSS extract degrade amyloid plaques and enhance synaptic acetylcholine level in vivo and in vitro. Although these two Chaenomeles species are used without differences, CSP is reported to contains more phenolic compounds which are known to enhance memory. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the memory ameliorating effects of CSP by employing the passive avoidance test, Y-maze task and novel object recognition test. CSP (30 or 100 mg/kg) ameliorated the declined memory induced by scopolamine injection and enhanced the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels along with post synaptic density protein 95 (PSD 95) levels at the hippocampus of the scopolamine-injected mouse brain. These results suggested that CSP alleviates the cognition declines caused by cholinergic blockade via enhancing BDNF levels and PSD 95, and that it would enhance memory formation and be useful for treating memory declines.

This study aimed to evaluate the safety of Oplopanax elatus (Nakai) Nakai hydrothermal extract powder. It was conducted using male and female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The test group was established with dose of 500 (low-dosage group), 1,000 (medium- dosage group), and 2,000 (high- dosage group) mg/day. These are investigated that number of dead animals, general symptoms, weight changes, food consumption, ophthalmological examination, urinalysis, urine volume, hematological values, plasma coagulation time values, serum biochemical values, absolute organ weight, relative organ weight and histopathological finding during the experiment. As a result of the above, toxicological changes were not observed. Therefore, the non-toxic content of Oplopanax elatus (Nakai) Nakai hydrothermal extract powder is determined to be 2,000 mg/kg/day, and target organ was not observed.

Corylopsis gotoana has been widely used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of lots of disease including cold, edema and vomiting. However pharmacological and phytochemical studies on the C. gotoana are extremely limited. Here in this study, the author investigated the anti-nociceptive effects of the methanolic extract of Corylopsis gotoana (MCG) using various pain models. In the present study, MCG exhibited strong and dose-dependent anti-nociceptive activities on various experimental pain models including thermal nociception and chemical nociception, compared to positive control such as tramadol and indomethacin. In addition, the result from combination test using naloxone, analgesic activity of MCG was slightly reduced, indicating that MCG acts as a partial opioid receptor agonist. These results demonstrated that MCG has potent analgesic potential and thus it may be possibly used as a valuable anti-nociceptive agent.

Rumex crispus is known to have anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial, and bone loss inhibitory activities. Mast cells are critical immune cells that induce a type 1 IgE-mediated allergic reaction. However, there are no reports of inhibitory effects of Rumex crispus on mast cells and allergic reactions. In this study, we performed some experiments to investigate whether Rumex crispus ethanol extract(RCE) has any inhibitory effect on antigen-induced type I allergic response in vitro and in vivo. RCE inhibited degranulation of IgE-mediated mast cells(IC₅₀, ~57 ㎍/ml) and cytokine production such as TNF-α and IL-4 in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo, RCE significantly inhibited passive cutaneous anaphylaxis(PCA)(ED₅₀, ~198 mg/kg) in mice. Furthermore, RCE inhibited degranulation of MCs in ear tissue of mice with PCA. Mechanism studies showed that RCE inhibited the activation of Syk and Syk-dependent pathway such as LAT, PLC-γ, Akt, and MAP Kinase. Our results demonstrate for the first time that RCE inhibits type I hypersensitive response by suppressing the activity of Syk in mast cells, thereby reducing degranulation and cytokine production. Taken together, RCE could be used as a novel therapeutic material to suppress allergic diseases.

This study was carried out to identify the skin anti-aging effect of cycloheterophyllin on dermal fibroblasts. To elucidate anti-aging effects of cycloheterophyllin on dermal fibroblasts, I measured cell viability, mRNA expressions, and Collagen, type I/matrix metallopeptidase 1(MMP1)-ELISA assay. In this study, I investigated the effects of cycloheterophyllin on Collagen, type I, alpha 1(COL1A1)/Collagen, type III, alpha 1(COL3A1)/MMP1/Superoxide dismutases/Catalase(CAT) mRNA expressions and Collagen, type I/MMP1 protein production. Quantitative Real-time RT-PCR showed that cycloheterophyllin increased mRNA level of COL1A1/COL3A1/CAT genes and collagen, type I protein by ELISA assay compared to UVA-treated dermal fibroblasts. Furthermore MMP1 mRNA and protein expressions were decreased by cycloheterophyllin treatment. These observations revealed that cycloheterophyllin increased anti-aging effects in dermal fibroblasts. Therefore, I identified the anti-aging effects of cycloheterophyllin, and these results showed that the cycloheterophyllin can be a considerable potent ingredient for skin anti-aging. Based on this, I anticipated further researches about cycloheterophyllin for mechanism to develop not only cosmetics but for healthcare food or medicine.

Phlox subulata is a perennial herbaceous flower and is a member of the Polemoniaceae family. This plant is known to resist to various stresses including salt, drought, heat, and cold stresses. In this investigation, we evaluated the ant-inflammatory effect of the methanolic extract of P.subulata(PSM) on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophages and BV2 microglia. PSM reduced the production of nitric oxide(NO) in LPS-stimulated both RAW264.7 and BV2 cells, but did not affect to the production of prostaglandin E2(PGE₂). It inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) and cyclooxygenase(COX)-2 in both cells. In addition, PSM suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin(IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α. These inhibitory effects were contributed by inactivation of nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases(MAPKs) pathways by PSM. Thus, these results suggested that P.subulata can be a candidate material to treat inflammatory diseases.

In order to research the anti-oxidative activity of methanol extract of Phellinus baumii Pilat (Hymenochaetaceae), Caenorhabditis elegans model system was used. Ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the methanol extract showed the most potent DPPH radical scavenging activity. The ethyl acetate fraction was measured on its activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and oxidative stress tolerance with reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in C. elegans. Furthermore, to see if regulation of stress-response gene is responsible for the increased stress tolerance of C. elegans which treated by the ethyl acetate fraction, we checked SOD-3 expression using a transgenic strain. Consequently, the ethyl acetate fraction of P. baumii increased SOD and the catalase activities in a dose-dependent manner in C. elegans, reduced ROS accumulation dose-dependently. Besides, the ethyl acetate fraction-treated CF1553 worms showed higher SOD-3::GFP intensity than the control worms.

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in seasonal bioactive components of 4 and 6 years old fresh ginseng (Panax ginseng) and to provide basic information on the development of functional food using fresh ginseng. Seasonal changes were investigated by ginseng saponin analysis using HPLC method and acidic polysaccharides by carbazole sulfuric acid method. Total saponins showed the highest content of fresh ginseng collected in May, followed by March, July, and September. Fresh ginseng collected in May showed 2.5 times (4 years old) - 3.0 times (6 years old) higher than fresh ginseng collected in September. Acidic polysaccharides showed high content of fresh ginseng collected in March and September, and low content of fresh ginseng collected in May and July. From these results, the fresh ginseng collected in May can develop high concentrations of saponin. On the other hand, fresh ginseng collected in March and September is thought to be able to develop high concentration products of acidic polysaccharides.

In order to obtain basic data on the shelf life of Epimedii Herba (EH), a physicochemical characteristics including weight loss rate, loss on drying, ash, acid-insoluble ash, and quantitative determination were evaluated to compare the data by packaging methods including general (G), general + silica gel (GS), alumium (AL), and alumium + silica gel (ALS) packaging and storage periods (0-66 months). All physicochemical analyzes were conducted using the method of "The Korean Pharmacopoeia (KP) 9^th edition". As a result, weight loss rate (%), loss on drying (%), ash (%), acid-insoluble ash (%) of EH according to the packaging methods and storage periods were -0.27-4.73%, 3.06-9.35%, 5.48-7.37%, and 0.45-0.99, respectively. In the quantitative analysis of icariin, the marker compound of EH using high-performance liquid chromatography, the initial content was 0.44% at 0 month in all packaging methods. After that, the result of analyzing the content of icariin every 6 months was detected 0.44-1.18%. All of the above results satisfied the acceptance criteria for loss on drying, ash, acid-insoluble ash, and quantification contained in the KP. This study can be used as a basic data for establishing the packaging method and shelf life of EH.

This study was designed to establish the stability of EGHB010, a combined hot water extract of Paeoniae Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix. Test of coliform groups, sensory evaluations, contents of moisture, and the amount of paeoniflorin and glycyrrhizin were determined during storage at 4, 25 and 35℃ for 6 months. Coliform groups were not observed and moisture contents were maintained about 3.0% during the storage period. Sensory characteristics including color, taste, texture and appearance were tested over 3 points throughout the entire storage period. It maintained the commercial value during the storage period. Contents of paeoniflorin and glycyrrhizin as indicator components were remained stably for the storage period. The shelf-life of EGHB010 based on a linear response to zero of sensory evaluation with the highest correlation coefficient was predicted. Finally, the shelf-life of EGHB010 was expected for about 3 years to consider in safety coefficient. The shelf-life data of EGHB010 can be used to develop a functional health ingredient.