• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.368-376
• /
• 2021

This study was to investigate the Taraxinic acid from Taraxacum coreanum on tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis. In B16BL6 cell, Taraxinic acid did not show cytotoxicity even at concentrations of up to 100 ㎍/mL. In addition, tyrosinase inhibitory activity and melanogenesis inhibitory activity were confirmed by stimulation with α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in the presence of taraxinic acid. Taraxinic acid was added to cells at concentrations of 10, 50 and 100 ㎍/mL and treated for 48 hours to confirm tyrosinase inhibitory activity and melanin production. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity increased in proportion to the amount of the sample, and showed an inhibitory activity of about 54.5% at a concentration of 50 ㎍/mL. Melanin production decreased in proportion to the sample amount, and it was about 62.2% at the concentration of 10 ㎍/mL. From the above results, it was found that Taraxinic acid had higher tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis inhibitory activity in melanocyte than arbutin. The results suggest that Taraxinic acid can be utilized in natural whitening cosmetics.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2020.08a
• /
• pp.25-25
• /
• 2020

산초나무(Zanthoxylum schinifolium Siebold & Zucc.)는 운향과(Rutaceae)에 속하는 낙엽활엽관목으로 주로 열매, 잎, 줄기는 식·약용으로 이용한다. 최근 산초나무 부위별 추출물에서 항산화활성, 항염증효과, 미백효과 등에 관한 연구가 이루어지면서 산초나무의 가치가 더욱 증가하고 있다. 본 연구는 산초나무의 효율적인 유·무성 증식법을 구명하기 위해 종자 처리에 따른 발아특성, 생장조절물질 처리에 따른 가지삽목과 뿌리삽목의 발근특성을 조사하였다. 산초나무 종자는 3개월간 저온습사저장(종자:모래=1:1, -4℃)을 실시할 경우 약 64.0%가 발아하였다. 습사저장된 종자를 파종 직전에 GA3를 이용하여 0, 500, 1,000 및 2,000ppm 농도에서 처리한 결과 각 처리구별 발아율은 유의한 차이를 나타내지 않았다(F=1.556, p=0.260). 다만, 500ppm 농도에서 72.0%가 발아하여 가장 높은 발아율을 보였으며 1,000ppm 이상 처리구에서는 발아율이 다소 감소하는 경향을 나타냈다. 무성증식 방법은 2월 중순에 산초나무 가지삽수와 뿌리삽수를 채취한 후 IBA와 NAA를 각각 0, 500, 1,000 및 2,000ppm 농도로 처리하였다. 가지삽목을 실시한 대부분의 삽수에서 신초가 발생했으나, 발근율은 1.3~6.3%로 현저히 낮았다. 반면, 뿌리삽목은 3개월 후 부정아 발생율이 처리에 따라 58.3~83.3%로 조사되었으며, 발근율은 0~66.7%를 나타나 처리구별 발근율에 유의한 차이가 있었다(F=3.744, p=0.020). IBA 처리가 근삽수의 발근에는 효과적이었으며, 특히 IBA 2,000ppm 처리에서 66.7%의 발근율을 보여 가장 효과적임을 알 수 있었다. 결론적으로, 산초나무의 효율적인 유성증식을 위해서는 종자를 3개월간 저온습사저장하는 것이 효과적이며, 무성증식 방법으로는 가지삽목보다 뿌리삽목을 이용하는 것이 더 효과적인 것으로 판단된다.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2023.04a
• /
• pp.51-51
• /
• 2023

The world-wide rate of obesity is increasing continuously, representing a serious medical threat since it is associated with a variety of diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and numerous cancers. Sophora japonicais used as a traditional herb for medicinal purposes in eastern Asia. However, the anti-obesity effects of S. japonicafruit have not been explored. The aim of this study is to investigate the inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis by an ethanol extract of S. japonicafruit (EESF) in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. Our results demonstrate that EESF suppressed the terminal differentiation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner, as confirmed by a decrease in lipid droplet number and lipid content through Oil Red O staining. EESF significantly reduced the accumulation of cellular triglyceride, which was associated with a significant inhibition of the levels of pro-adipogenic transcription factors, including PPARγ, C/EBPα and C/EBPβ. In addition, EESF potentially down regulated the expression levels of adipocyte-specific proteins, including aP2 and leptin. In particular, EESF treatment effectively enhanced the activation of the AMPK signaling pathway; however, the co-treatment with compound C, an inhibitor of AMPK, significantly restored the EESF-induced inhibition of pro-adipogenic transcription factors and adipocyte-specific genes. These results indicate that EESF may exert an anti-obesity effect by controlling the AMPK signaling pathway, suggesting that the fruit extract of S. japonica may be a potential anti-obesity agent.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.103-110
• /
• 2014

BACKGROUND: Azadirachta indica has been widely used as environment-friendly organic materials because of its insecticidal properties. This study was carried out to investigate the acute toxicity and the subacute toxicity of Azadirachta indica extract(AIE) in rats. METHODS AND RESULTS: For the oral acute toxicity test, Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged with 2.0 g/Kg bw of AIE. The $LD_{50}$ value was greater than 2.0 g/Kg bw for both male and female rats. For the subacute toxicity study, rats were treated with AIE at doses of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg/Kg bw once a day for 4 weeks(n=10 animals per each group). There were no significant changes in body weight, food intake and water consumption observed during the experimental duration. In addition, no difference of relative kidney weight was observed among all treated groups. Serum creatinine level in the AIE 2.0 g/Kg group increased significantly compared with that of control group in male rats, but serum blood urea nitrogen was significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.05). Significant increase of serum cholesterol levels were observed in all AIE groups, compared with the control group, in the female rats (p<0.05). However, histopathological examination of the kidney did not reveal any significant lesions in all groups. CONCLUSION: On the basis of results, it could be concluded that oral administration AIE didn't cause any toxic response in kidney, except the increased serum cholesterol.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.40-44
• /
• 1984

Experiments on the GA production ability by ectomycorrhizal fungus, Pisolithus tinctorius was carried out to investigate specific physiological phenomena of growth increase in host plants by formation of mycorrhizae, The culture extract of P. tinctorius was purified by solvent fractionation, sephadex LH-20 chromatography, silica gel partition chromatography and TLC, successively. GA activities in the purified GA fractions were monitored by micro-drop bioassay using dwarf rice seedlings, 'Tan-ginbozu'. $30{\sim}60%$ EtOAc election fractions of silica gel pardon chromatography and the zone of Rf $0.1{\sim}0.4,\;0.6{\sim}0.8$ of TLC exhibited the GA-like activities. The GA activities were increased with the more treated amount of culture extracts. This activity in 100ml of culture solution was equivalent to 0.1ng of $GA_3$.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.179-185
• /
• 2018

In this study, the optimal fermenting conditions of sugar extracts of Artemisia annua L. (Aa), Houttuynia cordata Thunb (Hc), and Saururus chinensis Baill (Sc) were determined to develop fermented beverages. The sugar extracts ($50{\pm}5^{\circ}Bx$) were diluted to 10, 15, and $20^{\circ}Bx$, and fermented with 2% (v/v) of Lactobacillus plantarum DK119 ($5{\times}10^9CFU/mL$) at $37^{\circ}C$ for 4 days. According to the lactic acid bacteria population, pH, titratable acidity, and reducing sugar content, $20^{\circ}Bx$ for Aa, $10^{\circ}Bx$ for Hc and $15^{\circ}Bx$ for Sc were the maximum concentrations for the fermentation. There were no changes in total polyphenol content in the extracts of Aa, Hc, and Sc, whereas the radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power were increased during the fermentation. Lactic acid fermentation resulted in improvement of sensory evaluation scores on unfavorable plant taste and overall acceptability of the sugar extracts of medicinal plants.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.58 no.3
• /
• pp.259-265
• /
• 2015

Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter melon, has interesting pharmacological activities such as anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidant. As supported by recent scientific reports on the beneficial effects of M. charantia, it is one of the most promising functional plants for diabetes today. In this study, we fermented the bitter melon with lactic acid bacteria and investigated the capability of controlling diabetic conditions by decreasing the blood glucose levels. After extracting the fermented bitter melon with hot water or ethanol, we tested several biological activities using mouse models. When we tested the efficacy of the glycemic control, the extracts of fermented bitter melon significantly lowered the blood glucose levels of the alloxan-induced diabetic mice. We also found that the lactic acid bacteria-fermented bitter melon protected liver damages from the treatment of alloxan monohydrates and maintained low levels of triglycerides and high levels of HDL cholesterol in these mouse models. These results suggest that our approach on fermenting bitter melon and the extracts of fermented bitter melon could lead to the possibility of the development of functional foods that contain the effectiveness of controlling blood glucose and lipid levels as well as preventing liver damages.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.1370-1382
• /
• 2021

Previous studies have been conducted on domestic materials as a single extract. Research on complex mixtures for maximizing plant characteristics by individual extraction and potential interference with effects is insufficient. Therefore, this study confirmed the GC-MSD according to the extraction of essential oils for Agastache rugosa O. Kuntze(AR), Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zuccarini(PD), Curcuma longa, Curcuma domestica(CC), Zingiber officinale Roscoe(ZR), Foeniculum vulgare Miller(FV), and Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis Swingle(CS). The cytotoxicity, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of the blending oil were confirmed to confirm its potential as a cosmetic material. As a result of analyzing GC-MSD aroma components, the main components were estragole of AR, à-Pinene for PD, Zingiberene for CC and ZR, Anethole from FV, and D-Limonene for CS. At a concentration of 100 uL/mL with no confirmed cytotoxicity, NO production was inhibited by 70.62%, DPPH radical scavenging activity was 64.03%, and ABTS radical scavenging activity was 89.55%. Through this, blended essential oil suggests the possibility of useful application as a raw material with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the cosmetic and food industries.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.259-268
• /
• 2022

In this study, seeds of Festuca ovina var. coreana growing in waste coal landfills exposed to heavy metal contamination for a long time were collected, and growth characteristics and heavy metal accumulation capacity were evaluated through greenhouse cultivation experiments with germinated seedlings, and was conducted for the applicability of phytoremediation technology. Concentration gradients of arsenic-treated artificial soil were 25, 62.5, 125, and 250 mg/kg, respectively, lead concentrations were 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg, and cadmium concentrations were 15, 30, 60, and 100 mg/kg, respectively In the arsenic, lead, and cadmium-treated experimental groups, the number of leaves of F. ovina var. coreana decreased in all compared to the control group except for the lead-treated groups (200, 500, and 1000 mg/kg). Length growth of the shoot part was increased in all of the arsenic treatment groups compared to the control group, but decreased in all of the root parts. In the 1000 and 2000 mg/kg lead treatment groups, lengths increased compared to the control group, but in the other treatments, they were shorter than the control group. In the case of the cadmium treatment group, all of the shoot parts were increased compared to the control group, and all of the root parts were decreased. In the case of arsenic treatment, the biomass was decreased at all parts and all concentrations compared to the control group. The 200, 500, and 1000 mg/kg lead treatments showed larger biomass than the control group in both shoot and root parts. In the cadmium treatment group, the biomass of both shoot and root parts decreased compared to the control group. As the concentration of heavy metal treatment increased, both the number of leaves and the biomass by plant parts tended to decrease, and the length growth of the shoot part tended to increase slightly, but the root part tended to decrease slightly. The arsenic accumulation concentrations of the shoot and root parts of the 62.5 mg/kg arsenic treatment area were 9.4 mg/kg and 253.3 mg/kg, respectively. While the shoot part of the 250 mg/kg arsenic treatment area withered away, the arsenic accumulation concentration in the root part was analyzed to be 859.1 mg/kg, In the 2,000 mg/kg lead treatment area, the shoot and root parts accumulated 10,308.1 and 11,012.0 mg/kg, which were 1.1 times higher than the root parts. At 100 mg/kg cadmium treatment, the shoot and root parts were 176.0 and 287.2 mg/kg, and the root part accumulated 1.6 times higher than the shoot part. As a result of tolerance evaluation of F. ovina var. coreana, multi-tolerance to three heavy metals was confirmed by maintaining growth without dying in all treatment groups of arsenic, lead, and cadmium. Plant extraction (phytoextraction) of F. ovina var. coreana was verified as a species that can be applied up to 2,000 mg/kg of soil lead contamination.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.124-130
• /
• 2006

Rice plant extracts of brown planthopper (BPH) resistant rice varieties, Jangseongbyeo (JSB) and Hwacheongbyeo (HCB) at different growth stages (seedling, tillering, heading and ripening) were sequentially fractioned using hexane, ethyl ether, ethyl acetate, butanol, and distilled water. The extracts were applied to BPH susceptible rice variety, Dongjjnbyeo (DJB), to investigate the insecticidal and repellent effects against BPH. BPH insecticidal effects were not clearly observed with almost all of the extract fractions obtained from both JSB and HCB varieties for 12 h, whereas the ethyl ether and hexane extract fractions showed about 10 to 30% of BPH mortality in 24 to 48 h of application periods. An effective BPH repellent activity was found with the applications of ethyl ether extract fractions obtained from JSB variety. The extract fractions obtained from HCB variety did not show any different repellence among the various fractions. The BPH repellent effects of the extract fractions obtained at different growth stages of either JSB or HCB varieties did not show any correlations. The effect of ethyl ether fraction on BPH repellent was continually increased by 30 h after treatment and thereafter decreased. In addition, the first sub-fraction separated by a flash column chromatography eluted with chloroform:methanol (9:1, v/v) from the BPH effective ethyl ether faction in JSB variety might be meaningful to repel BPH from BPH susceptible target rice plants. The results indicated that the ethyl ether fraction obtained from JSB was higher in repellent activity than in insecticidal activity, and suggesting that there might be specific substance(s) in the first sub-fraction (sF1) of the ethyl ether fraction in JSB that could provide repellent activity against BPH.