• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.276-288
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• 2014

The six polysaccharide fractions were prepared by chromatographic procedure from the hot water extracts of the aboveground parts of Astragalus membranaceus. These six polysaccharides from aboveground parts of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge were tested for gut-mucosal immune activity and acute toxicity. In a view of molecular weight, the six fractions were estimated to be 75000, 88000, 129000 and 345000 Da, respectively. Component sugar analysis indicated that these fractions were mainly consisted of galactose (46.3 ~ 11.8%) and arabinose (35.4 ~ 9.9%) in addition to glucose, rhamnose, fucose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucuronic acid and galacturonic acid. Among the six major purified polysaccharides, AMA-1-b-PS2 showed highest bone merrow cell proliferation and lymphocyte of Peyer's patch stimulating activity. It may be concluded that intestinal immune system modulating activity of aboveground parts from Astragalus membranaceus Bunge is caused by polysaccharides having a polygalacturonan moiety with neutral sugars such as arabinose and galactose. In single oral dose toxicity study, no differences were observed between control and treated groups in clinical signs. The results indicated that lethal dose 50 ($LD_{50}$) of water extracts from Astragalus membranaceus-aboveground parts was found to be higher than 5000 mg/kg/day in this experiment. From the above results, we may suggest that Astragalus membranaceus-aboveground parts might have useful as a safe material for functional food and pharmaceutics.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.474-485
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• 2013

Pharmacological studies and clinical practices have indicated that Radix Astragali, a dried root of Astragalus membranaceus possesses a lot of biological activities, including antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, tonic, diuretic, antimicrobial, antiviral, and immunological activities. These biological activities approved by the modern pharmacological studies are mainly due to the constituents of Astragalus membranaceus including polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, amino acids, and trace elements. In resent, the main constituents in the root part showing a lot of biological activities has been isolated also from the aboveground parts such as leaves and sprouts in our laboratory. However, the safety evaluation for the aboveground parts of Astragalus membranaceus should be checked before expanding their application as one of food. In the study, a 90-day rat oral gavage study has been conducted with the extracts from Astragalus membranaceus-above-ground parts at doses of 1000, 3000, and 5000mg/kg/day. The following endpoints were evaluated: clinical observations, body weight, gross and microscopic pathology, clinical chemistry, and hematology. Based on the analysis of these endpoints, it was estimated that NOEL (no observed effect level) for male rats and NOAEL (no observed adverse effect level) for female rats are 5000mg/kg/day of the water-extracts from Astragalus membranaceus-aboveground parts.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.408-419
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• 2016

Background: In recent years, adjuvants have received increasing attention owing to the development of purified subunit and synthetic vaccines which are poor immunogens and require additional adjuvants to evoke an immune response. Therefore, immunologic adjuvants have been developed and tested. Plant polysaccharides have been recognized as effective biological response modifiers with low toxicity. Methods and Results: In this study, the polysaccharide from the aboveground part of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge containing immunomodulating arabino-3,6-galactan was evaluated for its hemolytic activity and adjuvant potential in the specific cellular and humoral immune responses to ovalbumin. The polysaccharide from the aboveground part of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge was co-immunized with the purified Vi capsular polysaccharide of Salmonella typhi vaccine in mice. The polysaccharide from the aboveground part of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge did not induce any hemolytic activity or side effects at doses up to $500{\mu}g/m{\ell}$. The concanavalin A-, lipopolysaccharide-, and ovalbumin-induced splenocyte proliferation and serum ovalbumin-specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2b antibody titers in immunized mice were significantly enhanced by AMA. Pharmacological data revealed that the polysaccharide from the aboveground part of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge increased antigen-specific antibody levels in immunized mice. The polysaccharide from the aboveground part of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge-adjuvanted purified Vi capsular polysaccharide of Salmonella typhi vaccine improved the proliferation of splenocytes and macrophages as well as stimulated cytokine production. Conclusions: These results suggest that the polysaccharide from the aboveground part of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge-adjuvanted vaccines enhanced humoral and cellular immunity and that the polysaccharide from the aboveground part of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge is a safe and efficacious adjuvant candidate suitable for use in prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.361-363
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• 1998

Occurrence of soft rots was observed on celery that was massively grown in Pyungchang, Kangwon-Do, Korea. Soft rot symptom appeared first on the lower parts of the celery which eventually extended into whole aboveground parts of it. The casual organism isolated from the infected lesions was identified as Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora based on the physiological and chemical characteristics, and on the results of the Biolog program (Biolog Inc., U. S. A.). E. carotovora subsp. carotovora is the first described bacterium which causes the bacterial soft rot disease on celery in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 1983

Seasonal changes of the soil nutrient contents and aboveground biomass, relationship between the soil nutrients and the productivity, and the net efficiencies of solar energy conversion were studied in two reeed communities (Phragmites communis Trin.) at the salt marsh in the estuary of the Sumjin-River from April 30 to October 9, 1981. The inorganic nutrients such as exchangeable sodium and potassium of soil were decreased during growing season. The amounts of organic matter, exchangeable sodium and potassium, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus in stand $\prod$ were much more than those of stand $\coprod$ . Productivity of Phragmites communis was positively correlated with the soil nutrients such as available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium and total nitrogen. The maximum dry matter productions of the aboveground parts in stand $\prod$ stand $\coprod$ were $ 1, 120g/m^2; and; 843g/m^2$ in August, and the net coversion efficiencies of PhAR based on growing season (April to September) were 1.77% and 1.33%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.66-75
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• 2006

This study was conducted to understand the biomass and the energy content of 24-year-old Pinus koraiensis stand planted in Mt. Wolak, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. Nine sample trees were selected and harvested for the study. Stem, bark, branches and leaves were weighed respectively with the stratified clipping method, and analyzed for productive structure. The allometric regression equations between dry weight of each component and $D^2H$ were obtained to estimate the total biomass of aboveground (47.0 ton/ha) and other parts (56.5% from stemwood, 9.1% from stembark, 0.5% from current twigs, 18.4% from live branches, 2.6% from current leaves, and 12.9% from previous leaves). Annual net production of aboveground was 6.0 ton/ha/yr, and the ratios of stemwood, stembark, current twigs, live branches, and current leaves to that of aboveground were 49.8%, 7.3%, 3.5%, 18.6%, and 20.8%, respectively. Energy content of aboveground was 1,028 GJ/ha, and annual energy content was 133 GJ/ha/yr. Leaf area index (LAI) of P. koraiensis plantation was 20.2 in Mt. Wolak.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.251-256
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• 2009

The parts of leaves, flowers and stems in ginseng were obtained for analyzing the component of saponin on 15th April, 25th April, 5th May, 25th May, which were considered as ginseng foliation stage. The total saponin content of the leaves were 97.29, 66.42, 67.61, 36.24 mg/g, respectively, in which the content of Re, $Rb_1$ and Rd were more than 2/3 amount of total saponin. Especially, the saponin content of leaves decreased according to the sequential collection days, in which the similar results were observed from the flowers and stems of ginseng. The total saponin content of the flowers and stems were 141.09,143.84,139.25,133.47 and 13.32, 9.85, 8.00, 4.65 mg/g, respectively. Among them, the content of Re, Rd and $Rb_2$ in flowers were more than 2/3 while the content of Re, $Rg_1$ and Rd in stems showed more than 9/10 amount of total saponin. The total saponin content of individual leaf were 19.46, 28.56, 58.82 and 169.24 mg/plant, 2.53, 2.76, 5.20 and 12.32 mg/plant in stems, and 14.11, 30.21, 37.60 and 73.41 mg/plant in flowers. Therefore, the total saponin content of aboveground parts in ginseng were leaves > flowers > stems.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.259-267
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• 2012

Biomass changes, net primary production and transfer dynamics of dry matter in four subtropical humid montane grasslands at Ebbenadu, Korakundah, Thiashola and Wenlockdown in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), the Western Ghats, India, were investigated. Despite the early report of a higher density and dominance of $C_4$ species over $C_3$ species in these grasslands, no functional study of matter production had previously been carried out. Therefore, in order to determine the roles played by these two groups of species, the present study was attempted. The study revealed that the dry matter and net primary production contributed by $C_4$ species were much greater than those of its $C_3$ counterpart in all the grasslands. The turnover rate of aboveground dry matter for both $C_3$ and $C_4$ species was generally rapid, whereas it was slow for belowground parts, and litter components of $C_3$ and $C_4$ species together. In all grasslands, generally about 60% and 10% of the input were channeled to aboveground and belowground parts, respectively, by the $C_4$ species, whereas the $C_3$ species transferred only about 22% and 8% of dry matter to aboveground and belowground parts, respectively. The total disappearance of dry matter was 2.73, 2.10, 3.19, and $1.96\;g\;m^{-2}\;day^{-1}$ in Ebbenadu, Korakundah, Thiashola and Wenlockdown grasslands, which was 48.83%, 44.30%, 54.81%, and 41.09% of the total input, respectively, in these grasslands. This resulted in a considerable surplus dry matter production in all the grasslands studied. This balance sheet of dry matter in community function indicates that all the four studied grasslands were supporting the existing wild animals adequately in terms of pasture supply. The study further revealed that the stronger establishment of $C_4$ species rather than their $C_3$ counterparts, in terms of higher density and dominance, has driven them to play major roles in matter dynamics and system transfer functions in all the four grasslands studied. This fact evidenced that pasture from $C_4$ species for wild animals was determined to be higher in comparison to that of $C_3$ species.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.285-292
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• 2002

This study was carried out to determine agronomic and genetic characteristics of the production process in tropical yams(Dioscorea atata L.). To make clear the possibility of cultivation of tropical yams in the Suwon area, the growth of the aboveground parts and the enlargement of tuber of Dioscorea alata, were investigated. The aboveground parts of the plants whose sprouted mother tuber were planted in late April were grown slowly until the 70-days after planting and grown rapidly after. from about 150-days after plantation, total length of vines slowly decreased due to the burning of the branch vines of lower modes. With regard to the branching progressed to 4th for the solo yam and to 6th for purple yam. The secondary branches tended to grow better. When the formation of daughter tubers was observed at the 50-days after planting, their enlargement was very slow. The rapid growth of tubers began at the 140-days and continued to the 190-days. General components such as protein, fiber, and lipid were higher in D. opposita rather than in D. alata. Hardness of D. alata was 2696.2 while that of D. opposita was 4946.9. Lightness of D. alata was 73.99, being higher than that of D. opposita.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.1218-1230
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• 2021

Cold-adapted plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) with multiple functions are an important resource for microbial fertilizers with low-temperature application. In this study, culturable cold-adapted PGPB strains with nitrogen fixation and phosphorus solubilization abilities were isolated. They were screened from root and rhizosphere of four dominant grass species in nondegraded alpine grasslands of the Qilian Mountains, China. Their other growth-promoting characteristics, including secretion of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), production of siderophores and ACC deaminase, and antifungal activity, were further studied by qualitative and quantitative methods. In addition, whether the PGPB strains could still exert plant growth-promoting activity at 4℃ was verified. The results showed that 67 isolates could maintain one or more growth-promoting traits at 4℃, and these isolates were defined as cold-adapted PGPB. They were divided into 8 genera by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, of which Pseudomonas (64.2%) and Serratia (13.4%) were the common dominant genera, and a few specific genera varied among the plant species. A test-tube culture showed that inoculation of Elymus nutans seedlings with cold-adapted PGPB possessing different functional characteristics had a significant growth-promoting effect under controlled low-temperature conditions, including the development of the roots and aboveground parts. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that different growth-promoting characteristics made different contributions to the development of the roots and aboveground parts. These cold-adapted PGPB can be used as excellent strain resources suitable for the near-natural restoration of degraded alpine grasslands or agriculture stock production in cold areas.