• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.421-428
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• 2020

This study investigated a mixture of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and Lithospermum erythrorhizon (LE) extracts (ALM16), exerts anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophage cells, and its underlying mechanism. ALM16 was prepared by mixing AM and LE extracts in a ratio of 7:3 (w/w). Cytotoxicity of ALM16 in RAW264.7 cells was not shown up to 200 ㎍/mL of ALM16. The results of this study showed that ALM16 does-dependently inhibits the production of nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α) in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. ALM16 not only markedly reduced the protein expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, but also inhibited the nuclear translocation and DNA-binding activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). In addition, ALM16 specifically inhibited the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinases in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. In conclusion, these results suggest that ALM16 may exert anti-inflammatory effect by modulating mitogen-activated protein kinase and NF-κB signaling pathways.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.142-148
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• 1992

Certain parts of 95 species of edible and medical plants were extracted with water and 75% of ethyl alcohol. After addition of those extracts to palm oil, lard and soybean oil at different level, their antioxidative activities were compared by Rancimat test. Six species among them seemed to have rather strong antioxidative activity and high extracting yields(i.e. Taraxacum platycarpum, Plantago asiatica, Rhus javanica L., Lycopus lucidus, Astragalus membranaceus, Taraxacum platycarpumH). Among them, the Rhus javanica L. ethanol extract retarded greatly the induction period of palm oil and lard. When 600 ppm of Rhus javanica L. extract were added to palm oil and lard, AI(antioxidant index was expressed as induction period of oil containing various plant extracts/induction period of control oil) of each was 1.35 and 3.03 respectively. This result indicated that the Rhus javanica L. extract was more effective on lard than the other oils.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.123-132
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• 2016

The study was to introduce the revegetation measures for the improvement of the landscape in October, 2012 on the slope; two and four years after the introduction, the slope was examined to see the status of the revegetation. The result is as follows. The result from examining the soil on the slope, the soil was Loamy sand; which infers that the soil is in a poor condition for improving the scenery. Examining the characteristics of the vegetation-base materials, the soil acidity was pH 6.4 to 6.7; and the soil hardness was 21 to 24mm (hardness quotient of soil), this can be considered a favourable condition, which has no effect on the growth and development of plants. When it comes to the discovery of the species in the area, Lotus corniculatus var., Silene armeria L., Papaver rhoeas, Trifolium pratense L. developed and grew in spring after two years. And in the summer, Lotus corniculatus var., Dianthus chinensis L., Cosmos bipinnatus, Coreopsis drummondii L., Trifolium pratense were founded. And there were Lotus corniculatus var., Dianthus chinensis L., Aster yomena, Coreopsis tinctoria, Trifolium pratense L. in the autumn. According to the examination conducting after four years, Lotus corniculatus var., Dianthus chinensis L., Silene armeria, Cosmos bipinnatus, Coreopsis drummondii L., Papaver rhoeas, Trifolium pratense L. were founded in the spring, and Lotus corniculatus var., Dianthus chinensis L., Cosmos bipinnatus, Coreopsis drummondii L., Trifolium pratense grew in the summer. Lotus corniculatus var., Dianthus chinensis L., Astragalus sinicus, Aster yomena, Coreopsis tinctoria, Trifolium pratense L. were discovered in the autumn. Among the exotic species founded in the area, were Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne, Festuca rubra. When it comes to the protection of vegetation and dominance, Lotus corniculatus var., Metaplexis japonica, Coreopsis drummondii L. are the dominant species among the spring plants; and Lotus corniculatus var., Trifolium repens L., Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. were the dominant plants in the summer. In the autumn, Lotus corniculatus var., Coreopsis drummondii L., Poa pratensis appear to be the dominant plants. The colonies of Pinus densiflora and Castanea crenata var. were formed around the South Sejong IC. Part of the area is occupied by the colony of Alnus hirsuta Turcz. ex Rupr. In terms of shrub, there were Indigofera pseudo-tinctoria, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Rosa polyantha var. genuina NAKA. As ground cover plants, Sasa borealis, Rubus crataegifolius Bunge were founded.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.349-358
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• 2009

The potential use of 4 plant species, Astragalus membranaceus var. membranaceus, Senna occidentalis, Dianthus longicalyx and Plantago asiatica, as new sprout vegetables with high antioxidant function was examined in the present experiments. Seeds of above plants were allowed to germinate under light condition, and seedlings were maintained under dark condition for shoot growth in length for contain period of time. Then the seedlings were put under light for photosynthesis (greening treatment) for the period of 0${\sim}$3 days. Samples were collected to analyze the changes in antioxidant levels and activity, and it was observed that antioxidant substances were affected by greening treatments, depending on plant species. In A. membranaceus, the contents of total polyphenol was highest with no greening, total flavonoids with 3 days greening, DPPH radical scavenging effects with no greening, ABTS scavenging with 1 day greening, $Fe^{2+}$ chelating effects with no greening, and inhibitory activity against linoleic acid peroxidation with 3 day greening. In S. occidentalis, highest levels of antioxidant activity and radical scavenging effects were obtained by 2 day greening, $Fe^{2+}$ chelating effects by no greening and inhibitory activity against linoleic acid peroxidation by 1 day greening. In D. longicalyx, highest levels of antioxidant activity and $Fe^{2+}$ chelating effects were obtained by 2 day greening, $Fe^{2+}$ chelating effects by no greening and inhibitory activity against linoleic acid peroxidation by 1 day greening. In D. longicalyx, highest levels antioxidant activity and $Fe^{2+}$ chelating effects were observed with 3 day greening, and highest radical scavenging effects and inhibitory activity against linoleic acid peroxidation with no greening treatment. In P. asiatica, antioxidant activity and radicals scavenging effects were highest with 2 day greening, whereas highest chelating effects was obtained with no greening and highset inhibitory activity against linoleic acid peroxidation with 3 day greening. As the length of greening treatments influenced the antioxidant levels and function in plant species tested in this experiments, different culture methods are recommended for different plant species to get maximum health benefits out of sprout vegetables.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.11-21
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• 2012

Objectives : BHH10 is traditional medicine herb used for enhancing body resistance against various diseases. The aim of this study was to identify BHH10 extract induces osteogenic activity in human osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells. Methods : MC3T3-E1, pre-osteoblast cell line, were treated with BHH10 of various concentrations($0.1{\mu}g/mL$, $1{\mu}g/mL$, $10{\mu}g/mL$). And then, the effect of BHH10 on osteoblast differentiation was examined by alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity, von Kossa staining and RT-PCR for osteoblast differentiation markers such as osteocalcin(OCN), osteopontin(OPN). Results : BHH10 had dose-dependent effect on the viability of osteoblastic cells, and dose-dependently increased alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity. BHH10 markedly increased mRNA expression for OCN, OPN in MC3T3-E1 cells. Also, BHH10 significantly induced mineralization in the culture of MC3T3-E1 cells. Conclusions : In conclusion, these results propose that BHH10 can play an important role in osteoblastic bone formation, osteogenesis, and may possibly lead to the development of bone-forming drugs.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2015

This paper researches the features of blood stasis theory of Wangqingren, who wrote 『Yilingaicuo』 that greatly contributed in the development of blood stasis theory at Qing dynasty period. And the disease cause, disease mechanism of blood stasis and scope of modern diseases related with blood stasis are studied by research on clinical papers which used 33 prescriptions in 『Yilingaicuo』 in modern times. Research on the features of blood stasis theory of Wangqingren is proceeded by referring to the annotations of 『Yilingaicuopingyi』 and the papers which related with blood stasis from Korea and China. And clinical papers are searched in China Academic Journals(CAJ) of China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) to analyse the scope of modern diseases related with blood stasis. The features of blood stasis theory in 『Yilingaicuo』 expanded the range of existing theory. Wangqingren thought that chronic disease, weird disease, the disease of no effect from normal treatments were related with blood stasis. And he attached great importance to qi and blood and thought that the main pathogenesis of blood stasis was qi deficiency. And a lot of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge were combined in many prescriptions to reinforce qi. He also used different herbs according to the location of the disease. Musk and Allium fistulosum were used for the disease located at head or upper part of the patient's trunk. Bupleurum falcatum L., Aurantii Fructus Pericarpium and Platycodon grandiflorum A. De Candolle were used for the disease located at thorax. Cyperus rotundus L., Linderae Radix and Aurantii Fructus Pericarpium were used for the disease located at the stomach or below the costal angle. Foeniculi Fructus and Corydalis remota were used for the disease located at belly or lower part of the patient's trunk. Trogopterorum Faeces, myrrha, Cyperus rotundus L. and Cnidium officinale were used for the disease located at extremity or joint.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.105-131
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• 2015

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of Gyodongdo island (Ganghwa-gun). The vascular plants from 11 field surveys were revealed to belong to a total of 629 taxa; 118 families, 364 genera, 561 species, 5 subspecies, 53 varieties, 7 forms and 3 hybrids. 184 taxa were the first records from this region. The plants in Gyodongdo island are composed of the deciduous broad-leaved and conifer-mixed forests which are the common ones in the middle part of the Korean Peninsula. Five taxa of Korean endemic plants such as Clematis brachyura Maxim., Viola seoulensis Nakai, Populus ${\times}$ tomentiglandulosa T. B. Lee, Forsythia koreana (Rehder) Nakai and Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai were collected. Endangered wild plants designated by the law called 'Protection Law for Endangered wild fauna and flora' were one taxon. The red list plants according to IUCN valuation basis were examined for 13 taxa; endangered (EN) species of Prunus yedoensis Matsum., Vulnerable (VU) species of both Utricularia pilosa (Makino) Makino and Iris ruthenica var. nana Maxim., Near Threatened (NT) species of Senecio argunensis Turcz., Least Concern (LC) species of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco, Potentilla discolor Bunge, Limnophila sessiliflora (Vahl) Blume, Acorus calamus L., Phacelurus latifolius (Steud.) Ohwi, Pseudoraphis ukishiba Ohwi, Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC., and Not Evaluate (NE) species of both Astragalus sikokianus Nakai and Potamogeton oxyphyllus Miq. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were a total of 47 taxa comprising three taxa of grade V, four taxa of grade IV, nine taxa of grade III, 10 taxa of grade II, and 21 taxa of grade I. The naturalized plants were identified as 62 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 9.9 % and the percentage of urbanization index (UI) was 19.3 %, respectively. Furthermore, hemicryptophytes (28 %), therophytes (26 %), hydrophytes (13 %) and geophyte (12 %) showed high proportional ratio in life form spectrum.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.342-348
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• 2000

In this experiment, we show the effects of herbal plant extracts on the production of nitric oxide (NO) and TNF-$\alpha$. The extracts of Angelica gigas, Astragalus membranaceus, Acanthopanax sessiliflorus and Houttuynia cordata had no effect on NO synthesis by itself in mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7). However, the stimulation with these extracts in the presence of murine interferon-${\gamma}$(mIFN-${\gamma}$) resulted in increased NO synthesis. When these extracts were used in combination with mIFN-${\gamma}$, there were a marked cooperative induction of NO and TNF-$\alpha$ synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. The same results were obtained in the mouse peritoneal macrophages used. The optimal concentration of these extracts on NO synthesis was shown at 100$\mu\textrm{g}$/mL with 100U/mL of mIFN-${\gamma}$. NO synthesis was inhibited by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine. When cell lines were treated with extracts, the expression of inducible NO synthetase (iNOS) was markedly increased in RT-PCR analysis. In addition, synergy between mIFN-${\gamma}$ and extracts was dependent on extracts-induced tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$(TNF-$\alpha$). These results suggest that water extracts of herbal plants can induce iNOS, NO and TNF-$\alpha$ synthesis of mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7) and peritoneal macrophages in combination with mIFN-${\gamma}$.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.413-421
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• 2019

Purpose: Astragalus membranaceus (AM) is an important traditional medicinal herb. Pharmacological research has indicated that AM has various physiological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, anticancer, hypolipidemic, antihyperglycemic, and hepatoprotective activities. The bioactive substances responsible for the physiological activities in AM, including many antioxidant substances, change during the roasting process. This study investigated and compared the changes in the antioxidant constituents of AM caused by roasting. Methods: DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) and $ABTS^+$ (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt) radical scavenging activities and their total phenolic content (TPC) were measured. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was performed to confirm any changes in the isoflavonoids of roasted AM (R-AM),. The cell viability of UVB-induced HDF (Human dermal fibroblast) cells treated with AM and R-AM extracts was investigated. The comet assay was used to examine the inhibitory effects of R-AM extracts on DNA damage caused by oxidative stress. Results: The DPPH and $ABTS^+$ radical scavenging activities were $564.6{\pm}20.9$ and $108.2{\pm}3.1$ ($IC_{50}$ value) respectively, from the 2R-AM. The total phenol content was $47.80{\pm}1.40mg$ GAE/g from the 1R-AM. The values of calycosin and formononetin, which are the known isoflavonoid constituents of AM, were $778.58{\pm}2.72$ and $726.80{\pm}3.45{\mu}g/g$ respectively, from the 2R-AM. Treatment of the HDF cells with R-AM ($50{\sim}200{\mu}g/mL$) did not affect the cell viability. Furthermore, the R-AM extracts effectively protected against UVB-induced DNA damage. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that R-AM increases its isoflavonoid constituents and protects against UVB-induced DNA damage in HDF cells.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2005

This experiment was conducted to evaluate forage production and quality, and soil improvement of three legumes at Cheonan Yonam College. The three legumes used in the experiment were crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) red clover(Trifolium pratense L.) and chinese milk vetch(Astragalus sinicus L.). Flowering stage was observed on the 20th of April for chinese milk vetch and on the 30th of April for crimson clover, but the red clover did not produce flower until harvest time. The dry matter(DM) content of crimson clover was the highest among the three legumes. In terms of DM yield, crimson clover has the highest yield, the highest yield in crude protein(CP) and total digestible nutrients(TDN) was red clover. In terms of forage quality, the highest CP content was red clover, while the chinese milk vetch was the lowest for both neutral detergent fiber(NDF) and acid detergent fiberr(ADF). Red clove. and chinese milk vetch were highest fur TDN content, and the chinese milk vetch has the highest for relative feed value(RFV). Assessment of the chemical properties of soil after harvest showed that the nitrogen content of soil increased in all legumes. The organic matter(OM) content of soil in both crimson and red clover increased, while the chinese milk vetch decreased. The available $P_2O_5$ decreased in all three legumes, but the biggest decrease was in the chinese milk vetch. The exchangeable potassium in the soil for both crimson and red clover increased, but in chinese milk vetch it decreased. Based on the results of this study, the chinese milk vetch was superior in terms of forage quality, but crimson and red clover are excellent in forage yield and in maintaining soil quality in upland.