• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.234-241
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• 2013

The phenolic compounds of water extracts from Prunella vulgaris were highest at 9.25 mg/g, respectively, when various extraction solvents were used. The optimum condition for extracting phenolic compounds from Prunella vulgaris was extraction in water for 18hr. The DPPH-scavenging activities of Prunella vulgaris were highest at the water extracts. The ABTS radical cation decolorization was higher than 40% in the range of 0~100% ethanol extract section. The antioxidant protection factor on the lipophilic phenolic metabolites was shown to be 1.1 PF in the water extracts from Prunella vulgaris. The TBARS was lower than the control ($0.53{\mu}M$) in all the sections. The tyrosinase inhibitory effect, which is related to skin whitening, was above 40%, and for the anti-wrinkle effect, the elastase inhibition activity was above 40% at 0.2 mg/mL. The astringent effect of the Prunella vulgaris 40% ethanol extracts was 98.1% at 1 mg/mL. As a result, it can be concluded that Prunella vulgaris has the potential to be used as a cosmetic material.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.119-126
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• 2011

There is a growing recognition of the significance of $H_2S$ as a biological signaling molecule involved in vascular and nervous system functions. In mammals, two enzymes in the transsulfuration pathway, cystathionine ${\beta}$-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine ${\gamma}$-lyase (CGL), are believed to be chiefly responsible for $H_2S$ biogenesis. Genetic inborn error of CGL leads to human genetic disease, cystathioninuria, by accumulating cystathionine in the body. This disease is secondarily associated with a wide range of diseases including diabetes insipidus and Down's syndrome. Although the human CGL (hCGL) overexpression is essential for the investigation of its function, structure, reaction specificity, substrate specificity, and protein-protein interactions, there is no clear report concerning optimum overexpression conditions. In this study, we report a detailed analysis of the overexpression conditions of the hCGL using a bacterial system. Maximum overexpression was obtained in conditions of low culture temperature after inducer addition, performing low aeration during overexpression, and using a low concentration inducer (0.1 mM, IPTG) for induction. Expressed hCGL was purified by His-tag affinity column chromatography and confirmed by Western blot using hCGL antibody and enzyme activity analysis. We also report that the His tag with TEV site attached protein exhibits 76% activity for ${\alpha}-{\gamma}$ elimination reaction with L-cystathionine and 88% for ${\alpha}-{\beta}$ elimination reaction with L-cysteine compared to those of wild type hCGL, respectively. His tag with TEV site attached protein also exhibits a 420 nm absorption maximum, which is attributed to the binding cofactor, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP).

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.146-154
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• 2011

In this study, physiological changes in a thermotolerant yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae KNU5377 cell exposed to 48-hour alcohol fermentation at $40^{\circ}C$ were investigated. After 12 hours of alcohol fermentation at $40^{\circ}C$, the $C_{16:1}$ unsaturated acid of plasma membrane increased to 1.5 times more than the $C_{16:0}$ saturated fatty acid, and to about 2 times more for the $C_{18:1}$ unsaturated fatty acid. Fermentation at both $30^{\circ}C$ and $37^{\circ}C$ fermentation showed the same pattern as that done at $40^{\circ}C$. The pH of the alcohol-fermentation medium was reduced to pH 4.1 from a starting pH of 6.0 through the 12-hr fermentation and then maintained this level during the continuing fermentation. With the process of fermentation, the remaining glucose was reduced, but its amount remaining during the $40^{\circ}C$-fermentation was less reduced than those fermented at $30^{\circ}C$ and $37^{\circ}C$. In the study investigating the changing pattern of cellular proteins in the alcohol-fermenting cells, the SDS-PAGE and 2-D data indicated the most expressed dot was phosphoglycerate kinase, which is one enzyme involved in glycolysis. Why this enzyme was most expressed in the cells exposed to unfavorable conditions such as high temperature, increasing concentration of produced alcohol and long time exposure to other stress factors remains unsolved.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.405-410
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• 2007

This study was performed to investigate anticancer activities and immuno modulatory activities in the several parts of the A. mono and A. okamotoanum. The cytotoxicity of 1 $mg/m{\ell}$ of the water extracts on normal human lung cell(HEL299) was < 19.5%. The anticancer activity of all extracts were increased in over 55% against AGS (stomach adenocarcinoma), A549 (lung adenocarcinoma), Hep3B (liver adenocarcinoma, and MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma) cells. The growth of human immune B and T cells was improved of A. mono and A. okamotoanum in adding 1.0 $mg/m{\ell}$ concentration. The secretion of the IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ of human immune B and T cells was increased with all extracts of A. mono and A. okamotoanum. All extracts of. A. mono and A. okamotoanum increased NK cell growth. The results showed that the barks and woods extracts of A. mono and A. okamotoanum had useful biological activities. In addition, bark of A. okamotoanuim showed the highest anticancer and immune activities.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1470-1475
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• 1998

Two kinds of Korean rice-wine (Yakju) with different process and ingredients, and Japanese rice-wine (Sake) were chosen for this study, and throughly dried and solubilized in water or cell culture medium. In vitro cytotoxicity assays of the solubilized wine solids exhibited that maximum dilution factors for inhibition of B 16BL6 mouse melanoma cell growth were 16X for herbal medicine-added rice-wine (Korean rice-wine I) and typical Korean rice-wine (Korean rice-wine II), and 8X for Japanese rice-wine. Their cytotoxic effects on HRT18 human colon adenocarcinoma cells were even lower than those on B16BL6 cells. The morphology of the tumor cells were changed by addition of the solubilized wine solids. Inhibitory effect of the rice-wine on in vivo tumor growth and metastasis were monitored after implantation of B16BL6 cells into C57BL/6 mice with daily feeding the solubilized wine solids. Compared to non-fed control groups, B16BL6 tumor growth and metastasis to lung were clearly inhibited by feeding the wine solids, in order of Korean rice-wine I > Korean rice-wine II > Japanese rice-wine. The data of in vitro cytotoxicity and the cell shape changes indicate that the inhibitory effect of tumor progression may be attributed to tumor cell differentiation or immune stimulation induced by certain components in the rice-wine, rather than direct cytotoxicity of the components.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.401-410
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• 2005

A series of studies involving formulation processes, bubbling activity test, diffusibility test and biological efficacy test was undertaken to develop Jumbo herbicide formulations in paddy rice field. Gas evolution speed from the tablets prepared by different organic acids was in the order of oxalic acid, malonic acid, citric acid, and tartaric acid. The total volume of evolved gas from the tablet and diffusibility of the active ingredient in the submerged water were increased with increase of water temperature; the volume from 1 g of tablet at 10, 15, 25 and $30^{\circ}C$ for 5 minutes after immersion into water was 20, 25, 28, 45, 57 mL, respectively. The concentration of halosulfuron-methyl and pyriminobac-methyl in submerged water at 5, 15, 20 and $30^{\circ}C$ at the 2.4 m distance from the applied spot of the tablet was 20, 48, 85, and 97% of the concentration of treated spot, respectively. The evolved gas volume from the tablets was not affected by pH of submerged water. The concentration of halosulfuron-methyl in different sizes of submerged water within 24 hours after treatment of the tablet was maintained 0.16 ppm, which is ideal concentration at standard dosage regardless of the submerged water area. The concentration of pyriminobac-methyl was also uniformly dispersed in the water within 24 hours after applying it into the submerged water. The wind velocity of 5 m $sec^{-1}$ on concentration distribution of halosulfuron-methyl and pyriminobac-methyl in the submerged water 24 hours after treatment was not influenced; an equal concentration in the up the wind and down the wind from the applied spot was maintained. Spot treatments of one tablet formulations(5 g) including 4 times higher dosage at 4 different spots resulted in even concentration distribution of active ingredient in the water 24 hours after applying it into the submerged water.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.19-26
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• 2000

In order to select potent bioactive isolates, 70 Fusarium isolates obtained from soil and 21 plant species were screened by antifungal, insecticidal, herbicidal, and duckweed bioassays after culturing in potato dextrose broth and rice solid media. Eight (11.4%) of the 70 liquid broth cultures showed disease-controlling activities more than 80% against at least one of the 6 plant diseases tested. Fusarium sp. FO-68 isolate exhibited the most potent antifungal activity; it controlled rice blast, wheat leaf rust, and barley powdery mildew with control values more than 95%. Out of 70 solid cultures, 21 (30.0%) controlled at least one plant disease more than 80% and F. equiseti FO-68 isolate showed disease-controlling activities more than 95% against 3 plant diseases such as rice blast, tomato late blight, and wheat leaf rust. As for tile insecticidal activities, 2 liquid and 1 solid cultures showed potent insecticidal activities against pest insects more than 80%, Liquid cultures of F. oxysporum FO-61 and Fusarium sp. FO-80 isolates exhibited insecticidal activities more than 80% against green peach aphid and diamondback moth, respectively. The solid culture of Fusarium sp. FO-510 isolate had 80% insecticidal activity against green peach aphid. However, none of liquid and solid cultures of the 70 Fusarium isolates showed potent herbicidal activities against 10 upland weeds. As the results of duckweed assay, 3 liquid cultures showed 70% growth inhibitory activity at concentrations less than 1.25% of culture supernatants and 9 solid cultures had a potent inhibitory activity against duckweed growth. On the other hand, there was a significant correlation between antifungal activities and herbicidal activities against duckweed of both liquid and solid cultures of tile 70 Fusarium isolates.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.30-38
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• 2008

Petroleum-based resin adhesives have extensively been used for the production of wood panels. However, with the increase of manufacturing cost and the environmental issue, such as the emission of volatile organic compounds, of the adhesive resins, it is necessary to be developed new adhesive systems. In this study, the potential of okara, which is a residue wasted from the production of tofu, for the development of bio-based adhesives was investigated. At first, the physical and chemical properties of okara were examined. After okara was hydrolyzed in acidic and/or alkaline solutions, okara-based adhesive resins were formulated with the mixtures of the okara hydrolyzates and phenol formaldehyde (PF) prepolymer. The adhesive resins were used for the fabrication of plywood panels, and then the adhesive strength and formaldehyde emission of the plywood panels were measured to examine the applicability of the resin adhesives for the production of plywood panels. The solids content and pH of the okara used in this study were around 20% and weak acidic state, respectively. In the analysis of its chemical composition, the content of carbohydrate was the highest, and followed by protein. The shear strengths of plywood fabricated with okara-based resin adhesives exceeded a minimum requirement of KS standard for ordinary plywood, but its wood failure did not reach the minimum requirement. In addition, the formaldehyde emissions of all plywood panels were higher than that of E1 specified in the KS standard. Based on these results, okara has the potential to be used as a raw material of environmentally friendly adhesive resin systems for the production of wood panels, but further researches - biological hydrolysis of okara and various formulations of PF prepolymer - are required to improve the adhesive strength and formaldehyde emission of okara-based resin adhesives.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.183-193
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• 2011

Migration and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells are crucial for tissue regeneration in response to injury. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid that regulates a variety of biological processes, including proliferation, survival, differentiation and motility. In the present study, we determined the role of S1P in migration and differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). S1P stimulated migration of BMSCs in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and pre-incubation of the cells with pertussis toxin completely abrogated S1P-induced migration, suggesting involvement of Gi-coupled receptors in S1P-induced cell migration. S1P elicited elevation of intracellular concentration of $Ca^{2+}$ ($[Ca^{2+}]_i$) and pretreatment with VPC23019, an antagonist of $S1P_1/S1P_3$, blocked S1P-induced migration and increase of $[Ca^{2+}]_i$. Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous $S1P_1$ attenuated S1P-induced migration of BMSCs. Furthermore, S1P treatment induced expression of $\alpha$-smooth muscle actin ($\alpha$-SMA), a smooth muscle marker, and pretreatment with VPC23019 abrogated S1P-induced $\alpha$-SMA expression. S1P induced phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and pretreatment of cells with SB202190, an inhibitor of p38 MAPK, or adenoviral overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant of the p38 MAPK blocked S1P-induced cell migration and $\alpha$-SMA expression. Taken together, these results suggest that S1P stimulates migration and smooth muscle differentiation of BMSCs through an $S1P_1$-p38 MAPK-dependent mechanism.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.567-573
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• 2001

Lactobacilli have been generally recognized as an important lactic acid bacteria present in the normal human intestinal flora. Fifty two Lactobacillus isolates were recovered from the feces of healthy Koreans whose age ranged from thirteen days after birth to 37 years. Among the isolates above, 17 isolates were tentatively identified as strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus and 3 isolates as strains of Lactobacillus casei. For their characterization, these twenty isolates were subjected to the experiments for the resistance to the artificial gastric juice, pH2.5 and bile salt. Interestingly, 3 strains survived pH 2.5 after 3 hour incubation in the artificial gastric juice with more than 75% of survival rate. L. acidophilus a-4 had the highest survival rate of 100%. Four strains including L. acidophilus a-3 grew gradually in MRS broth in the presence of the artificial bile salt. Cholesterol assimilation was also tested for the 20 isolates. The result showed that cholesterol concentration of the medium was reduced by 10 Lactobacillus isolates with more than 60%, as compared to the control. L. acidophilus a-2 had the highest reduction rate of 77%. Judging from these data obtained in vitro, some isolates ware likely to reach the lower small intestine after consumption without a significant loss of viability, suggesting that they had the potential to be developed as a probiotic culture which might lower the cholesterol level in human.