• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.173-178
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: Starfish is one of major sea invertebrates that have become a serious economic threat to aquacultural farms in Korea. Much effort has sacrificed to reduce the economic losses of the farms by predatory starfish, including developing and searching biological resources for medicinal and agricultural purposes. In the present study, we investigated aphicidal activity of the extracts from the starfish Asterina pectinifera against green peach aphid. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fresh starfishes were cut into small pieces, homogenized and soaked in methanol. The methanol extracts were centrifuged and the resulting supernatant was subjected to aphicidal activity assays and a series of silica gel column chromatography. More than 70% mortality of aphids were observed by the extracts at a concentration of 1,000 mg/L, exhibiting dose-dependent mortality. TOF-MS analyses detected polyhydroxysteroid as a main aphicidal compound from the starfish extracts. Transmission electronic microscopy could demonstrate that the extracts with polyhydroxysteroid caused aphids death by affecting their epicuticular membrane. CONCLUSION(s): This is the first report of aphicidal activity of the starfish Asterina pectinifera extracts against green peach aphid. Starfish biological resources may be used as a potential candidate for developing a new type natural insecticide.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.2 s.82
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• pp.266-271
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• 2007

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been widely used as a monomer for production of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics. The annual production of BPA exceeds 640,000 metric tons in worldwide. BPA, a suspected phenolic endocrine disrupter, is moderately soluble and frequently detected in industrial wastewater. To date, HPLC and GC has been used for BPA analysis. However, HPLC and GC-analysis need high operation lost, experts, and an elaborate pre-treatment of samples, and is difficult to apply on-time and mass analysis. Therefore, simple, mass and rapid detection of BPA in environments is necessary. In the present study, spectrophotometric method of BPA quantification was developed. Based on blue-color product formation with BPA and ferric chloride/ferricyanide under the optimized conditions, the standard curve was acquired $({\lambda}_{750}=0.061\;BPA\;[{\mu}M]+0.07155,\;R^2=0.992)$. Using an established method, the BPA contents in the soil extract, and different water samples and living products, including disposable syringe, cup and plastic tube, were analyzed. The results suggested that the method is useful for BPA determination from different massive samples. Since the BPA metabolites, nontoxic 4-hydroxyacetophenone or 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, did not form blue-color product, this method is also useful to screen a microorganism for BPA bioremediation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.922-928
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• 2010

This study was carried out to develop safe and novel anticoagulation agents from oriental medicinal herbs. From 33 medicinal herbs, 40 different ethanol extracts were prepared according to place of origin or extraction parts, and anticoagulation activities were evaluated by determination of thrombin time (TT), prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). The average water content and average extraction ratio for the medicinal herbs were $6.85{\pm}2.26%$ and $5.27{\pm}4.25%$, respectively. Evaluation of TT at various concentrations of the extract led to the selection of Mucuna birdwoodiana, Prunus armeniaca, Cacalia ainsliaeiflora, Cinnamonum aromaticum, and Rhus javanica Linneas potent antithrombosis medicinal herbs. Evaluation of PT and aPTT showed that the extracts of R.javanica Linne, M. birdwoodiana, and P. armeniaca have strong anticoagulation activities. Determination of hemolytic activities of 40 different ethanol extracts against human red blood cells, however, showed that only M. birdwoodiana, C. ainsliaeiflora, C. aromaticum, and R. javanica Linnehas strong anticoagulation activity without hemolytic activity at a concentration of 500 mg/ml. Our results suggest that oriental medicinal herbs, which are under a mass-production system, have potentialas a safe and novel source of anticoagulants, as well being a thrombin-specific and coagulation factor-specific inhibitor.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1640-1647
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• 2010

Seaweeds have been recognized as a health food, having anti-obesity, anti-constipation and anticoagulation activities, and the use of seaweeds in the food, medicine, and cosmetic industries have recently significantly increased. In this study, methanol extracts were prepared from 35 different seaweeds (17 phaeophyta, 11 rhodophyta and 7 chlorophyta), and thrombin time (TT), prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) were determined in order to develop safe and novel anticoagulation agents from natural products. In TT experiments, Ecklonia cava, Ecklonia stolonifera, Eisenia bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, Ishige foliacea, I. okamurai, Sargassum confusum and S. yamade showed strong thrombin inhibition activity among the 35 different seaweeds. In PT experiments, the inhibitions of prothrombin were identified in the selected seaweeds from TT experiment, with the exception of S. yamade. In aPTT experiments, the seaweeds with blood coagulation inhibition factors were E. cava, E. stolonifera, E. bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, I. foliacea, I. okamurai, S. confusum and Hixikia fusiforme Okamura. Further anticoagulation assay with the selected 8 seaweeds suggested that S. confusum is most effective in antithrombosis, and E. stolonifera, E. bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, and I. foliacea have high potential as antithrombosis agents. Based on components-activity correlation analysis, flavonoids are considered as active anticoagulation components of seaweeds These results suggest that edible seaweeds, especially S. confusum, have potential as safe and novel anticoagulants, and S. yamade and H. fusiforme Okamura could be used as a thrombin-specific and coagulation factor-specific inhibitors.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2010

The fructus of Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge (CBF) has been used as medicinal and food source in worldwide. In this study, antimicrobial activity of the methanol extract and its sequential organic solvent fractions of CBF against different pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida sp., were investigated. The methanol extract of CBF was active against various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and the ethylacetate and butanol fractions of CBF showed strong antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhimurium, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli and various multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa with minimal inhibitory concentration of 1.0~7.5 mg/mL. Also the fractions showed anti-Candida activity against C. albicans, C. kruseis and C. geochares. The methanol extract of CBF and its solvent fractions, except n-hexane fraction, did not show any hemolytic activity against human red blood cell up to $500\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The hemolysis in n-hexane fraction at $500\;{\mu}g/mL$ was less than 9.9%. Our results suggest that the CBF could be developed as a potent antibacterial agent, especially for multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.330-337
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• 2016

Streptomyces sp. A75 and A501 inhibited the mycelial growth of pathogenic Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium sp., which cause the ginseng disease known as damping-off. Three methods were evaluated for the control of these pathogens, using a mixture of the culture broths from Streptomyces sp. A75 and A501. The methods tested were seed dipping with 50-fold diluted broth, drenching of soil with 100-fold diluted broth after sowing, and combined seed dipping and drenching. These methods reduced the incidence of ginseng damping-off caused by R. solani by 81.3%, 84.8%, and 32.2% and that caused by Pythium sp. by 51.0%, 52.1%, and 75.3%, respectively. Based on these results, the combination of seed dipping and soil drenching after sowing using a mixture of the culture broths from Streptomyces sp. A75 and A501 effectively reduced the incidence of damping-off in ginseng.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.578-584
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• 2003

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) known as environmental contaminants in soil were analyzed by the soil pollution standard process test and the static supercritical $CO_2$ extraction mode. It was shown that the percent average recoveries of PCBs by the soil pollution standard process test were ranged in 25-35% and the corresponding standard deviations were above 10%. In contrast, the percent average recoveries of PCBs by the static supercritical $CO_2$ extraction mode were 2-2.5 times higher and standard deviations were within 7%. These results indicate that static supercritical $CO_2$ extraction mode may be a useful alternative to sample pretreatment certified by the soil pollution standard process test. The increasing supercritical $CO_2$ pressure from 1130 psi to 1996 psi at $40^{\circ}C$ enhanced the recovery of all PCB congeners from soil. However, at same Tc and Pc, the equilibrium time (5 versus 60 minutes) had no effect on the recovery of each PCB congener. Finally, similar PCB recoveries were obtained under the same extraction condition, regardless of the molecular weight and structure (coplanar versus non-coplanar) of PCB congeners.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.345-348
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• 2015

An organic solvent stable lipase from solvent-tolerant Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171 had an optimal pH of 8 and an optimal temperature of 37℃. This crude extracellular lipase from BCNU 171 exhibited increased stability in the presence of various types of solvents at high concentrations (25%, v/v). The lipase stability was found to be highest in the presence of xylene (137%), followed by toluene (131%), octane (130%), and butanol (104%). Overall, BCNU 171 lipase tended to be more stable than immobilized commercial lipase (Novozyme435) in the presence of organic solvents. Furthermore, BCNU 171 lipase maintained about 90% of its enzyme original activity in the presence of NH₄⁺, Na⁺, Ba²⁺, Hg²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Ca²⁺ion and significantly increased its enzyme activity in the presence of various emulsifying agents. Thus, the organic solvent stable lipase from Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171 could be usable as a potential whole cell biocatalyst and for synthetic applications of enzymes for industrial chemical processes in organic solvents without using immobilization.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.576-583
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• 2011

In the course of study for the development of functional food ingredients from seaweeds having useful biological activities, the in-vitro antioxidant and nitrite scavenging activities of the methanol extracts prepared from 35 different seaweeds (17 phaeophyta, 11 rhodophyta and 7 chlorophyta) were determined. At $500\;{\mu}g/ml$ concentration of the methanol extracts, Ecklonia cava, Ecklonia stolonifera, Eisenia bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, Ishige foliacea, I. okamurai, Sargassum confusum, S. fulvellum, S. yamade and Zostera marina showed 60% more DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity. The exceptions were found in I. okamurai and Z. marina, which showed 45% and 53% ABTS scavenging activity, respectively. The correlation coefficient between DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities was 0.855, suggesting that the 9 different seaweeds extracts could scavenge anion and cation radicals concurrently. In reducing power, only E.cava, E.stolonifera and E.bicyclis showed above 0.88 ($Abs_{700}$). In a while, in nitrite scavenging activity at $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ concentration of the methanol extracts, 19 different seaweeds extracts including I. foliacea, I. okamurai, S. confusum, S. fulvellum, and S. yamade showed 60% more activity. Calculation of $IC_{50}s$ of DPPH, ABTS and nitrite scavenging activities of 9 different seaweeds extracts further showed that I. foliacea and S. yamade, besides E.cava, E.stolonifera and E.bicyclis, have strong antioxidant and nitrite scavenging activity. These results suggest that the selected 9 different seaweeds could be developed as functional food ingredients and I. foliacea and S. yamade have potential as novel natural sources of antioxidant and nitrite scavenger.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.593-598
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• 2005

Antithrombosis and antioxidant activity of the methanol extracts, which were prepared from 51 different brands of rice, were evaluated to investigate bioactive-substances. Among them, the extract of sample No. 2, 25, 40 and 41 showed strong thrombin inhibition activities ($401\~764\%$ inhibition at 5 mg/mL), and the extract of sample No. 5, 9, 23, 36, 44 and 48 showed strong DPPH scavenging activities ($40.8\~64.1\%$ at 0.4 mg/mL), respectively. The average contents of total flavonoid and polyphenol with 50 brands of rice were 51.89 mg/kg and 195.23 mg/kg, respectively. However, the activities were not linked with the contents of flavonoid and polyphenol. By the treatment at $100^{\circ}C$ for 10 min, the activities of the selected rices were severely decreased. Maximal remaining activities of antithrombosis and antioxidant were $208\%$ of No. 40 and $23.2\%$ of No. 48, respectively. These results support a functional superiority of rice-based livelihood, and suggest that the development of healthy food using functional ingredients of rice is possible.