• Entomological Research
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.348-353
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• 2018

A new whitefly species, Pealius yunnanensissp. nov., collected from Mengzi, Caoba village (Yunnan, China) on Ficus microcarpa Linn. f. (Urticales: Moraceae), is described with morphology, line illustrations, photographs and scanning electron microscope images. In addition, a checklist of Chinese species of Pealius is provided and all Pealius species recorded from Ficus around the world are listed. Specimens have been deposited in the Insect Collection of Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University (ZAFU), Lin'an, China.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.864-870
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• 2010

This study was conducted to determine the effects of foliage plants on reducing indoor carbon dioxide ($CO_2$). Five foliage plants such as $Hedera$ $helix$ L., $Ficus$ $benjamina$ L., $Pachira$ $aquatica$, $Chamaedorea$ $elegans$, and $Ficus$ $elastica$ were selected and cultivated in two different growth medium (peatmoss and hydroball). Each plant was placed in an airtight chamber and then treated with the combinations of two different $CO_2$ concentrations (500 or 1,000 ppm) and two different light intensities (50 or $200{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$). The change of $CO_2$ concentration (ppm) in the airtight chamber during day and night was measured and then converted into the photosynthetic rate (${\mu}mol\;CO_2{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$). As the results, each foliage plant reduced $CO_2$ level in the airtight chamber for one hour by photosynthesis. $Pachira$ $aquatica$ and $Ficus$ $elastica$ absorbed $CO_2$ more effectively compared to the other plants. The plants exposed to higher $CO_2$ concentration (1,000 ppm) and higher light intensity ($200{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$) showed more effective $CO_2$ elimination rate and photosynthetic rate. The plants that have wide leaves and big leaf areas such as $Pachira$ $aquatica$, $Hedera$ $helix$ L.,and $Ficus$ $elastica$ showed higher photosynthetic rate than the other plants that have smaller leaves. Released $CO_2$ concentration by respiration of the plants during the night was very low compared to the absorbed $CO_2$ concentration by photosynthesis during the day. There was no significant difference between peatmoss and hydroball medium on reducing $CO_2$ concentration and increasing photosynthetic rate. In conclusion, this study suggested that foliage plants can effectively eliminate indoor $CO_2$. Optimum environmental control in relation to photosyntheis and usage of right indoor foliage plants having lots of leaves and showing active photosynthesis even under low light intensity like indoor light condition would be required to increase the elimination capacity of indoor $CO_2$.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.20 no.6 s.84
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• pp.637-642
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• 2004

Paeksulgis (Korean rice cake), containing $0\~0.5\%$ Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder, was prepared to enable the quality of the mechanical and sensory characteristics to be tested. The pHs of the Paeksulgis without and with 0.05 to $0.5\%$ Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder were 5.99 and about 5.7 respectively. With regard to the Hunter's color values of the control Paekulgis, the lightness (L), redness (a) and yellowness (b) were 94.78, -0.01 and 5.58, respectively. The lightness (L) decreased with increasing Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder concentration, whereas the redness (a) and yellowness (b) were both increased. with regard to the mechanical characteristics of Paeksulgis, the strength hardness, adhesiveness and gumminess were highest in the control group. In the sensory evaluation of Paeksulgis, the control group had the highest score for texture (p<0.05), but the addition of Opuntia Ficus indica var. Saboten powder gave higher scores for color, flavor, moisture, consistency, after taste and overall preference than the control (p<0.05).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.1009-1013
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• 2012

We investigated the antibacterial effects of Opuntia ficus indica extracts on foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes, on the medium of sliced apples. Pathogens were inoculated on sliced apples and immersed for 10 min in Opuntia ficus indica extracts. Each sample was packaged and stored at $4^{\circ}C$ and $21^{\circ}C$ for 8 days. The populations of E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes significantly decreased with increasing extract concentration (p<0.05). In particular, L. monocytogenes was reduced to non-detectable levels after 2 days in 50 mg/mL treatment at $4^{\circ}C$ and $21^{\circ}C$ Opuntia ficus indica extracts therefore have antibacterial effects on the two foodborne pathogens. Sensory evaluation results indicated that treated apples had better sensory characteristics than did the control. Therefore, the results suggest that Opuntia ficus indica extracts could be useful as a natural food preservative to improve microbial safety.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.183-190
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• 2017

Ficus carica L. (common fig), one of the first plants cultivated by humans, originated in the Mediterranean basin and currently grows worldwide, including southwest Asia and South Korea. It has been used as a traditional medicine for treatment of metabolic, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases as well as hemorrhoids and skin infections. Its pharmacological properties have recently been studied in detail, but research on the anti-cancer effect of its latex has been only been studied on a limited basis on several cell lines, such prostate cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity of the latex of Ficus carica L.and its underlying mechanism in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. (See Ed. note above) We confirmed through SDS-PAGE analysis and gelatinolytic activity analysis that the latex of Ficus carica contains cysteine protease ficin. Our data showed that the latex inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the latex treatment markedly induced apoptosis in FaDu cells as determined by FACS analysis, elevated expression level of cleaved caspase-9, -3 and PARP (poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase), and. increased the expression of Bax (pro-apoptotic factor) while decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic factor). Taken together, these results suggested that latex containing the ficin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis by caspase and the Bcl-2 family signaling pathway in FaDu human hypopharynx squamous carcinoma cells. These findings point to the potential of latex of Ficus carica to provide a novel chemotherapeutic drug due to its growth inhibition effects and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.1024-1029
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• 2010

Opuntia ficus-indica and Aloe vera slices were dried using 20, 30, and 40% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4,000 as a dehydration agent, and the dried samples were compared with the hot-air dried and freeze dried in terms of rehydration ratio, color, and sensory evaluation. The moisture content of the PEG-treated samples decreased with increasing concentrations of polyethylene glycol. The rehydration ratio of the PEG-treated samples was better than those of the hot air-dried or freeze-dried samples. The color of the PEG-treated samples was similar to that of the freeze-dried samples and better than that of the hot air-dried samples. The sensory evaluation of PEG-treated samples was better than those of the hot air-dried or freeze-dried samples. These results suggest that dehydration of Opuntia ficus-indica and Aloe vera slices using PEG is very effective in terms of rehydration ratio and minimal damage of cell structure.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7337-7342
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• 2015

The study aimed to investigate the profile of alkaloids in two ethyl acetate soluble fractions, namely fractions A and B from an ethanolic extract of Ficus septica leaves and cytotoxic effect on T47D breast cancer cells. Preparation of both fractions involved maceration of leaves with 70% (v/v) ethanol, filtration with $Al_2O_3$, precipitation with 0.1 N HCl, Mayer reagent, and 0.1 N NaOH, and also partition with ethyl acetate. Qualitative thin layer chromatography (TLC) was conducted to determine the profile of alkaloids in the two fractions, using alkaloid specific reagents such as Dragendorff, sodium nitrite, and Van Urk-Salkowski. Cytotoxic effects of both fractions on T47D cells were evaluated using MTT assay with a concentration series of 1.56; 3.12; 6.25; 12.5; 25 and $50{\mu}g/mL$. The TLC test showed that fractions A and B contained alkaloids with Rx values of 0.74 and 0.80 for fraction A and 0.74, 0.84, 0.92 for fraction B with regard to yohimbine using the mobile phase of n-buthanol:glacial acetic acid:distilled water (3:1:1 v/v/v). Moreover, an indole alkaloid was detected with Rx values of 0.80 and 0.84, respectively. Fractions A and B exhibited high cytotoxic effects on T47D cells with IC50 values of 2.57 and $2.73{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. In conclusion, overall the results of this study showed that fractions of Ficus septica contain alkaloids including indole alkaloid or its derivatives and possess a cytotoxic effect on T47D cells. This research supports the idea that alkaloids in F. septica have anticancer activity.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5785-5790
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• 2012

The use of chemotherapeutics induces cardiotoxicity and affects immune functions, therefore development of combinatorial agents against cardiotoxicity and immunosuppression needs to be explored. Previous studies of the hexane insoluble fraction (HIF) of an ethanolic extract of Ficus septica leaves showed anticancer effects singly and in combination with doxorubicin on T47D breast cancer cells. In this present study, it was evaluated for its immunomodulatory activities in doxorubicin-treated rats. Thirty male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into five groups consisting of six rats each as follows: Group 1, receiving oral saline 10 ml/kg BW (control group); Group 2, receiving HIF dose 750 mg/kg BW orally, once daily; Group 3, receiving HIF dose 1.500 mg/kg BW orally, once daily; Group 4, given oral saline 10 ml/kg BW (normal group); Group 5, receiving HIF dose 1.500 mg/kg BW orally, once daily. The rats of group 1-3 were intramuscularly administered with doxorubicin at a dose of 4.67 mg/kg BW at the days 1 and 4 to suppress immune functions. Concomitantly, the rats were treated with saline or HIF for seven consecutive days (1 to 7). Treatment of HIF succeeded in reducing side effects of doxorubicin based on increasing lymphocyte density and phagocytosis activity and capacity of macrophages, as well as increasing the CD8+ blood level and decreasing spleen IL-10 expression. Hexane insoluble fraction of of ethanolic extract of Ficus septica leaves has potential as a protective agent combined with doxorubicin.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.160-166
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• 2000

The extracts of Opuntia ficus indica var. saboten were obtained by using seven solvents of increasing polarity and their antioxidative and antimicrobial activities were investigated along with thermal stability. The highest antioxidative activity expressed as electron donating ability and antimicrobial activity were observed in the 95% ethanol extract. Cell growth inhibition was not apparent on Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium, but was great on Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus and staphylococcus aureus at the level of 4.5 mg/ml medium. The ethanol extract of Opuntia ficus indica var. saboten showed the thermal stability in the range of 40∼120$\^{C}$. It was re-extracted sequentially with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water, among which ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest inhibitory effect against Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus and Escherichia coli.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 1998

We compared absorption and adsorption rates of air pollutants by plants to eveluate the difference of absorption capacity of plant species and kinds of air pollutants, when foilage plants were exposed to $O_3$ and $SO_2$ singly and combiningly. Absorption and adsorption rates of three foliage plants exposed to $O_3$ and $SO_2$ singly and in combination varied a little according to plant species and kinds of air pollutants. But total absorption rate of Spathiphyllum patinii and Ficus benjamina was higher, and it was lower in Pachira aquatica. When exposed to $O_3$ and $SO_2$ at the same concentration, Pachira aquatica absorbed more $O_3$ than $SO_2$, in contrast to Ficus benjamina absorbing more $SO_2$. On the other hand, Spathiphyllum patinii absorbed as much $O_3$ as $SO_2$. Physiological activities were measured since absorption rates were affected by physiological characteristics of plants. Spathiphyllum patinii and Ficus benjamina showed higher photosynthetic and transpiration rates, and Pachira aquatica showed lower values. And diffusive and stomatal resistences of Pachira aquatica were higher than those of two other species. These results showed that absorption capacity was affected by the differences of physiological characteristics. Absorption capacity of air pollutants increased in plants, such as Spathiphyllum patinii and Ficus benjamina, which had high $SO_2$ absorption rate. We found that plants showing high $CO_2$ absorption rates absorb a lot of air pollutnats.