• Title/Summary/Keyword: Plant physiology

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Aqueous Extract of Ma huang Decreases Neuropeptide Y Expression in the Hypothalamus of Rats

  • Shin Mal Soon;Shin Min Chul;Jang Mi Hyean;Chang Hyun Kyung;Kim Chang Ju;Kim Jeong Sean;Kim Ee Hwa
    • Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.1116-1119
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    • 2003
  • Ma huang, the dried plant stem of Ephedra Intermedia Schrenk et CA, is one of the well known medicinal herbs, and has been used for the diaphoretic, antiasthmatic, and diuretic actions. Ma huang is an ephedrine type alkaloid used for the weight loss and energy expenditure. Medications based on the Ma huang have been found to be effective in the treatment of obesity. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a 36-amino-acid peptide and concentrated in the hypothalamus, stimulates feeding desire and decrease energy expenditure. In the present study, the effect of Ma huang on the expression of NPY in the rat hypothalamus was investigated using immunohistochemistry. The present results demonstrated that Ma huang treatment suppressed weight gain and NPY expression in the hypothalamus depending upon the dosage used. Based on the results, it can be suggested that Ma huang treatment is effective in curbing the desire for food via modulation of NPY expression under the normal conditions.

Medicinal plants traditionally used for the management of female reproductive health dysfunction in Tana River County, Kenya

  • Kaingu, Catherine Kaluwa;Oduma, Jemimah Achieng;Mbaria, James Mucunu;Kiama, Stephen Gitah
    • CELLMED
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.17.1-17.10
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    • 2013
  • Reproductive dysfunction is a major health concern amongst the inhabitants of Tana River County. An ethno botanical study was conducted in Garsen, Itsowe and Ngao sub divisions of Tana River County to document the utilization of medicinal plants for the management of female reproductive ailments. The target population was practicing herbalists from Pokomo, Ormo and Giryama communities in the study area. Structured questionnaires and focussed group discussions were used to collect data. Forty eight plant species distributed in 40 genera and 29 families were documented as being important for the management of pregnancy related complications, menstrual disorders, infertility, fibroids and as contraceptives. The species most frequently cited by the herbalists were fourteen. Fifty two percent of the plant species were probably being mentioned for the first time as being useful in reproductive health management. In conclusion, Tana River has a pool of TMPs with a wealth of indigenous knowledge that needs to be exploited. The plants used to treat dysmenorrhea for example may be important analgesic agents that need further investigation while those with anti-fertility properties may contain steroidal phyto chemical compounds. Such species therefore need further investigation to establish their efficacy and mechanism of action.

A Study on the Activities of Five Natural Plant Essential Oils on Atopic Dermatitis (자생식물 Essential Oil 5 종의 항 아토피피부염 활성 연구)

  • Jeong, Jeong-Hwa;Nguyen, Thao Kim Nu;Choi, Min-Jin;Nguyen, Ly Thi Huong;Shin, Heung-Mook;Lee, Byung-Wook;Yang, In-Jun
    • Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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    • v.47 no.1
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    • pp.23-30
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    • 2021
  • This study is an experiment to evaluate the anti-atopy efficacy of five kinds of natural plant essential oils; Artemisia annua L. (AA), Citrus junos Sieb. ex TANAKA (CJ), Chrysanthemum boreale Makino (CB), Pinus koraiensis (PK), and Pinus densiflora for. erecta (PD). Through Agar diffusion test, five species of native plant essential oils were treated in a total of four strains, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. In order to invest the anti-inflammatory effect, five kinds of natural plant essential oils were treated in HaCaT cells-induced by TNF-α and IFN-γ (TI). AA, CJ, CB, PK and PD showed antibacterial effects on Candida albicans at a concentration of 10 mg/mL. We also found that the thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) expression was suppressed in 0.1 ㎍/mL of PK, 1 ㎍/mL of AA, CB, and PK. macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) expression was suppressed in 1 ㎍/mL of AA and PK. IL-6 expression was suppressed in 0.1, 1 ㎍/mL of AA, PK in HaCaT cells. Hence it suggests that AA, CB, and PK have the anti-inflammatory effects, and it could contribute to atopic dermatitis relief by reducing the infiltration of immune cells to inflamed area.

Suggestion of Spring Seedling Amounts and Drone Spreader Type for Italian Ryegrass using Drones

  • Hyeonsoo Jang;Seung-Hwa Yu;Yun-Ho Lee;Hui-Woo Lee;Pyeong Shin;Dae-Uk Kim;Jin-Hui Ryu;Jong-Tak Youn;Jung-Won Kim;Bo-Gyeong Kim
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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    • 2022.10a
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    • pp.129-129
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    • 2022
  • The production area of Italian ryegrass feed is gradually increasing and labor-saving technologies are being developed. If sowing and fertilization are carried out agricultural drones, working hours and labor are reduced. The purpose of this study is to suggest an appropriate seedling amount for feed production by drone spreading of Italian ryegrass in spring. In addition, we would like to review the productivity of the drone seeding machine that is being developed by Rural Development Administration(RDA) of Korea. Italian ryegrass was sown by a drone in February at the NICS located in Gyehwa-hwa, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. In Experiment 1, 50kg/ha, 60, 70, and 80 seeding rates were sown with a horizontal spreader drone. In Experiment 2, uniform spreaders type drone and horizontal spreader type were sown with the same seeding amount and compared. The drone was sown using the AF-52 aircraft. The higher the seeding amount, the higher the emergence rate. As the seeding amount increased, the plant length increased, but the number of tillers per individual decreased. The dry matter weight of the feed was the highest at 1,326kg/10a at the seeding rate of 70kg/ha, and decreased by 20.5% at the seeding rate of 80kg/ha. The coverage ratio was the highest at 96 at the seeding rate of 70kg/ha, which was the most advantageous for spring sowing. In the comparative experiment according to the spreader type, the uniform spreader had a high emergence rate per unit area. When the uniform spreader was used, the dry matter weight of the feed was 17% higher than that of the horizontal one, and the coverage was about 5% higher.

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Verticillium dahliae toxins-induced nitric oxide production in Arabidopsis is major dependent on nitrate reductase

  • Shi, Fu-Mei;Li, Ying-Zhang
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.41 no.1
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    • pp.79-85
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    • 2008
  • The source of nitric oxide (NO) in plants is unclear and it has been reported NO can be produced by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) like enzymes and by nitrate reductase (NR). Here we used wild-type, Atnos1 mutant and nia1, nia2 NR-deficient mutant plants of Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate the potential source of NO production in response to Verticillium dahliae toxins (VD-toxins). The results revealed that NO production is much higher in wild-type and Atnos1 mutant than in nia1, nia2 NR-deficient mutants. The NR inhibitor had a significant effect on VD-toxins-induced NO production; whereas NOS inhibitor had a slight effect. NR activity was significantly implicated in NO production. The results indicated that as NO was induced in response to VD-toxins in Arabidopsis, the major source was the NR pathway. The production of NOS-system appeared to be secondary.