• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.84-92
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• 2015

Tyrosinase is a key enzyme to control the biosynthesis of melanin pigments and has two enzyme activities, namely of 1-tyrosine hydroxylase and of 1-dopa oxidase. Thus, tyrosinase is regarded as a target in skin-whitening and therapeutic intervention of local hyperpigmentation diseases. We have tested tyrosinase inhibitory activity on the water extracts of 50 species oriental medicinal plant. Among them, five medicinal plants, Linderae Radix, Clematidis Radix, Cinnamomi Cortex Spissus, Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus and Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae were investigated strong inhibition effect. Five medicinal plants were fractionated using organic solvents (methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, water). Cinnamomi Cortex Spissus (ethyl acetate fraction) was investigated strong inhibition effect. Tyrosinase inhibitory activity below $IC_{50}\;40{\mu}g/ml$ is confirmed in five herbal plants that are Linderae Radix, Clematidis Radix, Cinnamomi Cortex Spissus, Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus and Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae. Tyrosinase inhibitory levels ($IC_{50}\;{\mu}g/ml$) of each plants were 15.56, 35.02, 25.14, 15.20 and 39.77. We also investigate the effect of effective plant's fraction. in dose of $100{\mu}g/ml$, Cinnamomi Cortex Spissus (P-36) EtOAc fraction significant inhibitory effect over 50%. Clematidis Radix (P-35) and Cinnamomi Cortex Spissus (P-36) MC fraction inhibit tyrosinase each 36.60% and 43.21%. inhibitory rates of Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus (P-40) EtOAc and $H_2O$ fraction are 31.40% and 31.51%. Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae (P-45) BuOH fraction regulate tyrosinase activity to 37.71%. We examined tyrosinase inhibitory activity of natural products and these results suggest that several herbs have potential as a new whitening material.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2020.08a
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• pp.94-94
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• 2020

Safflower, a draught and salt tolerant oil seed crop of Compositae family, has been cultivated around the world mainly as source of edible oils and dyes, where India, the USA, Mexico, Australia, and Ethiopia contributing about 85% of the production altogether. In this study we have characterized some selected morphological properties of safflower plant and determined the the total phenolic content (TPC) and fatty acid composition in seeds of 237 genetic resources. All the seed coats were white colored while the petals had red, yellow and white pigments. The yellow was the predominant petal color being recorded in 182 accessions followed by red occurring in 49 accessions. The petal color of 47 of the accessions changed with development while the 190 accession showed no change of color. The leaves are ovate to obovate, mostly with dentate (21 moderate and 205 weak) and few smooth (11) margins. The plant length, leaf length, and leaf width were ranged between 65.7 and 160.8 cm, 14.3 and 37.0 cm, and 3.3 and 12.1 cm, respectively. The TPC was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu method and fatty acid compositions were evaluated using gas chromatography. The TPC content ranged from 23.71 to 132.72 µgGAE/mg dried extract (DE). The seeds of safflower genetic resources accounted an average crude fat content of 26.25% (14.84 to 41.70%). The total fatty acid is mainly comprised of 71.72% linoleic acid (18:2) and 20.08% oleic acid (18:1) on average, the remaining palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0) and linolenic acid (18:3) contributing 5.84, 2.23 and 0.15 %, respectively. The fatty acid composition of safflower seeds has shown great variability, where oleic and linoleic acid have a wide range of variation, from 9.23 to 83.35% and from 10.46 to 82.62%, respectively

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.192-198
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• 2021

Red yeast rice has been extensively used as food and traditional medicine for thousands of years in East Asian countries. It is produced by the fermentation of a particular yeast (in general, Monascus purpureus) as rice and various cereals (barley, soybean, etc.). Monascus sp. produces many secondary metabolites during its growth, including pigments, monacolins, and γ-aminobutyric acid. Some metabolites―specifically, monacolin K, γ-aminobutyric acid, dimerumic acid, and monascus pigments―have been reported to lower cholesterol and blood pressure while showing anti-obesity effects. In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity effect of ethanol extract from red yeast barley (RYB) fermented with Monascus sp. BHN-MK 2 on 3T3-L1 cells. The anti-obesity effects of RYB extract were examined: its lipid accumulation inhibitory effect was tested by Oil Red O staining, and obesity-related mRNA expression levels were tested by real-time RT-PCR in MDI stimulated 3T3-L1 cells. The intracellular lipid content of MDI-stimulated 3T3-L1 cells decreased significantly to 5.04%, 12.24%, and 23.52% in response to 200, 400, and 800 ㎍/ml RYB, respectively. Moreovers, we evaluated that RYB extract significantly downregulated the expression of C/EBPα, SREBP-1, and PPAR-γ gene in a dose-dependent manner. As a result, red yeast barley ethanol extracts exerted the strongest anti-obesity effects. Also, the results indicate that red yeast barley could be used as a functional anti-obesity food material.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.81-85
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• 2010

Arabidopsis seedlings subjected to low pH stress in the range of pH 5.6-4.0 did not show significant retardations in root and shoot growths. Treatment of pH 3.5-2.5 resulted in significant reductions in root and shoot length, especially in roots. Chlorophyll contents in seedlings increased during acid treatment of pH 5.6-4.0, but decreased by stronger acid treatment of pH 4.0 and lower pHs. Total carotenoid contents showed similar trend to chlorophyll contents by increasing during pH 5.6-3.5 treatments and decreasing by pH 3.0-2.5. Anthocyanin contents increased under acid stress of pH 5.6-3.0 and showed great reduction at pH 2.5. The ratios of carotenoids/chlorophylls and anthocyanins/chlorophylls increased by acid stress treatments. That indicates plants try to adjust physiologically to acid stress and protect chlorophylls by increasing carotenoid and anthocyanin contents. However, different responses of chlorophylls and anthocyanins to acid stress indicate both pigments play different roles in protecting plant from acid stress.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.81-95
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• 2003

Carotenoids are synthesized from the plastidic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GAP)/pyruvate pathway in isoprenoids biosynthetic system of plants. They play a crucial role in light harvesting, work as photoprotective agents in photosynthesis of nature, and are also responsible for the red, orange and yellow colors of fruits and flowers in plants. In addition to biological actions of carotenoids as antioxidants and natural pigments, they are essential components of human diet as a source of vitamin A. It has been also suggested that some kinds of carotenoids might provide protection against cancer and heart disease as human medicines. In this article, we review the commercial applications on the basis of biological functions of carotenoids, summarize the studies of genes involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, and introduce recent results achieved in metabolic engineering of carotenoids. This effort for understanding the carotenoids metabolism will make us to increase the total carotenoid contents of crop plants, direct the carotenoid biosynthetic machinery towards other useful carotenoids, and produce a new array of carotenoids by further metabolizing the new precursors that are created when one or two key enzymes in carotenoid biosynthetic pathway are exchanged through gene manipulation in the near future.

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.08a
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• pp.83-90
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• 1999

Electron crystallography of two-dimensional crystalsand electron cryo-microscopy is becoming an established method for determining the structure and function of a variety of membrane proteins that are providing difficult to crystallize in three dimension. In this study this technique has been used to investigate the structure of a ~160 kDa reaction centre sub-core complex of photosystem II. Photosystem II is a photosynthetic membrane protein consisting of more than 25 subunits. It uses solar energy to split water releasing molecular oxygen into the atmosphere and creates electrochemical potential across the thylakoid membrane, which is eventually utilized to generate ATP and NADPH. Images were taken using Philips CM200 field emission gun electron microscope with an acceleration voltage of 200kW at liquid nitrogen temperature. In total, 79 images recorded dat tilt angles ranging from 0 to 67 degree yielded amplitudes and phases for a three-dimensional map with an in-plant resolution of 6$\AA$ and 11.4$\AA$ in the third dimension shows at least 23 transmembrane helices resolved in a monomeric complex, of which 18 were able to be assigned to the D1, D2, CP47 , and cytochrome b559 alfa beta-subunits with their associated pigments that ae active in electron transport (Rhee, 1998, Ph.D.thesis). The D1/D2 heterodimer is located in the central position within the complex and its helical scalffold is remarkably similar to that of the reaction centres not only in purple bacteria but also in plant photosystem I (PSI) , indicating a common evoluationary origin of all types of reaction centre in photosynthetic organism known today 9RHee et al. 1998). The structural homology is now extended to the inner antenna subunit, ascribed to CP47 in our map, where the 6 transmembrane helices show a striking structural similarity to the corresponding helices of the PSI reaction centre proteins. The overall arrangement of the chlorophylls in the D1 /D2 heterodimer, and in particular the distance between the central pair, is ocnsistent with the weak exciton coupling of P680 that distinguishes this reaction centre from bacterial counterpart. The map in most progress towards high resolution structure will be presented and discussed.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.808-811
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• 2001

Performance of pilot plant scale extraction and concentration of purple-fleshed sweet potato anthocyanin pigment was tested and the characteristics of pigment extracts and concentrates were investigated. Fifty kilograms of purple-fleshed sweet potato was extracted with 500 L of 1% citric acid in 20% ethanol. As a whole, extraction pattern of the large scale extraction was similar to that of the laboratory scale extraction. The extracted pigment solution was filtered twice with a bag filter and a winding type microfilter and the filtrate was concentrated by a large scale vacuum evaporator at $40^{\circ}C$ and 600 mmHg vac. The mean values of total optical density (TOD) of the extract and the concentrate were 6.53 and 120.45, respectively. Browning index (BI) and Degradation index (DI) of extract were 5.86 and 1.55 and those of concentrate were 5.89 and 1.56, respectively, which indicated that the pigments were not changed or degraded through the extraction and concentration process.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.400-406
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• 2010

Etiolation of plant leaves evoke to be photosynthetically inactive because plant leaves are unable to convert photochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide in the absence of light. In addition, UV-B radiation plays an important role in photomorphogenesis and excessive UV-B radiation decreases photosynthesis and causes to damage to cellular DNA. In the present study, two electrical lights obtained with the ultraviolet lamp and moderate lamp were employed to young plants soybean (Glycine max Merr. var Seoritae). After treatment of different lights, young plants were harvested for the determination of pigment contents and chlorophyll fluorescence. The contents of carotenoids and anthocyanins were significantly enhanced with the excessive UV-B radiation. Excessive UV-B light reduced dramatically photosynthetic efficiency causing an irreversible damage on PSII in comparison to the controls treated under normal illumination. As the treatment of normal illumination after dark treatment, the contents of carotenoids and anthocyanains were not changed in the leaves and photosynthetic ability were retained. Therefore, Seoritae soybean leaves might protect themselves from excessive UV-B radiation with up-regulation of antioxidants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.667-672
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• 2006

Tyrosinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthetic pathway of melanin pigments participating in the coloring of skin, hair, and eyes, and is widely distributed in nature. The inhibitory compounds of tyrosinase have been extensively used as a cosmetic agent with a skin-whitening effect. In this paper, several plant extracts were screened using Melan-a cells for the melanin biosynthesis inhibition activity, and Idesia polycarpa was selected. A melanin biosynthesis inhibitor was isolated from I. polycarpa fruits by activity-guided fractionation, and the inhibitor was identified as 6-hydroxy-2-[[[(1-hydroxy-6-oxo-2-cyclohexenl-yl)carbonyl]oxy]methyl]phenyl$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside (idescrapin) by comparing it with reported spectral data. Idescarpin $(IC_{50}=8{\mu}g/ml)$ reduced melanin content compared with the vehicle. In addition, the inhibitory activity of idescarpin for melanin synthesis is mediated by decreasing tyrosinase protein rather than directly inhibiting the tyrosinase activity. These results suggest that idescarpin isolated from I. polycarpa fruits may be used as a skin-whitening agent.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.317-325
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• 2008

P. glehnii, an evergreen conifer found in northern areas, is known as a cold-resistant species. In this experiment, we measured the water content, PSⅡ efficiency, chlorophyll fluorescence, pigments of the xanthophyll-cycle and activity of enzymes of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle during cold acclimation and at subsequent low-temperature conditions to examine the importance of acclimation to cold tolerance. P. glehnii showed a decrease in PSⅡ efficiency (especially in Fv) during cold acclimation and at subsequent low temperatures. However, cold-acclimated needles showed higher PSⅡ efficiency at low temperatures than nonacclimated needles. In addition, 0-YON (first-year needles) showed an increase in $\beta$-carotene and lutein, while 1-YON (one-year-old needles) immediately developed an antioxidant mechanism in the ascorbate-gluthathione cycle as soon as they were exposed to low temperature and both 0-YON and 1-YON showed increased zeaxanthin and de-epoxidation ratios at continuous low temperature. Based on our results, we suggest that P. glehnii maintain PSⅡ efficiency at low temperature by effectively protecting the photosynthetic apparatus from photo-damage by rapid induction of an antioxidant mechanism in 1-YON and dissipation of excess energy by $\beta$-carotene and lutein in 0-YON.