• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.291-295
• /
• 2018

Background: The use of Rehmannia glutinosa of the family Scrophulariaceae, in traditional medicine is well known. This study was conducted to elucidate the effect of air curing of the seed rhizome of R. glutinosa on its storability and yield. Methods and Results: The root of the R. glutinosa cultivar (Dagang) was harvested in at the end of November. The seed rhizomes were air cured for one to seven days. They were subsequently wrapped with newspaper and further stored in a plastic container at $1^{\circ}C$. It was observed that the weight loss and decay rates were significantly lower in the air cured seeds than in the untreated ones. Moreover, the decay rate of the control was approximately 50%, 120 days after storage. However. the decay rate of all the air cured treatment groups was less than 1%. Additionally, air curing led to an increase in the germination rate of the seeds and the root yield when compared with the untreated groups. Taken together, the ideal treatment period for air curing was found to be 3 days. Under these conditions, the germination rate and yield were 88.7% and 2,185 ㎏/10a, respectively. Conclusions: This study successfully demonstrated that the air curing of seed rhizomes can lead to a considerable increase in the storability and yield of R. glutinosa.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.482-489
• /
• 2018

Background: This study was carried out to determine the physicochemical components of Rehmannia glutinosa (RG) fermented with Rhizopus delemar. Methods and Results: Physicochemical components such as changes in moisture content, pH value, total acidity, amount of reducing sugars as well as quantity of free sugars, free amino acids, and catalpol were investigated. Result showed that, the moisture content ranged from 64.26 to 65.51%. The pH and total acidity of the fermented RG decreased significantly during fermentation. The reducing sugar content ranged from 0.10 to 1.34%. The most abundant main free sugars were identified as raffinose, xylose, glucose, fructose, and sucrose. The sucrose content in 80% ethanol and in water extracts increased during RG fermentation. In total, 26 free amino acids were detected, including seven essential amino acids. In addition, the quantity of free amino acids decreased significantly during fermentation. Finally, the catalpol content of the fermented RG was highest on the $2^{nd}$ day of fermentation at 2,028.67 mg/ 100 g. Conclusions: These results indicated that fermentation of Rhizopus delemar could be used to enhance biological activity, and that fermented RG could be used as a functional material and as an edible resource in food and functional materials industries.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.47-61
• /
• 2021

Objectives : 'Steaming and drying' is a traditional processing method that has been used to produce Suk-ji-hwang (熟地黃; Rehmanniae Radix Preparata) from Ji-hwang (地黃, the fresh root of Rehmannia glutinosa Liboschitz ex Steudel; Rehmanniae Radix). The steaming and drying process, which is proceeded in heating and moisturizing conditions, plays a crucial role in the change of therapeutic effect of Ji-hwang, presumably due to the modification of its chemical constituents. In this article, the chemical influence of the 'Steaming and drying' process was investigated for understanding the underlying mechanism of chemical modification of Ji-hwang. Methods : The articles regarding the modifications of chemical constituents of Ji-hwang during the 'Steaming and drying' process were collected and analyzed to investigate the influence of the processing to Ji-hwang. Results : The results indicated that iridoid glycosides were degraded to their aglycones and sugars, and such degradations occurred faster at a high pressure than at an atmospheric pressure during the process. The contents of catalpol, ajugol, and acteoside were decreased, while those of rehmannioside A and D were slightly increased during the repeated processing. The contents of oligosaccharides, namely sucrose, maltose, raffinose, and stachyose (except for manninotriose), were decreased, while those of monosaccharides, glucose and fructose, were increased by the repeated processing. Conclusions : These results demonstrate that the 'Steaming and drying' process influenced the chemical constituents of Ji-hwang and provide probable basis for the therapeutic modification of Suk-ji-hwang after the processing of Ji-hwang.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.127-137
• /
• 2011

Twenty-four compounds were isolated from the 70% ethanolic extract of Rehmanniae Radix (Scrophulariaceae) cultivated in Ubo-myeon, Gunwi-gun, Gyeongbuk province, Korea and their structures were identified as four iridoids [6-O-(4''-O-${\alpha}$-L-rhamnopyranosyl) vanilloyl ajugol (17), ajugol (18), aucubin (19), and catalpol (20)], three phenethyl alcohol glycosides [decaffeoyl acteoside (15), isoacteoside (16), and acteoside (21)], five sugar derivatives [ethyl ${\beta}$-D-fructofuranoside (7), eleutheroside C (14), mannitol (22), raffinose (23), and stachyose (24)], two terpenoids [remophilanetriol (4) and glutinolic acid (11)], a lignan, paulownin (2), and eight others [${\beta}$-sitosterol (1), daucosterol (6), monopalmitin (3), pinellic acid (9), uracil (5), adenosine (12), jio-cerebroside (10), aeginetic acid 5-O-${\beta}$-D-quinovoside (8), aeginetoyl ajugol 5''-O-${\beta}$-D-quinovoside (13)]. The chemical structures of these compounds were identified on the basis of spectroscopic methods and comparison with literature values. Among these compounds, paulownin (2), monopalmitin (3), uracil (5), daucosterol (6), ethyl ${\beta}$-D-fructo-furanoside (7), and eleutheroside C (14) were isolated from this plant for the first time.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2018

Background: Rehmanniae radix preparata (RRP) has been used as a traditional medicine and is one of the most important oriental herbal medicines. However, the physical characteristics of RRP are not suitable for use in industry. The present study was under-taken to determined the preparation method of RRP powder and the physicochemical characteristics of RRP powder by milling under different pre-freezing temperatures. Methods and Results: Moisture content, powder yield, particle size, bulk density, compressive stress, extraction yield, and 5-HMF content of PRR powders by milling with pre-freezing temperatures (-20, -40, -60, and $-80^{\circ}C$) were analyzed, and correlation among these factors was determined. Powder yield increased and particle size decreased in a pre-freezing temperature-dependent manner from -20 to $-60^{\circ}C$. The Hausner ratio increased from 1.186 to 1.225 with decreasing temperature from -20 to $-80^{\circ}C$, whereas compressive stress showed the opposite trend. Extraction yield and 5-HMF content were not significantly different between RRP powder. Significant correlations were observed among pre-freezing temperature and physical characteristics (e.g., yield, particle size, Hausner ratio, and compressive stress). Conclusions: These results suggest that the pre-freezing temperature is an important factor affecting the physical characteristics of PRR powder and applicable to the industrial production of RRP powder.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.1045-1062
• /
• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the latest clinical studies on Korean medicine treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. Methods: We searched the last 6 years of clinical studies discussing Oriental medicine-based treatments for ITP in the CNKI database. A meta-analysis of 13 RCTs was performed by synthesizing the outcomes, including the measured platelet count and total effective rate. The quality of the studies was assessed using Cochrane's risk of bias (RoB) tool. RevMan 5.4.1 software was used for data analysis. Results: Of the 15 selected studies, 1 was a non-randomized controlled trial (nRCT), 2 were case series, and 12 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Treatments in all studies included oral herbal medicine. The most frequently used herbal decoction was the Liangxue Jiedu prescription (凉血解毒方), and the most commonly used herb was Agrimonia pilosa (仙鶴草), Astragali Radix (黃芪), Fossilia Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (甘草), and Rehmannia glutinosa Liboschitz ex Steudel (地黃). The meta-analysis showed significantly better improvement in platelet counts and total effective rate for ITP in the treatment group than in the control group. Conclusion: Treatment with herbal medicine was effective in treating ITP. However, the significance of this conclusion is somewhat limited due to the low quality of the available studies. Multifaceted and scientifically designed clinical studies are required to develop treatments for ITP based on Korean medicine. The results of this study could be used as basic data for further ITP studies.