• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.208-212
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• 2009

The heartwood of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (Anacardiaceae) is widely used for a medicinal plant to treat diabetes mellitus and lingering intoxication in the folkloric society of Korea, while the stem bark has been traditionally used to treat menstrual disorder and helminthiasis. We previously reported that a flavonoid, fustin, isolated from the heartwood of R. verniciflua is effective in Alzheimer‘s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. To explore the possibility to produce more flavonoid-rich fraction from this plant, the MeOH extracts from the plant parts of stem bark, outer heartwood, and inner heartwood were quantitatively analyzed by HPLC. Phenolic or flavonoid compounds (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, sulfuretin, fustin, fisetin, luteolin and astragalin) were detectable in the HPLC chromatogram. The orange-colored inner heartwood was found to contain the highest levels of fustin (16.96 mg/g) and sulfuretin (2.22 mg/g). Moreover, the inner heartwood accumulated fustin and sulfuretin at least 4-fold higher level as compared to the stem bark and outer heartwood. The levels of total phenolic compounds positively correlated with the extents of antioxidant properties. Therefore, the inner heartwood of R. verniciflua could be used to increase fustin concentration of the extract which is capable of treating Alzheimer‘s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.308-314
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• 2007

To investigate effects of fermentation on volatile components, we analyzed volatile organic compounds of raw and fermented Rhus verniciflua S. bark. A 50%(w/v) sugar solution was used for fermentation. Volatile organic compounds of raw and fermented Rhus verniciflua S. were extracted by the simultaneous steam distillation and extraction(SDE) method, with a mixture of n-pentane and diethylether(1:1, v/v) and analyzed by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. A total of 51 and 27 volatile organic compounds were detected in raw and fermented samples, respectively, and were mainly alcohols. Compounds such as ethyl acetate, 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol, 3-methylbutanal, 1-octen-3-o1, 3-methyl-2-butanone, hexanal and pentanal were detected as the primary compounds in the raw sample. The fermented sample showed sour different volatile compounds, such as ethanol, ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate and 3-methylbutanol. Thus, a number of volatile organic compounds were synthesized after fermentation of Rhus verniciflua S. bark.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.337-342
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• 2005

This study was conducted to investigate the bark production from a top branch(Woojuk) of lacquer tree(Rhus verniciflua) that collected Rhus lacquer in summer, analyzing a relationship between several factors - diameter, tree weight, weight of Woojuk and bark. The weight of Woojuk averaged was made up $48\%$ of the tree on average. As the weight of the tree increased, however, the Woojuk showed the rising trend. It was turned out that the tree size for making 1kg of dry bark must be at least DBB 8cm. The result on Woojuk's bark was that $43.3\%$ of total trees produced a green bark of 1.1kg to 1.5kg, and most of them put out 1.5kg and less. Also the rate of trees to make 0.6kg to 1.0kg of dry bark was highest in $50.8\%$, but its production in most trees was 1.0kg and below. As the moisture content of a green bark averaged $39\%$, it is estimated that the production of 1kg in dry bark requires at least 6kg of top branch in lacquer tree.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.89 no.1
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• pp.116-125
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• 2000

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of CEPA(2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid) on bark physiology and anatomy of lactree(Rhus verniciflua Stokes). Sample trees of similar size and growth rate were selected from 7-year-old lactree plantation located in Hyengsung-kun, Kangwon-do. Lanolin pastes containing 0.1, 1, or 10% CEPA were put into the bark-removed hole made by corer(${\phi}1cm$) on the main stem at 1.2m above the ground on June 16, 1995. Five weeks after application of CEPA, bark thickness was markedly increased as a result of the increase in the amount of phloem and intercellular spaces, and correlated with the increased production of urushiol. By the application of 10% CEPA, bark thickness was increased approximately 2.5 times, and the urushiol content within bark was increased 2.8 times compared to that of untreated trees because CEPA stimulated the accumulation of urushiol within bark. Treatment of 10% CEPA also increased the size and the total number of secretory canals, and induced an increase in ray width. The phloem parenchyma cells of CEPA-treated trees were well-developed and closely packed with little intercellular space.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.84-84
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• 2001

The heartwood of Rhus verniciflua has been known to be effective for lingering intoxication and diabetes mellitus and rheumatoidal arthritis in traditional folk medicine in Korea. We have previously reported that antimutagenic effect of flavonoids derived from the heartwood extract of R. verniciflua, and sulfuretin was the active component. Recently, we have demonstrated that sulfuretin could be an anti-inflammatory principle of the R. verniciflua heartwood partially dependent on cyclooxigenase-inhibitory activity. The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the anti-rheumatoidal arthritis effect of the R. verniciflua heartwood extract, its EtOAc fraction and the main flavonoids, sulfuretin and fustin. All the test samples showed variably significant inhibitory effects on hind paw edema induced by Freund's complete adjuvant reagent (FCA reagent). Sulfuretin treatment with 10 mg/kg (i.p.) for seven days showed the inhibitory effect of 54.2${\pm}$3.0%, Similar trends in RA- and CRP tests, vascular permeability test and trypsin inhibitor test were also found. In addition, no dead mouse was found even when the dose was increased up to 5,000 mg/kg (i.p.). Treatment with 250-1,500 mg/kg on normal rats did not show any marked toxicological significances in the tests of body weight gain, wet weight of organs and hepatic functions. These results suggested that the heartwood of R. verniciflua could be an adequate crude drug for rheumatoidal arthritis with an active component of sulfuretin. The toxicological safety of the heartwood of R, verniciflua is contrasted to known severe allergenic action of the stem bark or its exudate.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.235-243
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• 2012

We studied the effect of fermented Rhus verniciflua stem bark (FRVSB) extract (used in herbal med-icine by Koreans) on the microbial growth and enzyme activity of 12 soybean-fermenting microorganisms, including Bacillus spp., lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and other harmful bacteria. The ethanol and methanol extracts of FRVSB inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus cereus, and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, and in the disk diffusion assay, their inhibition zone diameters were 11.06-12.23, 12.32-18.38, 11.47-11.84, and 13.59-14.21 mm, respectively. The water extract did not show any inhibitory effect. In fact, the water extract addition enhanced the growth of B. subtilis and B. licheniformis by 1.3-4.5 fold and that of B. cereus by 1.2-1.4 fold. However, the water extract did not affect the growth of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus mesenteroides, Saccharomyces cer-evisiae, and Escherichia coli. The addition of water extract increased the amylase and protease activity of B. subtilis and B. licheniformis.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.502-507
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• 2016

This study was designed to investigate the beneficial effects of fermented Rhus verniciflua stem bark extract (RVSBE) on the stomach. We evaluated RVSBE for its antimicrobial activity against Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), along with its ability to reduce the viability of human gastric cancer AGS cells. In addition, its anti-inflammatory effect was examined by evaluating nitric oxide (NO) production, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mRNA expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. RVSBE showed antimicrobial activity, as 2.0 mg of the extract produced a clear inhibition zone of 4.0 mm. RVSBE inhibited the growth of AGS cells by 20% at concentrations ranging from 0.25-1.0 mg/mL. Regarding the anti-inflammatory effects of RVSBE, at 0.1-1.0 mg/mL, the extract showed more than 75% inhibition of NO production. In addition, cells treated with 0.25 mg/mL RVSBE showed a 25% decrease in iNOS mRNA levels compared to those in the LPS-treated cells. These results suggest that RVSBE may have significant inhibitory effects on inflammatory mediators, and therefore, may be a potential anti-inflammatory candidate.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.172-178
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• 2010

The contents of proximate composition, free amino acids and phenolic acids in the Fomitella fraxinea cultivated-Rhus verniciflua stem bark(FRVSB), and its adipogenesis effect were investigated. The proximate composition(%) of FRVSB was as follows: moisture(7.64), ash(6.30), crude fat(3.86), crude protein(3.59) and sugar(not detected); while Rhus verniciflua stem bark(RVSB) contained 1.64, 8.09, 7.28, 6.48 and 5.39, respectively. The total free amino acids concentration was 97.41 mg% in FRVSB and 71.91 mg% in RVSB. Phosphoserine(55.06 mg%), ammonia(17.84mg%) and aspartic acid(6.05mg%) were predominant amino acids. The content of total phenolic acids was 422.89 ppm in ethanol extract and 283.86 ppm in water extract, with syringic and gallic acid as the main component. The FRVSB extracts showed a potent free radical scavenging activity for DPPH(2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate) with $IC_{50}$ of $28.54\;{\mu}g$(EtOH) and $54.70\;{\mu}g$(water), respectively, whereas $IC_{50}$ value of gallic acid was $1.84\;{\mu}g$. The protective effect of both ethanol and water extract the extracts against UV-induced oxidative stress in NIH3T3 was observed. The water extracts of FRVSB may promote adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells.