• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.95-100
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• 2000

In order to find out hypoglycemic constituents from natural resources, Korean medicinal plants being used for the treatments of diabetes mellitus were tested with streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. From the above screening, the $CH_2Cl_2$ fraction of 80% methanol extracts of Morus alba leaves showed hypoglycemic activity. The $CH_2Cl_2$fraction was chromatographed on silica gel, resulting in 9 subfractions, and tested hypoglycemic activity. The subfraction which had a strong hypoglycemic activity was rechromatographed and two galactolipids (compounds 1 and 2) were isolated along with a triterpene (compound 3) from other fractions. On the basis of spectroscopic data, acid hydrolysis, alkaline hydrolysis and enzyme hydrolysis results, compounds 1, 2 and 3 were identified as $1-O-(9Z,12Z,15Z-octatrienoyl)-2-O-(9Z,12Z,15Z-octatrienoyl)-3-O-{\beta}-D-galactopyranosyl$ glycerol, $2(R)-1-O-octadecanoyl-2-O-(9Z,12Z,15Z-octatrienoyl)-3-O-{\beta}-D-galactopyranosyl$ glycerol, and $3{\beta}-hydroxylup-20(29)-ene$ acetate, respectively. Compound 2 (1mg/kg p.o.) has approximately 16% hypoglycemic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.243-250
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• 2009

To develop a new natural whitening agent for cosmetics, we investigated the inhibitory effects of Poria cocos Bark extracts (PCBE) and its active compound on melanogenesis. PCBE showed ROS scavenging activities in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and xanthine/xanthine oxidase system with the $IC_{50}$ values of $19.4{\pm}2.21{\mu}g$/mL and $IC_{50}=103{\pm}3.33{\mu}g$/mL, respectively. PCBE reduced intracellular tyrosinase activity about 34 % at concentration of $50{\mu}g$/mL. And PCBE reduced melanin contents of B16 melanoma cells about 51 % at concentration of $50{\mu}g$/mL without cell cytotoxicity (below $100{\mu}g$/mL). We purified one active compound from PCBE and identified its structure. It was identified as 3-$\beta$-hydroxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-4-oic acid, triterpene family, by $^1H$-NMR, $^{13}C$-NMR and Mass analysis. 3-$\beta$-hydroxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-4-oic acid showed ROS scavenging activities in DPPH radical and xanthine/xanthine oxidase system with the $IC_{50}$ values of $4.3{\pm}0.15{\mu}g$/mL and $54{\pm}1.67{\mu}g$/mL, respectively. Also, it was shown that 3-$\beta$-hydroxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-4-oic acid reduced intracellular tyrosinase activity about 43 % at concentration of $10{\mu}g$/mL. And it inhibited melanin synthesis in a dose dependent manner ($IC_{50}=3.6{\mu}g$/mL) without cell cytotoxicity (below $100{\mu}g$/mL). 3-$\beta$-hydroxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-4-oic acid inhibited tyrosinase, TRP-1 and TRP-2 expression at protein level. These results suggest that PCBE and 3-$\beta$-hydroxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-4-oic acid reduced melanin formation by the inhibition of tyrosinase activity and expression in B16 melanoma cells. Therefore, we suggest that PCBE could be used as a useful whitening agent.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.733-737
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• 2018

Cucurbitacin-I, a natural triterpenoid derived from Cucurbitaceae family plants, exhibits a number of potentially useful pharmacological and biological activities. Indeed, the previous study demonstrated that cucurbitacin-I reduced the proliferation of colon cancer cells by enhancing apoptosis and causing cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. CD44, a type I transmembrane protein with the function of adhering to cells, mediates between the extracellular matrix and other cells through hyaluronic acid. Recent studies have demonstrated that an overexpression of the CD44 membrane receptor results in tumor initiation and growth, specific behaviors of cancer stem cells, the development of drug resistance, and metastasis. The aim was to examine the effect of cucurbitacin-I on CD44 expression human ovarian cancer cells because the effect of cucurbitacin-I on CD44 expression has not been reported. The expressions of CD44 mRNA and protein were detected using a quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and a Western blot analysis, respectively. Treatment with cucurbitacin-I inhibited the expression of CD44 mRNA and protein. A subsequent analysis revealed that cucurbitacin-I blocked the phosphorylation of activator protein-1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor kappa-B ($NF-{\kappa}B$), which are key regulators of CD44 expression. Taken together, the data demonstrate that cucurbitacin-I regulates the AP-1 and $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling pathways, leading to decreased CD44 expression.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.625-635
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• 2007

The enzyme squalene synthase (EC 2.5.1.21) catalyzes a reductive dimerization of two farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) molecules into squalene, a key precursor for the sterol and triterpene biosynthesis. A full-length cDNA encoding squalene synthase (designated as TcSqS) was isolated from Taxus cuspidata, a kind of important medicinal plants producing potent anti-cancer drug, taxol. The full-length cDNA of TcSqS was 1765 bp and contained a 1230 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 409 amino acids. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the deduced TcSqS protein had high similarity with other plant squalene synthases and a predicted crystal structure similar to other class I isoprenoid biosynthetic enzymes. Southern blot analysis revealed that there was one copy of TcSqS gene in the genome of T. cuspidata. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis and northern blotting analysis showed that TcSqS expressed constitutively in all tested tissues, with the highest expression in roots. The promoter region of TcSqS was also isolated by genomic walking and analysis showed that several cis-acting elements were present in the promoter region. The results of treatment experiments by different signaling components including methyl-jasmonate, salicylic acid and gibberellin revealed that the TcSqS expression level of treated cells had a prominent diversity to that of control, which was consistent with the prediction results of TcSqS promoter region in the PlantCARE database.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.98-104
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: ${\gamma}$-Oryzanol, a mixture of ferulic acid esters of triterpene alcohols and sterols, are a nutritionally important group of rice secondary metabolites. The ${\gamma}$-Oryzanol content and composition were found to vary with enviromental factors such as growth temperature, varietal origin, and cultivation method. Therefore, the effect of green manure treatments will be also be an important factor in their content. METHODS AND RESULTS: The ${\gamma}$-Oryzanols extracted using dichloromethane/methanol were analyzed equipped liquid chromatography with a diode array detector. A total of ten components of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol including ${\Delta}7$-stigmastenyl ferulate were isolated of which, cycloartenyl ferulate, 24-methylenecycloartanyl ferulate, campesteryl ferulate and sitosteryl ferulate were identified as the major components in Korean rice variety, Unkwang. The ${\gamma}$-oryzanol content in rice, in the presence of nitrogen fertilization using green manure was similar to conventional nitrogen fertilization, but was higher than the control(no fertilizations). The ${\gamma}$-oryzanol ontent in rice, in the presence of hairy vetch as green manure crop was the highest compared to other crops (opium-poppy, crimson clover, cornflower). As a result of PLS-DA using SIMCA 11.0 ver. as multivariate analysis program on the basis of total data, in all samples, the specific pattern and cluster of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol scores according to green manure crops and conditions were confirmed with possible distinguishing nitrogen effects. CONCLUSION: The nitrogen contained in the green manure crops is considered to play a major role in the formation of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol. Hairy vetch which contains higher nitrogen increased the concentration of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol in rice.