• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.23 no.1 s.72
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• pp.61-70
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• 1995

The genus Armillaria is important because they produce Gastrodia tubers. Seventy two isolates of Armillaria were obtained from fruit bodies grown on decayed wood in Korea. Twenty four isolates from Pinus koraiensis were identified as A. ostoyae. Two isolates from G. elata growing in the field were identified as A. mellea. Seven isolates from Acer ginnala and Quercus spp. were identified as A. tabescens. Thirty nine isolates were identified as A. gallica. Armillaria gallica was isolated from Quercus spp., Ainus japonica, Vitis amurensis and Prunus sargentii. Armillaria spp. isolates were divided into four groups based on the cultural characteristics. Group II (A. gallica KNU-A110) was better than the other groups for mycelial growth and rhizomorph formation. Isolate KNU-A110 proved to be good for production of G. elata tubers. This fungus forms mycelial fan in the plant tissue and rhizomorphs in contact with G. elata tubers. Gastrodia spp. was found in thirteen sites in Kangweon province in Korea. The plants were divided into three different kinds based on stem color. Plants with stems of brownish orange and greyish yellow were identified as G. elata, and those with greyish green colored stems were identified as G. gracilis. Gastrodia was collected mainly from humus soils rich in leaf debris, and slopes facing south from mid-May to mid-July. Once the new tubers are formed from the ancestry tuber, the ancestry tuber begins to decay. The offspring tuber, apparently gaining nutrients through rhizomorphs, begins to grow in length and slowly to enlarge. It takes three years for the offspring tuber to become ancestry tuber.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1227-1234
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• 2019

Prunus mume, also known as maesil, is a popular fruit consumed in East Asia (Korea, Japan, and China). It contains high amounts of organic acids, minerals, and polyphenols and has been used as a medication for fever, vomiting, and detoxification. In this study, the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of solvent fractions from maesil were evaluated using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assays, morphological evaluations, Hoechst 33258 staining, and western blotting. Addition of the maesil methanol fraction (MMF) and the maesil butanol fraction (MBF) significantly and dose-dependently decreased the cell viability of HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Colony-forming assays confirmed that the MMF and MBF treatments decreased colony numbers when compared with untreated control cells. Treatment of HT-29 cells with MMF and MBF caused a distortion of the cell morphology to a shrunken cell mass. Treatment with MMF and MBF also dose-dependently increased nuclear condensation and the formation of apoptotic bodies in HT-29 cells. Treatment with MMF and MBF significantly and dosedependently increased the expression of Bax (a pro-apoptotic protein), caspase-3, and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and decreased the expression of Bcl-2 (an anti-apoptotic protein). MMF significantly and dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation induced by bisphenol A, an environmental hormone. Therefore, MMF may have potential use as a functional food and as a possible therapeutic agent for the prevention of colon cancer.