• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.27-31
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• 2005

Objectives : The anticancer response of three different types of water extracts of Zingiberaceae Curcuma longa L. tested for sarcoma 180. Only few studies carried out to investigate the effects of other contents of Curcuma longa L. in anticancer activities, therefore, in this study we have investigated the effects of other component then curcumin in Curcuma longa L. for anticancer a activities. Methods : Three different types of water extracts of Curcuma longa L. were prepared as follows. The sarcoma cells (S180) were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) and were seeded on 24-well cell culture cluster flat bottom with lid tissue culture treated non-pyrogenic polystyrene. The growth of sarcoma 180 was monitored for 1, 2 and 5 days. The sarcoma cells were pictured using inverted microscope and cell density was counted using hemocytometry. Results : After 5 days in the culture medium the results showed high growth of sarcoma 180 for control condition and the surface of CCP plates were fully covered with the cells. In case of medium in which the 10% of filtered water extract of Curcuma longa L. was added a very limited growth of sarcoma 180 was observed. The results were showed only small difference in cell density for two different concentrations of unfiltered water extracts of Curcuma longa L. whereasin case of filtered water extracts the control of sarcoma growth shows better result. Conclusion : The filtered water extracts showed the best result relatively to the unfiltered water extracts for two different concentrations. This indicates that the water extracts of Curcuma longa L. can have anticancer activities possibly without curcumin.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.666-674
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• 2016

The bacterial strains were screened as potential starters for fermenting low-salt doenjang (a Korean traditional fermented soybean paste) using Korean doenjang based on proteolytic and antipathogenic activities under 6.5-7.5% NaCl conditions. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that they all belonged to the genus Bacillus. Proteolytic and antipathogenic activities against Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Aspergillus flavus, as well as fibrinolytic, amylase, and cellulase activities of the 10 strains were quantitatively evaluated. Of these, strains D2-2, JJ-D34, and D12-5 were selected, based on their activities. The functional, phenotypic, and safety-related characteristics of these three strains were additionally investigated and strains D2-2 and D12-5, which lacked antibiotic resistance, were finally selected. Strains D2-2 and D12-5 produced poly-γ-glutamic acid and showed various enzyme activities, including α-glucosidase and β-glucosidase. Growth properties of strains D2-2 and D12-5 included wide temperature and pH ranges, growth in up to 16% NaCl, and weak anaerobic growth, suggesting that they facilitate low-salt doenjang fermentation. Strains D2-2 and D12-5 were not hemolytic, carried no toxin genes, and did not produce biogenic amines. These results suggest that strains D2-2 and D12-5 can serve as appropriate starter cultures for fermenting low-salt doenjang with high quality and safety.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.1242-1248
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• 2017

Several medicinal plants are ethnomedically used in Korea as agents for treating infection, anti-inflammation, and pain relief. However, beyond typical inhibitory effects on cell growth, little is known about the potential anti-biofilm activity of these herbs, which may help to prevent cavities and maintain good oral health. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities of the methanol extracts of 37 Korean medicinal plants against dental pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans, which synergize their virulence so as to induce the formation of plaque biofilms in the oral cavity. The antimicrobial activities were investigated by broth dilution and disk diffusion assay. The anti-biofilm and antioxidant activities were evaluated based on the inhibitory effect against glucosyltransferase (GTase) and the DPPH assay, respectively. Among 37 herbs, eight plant extracts presented growth and biofilm inhibitory activities against both etiologic bacteria. Among them, the methanol extracts (1.0 mg/ml) from Camellia japonica and Thuja orientalis significantly inhibited the growth of both bacteria by over 76% and over 83% in liquid media, respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of these methanol extracts were determined to be 0.5 mg/ml using a disk diffusion assay on solid agar media. Biofilm formation was inhibited by more than 92.4% and 98.0%, respectively, using the same concentration of each extract. The present results demonstrate that the medicinal plants C. japonica and T. orientalis are potentially useful as antimicrobial and anti-biofilm agents in preventing dental diseases.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.464-478
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• 2004

This study investigated the effects of mothers' nutritional attitudes and knowledge on their children's obesity inducing factors： eating habits, food preferences, food frequencies, and physical activities. The subjects were 774 mothers and their elementary school children (774) in Busan. About thirty percent of the children had a tendency toward obesity as a result of their eating habits, food preferences, food frequencies, and physical activities, but their mothers' nutritional attitudes and knowledge had little affect on their children's obesity inducing factors. Though the children were interested in their body weight changes, they chose not to practice appropriate eating habits. Thus, education about good eating habits and appropriate physical activities should be promoted for children's health and growth. Because the mothers' nutritional attitudes and knowledge had little affect on their children in this study, nutrition education in school needs to be enhanced. However, because mothers play many roles in their children's habit and health, they also need to be educated in order that their nutritional attitudes and knowledge help their children's health and growth directly. And school and home should be more closely connected.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.259-264
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• 2004

The present study describes the ameliorating effect of $Ca^{++}\;on\;Cd^{++}$ toxicity on the germination, early growth of mungbean seedlings, nitrogen assimilation enzyme. s-nitrate reductase (NR), nitrite reductase (NIR), anti-oxidant enzymes (POD, CAT and SOD) and on the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and sulphydryls. $Cd^{++}$ inhibited seed germination and root and shoot length of seedlings. While NR activity was down- regulated, the activities of NIR, POD and SOD were up- regulated with $Cd^{++}$ treatment. $Cd^{++}$ treatment also increased the accumulation of sulphydryls and peroxides, which is reflective of increased thiol rich proteins and oxidative stress. $Ca^{++}$ reversed the toxic effects of $Cd^{++}$ on germination and on early growth of seedlings as well as on the enzyme activities, which were in turn differentially inhibited with a combined treatment with calcium specific chelator EGTA. The results indicate that the external application of $Ca^{++}$ may increase the tolerance capacity of plants to environmental pollutants by both up and down regulating metabolic activities. Abbreviations: $Cd^{++}= cadmium,\;Ca^{++} = calcium$, NR= nitrate reductase, NIR=nitrite reductase, POD = peroxidse, SOD= superoxide dismutase, CAT= catalase, EGTA= ethylene glycol-bis( $\beta-aminoethyl ether$)-N,N,N,N-tetraacetic acid.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2010

Atmospheric $CO_2$ concentrations have increased exponentially over the last century and, if continued, are expected to have significant effects on plants and soil. In this study, we investigated the effects of elevated $CO_2$ on the growth of Pinus densiflora seedling and microbial activity in soil. Three-year-old pine seedlings were exposed to ambient as well as elevated levels of $CO_2$ (380 and 760 ppmv, respectively). Growth rates and C:N ratios of the pine seedlings were also determined. Dissolved organic carbon content, phenolic compound content, and microbial activity were measured in bulk soil and rhizosphere soil. The results show that elevated $CO_2$ significantly increased the root dry weight of pine seedling. In addition, overall N content decreased, which increased the C:N ratio in pine needles. Elevated $CO_2$ decreased soil moisture, nitrate concentration, and the concentration of soil phenolic compounds. In contrast, soil enzymatic activities were increased in rhizosphere soil, including ${\beta}$-glucosidase, N-acetylglucosaminidase and phosphatase enzyme activities. In conclusion, elevated $CO_2$ concentrations caused distinct changes in soil chemistry and microbiology.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.2036-2042
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• 2016

We evaluated the potentials of 10 isothiocyanates (ITCs) from cruciferous vegetables and radish root hydrolysate for inhibiting the growth of oral pathogens, with an emphasis on assessing any structure-function relationship. Structural differences in ITCs impacted their antimicrobial activities against oral pathogens differently. The indolyl ITC (indol-3-carbinol) was the most potent inhibitor of the growth of oral pathogens, followed by aromatic ITCs (benzyl ITC (BITC) and phenylethyl ITC (PEITC)) and aliphatic ITCs (erucin, iberin, and sulforaphene). Sulforaphene, which is similar in structure, but has one double bond, showed higher antimicrobial activity than sulforaphane. Erucin, which has a thiol group, showed higher antimicrobial activity than sulforaphane, which has a sulfinyl group. BITC and iberin with a short chain exhibited higher antimicrobial potential than PEITC and sulforaphane with a longer chain, respectively. ITCs have strong antimicrobial activities and may be useful in the prevention and management of dental caries.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.286-292
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• 2009

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of plant growth at several different growing periods on antioxidant activities and zeatin and ABA contents of Artemisia iwayomogi. Measurements of antioxidant activities, lipid peroxidation inhibition, and superoxide radical scavenging activity were done using PMS, NBT and lipid auto-oxidation analysis, respectively. The results show that activities of antioxidants from Artemisia iwayomogi had much higher than BHT. DPPH free radical scavenging effect of Artemisia leaf extract was increased from $71.06{\pm}4.36%$ in April to $90.06{\pm}4.41%$ in October. Activities of superoxide radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition were $33.83{\pm}3.45%$ and $45.60{\pm}3.10$ in April and then increased to $84.40{\pm}4.00%$ and $75.86{\pm}3.50%$ in October, respectively. An ELISA technique has been developed for the determination of zeatin and ABA in Artemisia leaves. By this method, the content changes of zeatin and ABA from Artemisia during the growth were investigated. The zeatin content in leaf was measured to be $186.86{\pm}1.40$ pmol/g dry weight in April, however, decreased to $117.93{\pm}5.83$ pmol in October. The ABA content in leaf increased from $19.00{\pm}1.26$ nmol in April to $68.20{\pm}2.52$ nmol in October. Relationship between antioxidant activities and plant hormone contents was indicated that antioxidant activity may depend on decreasing zeatin content or increasing ABA content.

• Korean small business review
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.89-107
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• 2017

This study investigates the effect of risk avoiding activities and characteristic of venture capital on the financial performance of invested companies. Based on the review on the literature, we present staged financing, syndicated investment and preferred stock investment as the measurements for risk avoiding activities. Types and age of venture capital were chosen as the variables for characteristic. The financial performance data of the invested companies was derived from their publicly announced yearly financial report. Data were analysed using logistic regression technique. The result show that syndicated investment and independent venture capital have positive influence on the growth of sales revenue and asset of the invested companies. Age of venture capital appears to be positively associated with growth of sales revenue. Staged financing and preferred stock investment, however, have no impact on any financial growth and profitability. Activities and characteristic of venture capital show no influence on the profitability.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.54-58
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• 1997

The cytotoxic activities of methanolic extract and its fractions of Ailanthi Cortex Radicis and column chromatographic eluates of its dichloromethane fraction (DCM fr.) were investigated. DCM fr. Showed the strongest cytotoxicity against hepatoma cells. Furthermore, the active equates 1-3, 8 and 9 were obtained. Effects on free radical generation and the growth of vascular endothelial cells were tested to elucidate the action mechanism of anticancer activity. Eluates 1-3 stimulated free radical generation, while eluates 8 and 9 showed no changes. Especially, eluates 8 and 9 efffectively inhibited the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells in a dose- dependant manner. It is speculated that the anticancer effects of eluates 1-3, 8 and 9 might be due to free radical generation and inhibition of endothelial cell growth, respectively.