• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.348-356
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• 2011

Liriope platyphylla is a medical herb that has long been used in Korea and China to treat cough, sputum, neurodigenerative disorders, obesity and diabetes. The aims of this study were to study the antidiabetic effects of the aqueous extract of L. platyphylla (AEtLP) through pancreatic and extrapancreatic actions. AEtLP were orally administrated to ICR mice once a day for 7 days. Of three different concentrations of AEtLP, only 10% AEtLP were low toxic to liver, based on body weight and serum biochemical analyses. However, 10% AEtLP-treated mice displayed signifi cant reduction of the glucose concentration and increased insulin concentration; no changes were noted using 5% and 15% AEtLP. Also, the increase of glucose transporter (Glut)-1 expression in liver was dependent on the concentration of AEtLP, and was regulated by the phosphorylation of Akt. The lowest expression of Glut-3 was observed in 15% AEtLP treated mice, followed by 10% AEtLP- and 5% AEtLP-treated mice. This pattern of Glut-3 expression was roughly in accord with the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-teminal kinase (JNK) in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Furthermore, a signifi cant rise of the superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) was detected in AEtLP-treated mice. The fi ndings suggest that AEtLP should be considered as a diabetes therapeutic candidate to induce insulin secretion from pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells and glucose uptake in liver cells.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.270-277
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• 2021

Veronica rotunda var. subintegra (Nakai) T. Yamaz. is perennial herb belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae, native to Korea. Plant growth regulators, cutting mediums, cutting position, and leaf size were examined to investigate the requirements for cutting propagation of V. rotunda var. subintegra. This study was conducted over a period of 6 weeks from March to May 2017 in the Division of Plant Resources, Korea National Arboretum. For all treatments, survival and rooting percentage was 100%. In PGRs experiment, the number of roots and shoot length treated with 100 mg/L IBA treatment was significantly higher than that of NAA treatment. The shooting percentage was decreased with an increase of the PGRs concentration. In growing substrates experiment, the number of roots on commercial soil (61.2) was the highest, followed commercial + kanuma soil (45.7), and the lowest was kanuma soil (41.8). The shoot length treated with commercial soil (8.9 cm) was significantly greater than that of kanuma soil (4.1 cm). In cutting positions experiment, the number of roots treated with apical (56.6) was significantly higher than that of basal (38.8). In leaf-cut experiment, the number of roots and of shoot length treated with full leaf was significantly higher than that of half leaf. As a result, we recommend treating cuttings with 100 mg/L IBA treatment, commercial soil, apical position, and full leaf for successful cutting propagation of V. rotunda var. subintegra.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.87 no.3
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• pp.445-458
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• 1998

The present study focused on the vegetation structure and dynamics of Betula davurica forest were to provide the information for management, distribution and utilization of B. davurica forest in Mt. Chiri national park, southern Korea. The layer structure of B. davurica forest were consist of tree layer(18 species), middle layer(29 species), shrub layer(43 species) and herb layer(68 species). According to the importance value of stratification of layers, In tree layer, B. davurica dominant the highest value of 123.97%, Alnus hirsuta 49.04., Castanea crenata 25.58%, Quercus serrata 25.02%, Stewartia koreana 14.49%, in middle layer were B. davurica 70.81%, Q. serrata 37.74%, Fraxinus rhynchophylla 25.35% Lindera erythrocarpa 24.52%, S. koreana 18.86%, shrub layer were Sasa borealis 28.28%, L. erythrocarpa 24.94%, Rhus trichocarpa, 20.42%, Stephanandra incisa 19.90% and herb layer Schizandra chinensis 18.51%, Aster scaber 12.26%. Disporum smilacinum 10.63% etc, respectively. Results of chi-square test statistics based on presence-absence parameters, the positively associated species pair were Quercus variablis - Q. acutissima, Stewartia koreana - Symplocos paniculata, Acer pseudo-sieboldianum - Quercus mongolica. And covariation was calculated based on quantitative measure of density. The results showed that the association and covariation values among species not agreed with each other. The frequency distribution of DBH Betula davurica species showed reverse J-shaped, therefore it's seems to retrain as a dominant species. When predicting succession in Betula davurica forest, it is seedling and saplings were not richness, succession was governed by competition of hardwood species of subtree and tree layer.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.149-158
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• 2007

The objective of this study were to offer a basis data for application of management of forest resources through grasping of species composition by layer of forest vegetation in the Mt. Geumwon recreational forest. The tree and subtree layer consisted of 27 and 44 species in Mt. Geumwon recreational forest respectively. The importance value of Quercus mongolica (57.1) and Q. serrata (40.4) were highest in the tree layer and that of Acer pseudo-sieboldianum (43.4) was highest in the subtree layer, respectively. The shrub and herb layer was composed of 71 and 69 species, respectively. The value of species diversity ranged from 1.0391 to 1.5403. Evenness ranged from 0.7259 to 0.8320. Dominance was 0.2741 at tree layer, 0.2440 at subtree layer, 0.1680 at shrub layer, and 0.1702 at herb layer, which showed that Mt. Geumwon recreational forest is dominated by a large number of species at all layer. The result of forest vegetation in Mt. Geumwon recreational forest may be utilized as a basic data for application of reasonable ecological management of forest resources.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.625-631
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• 2003

The extracts from 40 different traditional medicinal herbs were used to investigate the antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli. Among them, the extracts from Paeonia suffruticosa (PS), Siegesbeckia orientalis (SO), Schizandra chinensis (SC), Caesalpinia sappan (CS) and Rhus javanica (RJ) exhibited high antimicrobial activities against E. coli, Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the RJ extract against E. coli were 0.8 mg/ml. After heating treatment of these extracts, the antimicrobial activities against E. coli were significantly reduced in case of the CS extract. After alkaline or acid treatment of these extracts, the antimicrobial activities against E. coli were significantly increased in the PS extract but reduced in both SO and RJ extract. Since extracts from RJ and CS exhibited the highest antimicrobial activities, bacterial growth-inhibiting activities against E. coli by these two extracts were further examined. Optical density at 620 nm after 24 hours incubation of E. coli in the presence of 100, 300 or 500 ppm of RJ extract ranged from 0.1 to 0.2 compared to 0.35~0.65 in the absence of RJ extract, indicating that growth of E. coli was significantly inhibited within 24 hours by the addition of at least 100 ppm of RJ extract. Optical density at 620 nm after 24 hours incubation of E. coli in the presence of 300 or 500 ppm of CS extract ranged from 0.01 to 0.25 compared to 0.5~0.55 in the absence of CS extract, indicating that growth of E. coli was also significantly inhibited within 24 hours by the addition of at least 300 ppm of CS extract. In conclusion, these findings suggest that extracts from RJ and CS may play important roles for antimicrobial activities against E. coli causing various animal diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.2 s.32
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• pp.296-302
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• 1996

Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride, a traditional herb medicine, has been used in Korea and China for many centuries as a treatment for respiratory disease. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride on histamine-induced tracheal smooth muscle contraction in rats. Guinea pigs(500g , female) were killed by $CO_2$ exposure and a segment (8-10mm) of the thoracic trachea from each guinea pig was cut into equal segments and mounted 'in pairs' in a tissue bath. Contractile force was measured with force displacement transducers under 0.5g loading tension. The dose of histamine which evoked 50% of maximal response $(ED_{50})$ was obtained from cumulative dose response curves for histamine $(10^{-7}-10^{-4}M)$. Contractions evoked by histamine ($ED_{50}$) were inhibited significantly by Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride. The mean percent inhibition was 53.7% (P<0.05) after 1.5mg／ml Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride, and 87.7% (P<0.01) after 5.0mg／ml Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride. Propranolol $(10^{-7}M)$ slightly but significantly attenuated the inhibitory effects of Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride. Following treatment with propranolol the mean present inhibition caused by 1.5 and 5.0mg／ml Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride. Indomethacin and methylene blue $(10^{-7}M)$ did not significantly alter the inhibitory effect of Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride These results indicate that Pericarpium Citri Nobilis Viride can relax histamine-induced contraction of guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle, and that this inhibition involves in part symphathetic nerve system.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.7-16
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• 2005

Objectives : Scrophulariae Radix (SRE) is commonly used in combination with other herbs as a nutrient and health strengthening agent, and to remove 'heat' and replenish vital essence. The water-based extract of this herb can lower blood pressure in both anesthetized and concious animals, and exhibits an anti-inflammatory activity. But, there is lack of studies regarding the effects of SRE on the immunological activities in molecular levels. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of SRE on the regulatory mechanism of cytokines and nitric oxide (NO) in Raw 264.7 cells. Method : After the treatment of Scrophulariae Radix methanol extract, cell viability was measured by MTT assay, NO production was monitored by measuring the nitrite content in culture medium. COX-2 and iNOS were determined by Immunoblot analysis, and levels of cytokine were analyzed by sandwich immunoassays. Results : Results provided evidence that SRE inhibited the production of nitrite and nitrate (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), $interleukin-1{\beta}\;(IL-1{\beta})$ and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the activation of phospholylation of inhibitor ${\kappa}B{\alpha}\;(p-I{\kappa}B{\alpha})$ in Raw 264.7 cells activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Conclusion : These findings suggest that Scrophulariae Radix can produce anti-inflammatory effect, which may playa role in adjunctive therapy in Gram-negative bacterial infections.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.297-304
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• 2015

The flower buds of Sophora japonica L (SF), as a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb, have been used to treat bleeding-related disorders such as hematochezia, hemorrhoidal bleeding, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and diarrhea. However, no specific anti-cancer effect and its molecular mechanism of SF have been described. Thus, we performed in vitro study to investigate if treatment of SF affects activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) expression and ATF3-mediated apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells. The effects of SF on cell viability and apoptosis were measured by MTT assay and Western blot analysis against cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). ATF3 activation induced by SF was evaluated using Western blot analysis, RT-PCR and ATF3 promoter assay. SF treatment caused decrease of cell viability and increase of apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Exposure of SF activated the levels of ATF3 protein and mRNA via transcriptional regulation in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2 by PD98059 and p38 by SB203580 attenuated SF-induced ATF3 expression and transcriptional activation. Ectopic ATF3 overexpression accelerated SF-induced cleavage of PARP. These findings suggest that SF-mediated apoptosis may be the result of ATF3 expression through ERK1/2 and p38-mediated transcriptional activation.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2013

The habitats characteristics of Rhododendron micranthum Turcz. were investigated to compile basic data for conservation and restoration. Natural habitats were located at altitudes of 100-500 m with inclinations of $10-35^{\circ}$. Rhododendron micranthum population was classified into Pinus densiflora dominant population. In the study sites, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphate, exchangeable potassium, exchangeable sodium, exchangeable calcium, exchangeable magnesium, cation exchange capacity and soil pH were 4.10-8.64%, 0.18-0.46%, 8.69-26.70 $mgkg^{-1}$, 0.10-0.23 $cmol^+kg^{-1}$, 0.06-0.10 $cmol^+kg^{-1}$, 0.85-4.10 $cmol^+kg^{-1}$, 0.24-0.64 $cmol^+kg^{-1}$, 12.76-20.90 $cmol^+kg^{-1}$, 4.34-5.15. Rooting rate is too low, cutting propagation, breeding methods are not good. Also, this study was investigated seed germination of R. micranthum depends on soaking treatment. R. micranthum was soaked with tap water for four days, the average values of germination day were represented of 70%/1 week.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.30.1-30.15
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• 2021

Background: New-generation adjuvants for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccines can improve the efficacy of existing vaccines. Chinese medicinal herb polysaccharide possesses better promoting effects. Objectives: In this study, the aqueous extract from Artemisia rupestris L. (AEAR), an immunoregulatory crude polysaccharide, was utilized as the adjuvant of inactivated FMDV vaccine to explore their immune regulation roles. Methods: The mice in each group were subcutaneously injected with different vaccine formulations containing inactivated FMDV antigen adjuvanted with three doses (low, medium, and high) of AEAR or AEAR with ISA-206 adjuvant for 2 times respectively in 1 and 14 days. The variations of antibody level, lymphocyte count, and cytokine secretion in 14 to 42 days after first vaccination were monitored. Then cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response and antibody duration were measured after the second vaccination. Results: AEAR significantly induced FMDV-specific antibody titers and lymphocyte activation. AEAR at a medium dose stimulated Th1/Th2-type response through interleukin-4 and interferon-γ secreted by CD4⁺ T cells. Effective T lymphocyte counts were significantly elevated by AEAR. Importantly, the efficient CTL response was remarkably provoked by AEAR. Furthermore, AEAR at a low dose and ISA-206 adjuvant also synergistically promoted immune responses more significantly in immunized mice than those injected with only ISA-206 adjuvant and the stable antibody duration without body weight loss was 6 months. Conclusions: These findings suggested that AEAR had potential utility as a polysaccharide adjuvant for FMDV vaccines.