• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.190-198
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• 2006

Radiation use efficiency (RUE), the amount of biomass produced per unit intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), constitutes a main part of crop growth simulation models. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the variation of RUE of rice plants under various nitrogen nutritive conditions. from 1998 to 2000, shoot dry weight (DW), intercepted PAR of rice canopies, and nitrogen nutritive status were measured in various nitrogen fertilization regimes using japonica and Tongil-type varieties. These data were used for estimating the average RUEs before heading and the relationship between RUE and the nitrogen nutritive status. The canopy extinction coefficient (K) increased with the growth of rice until maximum tillering stage and maintained constant at about 0.4 from maximum tillering to heading stage, rapidly increasing again after heading stage. The DW growth revealed significant linear correlation with the cumulative PAR interception of the canopy, enabling the estimation of the average RUE before heading with the slopes of the regression lines. Average RUE tended to increase with the increased level of nitrogen fertilization. RUE increased approaching maximum as the nitrogen nutrition index (NNI) calculated by the ratio of actual shoot N concentration to the critical N concentration for the maximum growth at any growth stage and the specific leaf nitrogen $(SLN;\;g/m^2\;leaf\;area)$ increased. This relationship between RUE (g/MJ of PAR) and N nutritive status was expressed well by the following exponential functions: $$RUE=3.13\{1-exp(-4.33NNNI+1.26)\}$$ $$RUE=3.17\{1-exp(-1.33SLN+0.04)\}$$ The above equations explained, respectively, about 80% and 75% of the average RUE variation due to varying nitrogen nutritive status of rice plants. However, these equations would have some limitations if incorporated as a component model to simulate the rice growth as they are based on relationships averaged over the entire growth period before heading.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.96-105
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• 2002

To investigate expression of the artificial gene encoding a repeated tripeptide lysyl-glutamyl-tryptophan in tobacco plant, the plant binary vector, pART404 has been constructed, which contains the duplicated CaMV 35S promoter, an artificial gene coding for repetitive polymer (Lys-Glu-Trp)$_{64}$, and nopaline synthase (nos) terminator. The recombinant expression vector was introduced in Nicotiana tabacum (var. Xanthi) via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated trans-formation. The transgenic calli selected by kanamycin containing medium were then regenerated to whole plants. Southern blot analysis indicated that five transgenic plants (No. 1, 7, 9, 43, 45) showed the hybridizing signals at 1.1 kb of the expected size on EcoRI digestion and each of the transgenic plants contained 1 or 3 copies of the artificial gene inserted into its genome. By northern blot analysis, the size of the hybridized total RNA was estimated to be approximately 1.2 kb and the RNA appeared generally to have the integrity. Western blot indicated that the protein was detected at the position of 33 kDa and the expression level of the polypeptide in the transgenic plant (No. 45) was measured to approximately 0.1% of the total protein.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.135-153
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• 2015

The aromatic amino acids, which are composed of $\small{L}$-phenylalanine, $\small{L}$-tyrosine and $\small{L}$-tryptophan, are general components of protein synthesis as well as precursors for a wide range of secondary metabolites. These aromatic amino acids-derived compounds play important roles as ingredients of diverse phenolics including pigments and cell walls, and hormones like auxin and salicylic acid in plants. Moreover, they also serve as the natural products of alkaloids and glucosinolates, which have a high potential to promote human health and nutrition. The biosynthetic pathways of aromatic amino acids share a chorismate, the common intermediate, which is originated from shikimate pathway. Then, tryptophan is synthesized via anthranilate and the other phenylalanine and tyrosine are synthesized via prephenate, as intermediates. This review reports recent studies about all the enzymatic steps involved in aromatic amino acid biosynthetic pathways and their gene regulation on transcriptional/post-transcriptional levels. Furthermore, results of metabolic engineering are introduced as efforts to improve the production of the aromatic amino acids-derived secondary metabolites in plants.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.387-392
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• 1995

To study the regulatory expression mechanism of soybean glycinin gone, Gy2, the 5' upstream region of the gene was searched for the presence of putative regulatory elements by nucleotide sequencing. It revealed various kinds of regulatory sequence elements commonly found in plant storage protein genes. There were canonical promoter sequences, TATA box (TATAAT) and AGGA box (GAAT) which are common in the 5' upstream region of the plant genes. The embryo factor binding sequence, RY repeat, CACA sequences, ${\alpha}$-conglycinin enhancer-like sequences were also found. To delineate the function of these sequences, 5' upstream deletion mutants of Gy2 were prepared and fused to the ${\alpha}$-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. Each chimeric construct was transferred into soybean protoplasts for transient assay, which led to the identification of the sequences between -281 and -223, -170 and -122, of Gy2 promoter as negative regulatory elements, and the sequences between -223 and -170, -122 and -16 as positive regulatory elements. These results are consistent in transformed tobacco plants as well. The serially deleted promoter fragments fused to the GUS were transformed into Nicotiana tabacum by Agrobacterium tumefaciens using the binary vector system. GUS activity of Gy2 promoter deletion constructs was detected only in seeds but not in leaves with different levels of expression as in transient assay. These results suggest that the glycinin Gy2 promoter drives a tissue-specific expression in transgenic tobacco plants.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.643-649
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• 2013

In this study, we examined the antioxidative activities of ethanol extracts obtained from three plants; Lithospermum erythrorhizon Siebold & Zucc., Xanthium strumarium Linn, and Lonicera japonica, which have traditionally been used as drugs in Eastern medicine in Korea. Their extraction yields were 7.01%, 2.92%, and 7.95% in Lithospermum erythrorhizon Siebold & Zucc., Xanthium strumarium L, and Lonicera japonica, respectively. The contents of the phenolic compounds were $4.3{\pm}0.1{\mu}g/ml$, $5.4{\pm}0.1{\mu}g/ml$, and $4.6{\pm}0.1{\mu}g/ml$ in Lithospermum erythrorhizon Siebold & Zucc., and Xanthium strumarium L, respectively. Furthermore, the radical scavenging activity measured through the DPPH assay appeared highest in the Lonicera japonica's extract, and its $EC_{50}$ was 0.24 mg/ml. Compared to the control, the xanthine oxidase inhibiting activities of all extracts were effective at 0.01 mg/ml concentration. Superoxide radical scavenging activity in Lithospermum erythrorhizon Siebold & Zucc. and Lonicera japonica was more than 80%, with a concentration of 50 mg/ml. OH radical scavenging activity was 40% in the three plants, with a concentration of 50 mg/ml scavenging activity. From our results, we demonstrated that the ethanol extracts of three medicinal plants have antioxidant activities and could be potential candidates for natural antioxidants.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2002

Three species of Chenopodiaceae, i.e. Suaeda japonica, Salicomia herbacea, Beta vulgaris var. cicla, were investigated to compare the physiological characteristics through inoic balances and osmoregulations under different environmental salt gradients. Plats were harvested in two weeks from treatments with salt gradients (0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mM NaCl) and mineral nutrition gradients(1/1, 1/5, 1/10 dilutions of Hoagland solution). Plants were analyzed for growth responses, ionic balances, osmolalities, conductivities, glycinebetaine and proline contents quantitatively. Three plants of Chenopodiaceae accumulated slats into tissues unlike some salt sensitive species, and showed unique adaptation patterns to overcome saline environments, i.e. strong growth stimulation for Salicomia herbacea, growth negative tolerance for Suaeda japonica, and growth positive tolerance for Beta vulgaris var. cicla. The absorption of inorganic Ca/sup 2+/ ions was inhibited remarkably due to the excess uptake of Na+ with increasing salinity. The K+ content in plants was significantly reduced with increasing salinity. Total nitrogen content was reduced as mineral nutritions and salinity increased. Conductivity and osmolality increased with increasing salinity regardless of mineral nutritions. The ranges of glycinebetaine and proline contents were 0.2∼2.5 μM/g plant water and 0.1∼0.6μM/g plant water, respectively.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.405-412
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• 2005

A vanilloid receptor (VR1, now known as TRPV1) is an ion channel activated by vanilloids, including capsaicin (CAP) and resiniferatoxin (RTX), which are pungent ingredients of plants. Putative endogenous activators (anandamide and metabolites of arachidonic acid) are weak activators of VR1 compared to capsaicin and RTX, and the concentrations of the physiological condition of those activators are not sufficient to induce significant activation of VR1. One way to overcome the weak activation of endogenous activators would be the sensitization of VR1, with the phosphorylation of the channel being one possibility. The phosphorylation of VR1 by several kinases has been reported, mostly by indirect evidence. Here, using an in vivo phosphorylation method, the VR1 channel was shown to be sensitized by phosphorylation of the channel itself by multiple pathways involving PKA, PKC and acid. Also, in sensitizing VR1, BK appeared to show activation of PKC for the sensitization of VR1 by phosphorylation of the channel.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.253-259
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• 2012

In this work, the natural indigo production process from Polygonum tinctorium was balanced based on the traditional Niram method in Korea. A standard procedure was determined considering the conditions of indican extraction from plant material, the amount of alkali for precipitation, storage of extract, etc. The effect of experimental conditions on the yield of crude dye was investigated. The contents of indigo and indirubin of the crude dyes were analyzed by HPLC. Increase of the amount of crude dye was observed within 1-2.5 days of extraction time. Longer extraction beyond 2.5 days resulted in a slight decrease in the amount of crude dye. There was no consistency in terms of indigo content depending on extraction pH. We found that the storage of extract or harvested plants affected adversely to dye yield and dye quality. Based on the lab scale extraction, large scale extraction was performed for 2-2.5 days in water and 2.0-2.5 g/L of $Ca(OH)_2$ was applied for precipitation of indigo dye. We obtained natural indigo dye containing about 15% of pure indigo in scale-up production using whole plant except root.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.227-232
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• 2018

Simultaneous determination of three methoxyflavones, namely, cirsimarin (1), hispidulin (2), and cirsimaritin (3) in selected Korean thistles was performed via reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography system. Compound 1 was present in all the thistle species examined, whereas 2 and 3 were only detected in Cirsium japonicum and C. japonicum var. maackii (CJM). The concentration of compounds 1-3 in CJM varied according to the time of harvest. Plants collected in the spring (CJMS) and fall (CJMF) had the highest contents of 3 and 1, respectively. A lower content of 2 was observed in CJMF than in CJMS. This indicates that seasonal variation affects the flavonoid content of CJM. The results of this study show that CJM is an excellent source of compounds 1-3 and it can potentially be cultivated for industrial and pharmaceutical applications involving these compounds.

• Journal of Menopausal Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.156-159
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• 2017

Some species of traditional herbal medicine has a history of use, most traditional natural herbs have been used for various diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Among them, Passiflora incarnata L. is a traditional natural medicine, flowers as well as berries, roots, and leaves have been used as a medicine. It has been used as a natural medicine for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety for a longtime in Europe, and it has been used primarily for sedation tea in North America. Moreover, Passiflora incarnata L. is widely used anti-asthmatic, analgesic and sedation in Brazil. In other words, Passiflora incarnata L. has been used to treat a sedative, dysmenorrhea, insomnia, cancer, etc. in many countries. Present review of the plants showed a wide range of pharmacological activity in anxiolytic relax the clinical disease, such as anti-inflammatory, anxiety and antioxidant. In addition, Passiflora incarnata L. affects menopause symptoms such as vasomotor symptoms, insomnia, and depression. This review aims to provide the latest information on specific functional components of Passiflora incarnata L. especially the results of clinical trials will provide new insights into opportunities for the future development of natural medicines and doors will be used for purposes of analysis.