• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.177.1-177.1
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• 2000

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2016

Opuntia humifusa (OHF) has been used as a nutraceutical source for the prevention of chronic diseases. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of ethyl acetate extracts of OHF on the proliferation of AGS human gastric cancer cells and the mode of action were investigated. To elucidate the antiproliferative mechanisms of OHF in cancer cells, the expression of genes related to apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were determined with real-time PCR and western blot. The cytotoxic effect of OHF on AGS cells was observed in a dose-dependent manner. Exposure to OHF ($100{\mu}g/mL$) significantly induced (P<0.05) the G1 phase cell cycle arrest. Additionally, the apoptotic cell population was greater (P<0.05) in OHF ($200{\mu}g/mL$) treated AGS cells when compared to the control. The expression of genes associated with cell cycle progression (Cdk4, Cdk2, and cyclin E) was significantly downregulated (P<0.05) by the OHF treatment. Moreover, the expression of Bax and caspase-3 in OHF treated cells was higher (P<0.05) than in the control. These findings suggest that OHF induces the G1 phase cell cycle arrest and activation of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis pathway in AGS human gastric cancer cells.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 2017

To increase the bioavailability of Opuntia humifusa, O. humifusa was fermented using L. plantarum, and the characteristics of the fermented extract were confirmed. The characteristics of fermented extracts were investigated through viscosity, total polyphenol content, amino acid, antibacterial activity, cytokine analysis and zymography. The viscosity decreased by half and vitamin C remained almost unchanged during fermentation. Total polyphenols, most amino acids, total amino acids and major minerals were increased by fermentation. There was no cytotoxicity, and the activity of cytokines and MMP-9 in inflammation was inhibited. The inhibitory effect on inflammation and tissue destruction was found to be inhibited in L. plantarum fermentation extracts compared to hot water extracts. These results are expected to be the basis for the development of materials that enhance the functionality of L. plantarum-fermented O. humifusa extract.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2008

Immune activities of Opuntia ficus indica L. Miller were investigated through aqueous extracts associated with ultrasonification process at $60^{\circ}C$, and showed the highest promotion of human B and T cell growth, up to 52% and 41%, respectively, compared to the control. The secretion of TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-60 was also enhanced by the addition $(0.5mg/m{\ell})$ of the extracts, up to 48%. NK cell activation was significantly improved up to 1.3 times higher than the case of adding other extracts. It was also found that extracts from O. ficus indica could yield higher nitric oxide production from macrophage than Lipopolysaccaharides (LPS). It can be concluded that, in general, the extracts treated with ultrasonification has higher Immune acitivities than others, possibly by higher yielding immune-modulatory than conventional extraction process. The optimum condition for the extraction of O. ficus-indicais water extraction associated with ultrasonification.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.485-491
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• 2009

In order to examine the nutritional value of prickly pear(Opuntia humifusa), contents of ash, protein, fat, minerals and vitamins were determined on freeze-dried stem, fruit, seed and root from plants harvested in autumn. The average moisture contents for stem, fruit, seed and root were 67~87%. Crude ash content determined on dry weight basis was 2~3%. Crude protein existed mostly in seed(2.95%) and root(2.37%). Crude fat was detected mainly in seed(4.49%). Contents of major minerals(mg/100 mg dry weight) was generally higher in stem. Ca in stem(4,142.30) and fruit(2,790.86) were much higher than in seed(43.37). P in stem, seed and fruit were 448.19, 263.20 and 161.59, respectively. Stem also displayed more abundant Mg(1,110.86), Zn(35.62) and Mn(37.07). However, fruit contained higher amounts of Fe(13.38) and Se(0.15). Vitamin A was negligible in all plant parts. Vitamin E contents in fruit and stem were 1.78 mg and 1.22 mg/mg dry weight, respectively. Vitamin C was detected mostly in fruit(445.40) and stem(260.94). Use of a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide-based microtiter assay of cell viability demonstrated an anti-proliferative effect of O. humifusa extract on the MCF-7 estrogen-dependent human breast cancer cell line.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1332-1340
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• 2017

In this study, we assessed antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-Alzheimer activities of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten (OFI) at harvest time. OFIs were cultivated December 2015~November 2016 in Jeju island. The 70% ethanol extracts of OFI were used to investigate total polyphenol and flavonoid contents, antioxidant(DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assay), anti-diabetic(yeast ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and rat ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition assay), and anti-Alzheimer(Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibition assay) activities. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of OFIs were $17.40{\sim}23.11{\mu}g$ garlic acid/mg Ex and 2.17~6.22 ug (+)-catechine/mg Ex, respectively. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity of OFIs were 131.98~184.90 mg ascorbic acid(AA) eq/100 g and 63.60~101.83 mg AA eq/100 g, respectively. In the anti-diabetic and anti-Alzheimer activities, 70% ethanol extracts of OFI exhibited moderate inhibition activity, compared to control (acarbose and beberine). Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-Alzheimer activities were no significant differences by season, respectively. Therefore, information on comparative biological evaluations of OFI may be a beneficial in exploring functional food and drug development.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.474-478
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• 2005

Antioxidative effects of several solvents extracts of cactus Cheonnyuncho (Opuntia humifusa) grown in Korea were investigated. Because 70% ethanol extract showed relatively high antioxidative activity and extraction yield, it was sequentially fractionated with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water, Ethyl acetate fraction showed highest scavenging activity against free radical DPPH. Antioxidative activity of ethyl acetate fraction determined based on acid and peroxide values under accelerated oxidation condition of lard was similar to that of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, but slightly lower than that of BHA. Similar results were observed using TBA method during peroxidation of linoleic acid.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.1132-1136
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• 2010

After Cheonnyuncho (Opuntia humifusa) was extracted by 70% ethanol and partitioned with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water in order, ethyl acetate fraction with excellent antioxidant activities was acquired. Ethyl acetate fraction was conducted by TLC, and the third spot of 10 spots was selected due to its best antioxidant activities. When the third fraction further isolated on silica gel chromatography, the fourth fraction of 10 fractions had the best antioxidant activities and purified by HPLC. The molecular weight on EI-MS, and $^1H$- and $^{13}C$-NMR spectrum showed that the purified compound was taxifolin. In addition, antioxidant activities were analyzed, and the purified compound from Cheonnyuncho was found to be effective as much as $\alpha$-tocopherol, BHA. According to the analysis on antibacterial activities, the purified compound also showed more activity than benzoic acid against all pathogenic bacteria.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.201-207
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• 2016

Purpose: A water-spraying type automatic glochids removal system for cactus (Opuntia humifusa) stem was developed, and its performance was evaluated. The system was developed to reduce intensive human labor in removing glochids from cactus stem skin without inducing damage prior to further processing into value-added products. Methods: The developed system consists of conveyor and water-spraying systems. The conveyor system delivers cactus stems through water-spraying compartments and finally to a collecting box. In order to remove the glochids, rotating nozzles spray water over all areas (i.e., front and back faces and sides) of the cactus skin under controlled water pressure. Operating conditions such as conveyor speed, water pressure, angle of water-spraying nozzles, distance between conveyor belt and rotating nozzles, and angle of cactus flipping slide were adopted from our previous study and applied on the system design and manufacturing. The performance of glochids removal was evaluated by counting the number of glochids on the cactus stem before and after processing on the system. Results: The developed system performed efficiently and effectively under the pre-studied operating conditions except for the angle of cactus flipping slide. The new system had a glochids removal ratio of 94.1% without damaging the cactus skin. Considering the original number (approximately 30-60) of glochids, the remaining number was low (1-4), and most of them were found at the side edge of the cactus stem. This system can remove glochids from 360 cactus stems in 1 hr regardless of cactus size. Conclusions: The performance of the new system in glochids removal without damaging cactus skin is superior to any other existing device (i.e., brush type, rubber-friction type, and agitation type). The system is expected to be applied in cactus (O. humifusa) processing facilities.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.211-215
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• 2014

Opuntia humifusa, also called as Cheonnyuncho, is a cactus widely cultivated in southern regions of Korea. It has been known to have diverse biological activities, but most of the studies were performed with the MeOH extracts or solvent-partitioned fractions. Furthermore, the efforts to identify the responsible compounds for the biological activities are very limited. In this study, we tested the inhibitory effect of extracts and solvent-partitioned fractions of O. humifusa against LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in Raw264.7 cells. The butanol fractions of O. humifusa efficiently inhibited the production of NO in Raw264.7 cells, but it was not due to the reduction of cell viability. Bioassay-guided isolation of butanol fractions of O. humifusa allowed the isolation of three flavonoids isorhamnetin 3-O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-galactosyl-4'-O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-glucoside (1), isorhamnetin 3,4'-di-O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-glucoside (2) and isorhamnetin 3-O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-(6-O-${\alpha}$-$\small{L}$-rhamnosyl)glucoside (3), and one lignan syringaresinol O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-glucopyranoside (4). Among them, isorhamnetin 3-O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-galactosyl-4'-O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-glucoside (1) and isorhamnetin 3,4'-di-O-${\beta}$-$\small{D}$-glucoside (2) exhibited the moderate inhibitory effects against LPS-induced NO production. This is the first time to report anti-inflammatory effects of these compounds.