We screened the anti-oxidative effect on V79-4 hamster lung fibroblast cells induced by hydrogen peroxide with fifteen herbal extracts. Uncariae rhynchophylla JACKS and Rheum coreanum NAKAI were found to show DPPH radical scavenge activity (25 and 29% compared to control). Rheum coreanum NAKAI and Siegesbeckia orientalis L. were shown to scavenge intracellular reactive oxygen species (57 and 55% compared to control) which is measured by dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate method (DCHF-DA). Rheum coreanum NAKAI which showed the most strong intracellular reactive oxygen species scavenging activity had low DPPH radical scavenging activity compared to Uncariae rhynchophylla JACKS.

개쑥부쟁이의 생리활성 기능을 탐색하고 기능성 신물질을 개발하기 위하여 개쑥부쟁이의 부위별 즉, 꽃, 줄기, 뿌리로 나누어 화학성분, UV 흡광도 측정 및 항산화 활성을 조사하였다. 일반성분 분석은 부위별에 따라 다소 차이는 있으나 탄수화물 $73{\sim}81%$, 수분 $11{\sim}15%$, 조회분 $4{\sim}7%$, 조단백 $2{\sim}6%$, 조지방 $1{\sim}4%$ 순으로 나타났다. 주요 무기성분은 Ca, K, Na, P로 나타났으며, 꽃에서 K이 가장 많았으며, 줄기와 뿌리에서는 Na이 가장 많은 것으로 나타났다. 주요 지방산은 linoleic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linolenic acid 으로 나타났으며, 포화 지방산$(27{\sim}40%)$에 비해 불포화 지방산$(59{\sim}72%)$이 높게 나타났다. 구성당은 총 4종이 분리동정되었는데, glucose가 줄기>꽃>뿌리 순으로 보여주었고, xylose, galactose, arabinose순으로 나타났다. 페놀성 화합물의 함량은 280 nm에서 흡광도를 측정 결과 뿌리와 줄기의 chloroform 추출물에서 가장 높았고, 꽃과 뿌리의 ethanol 추출물과 뿌리의 75% ethanol 추출물에서 높게 나타났다. 또한 카로티노이드계 화합물은 꽃의 ethanol 추출물에서, 줄기의 chloroform 추출물에서 높게 나타났다. 항산화 효과는 뿌리의 75% ethanol 추출물에서 가장 높았고, 뿌리의 ethanol 추출물과 꽃의 ethanol 추출물이 높은 항산화 효과를 나타내었다.

A known flavonoid compound, $apigenin-7-O-{\beta}-D-glucuronide$, was isolated from the flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium. Isolated compound, $apigenin-7-O-{\beta}-D-glucuronide$ showed strong anti-ulceric activity in rats.

For the purpose of the quality control of Poria cocos, three major compounds were isolated and identified as pachymic acid (1), $3{\beta}-hydroxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-21-oic$ acid (2), and dehydroeburicoic acid (3). The optimal extraction conditions for the quantification of pachymic acid its analogues were the 3 hours of reflux with 15g of P. cocos in 100ml 95% ethanol. HPLC conditions were as follows: Column; ZORBAX Eclipse XDB C18 $(4.6{\times}250\;mm,\;Agillent)$, mobile phase; 1% HOAc in 70% $MeOH{\rightarrow}1%$ HOAc in 100% MeOH for 25 min, then 1% HOAc in 100% MeOH for 15 min, detector, ELSD, flow rate; 1ml/min. The mean contents of 1,2, and 3 in Poria cocos cultivated at 18 different site were $0.65{\pm}0.19,\;0.88{\pm}0.72,\;and\;0.84{\pm}0.54\;mg/g$, respectively, and values might be the guide line for the quality control of P. cocos.

Searching for inhibitors of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced IL-6 (Interleukin-6) production from medicinal herbs, we isolated two active compounds though bioactivity-guided fractionation from the methanol extract of Chrysanthemum indicum L.. They were determined as kikkanol F monoacetate (1) and 5-hydroxy-6,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone (2) by means of spectroscopy techniques such as NMR and MS. The compound 1 and 2 inhibited LPS-induced IL-6 production in the PAW264.7 cells with $IC_{50}$ value of $47\;{\mu}g/ml$ and $27\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively.

Four compounds were isolated from the twigs of Vaccinium oldhami (Ericaceae) through repeated column chromatography. Their chemical structures were elucidated as (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, proanthocyanidin A-2, and cinnamtannin $B_1$, respectively, by spectroscopic analysis.

Smilacis Chinae Radix is root of Smilax china L.. It has been known as a korean folk medicine for anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial diuresis, detoxification and relieving enteropathy as diarrhea. Reactive oxygen species(ROS) are continuously produced at a high rate as a by-product obtained in the aerobic metabolism. A major portion of living organisms has defense system as superoxide dismutase or catalase against damage produced by ROS. Several lines of evidence provided that ROS appears to cause to develop aging and various diseases. In this study, we have investigated the antioxidant activities of Smilacis Chinae Radix in order to screen the antioxidant substances from natural products. As a result, EtOAc extract of Smilacis Chinae Radix exhibited potent antioxidant effect on various antioxidant experiment. The major components of antioxidant activity were isolated from EtOAc extract of Smilacis Chinae Radix. Their structure of compounds were identified as quercetin and (-)-epicatechin by spectroscopic evidence, respectively.

The rhizome extract of Atractylodes japonica Koidzumi(Compositae) exhibited a particular inhibition on the proliferation of cultured human tumor cell lines, in vitro. Thus, the intensive phytichemical investigation of the MeOH extract of Atractylodes japonica have been conducted by the way of activity-guided purification. The repeated column chromatographic separation of the n-hexane soluble part of extract resulted in the isolation of four sesquiterpenes (1-4) and a polyacetylene component (5). Chemical structures of them were identified as atractylon (1), atractylenolide Ⅰ(2), atractylenolide Ⅲ(3), eudesma-4(15),7(11)-dien-8-one (4) and 1,3-diacetyl-atractylodiol (5) by spectroscopic means. Among the isolates, compound 2-4 were shown to give moderate inhibitory effect in a dose dependent manner on the proliferation of cultured human tumor cell lines such as A549 (non small cell lung), SK-OV-3 (ovary), SK-MEL-2 (melanoma), XF498 (central nerve system) and HCT 15(colon), respectively.

Ah Myeong Dan (兒明丹) is Chinese patent medicine which is used for congenital fever and congenital boils in Korea. It consists of 11 kinds of powdered crude drugs. In powdered crude drugs, it is hard to identify each component by chemical analysis or morphological examination. However, the method of identification of powdered crude drugs has not been clearly established. Therefore, it is of interest to establish the microscopic method for identification of powdered crude drugs of Chinese patent medicines. The effectiveness of microscopic method is exemplified by the identification of tissue and contents of crude drugs by comparison with standard drugs. In this study, it is demonstrated that the microscopic method is very effective for the identification of 11 crude drug ingredients in Ah Myeong Dan.

In this study, we carried out the preparing standardization and regulation of processed Glycyrrhizae Radix (PGR) which have been widely used in oriental medicines. Glycyrrhizae Radix(GR) have been generally prepared by the stir-frying, or mix-frying with honey for the purpose of decreasing sweetness and augmenting vitality. Firstly, we tried to standardize PGR prepared by the stir-frying. We purchased 14 kinds of PGR and non-processed GR(NPGR) at oriental physician's offices and oriental pharmacies on a nation scale, respectively. The amounts of dry on loss, water extract, diluted ethanol extract, ether extract, total ash, acid insoluble ash, glycyrrhizin(GL), glycyrrhetic acid(GA) and liquiritin(LQ) of them were examined. The amounts of dry on loss, GL and LQ in commercial PGRs showed remarkable decrease, while GA showed increased as compared with NPGR. In order to standardize preparing method of PGR, the effect of heating time on physico-chemical parameters and biological activities were examined. Physico-chemical parameters such as dry on loss, extract amount, GL and LQ contents in PGRs showed decrease, however, GA was increased with heating time as compared with NPGR. Also, GA, obtained from heat-treated GR, was found as an artifact in PGRs. PGR was more effective than NPGA in vitro test of DPPH scavenging effect and TBA-Rs reducing effect. PGR and NPGR showed potent hepatoprotective effect on $CCl_4-intoxicated$ rats. Especially, PGR prepared by 80 min of heating was the most effective. Considering these results, the optimal condition for PGR preparation was $150^{\circ}C$ for 80 min.

The purposes of this study was to develop the best one among the methods using dry heat, gamma irradiation and alcohol gas, to sterilize Scutellariae Radix selected based on high frequency of circulation between merchants and high susceptibility to microbial contamination, through comparing these methods in terms of the followings; ⅰ) the efficacy of sterilization in comparison with cost, and ⅱ)the alteration of chemical components of these herbal medicines. The results of this study will be taken advantage of establishment of the maximum limit of microorganism contaminated in herbal medicines. From the results of this study we conclude the followings: ⅰ) The sterilizing method using dry heat may be inappropriate, because it seriously changed their color and morphology which is an essential criterion to estimate a measure of quality between merchants and consumers, although it effectively got rid of contaminated microorganism and did not alter major components, baicalin; ⅱ) The sterilizing method using gamma irradiation may be appropriate, because it showed a strong sterilizing effect, and no alteration of chemical components, color and morphology; ⅲ)The sterilizing method using alcohol gas may also be appropriate, because it had a similar effects as in the case of gamma irradiation. Collectively, we suggest that appropriate sterilizing methods to guarantee the microbial quality of this herbal medicine may be those using gamma irradiation and alcohol gas.

Protective effects of various natural flavonoids on carbon tetrachloride $(CCl_4)-induced$ hepatotoxicity were investigated in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. Some of these flavonoids decreased the ALT and LDH releases induced by $CCl_4$ in A dose-dependent manner. Neohesperidin, hesperetin, baicalin, baicalein and quercetin inhibited $CCl_4-induced$ alanine aminotransferase (ALT) release. In addition, quercetin, quercitrin, neohesperidin, baicalin, baicalein and naringin reduced $CCl_4$ induced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage. Among these flavonoids, quercitrin, quercetin, baicalin and baicalein possessed potent protective effects and were selected for the further investigation on lipid peroxidation. These four flavonoids inhibited dose dependently $CCl_4-induced$ lipid peroxidation. Especially, the protective effects of quercetin and baicalein were similar to silybin as a well-known hepatoprotective agent. These results suggest that these four flavonoids have significant cytoprotective effects and possibility of therapeutic effect on chemical-induced liver diseases.

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertner leaf (NNL) has been known that is effective to lowering blood pressure and hyperlipidemic levels. But, its pharmacological actions have not been demonstrated. Therefore, the present research was performed to find the effect of NNL on hyperlipidemic actions in Bio F1B hamster as a model for hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. The hyperlipidemic hamster were induced by basal diet containing 10% coconut oil and 0.05% cholesterol with high fat atherogenic diet(HFAD). A control group and treated groups NNL100, 200, 400 mg/kg/day were fed a HFAD, but a normal group was fed a basal diet only. In conclusion, the serum total cholesterol levels were significantly declined on day 40 in F1B hamster given the NNL extracts (200, 400 mh/kg/day) with p<0.05, when compared with a control value of HFAD fed hamsters. The hepatic TC level was significantly lower in NNL 200 and 400 mg/kg/day group than of control hamster on day 40. But, the HDL levels were not changed between control and treated NNL groups. The TG levels of NNL treated groups showed a decrease tendency compare to the control value. In addition, accumulation of fatty level showed a slight decline to NNL treated groups in aortic arch.

Changes in chemical composition of the ethanolic extract of roasted Asparagi Tuber were investigated by HPLC. One dramatically increased peak $(t_R\;14.85 min)$ was isolated by silica gel column chromatograph and identified as 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) by comparing its $1^H-NMR$ data with that of a commercial standard. HMF content reached its maximum level at $190^{\circ}C$ for 60 minutes. Under these conditions, HMF contents in the roasted Asparagi Tuber was increased about thirteen times (9.26mg/g) over the not-roasted control (0.71 mg/g). No significant differences were found in macrophage-activating, prolyl endopeptidase-inhibiting, antioxidative (DPPH), anti-coagulating (activated partial thromboplastin times), and ACE-inhibiting activities between roasted and not-roasted Asparagi Tuber.

The methanol extract of the seed of Myristica fragrans (myristicaceae) demonstrated a potent inhibition on the proliferation of cultured human tumor cells such as A549 (non small cell lung), SK-OV-3 (ovary), SK-MEL-2(melanoma), XF498 (central nerve system) and HCT-15(colon). The MeOH extract was fractionated into three portions by serial solvent partition i,e., EtOAc soluble part, BuOH soluble part and remaining water layer. Among them, the EtOAc soluble part of the extract demonstrated a potent inhibition on the proliferation of cultured human tumor cells, Bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOAc soluble part led to the isolation of six lignan constituents, i.e., safrole(1), machilin A (2), licarin B (3), macelignan (4), mesodihydroguaiaretic acid (5) and myristargenol A (6) as well as a large amount of myristic acid as active ingredients. Structures of the isolated active components (1-6) were established by chemical and spectroscopic means.

Phytochemical examination of the barks of Actinidia arguta led to the isolation of five flavonoids. Structures of compounds were elucidated as catechin (1), (-)-epicatechin (2), quercetin (3), $quercetin-3-O-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (4), $quercetin-3-O-{\beta}-D-galactopyranoside$ (5) by comparison with previously reported spectral evidences. To investigate the anti-oxidative effect and nitric oxide (NO) production inhibitory activity of these compounds, DPPH radical scavenging activity and nitric oxide production inhibitory activity in $IFN-{\gamma}$, LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 cell were examined. The $IC_{50}s$ were determinied as follows : $1\;$IC_{50}=26.61\;{\mu}g/ml$, $2\;IC_{50}=25.30\;{\mu}g/ml$, $3\;IC_{50}=20.41\;{\mu}g/ml$, $4\;IC_{50}=18.23\;{\mu}g/ml$ , $5\;IC_{50}=30.46\;{\mu}g/ml$, $6\;IC_{50}=28.0;{\mu}g/ml$, $7\;IC_{50}=27.24\;{\mu}/ml$. These NO production inhibitory effects were significantly different compared with the positive control, L-NMMA $(IC_{50}=20.77\;{\mu}g/ml)$, respectively. Compound $1\;(IC_{50}=6.19\;{\mu}g/ml)$, $2\;(IC_{50}=8.98\;{\mu}g/ml)$, $3\;(IC_{50}=7.30\;{\mu}g/ml)$ and $4\;(IC_{50}=7.64\;{\mu}g/ml)$ also showed potent antioxidative activities similar level to ascorbic acid $(IC_{50}=9.22\;{\mu}g/ml)$. These results suggest that barks of A. arguta have a potent anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activity.

The in visto inhibitory activities of essential oils of the Rosmarinus officinalis as well as its main constituents were evaluated against antibiotic-susceptible and -resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella enteritidis and S. typhimurium. The essential oil fraction of R. officinalis and its main components, 1,8-cineole and camphor, exhibited significant inhibitory activities against most of the tested strains in this study, with MICs(minimum inhibitory concentrations) racing from 0.5mg/ml to 16mg/ml. The total oil fraction showed higher activity than its main components, 1,8-cineole and camphor against S. aureus strains. No remarkable differences were evident between MICs of the susceptible and resistant strains of S. aureus. Among the tested strains, S. pneumoniae CCARM 3523, the resistant strain to norfloxacin, oxacillin and erythromycin exhibited significantly lower sensitivity to the tested oils than antibiotic-susceptible strain. The oils revealed mostly higher inhibitory activity against S. typhimurium than against S. enteritidis.