Korean folk medicine 'ORiNaMu' has been used mainly to cure toothache and alcoholism. With regard to the botanical origin of 'ORiNaMu', it has been considered to designate the branch of Alnus species (Betulaceae), but there was no pharmacognostical confirmation on it. To clarify the botanical origin of 'ORiNaMu', the anatomical characteristics of the branch of Alnus firma, A. hirsuta, A. japonica and A. maximowiczii were studied. As a result, it was found the morphological criteria for the four Alnus species that could discriminate them the number of cork cell layer, fiber, stone cell and diameter of vessel. According to there criteria, it was clarified that the commercial folk medicine 'ORiNaMu' was the branch of Alnus firma.

Platycodon grandiflorum (Campanulaceae) is listed in Shin-Nong-Bon-Cho-Kyung (神農本草經) as the remedy for ventilation the lung, resolving phlegm, promoting pus discharge and subduing carbuncles. The prescriptions of Gil-Gyung-Tang (桔梗湯) are also recorded in many other Chinese medicinal books. The identification of the cultivation year of P. grandiflorum is very important in commercial market as well as in research field. However, any reports about it have not been clearly established yet. To clarify the criterion, the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the roots of P. grandiflorum cultivated in Korea for various years were studied. The characteristics of the cork layer, latex tube, and vessels were shown to be useful keys to confirm the cultivation year of P. grandiflorm. As a result, it was clarified that Kilkyung from Korea was the two years root of Platycodon grandiflorm.

The purpose of this research is to study of inhibitory activity of protostane type triterpens against farnesyl-protein transferase (FPTase). The ingredients of Alismatis Rhizoma, alisol B 23-acetate, C 23-acetate, alisols B and A 24-acetate, and thirteen synthetic analogues from alisol B 23-acetate exhibited inhibition activity against FPTase by scintillation proximity assay method. As a result, alisol C 23-acetate, one of the constituents of Alismatis Rhizoma, the synthetic analogues carboxylated and hydroxylated on branch chain of protostane exhibited a significant inhibitory activity. However, the compounds significantly lowered the inhibitory activity, when there is no 3 position keto on protostane skeletone.

Chaenomeles sinensis Koehne (Rosaceae) is a deciduous tree and is distributed in China, Korea and Japan. In previous studies on the fruits of C. sinensis, some triterpenoid compouds such as oleanolic acid, tormentic acid were reported. In an ongoing investigation into biologically active compounds from natural products, the methanol extract of the stems of C. sinensis was investigated. By means of the repeated column chromatography using silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, LiChroprep RP-18, betulin (1), tormentic acid (2), 1-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzene (3), lyoniresinol-2a-O-${\alpha}$-L-rhamnopyranoside (4) were isolated. The chemical structures of compounds 1-4 were determined by the basis of physico-chemical properties and spectroscopic methods such as 1D and 2D NMR. For the isolated compounds (1-4), the inhibitory activity of IL-6 production in TNF-${\alpha}$ stimulated MG-63 cell was examined. Among the isolates, betulin (1), 1-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzene (3), lyoniresinol-2a-O-${\alpha}$-L-rhamnopyranoside (4) showed inhibitory effects on IL-6 production in TNF-${\alpha}$ stimulated MG-63 cell.

Three dihydrochalcone compounds were isolated from the twigs of Stewartia koreana (Theaceae) through repeated column chromatography. Their chemical structures were elucidated as phloridizin, 2',4,4'-trihydroxy-6'-methoxydihydrochalcone and confusoside, respectively, by spectroscopic analysis. These compounds were isolated for the first time from this plant.

A reversed phase HPLC method was established for quantitative determination of lignans including schizandrin (1), gomisin A (2), deoxyschizandrin (3), gomisin N (4), and wuweizisu C (5) from Schizandra chinensis using a binary gradient of acetonitrile and water as a mobile phase with UV detection at 254nm. In result, contents of schizandrin (1), gomisin A (2), deoxyschizandrin (3), gomisin N (4), and wuweizisu C (5) in Schizandra chinensis from Moonkyung were 8.41${\pm}$0.30, 3.01${\pm}$0.13, 1.06${\pm}$0.05, 7.69${\pm}$0.30, and 1.68${\pm}$0.06 mg/g, respectively.

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for quantitative analysis of liquiritin and glycyrrhizin in Sagunja-tang (SGT, Sijunzi-tang in Chinese), a traditional Korean medicine. HPLC analysis was performed using a Gemini C18 column operating at $40^{\circ}C$, and photodiode array (PDA) detection at 254 nm and 280 nm for quantification of the two components in SGT. The mobile phase using a gradient flow consisted of two solvent systems. Solvent A was 1.0% (v/v) aqueous acetic acid and solvent B was acetonitrile with 1.0% (v/v) acetic acid. Calibration curves were acquired with $r^2$ values > 0.9998, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, %) for intra- and inter-day precision were not exceed 4.0%. The recovery of each component was in the range of 91.85 - 108.62%, with a RSD less than 4.0%. The contents of the two components in SGT were 7.94 - 13.83 mg/g.

Korean mistletoe Lectin (KML-C) is composed of A and B sub-chain. B chain binds to carbohydrates on cell surface and A chain hinders translation and induces an apoptosis as a RIP (ribosome inactivating protein). KML-C has very strong biological activities, it has seriously limits to use as a cancer therapy or adjuvant because of its toxicity to normal cells. This study is therefore conducted to see if B chain of KML-C might have immunological activity, especially adjuvant activities with less toxicity. We isolated B chain from KML-C using the lactose affinity chromatography, and examined their immunoadjuvant activity. The isolated B-chain did not show any cytotoxicity against tumor cell, RAW264.7, and P388D1 while KML-C had a very strong toxicity. This non-toxic effect was observed also by in-vivo study. Both humoral and cellular immunities were observed ; the antibody titer was increased when the mice were immunized with B-chain used as adjuvant like Freund's adjuvant, indicating that B chain of mistletoe lectin alone might be used for adjuvant; it also increased DTH in cellular immunity. These results suggest that B-chain of KML-C might be used for adjuvant used for the production of antibody or vaccine with less toxicity.

Macrophages play a vital role in the innate immune system involving defensive cytokines such as TNF (tumor necrosis factor)-${\alpha}$ and nitric oxide (NO). Therefore, we try to elucidate the anti-inflammatory activity of Chaga mushroom (Inonotus Obliquus, IO) in murine macrophages. Raw 264.7 cells and peritoneal macrophages of mice were cultured with or without LPS/LPS + IFN-${\gamma}$ in the presence of IO aqueous extracts (IOE 0.2, 2, 20, 100 ${\mu}g$/mL) for 24 hr and 48 hr, respectively. Exposure of IOE caused the decrease of NO production and increase of TNF-${\alpha}$ production in dose-dependent manner in activated peritoneal macrophage in vitro. To further investigate anti-inflammatory effects of IO ex vivo, we orally administrated capsaicin (PC, 3 mg/kg/day) and IOE (100, 200, 400 mg/kg/day) for 4 consecutive days to C57BL/6 mice (7~9 weeks old, female), then observed the NO secretion and cytokine (TNF-${\alpha}$) production of LPS/LPS + INF-${\gamma}$-stimulated peritoneal macrophages. IOE inhibits NO secretion in dose-dependent manner both ex vivo and in vitro and increases the production of TNF-${\alpha}$ in vitro. In addition, we found that IOE possessed suppressive effects of LPS-stimulated TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, COX-2, as well as iNOS expressions in Raw 264.7 cells. These findings indicate that IOE suppress not only the LPS-induced NO overproduction of murine peritoneal macrophages, but also iNOS, COX-2, TNF-${\alpha}$, and IL-$1{\beta}$ overexpression of LPS-induced Raw 264.7 cells. Consequently, our results suggest that IO may have the anti-inflammatory effects via suppression of the inflammatory cytokines and mediators, and be useful for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

The bacterial growth and pH of Cornus officinalis fermented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus during fermentation were evaluated. As the results, the number of the fermentation after fermentation always remained higher than 6 log CFU/mL and the pH of those ranged from 4 to 6. To evaluate the effect of Cornus officinalis fermented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus on hair growth promotion in C57BL/6 mice, Six weeks old male mice were divided into four groups including normal group (saline), negative control group (essence base), positive control group (minoxidil) and experimental group (Cornus officinalis and animal milk fermented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus mixed in negative control). And they were applied topically with test materials for 8 days. Hair regrowth effect in experimental group using gross and histological examination was higher than that in positive control group. Body weight and food intake of four groups didn't show significant difference. These results indicated that the Cornus officinalis fermented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus can be used practically for hair growth or prevention of hair loss.

Acute toxicity of a combined preparation of the standardized extracts Scutellaria baicalensis GEORGI and Salvia miltiorrhiza BUNGE in a ratio of 3:1 was examined in male and female ICR mice. Mice were treated with the test substance intragastrically at a dose of 0 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg or 2,000 mg/kg and observed for two weeks. No death or abnormal clinical sign was shown during the observation period. Also there were no difference in net body weight gain, organ weight, and gross pathological findings at the terminal sacrifice. The results suggested that acute oral toxicity of a combined preparation of the standardized extracts is very low at the conditions employed in this study.

Sosihotang is a herbal medicine traditionally used to treat chronic liver disease. This study was performed to investigate the effect of steaming Sosihotang at a $121^{\circ}C$ on its major compounds and neuroprotective activity. We evaluated quantitative changes of 6 major compounds in Soshihotang, saikosaponin A, homogentisic acid, baicalin, ginsenoside $Rg_3$, glycyrrhizin and 6-gingerol using HPLC-DAD. After steaming produce, saikosaponin A, homogentisic acid, baicalin, glycyrrhizin and 6-gingerol in Sosihotang were decreased and ginsenoside $Rg_3$ was increased. The neuroprotective activity of steamed Sosihotang was determined by MTT assay, comparing to Sosihotang. The steamed sosihotang showed a higher neuroprotective activity than Sosihotang. In conclusion, steam produce could improve neuroprotective activity of Soshihotang.

Oxidative stress or the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads neuronal cellular death and dysfunction, and it contributes to neuronal degenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and stroke. Glutamate-induced oxidative injury contributes to neuronal degeneration in many central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as epilepsy and ischemia. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) enzyme plays an important role of cellular antioxidant system against oxidant injury. The expression of HO-1 has cytoprotective effects in glutamate-induced oxidative cytotoxicity in HT22 cells. The induction of HO-1 is primarily regulated at the transcriptional level, and its induction by various inducers is related to the nuclear transcription factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Nrf2 is a master regulator of the antioxidant response. NNMBS008, the water-insoluble fraction of the 70% EtOH extract of roots of Sophora flavescens, showed dominant neuroprotective effects on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in mouse hippocampal HT22 cells by induced the expression of HO-1 and increased HO activity. In mouse hippocampal HT22 cells, NNMBS008 makes the nuclear accumulation of Nrf2 pathway. In conclusion, the waterinsoluble fraction of the 70% EtOH extract of roots of S. flavescens (NNMBS008) significantly protect glutamate-induced oxidative damage by induction of HO-1 via Nrf2 pathway in mouse hippocampal HT22 cells. These results suggest that these extracts could be the effective candidates for the treatment of ROS-related neurological diseases.

This study was presented to the anti-cancer activity from different fraction of Zanthoxylum schnifolium fruits. The values for human colon cancer cell(HT-29) survival rate of 0.3 mg/mL of 70% EtOH and 70% MeOH ethyl acetate fraction extracts were 7.62${\pm}$0.173%, 7.66${\pm}$0.037%, respectively. It was shown that human colon cancer cell(HT-29) survival rate was in a dose-dependent manner. The percentages of cells were increased in the sub-G0 and G0/G1 phase region, meaning that cell proliferation was decreased. The RT-PCR demonstrated that 70% EtOH and 70% MeOH ethyl acetate fraction extracts were down-regulated the expression of Bcl-2 and survivin genes in HT-29 cells. We examined that 70% EtOH and 70% MeOH ethyl acetate fraction extracts anti-cancer activities initiated through ROS generation suggesting that HT-29 cells treated with ethyl acetate fraction extracts induced ROS generation. Our results revealed that the Zanthoxylum schnifolium fruit may expect for anti-cancer activities in HT-29 cells.