Six compounds, eupatilin (1), dammaradienyl acetate (2), glutinol acetate (3), $3{\beta}-acetoxyoleanan-12-one$ (4), taraxasterol (5) and quercetin-3,4'-dimethyl ether (6) were isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia absinthium. The chemical structures of compounds 1-6 were determined by the basis of physico-chemical properties and spectroscopic methods such as 1D and 2D NMR. Among them, compounds 2-5 were isolated from this plant for the first time. The inhibitory effects of these isolated compounds against nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells or BV2 microglia were also examined. Among the tested compounds, compound 1, eupatilin, inhibited the production of NO in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells and BV2 microglia, respectively.

We isolated gallotannin, 2,6-digalloyl-1,5-anhydroglucitol, known as acertannin (1), from the barks and xylems of Acer ginnala Maxim. It is a genus of Acer species of shrubs in the family Aceraceae. A. ginnala grows in Korea, Japan and Mongolia. We accomplished the structure elucidation by confirming that the result of $^1H$,$^{13}C-NMR$,MS spectrum data was similar to previous references. We measured DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity in vitro to evaluate anti-oxidative activities on acertannin isolated from A. ginnala. Acertannin from A. ginnala exhibited potent DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. We examined the antioxidant and apoptosis modulative effects. This examination shows that A. ginnala has not only 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity, but also human hair dermal papilla cell protection effects. These results indicate that the barks and xylems of A. ginnala might be developed as a potent anti-oxidant, hair growth agent, and ingredient for related new functional cosmetic materials.

The aim of this study was to develop a UPLC method for simultaneous analysis of 8 phenolic compounds including gallic aicd (1), protocatechuic acid (2), methyl gallate (3), ellagic acid (4), kaempferol-3-arabinofranosyl-7-rhamnoside (5), kaempferitrin (6), afzelin (7) and kaempferol-7-rhamnoside (8) isolated from Geranium thunbergii which has been traditionally used as anti-diarrheal agent. The UPLC method was optimized and validated using Halo C18 column ($4.6{\times}100mm$, $2.7{\mu}m$) consisting of MeOH and 0.1% formic acid at 260 nm in 25 minutes. In quantitative analysis of 8 compounds in MeOH extract of G. thunbergii, contents of 4-6 were 12.39, 20.52 and 21.45 mg/g, respectively. These compounds were measured as major phenolic compounds in G. thunbergii and can be useful as marker compounds for its quality control. These results suggest that the UPLC method can be contributed as basic data for quality evaluation of herbal preparations.

Five compounds were isolated from the water extract of Oplopanax elatus stem. On the basis of spectral data, the structure of isolated compounds were identified as scoparone (1), uracil (2), protocatechuic acid (3), syringin (4), and adenosine (5). Among the these compounds, scoparone (1), uracil (2), protocatechuic acid (3), and adenosine (5) were isolated for the first time from this plant.

This study investigated the effect of snail extract on the growth parameters of old female rats (27 weeks). Rats were administered orally with snail extract at a dose of 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, chondroitin sulfate 10 mg/kg and 0.9% saline (control) for 8 weeks. Bone mineral density (BMD) and serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and insulinlike growth factor-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) were significantly higher in rats exposed to snail extract for 8 weeks. MG-63 cells (human osteoblast-like cells) were treated with snail extract for 48 h. Their differentiation and proliferation was investigated with Western blot and morphological changes observed via immunofluorescence staining of ${\beta}-catenin$. Treatment with snail extract significantly increased the levels of growth factors including ${\beta}-catenin$ and IGF-1. The snail extract affected osteoblast formation. Morphological changes in MG-63 cells were observed via immunofluorescence staining. Treatment with snail extract increased the expression of ${\beta}-catenin$ in MG-63 cells. Results suggest that the treatment of MG-63 cells with snail extract increased the longitudinal growth and growth factor levels. Snail extract may be pharmacologically effective in osteogenic differentiation in vitro and represents a potential therapeutic agent for bone formation.

Chaenomeles sinensis (Thouin) Koehne fruit (Rosaceae) has been used as a traditional medicine in Korea, Japan and China to treat sore throat, diarrhea and inflammation. The ethanol extract of C. sinensis fruit was successively partitioned as methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and $H_2O$ soluble fractions. Among those fractions, the n-butanol fraction showed the most potent DPPH radical scavenging and superoxide quenching activities. To verify antioxidant activities, the n-butanol fraction was checked the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities, and intracellular ROS levels and oxidative stress tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans. Furthermore, to see if increased stress tolerance of worms by treating of the n-butanol fraction was due to regulation of stress-response gene, we quantified SOD-3 expression using transgenic strain. Consequently, the n-butanol fraction elevated SOD and catalase activities of C. elegans, and reduced intracellular ROS accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the n-butanol fraction-treated CF1553 worms exhibited significantly higher SOD-3::GFP intensity.

Astilbe rubra (AR) is a perennial, belongs to the Saxifragaceae family, it contains tannin and triterpene. AR has been used in republic korea to improve toxication, fever, pain and convulsion. Recently, number of natural products have been analyzed for potential pharmacological activities including anti-cancer, anti-obesity and anti-diabetic medication. Consequently, we investigated the growth inhibition effect of Astilbe rubra water extract (WAC), ethanol extract (EAC) and bergenin on Hela cell (human adenocarcinoma cell). From whole plant of A. rubra, bergenin was isolated by column chromatography and its structures were identified by $^1H$, $^{13}C$ NMR and IT TOF-ESI MS. High extraction efficiency of bergenin was shown at 0.95% under 60 min reflux extraction with 50% MeOH. The MTS assay showed that EAC (ethanol extract) treatment increased cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, EAC treatment on Hela cell increased apoptotic cell death and caspase-3 activity. Results suggest that EAC has growth inhibition effect on Hela cells, but not WAC and bergenin. $500{\mu}g/mL$ EAC treatment inhibited Hela cell at $60.2{\pm}1.5%$.

Recently, it has been a big issue to distinguish the dried roots of Cynanchum wilfordii and C. auriculatum in health functional food market. The original plant species of Cynanchi Wilfordii Radix belong to the Asclepiadaceae family is differentially described in the national pharmacopoeia of Korea, China and Japan. Owing to the morphological similarities of the dried roots of this plant to those of C. auriculatum, which is often misidentified in Korean herbal medicine marketplace, distinguishing these two species is exceedingly difficult. The purpose of this study was to compare the conventional-PCR with the real-time PCR for detection of C. wilfordii and C. auriculatum DNA. We also tried to realize a quantitative real-time PCR assay using species-specific matK primers, which allowed us to estimate the ratio of C. willfordii and C. auriculatum using varying ratios of mixed genomic DNA template from the two species. The differentiation of intentional and unintentional mixture in this study would be applied to food safety management and can be helpful for protection of consumer's right and cultivators.

Torilin is a major sesquiterpene of Torilis japonica (Umbelliferae) fruits and known to be a melanogenesis inhibitor. Extraction conditions are important factor for the efficient preparation to save cost and time in economic aspects. For this reason, this study was conducted to optimize the extraction condition for maximal yield of torilin. For optimization, extraction factors such as extraction solvent, extraction temperature and sample/solvent ratio were tested and optimized for maximum yield of torilin using response surface methodology with Box-Behnken design (BBD). The optimal condition was obtained as a EtOAc concentration in MeOH of 31.8%, an extraction temperature at $30.3^{\circ}C$ and a sample/solvent ratio, 1000 mg/2 ml. The torilin yield under optimal conditions was found to be 9.9 mg/g dried samples, which were well-matched with the predicted value of 10.4 mg/g dried samples. These results will provide useful information about optimized extraction conditions for the development of torilin as cosmetic therapeutics to reduce skin hyperpigmentation.

Acer tegmentosum Maxim (ATM) has been used to treat hepatic disorders in traditional oriental medicine. However, there is little information about phytochemical constituents for quality control of ATM. In this study, we developed and established a simultaneous analytical method of the 10 marker compounds (three coumarins, 3 flavonoids, 1 lignan, 3 phenolics) in ATM using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Chromatographic separation of ten target analytes was achieved with a Waters Acquity UPLC BEH $C_{18}$ analytical column ($2.1{\times}100mm$, $1.7{\mu}m$), using a mobile phase of 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in water and acetonitrile with gradient elution. Identifications and quantitation of all analytes were performed using a Q-Exactive UPLC-MS/MS system. Correlation coefficients of the calibration curve for all analytes were ${\geq}0.9986$. The values of limits of detection and quantification of all analytes were 0.5-10.0 and 5.0-50.0 ng/mL, respectively. The established UPLC-MS/MS method successfully identified all target analytes in ATM, and the phytochemicals were 0.01-67.98 mg/g in its lyophilized water extract.

A traditional herbal formula, Gyeji-tang has been used to treat the early colds, headache, chills, and fever in Asian countries. In this study, we were performed simultaneous determination of the 14 bioactive marker compounds, gallic acid, spinosin, paeoniflorin, albiflorin, liquiritin apioside, liquiritin, 6'''-feruloylspinosin, liquilitigenin, coumarin, cinnmamic acid, benzoylpaeoniflorin, cinnamaldehyde, glycyrrhizin, and 6-gingerol in Gyeji-tang using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Analytical column was used a Waters Acquity UPLC BEH $C_{18}$ analytical column ($2.1{\times}100mm$, $1.7{\mu}m$) and maintained at $45^{\circ}C$ with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The mobile phase consists of 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in water and acetonitrile with gradient elution. The MS analysis was conducted using multiple reaction monitoring in the positive and negative modes by a Waters ACQUITY TQD LC-MS/MS system. The calibration curves of 14 bioactive marker compounds showed linearity with correlation coefficients ${\geq}0.9798$. The limits of detection and quantification values were in the range of 0.11-6.66 ng/mL and 0.34-19.99 ng/mL, respectively. As a result of the analysis using the established LC-MS/MS method, the amounts of tested 14 compounds in the lyophilized Gyeji-tang sample were detected up to $85.7{\mu}g/g$. These results may be useful for quality assessment of a traditional herbal formulas.