• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.162-169
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• 2011

The rhizomes and herbal medicines originating from Acorus gramineus, A. calamus, A. tatarinowii, and A. gramineus var. pusilus, show significant similarity, and the correct identification of species is very difficult. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) were used to develop a reliable method for identification of these four species. Several distinct SCAR markers were developed from species-specific RAPD amplicons for each species. Furthermore, a useful molecular marker was established for multiplex-PCR, in order to the four species could be distinguished concurrently. These markers allow efficient and rapid identification of closely-related Acorus species and will be useful for standardization of herbal medicines.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.1 s.81
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• pp.150-161
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• 2007

Acori graminei Rhizomn (AGR) is a perennial herb which has been used clinically as a traditional oriental medicine against stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia. We investigated the effect of AGR on the modulation of gene expression profile in a hypoxic model of cultured rat cortical cells. Rat cerebrocortical cells were grown in Neurobasal medium. On DIV12, cells were treated with AGR $(10ug/m\ell)$, given a hypoxic shock (2% $O_2$, 3 hr) on DIV14, and total RNAs were prepared one day after shock. Microarray analyses indicated that the expression levels of most genes were altered within the global M values +0.5 and -0.5, i.e., 40% increase or decrease. There were 750 genes which were upregulated by < global M +0,2, while 700 genes were downregulated by > global M -0.2. The overall profile of gene expression suggests that AGR suppresses apoptosis (upregulation of anti-apopotic genes such as TEGT, TIEG, Dad, p53, and downregulation of pro-apopotic genes such as DAPK, caspase 2, pdcd8), ROS (upregulation of RARa, AhR), and that AGR has neurotrophic effects (upregulation of Aktl, Akt2). These results provide a platform for investigation of the molecular mechanism of the effect of AGR in neuroprotection.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.1 s.61
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• pp.161-173
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• 2005

Objective : The water extract of Seokchangpowonji-san (SWS) has traditionally been used for treatment of dementia in oriental medicine. However, little is known about the mechanism by which the water extract of SWS rescues cells from neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease. Methods & Results: This study was designed to investigate the protective mechanisms of SWS on $\beta-amyloid$ or $H_2O_2$-induced$ cytotoxicity in neuro 2A cells. $H_2O_2$ markedly decreased the viability of neuro 2A cells, which was characterized by apparent apoptotic features such as membrane blebbing as well as fragmentation of genomic DNA and nuclei. However, the water extract of SWS significantly reduced $H_2O_2-induced$ cell death and apoptotic characteristics through reduction of intracellular peroxide generation. Also, the. extract prevented the mitochondrial dysfunction including the disruption of mitochondria membrane permeability transition (MPT) and the modulation in expression of Bcl-2 family proteins in $H_2O_2­treated$ neuro 2A cells. Furthermore, pretreatment with SWS inhibited the activation of caspase-3, and in turn, degradation of ICAD/DFF45 was completely abolished in $H_2O_2-treated$ cells. Conclusion: Taken together, the data suggest that the protective effects of the water extract of SWS against $\beta-amyloid$ induced oxidative injuries may be achieved through modulation of mitochondrial dysfunction.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.187-200
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• 2003

This study was conducted by China along with the Tumen River, which cuts between of North Korea and China. As a result 92 family, 287 genera, 470 species, 57 variety 4 formas, total 531 taxa of vascular plants were identified. The surveyed area was include the region that had various vegetation such as upper swampy land, seashore dune, a river, a high mountain grassy plain, deciduous tree zone and evergreen coniferous forest zone. The specfic plants which is protected by The Natural Environmental Preseration Act appeared to 6 taxa, and rare and endangered plants conserved by Forestry Administration were found 21 taxa in these areas. Among them Lilium cernum, Jeffersonia dubia, Acanthopanax senticosus could be regarded as very important one for chinese medicine. Picea koraiensis, Larix gmelini var. principis-ruprechtii, Populus koreana, Betula fusenensis, Ulmus pumila, Ledum palustre var. diversipilosum, Rhododendron parvifolium, Vaccinium uliginosum, Astragalus membranaceus, Aquilegia flabellata var. pumila, Carex gotoi, Carex capricornis etc. are not distributed in the South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.221-233
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• 1999

The vegetation and plant resources of Paeaknokdam, the crater of Mt. Halla, was investigated from 1996 to 1998. The vegetation was classified into Diapensia lapponica var. obovata-Tofieldia fauriel association and Festuca ovina-Carex erythrobasis association. The latter was divided into Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum-Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum subassociation, which was composed partly of Abies koreana-Betula ermani var. saitoana variant. The plant resources of 162 taxa were composed of 49 families, 122 genera, 127 species, 2 subspecies, 30 varieties and 3 formae, of which 63 taxa were newly found in this area. Among the investigated plants, 27 taxa were endemic to Korea or Cheju islands, 39 taxa were rare or endangered, and 65 taxa were identified as alpine plants. One hundred and twenty-one taxa(75.6%) were identified to be useful: 82 for ornament, 75 for medice, 66 for food, 17 for nectar-producing, 15 for pasture, and 10 for industry.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.869-873
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• 2007

Methanol extracts of Acorus gramineus Solander(AGS) were found to exhibit immuno-regulatory action in BALB/c mice. Oral administration of AGS increased murine splenic T lymphocytes, especially $T_H$ and $T_C/T_S$ subpopulations were increased significantly. Treatment of AGS exerted strong cytotoxicity against U937 and HL60 human leukemia cells. Also, AGS induced apoptosis of U937 leukemia cells in a dose dependent manner. Nitric oxide(NO) production and iNOS gene expression were also increased in AGS-treated RAW264.7 cells. Treatment of AGS increased the expression of p53 gene and decreased the expression of PCNA protein in cultured U937 cells. These data suggest that AGS are effective on the immuno-regulatory action and anti-cancer properties.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.341-351
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• 2001

Object: Acori graminei rhizoma(AGR) extract is clinically used to treat the cerebral ischemia in Korea. The present study was undertaken to study the neuroprotective effect of AGR extract in middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) rats. Methods: Changes of extracellular levels of glutamate, aspartate, GABA, glycine, taurine, tyrosine, alanine in striatum were collected at 20 minutes interval by in vivo microdialysis and then analyzed by HPLC(high performance liquid chromatography) in rats subjected to permanent focal cerebral ischemia induced by 2 hours of MCAO. AGR extract was orally administrated before MCAO. Different animals were used for measurement of cerebral infarction volume induced by 24 hours of MCAO with TTC staining and image analysis. Result : The infarction volume was decreased and focal cerebral ischemia - induced increase of extracellular glutamate, aspartate, and tyrosine were inhibited after the treatment of AGR extract. On the other hand, the increase of glycine and alanine not but GABA and taurine were enhenced after the treatment of AGR extract. Conclusion: These results suggest that AGR extract can playa role in protecting against cerebral ischemia by regulating extracellular levels of excitatory and inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitters.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1037-1049
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• 2003

Numerous lines of evidence indicate that some of the neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is due to proteolytic fragments of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Most research has focused on the amyloid 6 (M). However, the possible role of other cleaved products of APP is less clear. Lately It has been reported that a recombinant carboxy-terminal 105 amino acid fragment (CT105) of APP induced strong nonselective inward currents in Xenopus oocyte. In a brain with Alzheimer's disease (AD), to investigate the roles of carboxyl-terminal fragment (CT105) of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in apoptosis processes possibly linked to neurodegeneration associated with AD, we examined the effects of the CT of APP with 105 amino acid residues (CT105) on the alteration of apoptosis triggers in neubroblastoma cells. We have investigated whether Radix Polygalae and Rhizoma Acori Graminei mixture extract (RP+RAG) inhibits CT105-induced apoptosis of neuroblastoma cells. We found that RP+RAG inhibits CT105-induced apoptosis in SK-N-SH cells. Treatment of the cells with RP+RAG inhibited CT105-induced DNA fragmentation and Tunel assay of nuclear chromatin and inhibited the caspase-3 expression in SK-N-SH cells. As the result of this study, In RP+RAG group, the apoptosis in the nervous system is inhibited, the repair against the degerneration of neuroblastoma cells by CT105 expression is promoted. These results indicate that RP+RAG possess strong inhibitory effect of apoptosis in the nervous system and repair effect against the degeneration of neuroblastoma cells by CT105 expression

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2021

This study is to investigate the determinants of consumption expenditure by considering potential expenditure factors such as socioeconomic, fishing village tourism behavior, motivation for visits, and optional attributes of tourists at Muchangpo webfoot octopus and finespotted flounder festival in Boryeong. The analysis data are 300 questionnaires of visitors to the festival during the 2018 Muchangpo Mysterious Sea Road Webfoot Octopus and Finespotted Flounder Festival from March 17 to April 8, 2018. As a result of analyzing the factors of consumption expenditure of tourists to the festival in Boryeong, socioeconomic factors such as gender and residential groups outside Chungcheong-do have a positive (+) effect on consumption expenditure. Among the factors of fishing village tourism behavior, the only number of days of stay more than one night has a positive (+) effect on consumption expenditure. In addition, in the analysis of factors for motivation to visit the festival, fun/interest and simple rest/leisure have a significant positive (+) effect on expenditure whereas stress relief have a negative (-) effect on expenditure. In the analysis of the factors of festival selection attributes, tourism facilities has a significant positive (+) effect on expenditure, but natural scenery and excellent natural scenery show a significant negative (-) effect on expenditure. The main implications that can be obtained from the results of this study are as follows. First, it suggests that the promotion should be actively conducted outside of Chungcheong Province in order to achieve the original purpose of revitalizing the local economy from the Muchangpo webfoot octopus and finespotted flounder festival. Second, it indicates that there should be a variety of unique high-quality festival programs differentiated from other local festivals, promoting the existence of simple rest/leisure facilities rather than webfoot octopus boat fishing experiences or natural scenery (i.e., mysterious road and sunset) in order to attract festival tourists' spending at the Muchangpo webfoot octopus and finespotted flounder festival.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2021.04a
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• pp.58-58
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• 2021

Although hypoxic/ischemic injury is thought to contribute to the incidence of Alzheimer disease (AD), the molecular mechanism that determines the relationship between hypoxia-induced β-amyloid (Aβ) generation and development of AD is not yet known. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of Acorus gramineus Soland. (AGS) on oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced A β production in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Pretreatment of these cells with AGS significantly attenuated OGD/R-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and elevation of levels of malondialdehyde, nitrite (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) and glutathione, as well as superoxide dismutase activity. AGS also reduced OGD/R-induced expression of the apoptotic protein caspase-3, the apoptosis regulator Bcl-2, and the autophagy protein becn-1. Finally, AGS reduced OGD/R-induced Aβ production and cleavage of amyloid precursor protein, by inhibiting secretase activity and suppressing the autophagic pathway. Although supporting data from in vivo studies are required, our results indicate that AGS may prevent neuronal cell damage from OGD/R-induced toxicity.