• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.77-80
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• 2004

For the development of the alternative control system against the major forest pests, Beauveria spp. F-101, isolated from a dead larva of Thecodiplosis japonensis, was selected because this isolate showed high pathogenicities against T. japonensis and Acantholyda parki. Beauveria spp. F-101 had irregular clustered conidio-phores and conidia borne on a distinctive apical zigzag extension, and it showed typical characteristic of the genus, Beauveria in morphology. For molecular based-identification, the ribosomal ITS region of Beauveria spp. F-101 was amplified with ITS1 and ITS4 primers, and cloned into pGEM- T Easy vector. The amplified PCR product was 569 bp in size and completely sequenced. The similarities of the cloned ITS sequence were 99 ％ and 97％ to those of B. bassiana and B. brongniartii, respectively. In comparison to other species among the genus Beauveria, the ITS region of Beauveria spp. F-101 showed a similarity of 95％ to B. amorpha, 95％ to B. tenella, 89％ to B. vermiconia and 69％ to B. alba, respectively. In addition, in comparison to different genus, it had 95％ similarities to Cordyceps militaris and 91％ to Paecilomyces tenuipes. Accordingly, the current result suggests that Beauveria spp. F-101 was a variant of B. bassiana and it seems to be a new isolate considering sequence variation in ITS region.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.347-354
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• 2013

Cordyceps militaris, a traditional medicinal mushroom, produces a component compound, cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine). Cordycepin has many pharmacological activities including immunological stimulating, anti-cancer, and anti-infection activities. However, the therapeutic mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we examined the effects of cordycepin on the antigen-presenting function of antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Dendritic cells (DCs) were cultured in the presence of cordycepin and then allowed to phagocytose microspheres containing ovalbumin (OVA). After washing and fixing, the efficacy of OVA peptide presentation by DCs was evaluated using CD8 and CD4 T cells. Also, we confirmed the protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines through RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Cordycepin decreased both MHC class I and class II-restricted presentation of OVA and suppressed the expression of both MHC molecules and the phagocytic activity toward exogenous OVA. The class II-restricted OVA presentation-regulating activity of cordycepin was also confirmed using mice that had been injected with cordycepin followed by soluble OVA. Furthermore, cordycepin suppressed the mRNA and protein levels of iNOS, COX-2, pro-inflammatory cytokines in a concentration-dependent manner. These results provide an understanding of the mechanism of the T cell response-regulating activity of cordycepin through the inhibition of MHC-restricted antigen presentation in relation to its actions on APCs.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.197-203
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• 2013

We studied the total polyphenol content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition of water extracts from 17 medicinal plants. Total polyphenol contents ranged from 10.0 (Coix lachryma-jobi L, CL) ~ 279.7 (Perilla sikokiana, PS)mg/g. The water extract from medicinal plants were evaluated for its free radical scavenging activities and compared with a commercial antioxidant, ascorbic acid. DPPH radical scavenging activity of Pyrus pyrifolia (PP), Chamaecyparis obtusa L. (COL), Chamaecyparis obtusa F. (COF), and PS were higher than positive control. Higher hydroxyl radical scavenging activity were shown in Acanthopanax senticosus (AS) and Cordyceps militaris (CM) than the other plants. The highest anti-${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity was observed in Cornus officinalis (CO) and Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews (PSA) water extracts. PSA showed not only the higher DPPH radical scavenging activity but also the anti-${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity. The results of our study that PP, COL, COF, PS, AS, CM, CO and PSA could be potential candidates for natural antioxidants.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2008

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most frequent form of oral cancer and holds the eighth position in the cancer incidence ranking. OSCC patients are treated by classical therapeutic modalities consisting of surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy. But OSCC still shows significant mortality rates. Thus, new therapeutic approaches have been investigated and the most promising one is naturally acquired agents with known anti-cancer effects. Genistein is a compound extracted from soy bean. Its anti-cancer effect on breast cancer is well established now and it is investigated whether it has similar effect on OSCC. It inhibited the growth and invasive-ness of OSCC cells in vitro, but these effects did not work in living animals in vivo. Catechin is a compound from green tea and its anti-cancer effect on OSCC is known better than other agents. Catechin showed its anti-cancer effect in vitro via induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, inhibition of growth, and down-regulation of invasion/metastasis. These effects were confirmed in vivo with mouse model. Cordycepin is one of major pharmacologically important components in Cordyceps Militaris and may exert its anti-cancer effect as an adenosine receptor agonist. In recent study, it inhibited the proliferation of OSCC cells via A3 adenosine receptor. But because there is very scarce evidence on this effect, more researches are needed on this theme.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.98-105
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• 2009

Background: It has been recently noticed that type 2 diabetes (T2D), one of the most common metabolic diseases, causes a chronic low-grade inflammation and activation of the innate immune system that are closely involved in the pathogenesis of T2D. Cordyceps militaris, a traditional medicinal mushroom, produces a component compound, cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine). Cordycepin has been known to have many pharmacological activities including immunological stimulating, anti-cancer, and anti-infection activities. The molecular mechanisms of cordycepin in T2D are not clear. In the present study, we tested the role of cordycepin on the anti-diabetic effect and anti-inflammatory cascades in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Methods: We confirmed the levels of diabetes regulating genes mRNA and protein of cytokines through RT-PCR and western blot analysis and followed by FACS analysis for the surface molecules. Results: Cordycepin inhibited the production of NO and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, and TNF-${\alpha}$ in LPS-activated macrophages via suppressing protein expression of pro-inflammatory mediators. T2D regulating genes such as $11{\beta}$-HSD1 and PPAR${\gamma}$ were decreased as well as expression of co-stimulatory molecules such as ICAM-1 and B7-1/-2 were also decreased with the increment of its concentration. In accordance with suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokine production lead to inhibition of diabetic regulating genes in activated macrophages. Cordycepin suppressed NF-${\kappa}B$ activation in LPS-activated macrophages. Conclusion: Based on these observations, cordycepin suppressed T2D regulating genes through the inactivation of NF-${\kappa}B$ dependent inflammatory responses and suggesting that cordycepin will provide potential use as an immunomodulatory agent for treating immunological diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.400-411
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• 2003

This study was carried out to identify the phylogenetic relationship and to know the distribution of the entomopathogenic fungi by comparing the DNA sequences of internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) and 5.8S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeat unit. The entomopathogenic fungi had their specific sequences in ITS1 and 2 regions depending on species. The comparison of the ITS sequences of standard strains indicated that the sequences ITS1 were more variable than those of ITS2. It seems that Paecilomyces tenuipes, Isaria japonicus and P. japonicus are the same species but called as different names because of very similar sequences, and unidentified Paecilomyces sp. KACC 40220 and KACC 40656 showed identical sequences to P. tenuipes. Thirty six strains of the commercial products of entomopathogenic fungi used in this study were divided into four groups by the phylogenetic analysis based on 5.85 rDNA and ITS regions. We found twenty-three strains were P. tenuipes / japonica, eleven strains were C. militaris, and other two strains were Beauveria bassiana and C. multiaxialis, respectively.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.265-275
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• 2021

Objective: The study developed mushroom stalk residues as feed additives in the broiler diet for improving the growth performance and immunity of broilers as well as to increase the value of mushroom stalk residues. Methods: In total, 300 ROSS 308 broilers were randomly allocated into fifteen pens with five dietary treatments: i) control, basal diet; ii) CMWM, supplemented with 1% Cordyceps militaris waster medium (CM); iii) CMPE, supplemented with 0.5% CM+0.5% Pleurotus eryngii stalk residue (PE); iv) CMPS, supplemented with 0.5% CM+0.5% Pleurotus sajorcaju stalk residue (PS); v) CMFV, supplemented with 0.5% CM+0.5% Fammulina velutipes stalk residue (FV). Results: The chemical analysis results showed that CM extracts, PE extracts, PS extracts, and FV extracts contain functional components such as polysaccharides and phenols and have both 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate scavenging and Ferrous scavenging capacities. The group CMWM saw increased body weight gain and feed conversion rate and the promotion of jejunum villus growth, but there is no significant difference in the intestinal bacteria phase. Antioxidant genes in the nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2)- antioxidant responsive element pathway among the groups are significantly higher than that of the control group, especially in group CMWM. Conclusion: The mushroom stalk residues have antioxidant functional components, can improve the intestinal health and body weight gain of chickens, and can activate the antioxidant pathway of Nrf2 to increase the heme oxygenase-1 expression. The treatment with 1% CM was the most promising as a feed additive.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.455-467
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• 2021

Macrofungi are valuable resources as novel drug candidates, new biomaterials, and edible materials. Recently, genetic approaches pertaining to macrofungi have been continuously growing for their identification, molecular breeding, and genetic engineering. However, purification and amplification of fungal DNA is challenging because of the rigid cell wall and presence of PCR inhibitory metabolites. Here, we established a direct PCR method to provide a rapid and efficient method for PCR-grade macrofungal DNA preparation applicable to both conventional PCR and real-time PCR. We first optimized the procedure of lysis and PCR using the mycelia of Lentinula edodes, one of the most widely consumed macrofungal species. Lysates prepared by neutralizing with (NH₄)₂SO₄ after heating the mycelia in a mixture of TE buffer and KOH at 65℃ for 10 min showed successful amplification in both conventional and real-time PCR. Moreover, the addition of bovine serum albumin to the PCR mixture enhanced the amplification in conventional PCR. Using this method, we successfully amplified not only internal transcribed spacer fragments but also low-copy genes ranging in length from 500 to 3,000 bp. Next, we applied this method to 62 different species (54 genera) of macrofungi, including edible mushrooms, such as Pleurotus ostreatus, and medicinal mushrooms such as Cordyceps militaris. It was found that our method is widely applicable to both ascomycetes and basidiomycetes. We expect that our method will contribute to accelerating PCR-based approaches, such as molecular identification, DNA marker typing, gene cloning, and transformant screening, in macrofungal studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.1331-1335
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• 2009

We have studied the anti-diabetic effects of medicinal plant water extracts on hepatic glucose-regulating enzymes such as glucokinase (GK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). $\alpha$-Glucosidase inhibitor is usually used to prevent and treat type II diabetes; thus, anti-$\alpha$-glucosidase activity of medicinal plant water extracts was assayed. The hepatic cytosol faction of a type II diabetic animal (Goto-Kakizaki rat) was used in GK and ACC activity assays. The medicinal plants were Lycium chinense (JGP), Discorea japonica Thunb. (SY), Pyrus pyrifolia (YSB), Cornus officinalis (SSY), Paeonia suffruticosa ANDR. (MDP), Cordyceps militaris (DCH), and Acanthopanax senticosus (GSO). JGP, SY, YSB, and SSY water extracts increased the hepatic GK activity and all medicinal plant water extracts led to an increase in hepatic ACC activity. YSB, SSY, MDP, and GSO water extracts showed significantly higher anti-$\alpha$-glucosidase activity than control samples. The highest anti-$\alpha$-glucosidase activity was observed in GSO water extract and the anti-$\alpha$-glucoside activity was higher than that of Acarbose (reference $\alpha$-glucosidase inhibitor). We suggest that JGP, SY, YSB, and SSY water extracts may exert an anti-diabetic effect by enhancing the glucose metabolism and that YSB, MDP and GSO may be used as natural $\alpha$-glucosidase inhibitors in type II diabetic conditions. Increased ACC activity by plant water extracts may provide additional anti-diabetic effect.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.7
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• pp.1008-1014
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• 2013

This study evaluated the anti-diabetic effects of medicinal plant water extracts on expression of hepatic glucokinase (GCK), pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) mRNA. GCK, PDH and ACC mRNA expression levels were measured by RT-PCR. The medicinal plants used in our study were Cordyceps militaris (CM), Perilla sikokiana (PS), Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (SMB), Panax notoginseng (PN) and Angelica utilis Makino (AUM). We found that GCK mRNA expression was increased to about 181% at the 250 ppm of CM water extract. Furthermore, we also found that CM and AUM water extracts stimulated PDH mRNA expression level related to glucose metabolism, however, PS, SMB and PN did not stimulate PDH mRNA expression as expected. Expression of ACC mRNA was also significantly higher in both CM and AUM water extracts. Overall, the results of our study suggest that CM and AUM water extracts stimulate expression of hepatic GCK, PDH and ACC mRNA.