• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.380-390
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• 2015

The morphological characters were observed in six taxa in the genus Dioscorea of Korea (D. polystachya, D. japonica, D. nipponica, D. quinqueloba, D. tenuipes, and D. dokoro). The underground structure and the formation of bulbil were useful characters for separating sect. Enanatiophyllum from sect. Stenophora. The important characters for discriminating taxonomic entities were as follows: the position of the anther and the shape of the pistil in the microstructural characters, including the protuberance of the base of the petiole, the shape and color of the flower, the shape of the fruit, and the shape of the seed wing. Based on the results, a key to Korean Dioscorea is provided and the distribution of these species in Korea is described.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.647-652
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• 2006

Plants of the genus Dioscorea have long been used as oriental folk medicine, and Dioscorea batatas Decne has been cultivated for healthy food in Korea. Although the bulbils were produced 2,000 ton annually, there are few reports for bioactive compounds in bulbils. In this study, three phenanthrenes and two phenanthraquinones were isolated from the aerial bulbils of D. batatas Decne, and their structures were elucidated. Among them, compound 2 (6-hydroxy-2,7-dimethoxy-1,4-phenanthraquinone) has not been reported previously. Evaluation of antimicrobial activities based on disk-diffusion assay, MIC and MFC showed the compound 12 (6,7-dihydroxy-2,4-dimethoxyphenanthrene) has strong antimicrobial activity with $25\;{\mu}g/ml$ of MIC and MFC against Candida albicans. Our results suggested that compound 12 has a potent antifungal activity, and the antimicrobial activity and its spectrum are modulated by hydroxylation and methoxylation of phenanthrene ring moiety of the compound.