• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.129-133
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• 2015

The antioxidant potentials of ten kinds of medicinal plants used as natural dyeing agents were tested. Among the plant extracts and floral waters that were examined in this study, the antioxidant activities of the DPPH and ABTS radical scavengers increased with increasing amounts of the extracts. The hot-water extracts from Aphis chinensis, Caesalpinia sappan L., Rumex crispus L., and Areca catechu effectively inhibited the DPPH and ABTS radicals at concentration below 0.1 mg/mL. The floral water obtained through steam distillation from Areca catechu, Rubia akane Nakai, Coptis chinensis, and Phellodendron amurense showed relatively valid antioxidant activities. In particular, the natural colorants extracted from Rumex crispus L., Areca catechu, and Aphis chinensis effectively suppressed the photogenerated singlet oxygen induced by a photosensitizer in in-vitro assay systems. The concentrations ($IC_{50}$) of the hot-water Aphis chinensis extract required to exert a 50% reduction effect on DPPH, ABTS, and singlet oxygen were found to be 8.5, 8.0, and $210{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The study results suggest that extracts derived from naturally occurring colorants as well as floral waters could be used as natural antioxidants in the food and health-care industries.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2008

Insecticidal activity of 20 plant species against adults of Myzus persicae, female adults of Tetranychus urticae, and $2^{nd}\;or\;3^{rd}$ instar larvae of Plutella xylostella was evaluated in this study. Thirteen plant extracts showed over 80% acaricidal activity to T. urticae at the concentration of 1 %, while Capsicum annuum (hot-pepper seed), Inula helenium, and Acorus calamus revealed 82.8-86.2% acaricidal activities at 0.5%. Insecticidal activities of the plant extracts to M. persicae and P. xylostella were relatively low compare to the mite. Among the plant extracts, C. anuum and Brassica juncea revealed 48.6% and 42.9% respectively insecticidal activities to the aphid at the concentration of 0.5%. Extracts of C. anuum and Jeffersonia dubia provided 55% and 50% insecticidal activity against P. xylostella at 1%. And, the highest antifeeding activity of the insect was observed in the J. dubia extract as 79.4%. Results indicated that some plant extracts including hot pepper seed could be used as potential botanical pesticides for organic farming.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.265-272
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• 2006

Acne is a chronic inflammatory follicular disorder of the skin, occurring in specialized pilosebaceous units on the face, and Propionibacterium acnes, a strict anaerobic pathogen, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of acne. To develop a reliable and effective anti-acne agent, we have evaluated antibacterial activity of 500 plant extracts, prepared from 335 plants, against P. acnes. Based on the results of disc-paper method, 25 plant extracts, including the extracts of Chloranthus japonicus (aerial part), Sophora flavescens (radix), Evodia officinalis (fructus), Ginko biloba (semem), Morus alba (root bark), Aralia continentalis (whole) and Reynoutria elliptica (radix), were selected as possible sources of anti-acne agent. Among them, the extract of S. flavescens (radix) was finally selected and kuraridin and kurarinone were identified as major active compounds of S. flavescens. These results suggested that medicinal and wild plants could be the potential source of anti-acne agent.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.974-979
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• 2008

The powdery mildew, a fungal plant disease found in varieties of plant cultures, is occurred by attack with Fusarium sp., Sphaerotheca sp., Leveilluna sp., and Eryshipe sp.. In this study we investigated the control of Fusarium graminearum, a barley powdery mildew fungus, by natural plant extracts. Among the 900 plant extracts tested, Zanthoxylum schinifolium, Ligusticum acutilobum, Bidens frondosa L., Dictamnus dasycarpus, Evodia officinalis, Disporum sessile, Scopolia japonica Max., Styrax japonica S. et Z., Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz., Sinomenium acutum Rehder et Wils., Eugenia aromaticum, Rubus parvifolius L., Reynoutria elliptica, Coptis chinensis, Paeonia lactiflora Pall., Rheum undalatum, Paeonia suffruticosa, Oenothera odorata Jacq., Euphorbia pekinensis Rupr., and Nepeta cataria were selected based on spore germination inhibition assay. Further mycelial growth inhibition assay with economical and safety considerations led us to finally select Z. schinifolium (sancho) for control of F. graminearum. To produce antifungal sancho extract, methanol was suitable for extraction and subsequent fractionations of the extract showed that the water residue mainly had antifungal activity. The sancho extract and its fractions showed minor antibacterial activity against different pathogenic or food spoilage bacteria, but they did not show any harmful effects against young tomato plant by treatment of $1,000\;{\mu}g/ml$ in green chamber test. These results suggested that the extract of sancho has high potentials on control of a powdery mildew fungus, F. graminearum.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.633-641
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• 2014

This study investigated the antioxidant and antiobesity activity of extract powders from the following natural color resources: Polygonum indigo, Black locust, Cochineal, Catechu, Grape, Tesu flower, Henna, Chrysanthemum, Sandalwood Red, Himalayan Rhubarb, and Madder. Total phenol content was the highest in Catechu extract, at 348.25 mg/g. DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were also higher in Catechu extract. Bleaching inhibition activity in the ${\beta}$-carotene linoleic acid system was the highest in Black locust extract, as was ${\alpha}$-Glucosidase inhibition activity. ${\alpha}$-Amylase inhibition activity was the highest in Catechu extract. Trypsin inhibition activity of Black locust extract was greater than 60%, and ${\alpha}$- chymotrypsin inhibition activity of Catechu extract was greater than 40%. Lipase inhibition activity was the highest Black locust extract, at 52.73%. Viability of 3T3-L1 cells was not affected by treatment with extracts at concentrations of $1.25{\sim}25{\mu}g/ml$. Lipid accumulation in the 3T3-L1 cells was the lowest following treatment with Catechu extract, at 55.8%, and this extract also inhibited adipocyte differentiation. These results suggest that the Catechu and Black locust extracts have high antioxidant and antiobesity activities and can be useful ingredients in functional foods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.5 s.72
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• pp.715-725
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• 2005

Oral streptococci are major constituents of dental plaques, and their prevalence is closely linked with various pathologic symptoms, such as dental caries. To develop natural anticaries agent, we prepared 309 kinds of plant extracts from 215 species of edible or medical plants, and antibacterial activity of the extracts against Streptococcus mutans JC-2 were evaluated based on 96 well microtiter plate assay and disk paper method, subsequently. Among the tested plant extracts, Ailanthus altissima, Paeonia lactiflora, Rubus phoenicolasius, Aralia continentalis, Quercus acutissima, Persicaria hydropiper and Agrimonia pilosa extracts showed strong antimicrobial activity. Determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the selected seven plant extracts showed that Ailanthus altissima, Persicaria hydropiper and Quercus acutissima extracts ($MIC=25\∼30[\mu}g/ml$) has potential as a source of natural anticaries agents.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.779-784
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of herbs on memory improvement by focusing on their cholinergic functions in Tg2576 mice. Seven herbs were used to obtain extracts by using alcohol and water. In screening test for cholinergic activities of the extracts, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was highly inhibited in Oenanthe javanica alcohol extract (OJAE, 18.76%) as compared with the others. The OJAE-treated Tg2576 (Tg-OJAE) groups showed the statistically significant increases of latency time in passive avoidance test. Also, it was found that the concentration of $A{\beta}1-42$ was significantly reduced in Tg-OJAE groups compared to non-treated Tg2576 groups. In the additional enzyme test, it was found that $IC_{50}$ of OJAE was $991.77{\mu}g/mL$ and OJAE acted as an uncompetitive inhibitor of AChE. Therefore, it seemed that OJAE can be used for the development of processed foods for memory improvement.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.721-729
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• 2013

To improve the quality and functionality of the low salt squid Jeot-gal, extracts from three types of medicinal and edible plants (bay leaf, green tea, pine needle) were added. The quality characteristics, bioactivities, and shelf-lives of these preparations were determined at three different fermentation temperatures. The pH decreased more rapidly at higher temperatures, while the amount of volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), total viable cells, and amino nitrogen ($NH_2$-N) increased. The shelf-lives of Jeot-gal with natural plant extracts at $10^{\circ}C$ were 34~35 days, similar to the control. The major free and compositional amino acids of Jeot-gal were glutamic acid, proline, and alanine, while the major nucleotides (and related compounds) were hypoxanthine and inosine. In bioactivity assays, samples supplemented with plant extracts showed higher bioactivities than the control. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of ethanol extracts from Jeot-gal were stronger than the water extracts; in contrast, the water extracts were stronger for hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity. However, superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity and ${\beta}$-glucuronidase inhibitory activity were moderately low at 20 mg/mL. Based on sensory evaluation results, the quality of low salt squid Jeot-gal with natural plant extracts is similar to the control. Therefore, low salt squid Jeot-gal with natural plant extracts can be commercialized as a functional fermented food.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.200-204
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• 1991

Certain parts of 36 kinds of plant were extracted by 75% ethanol and water. The extracts were tested their microbial inhibition activities against several food spoilage microorganisms, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus cereus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ethanol extract of amur cork was shown inhibitory effect on all 6 species of the microorganisms tested. Chinese pepper, sesame cake, gromwell and oak were on 5 species except S. cerevisiae or P. fluorescens and bamboo leaves, lycopi herba, paulownia and rigida were on 4 species. In general amur cork exhibited the strongest inhibition with a few exceptions on certain species. By disc diffusion method, the ethanol extract of leaf mustard showed the highest inhibition effect on B. subtilis, amur cork on L.plantarum, L. mesenteroides and B. cereus, and amur cork and gallnut on P. fluorescens. Mostly the ethanol extracts in comparison with water extracts showed higher inhibition in most of plants but a few exhibited higher in water extracts.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.31 no.3 s.52
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• pp.273-277
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• 2005

This study was performed to develop new cosmeceutical agents with sebosuppressive activity from native plant extracts in Korea. Inhibitory efforts of the extracts on $5{\alpha}-reductase$ (5-AR) were evaluated by enzyme kinetics analysis using UV-spectrophotometric method. Two kinds of enzyme suspensions as 5-AR sources were prepared from rat liver tissue and cultured hSG cells. The sebosuppressive effects were determined by measuring the total lipid quantity produced in cultured hSG cells after incubation with the extracts. As a result, Pinus thunbergii extracts showed the most potent 5-AR inhibitory effects. Its $K_i$ values were 0.0002% and 0.0014% for rat liver 5-AR and human sebaceous gland 5-AR, respectively. Addition of Pinus thunberii extract to hSG cells showed 48% reduction in total lipid production at 0.005% concentration. In conclusion, Pinus thunbergii extracts can be used as a cosmeceutical agent to regulate sebum production and to alleviate the sebum-involved skin diseases, such as acne and seborrheic dermatitis.