• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.375-382
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• 2015

Ginsenosides (ginseng saponin) as the one of important pharmaceutical compounds of ginseng and is responsible for the pharmacological and biological activities. These ginsenoside produces diverse small molecules ginsenoside which have more pharmacological activities including anti-wrinkle, anti-cancer and anti-oxidant effects. In the present study, we isolated bacteria using esculin agar, to produce ${\beta}$-glucosidase, and we focused on the bio-transformation of ginsenoside. Phylogenetic tree analysis was performed by comparing the 16S rRNA sequences; we identified the strain as Stenotrophomonas rhizopilae strain GFC09. In order to determine the optimal conditions for enzyme activity, the crude enzyme was incubated with 1 mM ginsenoside $Rb_1$. Bioconversion of ginsenoside $Rb_1$ were analyzed using TLC and HPLC. The crude enzyme hydrolyzed the ginsenoside $Rb_1$ along the following pathway: LB: $Rb_1{\rightarrow}Rd{\rightarrow}F_2$ into compound K, TSB: $Rb_1{\rightarrow}Rd{\rightarrow}F_2$. The structure of the hydrolyzed metabolites were identified by NMR. The activity screening tests showed that the conversion product induced the production of type I procollagen in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggested that hydrolyzed ginseng product containing the ginsenoside $F_2$ and compound K could be useful as an active ingredient for wrinkle-care cosmetics.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.158-167
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• 2015

We selected 8 plants among 11 Jeju native plants to search useful natural anti-oxidants by determining the amount of total polyphenols and the various anti-oxidative effects. Ethyl acetate extracts of Castanopsis sieboldii (Makino) Hatus. and butanol extracts of Oenothera laciniata Hill showed strong DPPH free radical scavenging effect. The IC₅₀ value of each solvent extract was 1.6 ㎍/㎖ and 2.4 ㎍/㎖, respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction of Castanea crenata Siebold & Zucc exhibited strong inhibition against nitric oxide production. For the inhibition of xanthine oxidase, the ethyl acetate extracts of Castanea crenata Siebold & Zucc showed strong inhibition activity with 16 ㎍/㎖ of its IC₅₀. The ethyl acetate extracts from Castanopsis sieboldii (Makino) Hatus showed strong superoxide scavenging effect with 7 ㎍/㎖ of its IC₅₀. The hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of butanol extract of Castanopsis sieboldii (Makino) Hatus was 76%. Therefore, with more researches on purification and identification of active compounds, plants studied are expected to be natural sources for the functional food/cosmeceuticals with anti-oxidative properties.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.421-427
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• 2015

Angelica gigas Nakai is one of the most widely used herbal medicines and is known to have many pharmaceutical effects including an anti-oxidant, anti-cancer etc. This study was carried out to investigate an effect of fertilization on leaf yield, production of dry-matter and accumulation of pyranocurmarine compounds such as decursin (DE) and decursinol angelate (DA) in Angelica gigas Nakai. Effect of fertilization was determined from response surface regression equation composing of 2 by 3 factorial arrangement of urea, sodium dihydrogen phosphate and potassium chloride. Yield of leaf in Angelica gigas Nakai significantly increased until 100 days after transplanting. Production of leaf also tended to increase with increasing nitrogen fertilization. Model of regression equation showed that leaf production depended upon nitrogen ($Pr>{\mid}t{\mid}$ : 0.087, 0.256 and 0.079). Also, statistical results between nitrogen application level and production of dry-matter showed significant relationship (p<0.05) and contents of dry-matter was highest in 10 kg 10a-1 treatment on 24 Sep. Active compound isolated and purified from leaf and root of Angelica gigas Nakai was identified as DE and DA by gas chromatograph-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Concentration of DA as prevalent compound in leaf was highest on 20 Aug. but decreased on 24 Sep. Amount of DE and DA accumulated in Angelica gigas Nakai significantly increased with growth stages and nitrogen level. The result of our investigation imply that nitrogen fertilization is important factor for production of leaf and accumulation of pyranocurmarine in Angelica gigas Nakai as a medicinal/food materials.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.960-968
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• 2021

Since microalgae research started on late 18 century, they have been recognized as one of the most important bioresources used in bioindustry. Owing to the large efforts paid to industrial application of this microorganisms, their importance on food/feed and bioactive compounds has been further extending into the environmental research areas including alternative energy resources, mitigation of the carbon emission, and waste-water treatment. However, despite the importance on their industrial application, the fundamental research field related to the long-term preservation of microalgae culture has not received much attention. However, a less labor intensive and cost-efficient preservation technology enabling biologically active and stable microalgae-culture provides a key success factor in the biotechnological application. Therefore, this study investigated various cutting-edge microalgae cryopreservation technologies currently developed so far, mainly targeting Chlorophyta, which occupies the largest taxon in the classification system of microalgae. In addition, for the development of successful cryopreservation technique, the key factors such as temperature control effect and preservative effect during cryopreservation of microalgae culture were investigated. In addition, the problems with current preservation technology that is being used in Korean domestic biological resource banks and the international microalgal resource banks are described. According to our investigation, currently no standard method for long-term preservation of microalgae is available due to their various morphological and physiological characteristics. To overcome such issues, much more efforts on fundamental research area on the identification of specific biomarker used for microalgae taxonomical classification and further systemic approaches based on strain-specific cryopreservation methods needed.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.507-514
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• 2021

Lentinula edodes have been cultivated extensively not only in South Korea but also in other Asian countries. In terms of taste and nutrition, it is a valuable mushroom that is comparable to other mushrooms. L. edodes contains various physiologically active compounds that promote human health. One compound, ergothioneine, exerts a powerful antioxidant function that inhibits cellular senescence. As it is not biosynthesized by plants or animals, L. edodes is very important for ergothioneine supply. The L. edodes cultivars Bambithyang (NIFoS 3404) and Sansanhyang (NIFoS 3420) of the National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS) had higher ergothioneine content than the other cultivars, and 11 strains were obtained using mono-mono hybridization between them. The strains were inoculated into sawdust media to obtain fruiting bodies, and the ergothioneine content of each hybrid strain was confirmed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Among the 11 strains, NIFoS 5108 had a higher ergothioneine content than the parental strains, Bambithyang (NIFoS 3404) and Sansanhyang (NIFoS 3420). This study revealed that it is possible to develop cultivars with improved specific functions using mono-mono hybridization.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.244-249
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• 2021

The hydroponic culture for growing 'Duke' blueberry was evaluated in a protective greenhouse provided with similar environmental conditions to the conventional blueberry cultivations. One year old 'Duke' blueberry bushes planted in 180 L containers filled with 130 L peat moss and 40 L pearlite (v/v) were selected for the experiment. A nutrient solution consisted with NO₃-N 4.6, NH₄-N 3.4, PO₄-P 3.3, K 3, Ca 4.6, and Mg 2.2 mmol^-1 was supplied to the plants, comparing non-hydroponic treatment (provided with only underground water). Hydroponic culture increased number of shoot per bush by 18% and total shoot length by 24% compared with non-hydroponic culture. Total dry weight of a bush increased in the hydroponic with vigorous root growth 1.4-fold more than the non-hydroponic. Higher concentrations of inorganic elements and organic compounds were found in the hydroponic, indicating active nutrient absorption of the bush. The hydroponic produced high yield similar to adult bush from 4 years old age, maintaining the yield until 8 years old age. The findings of this study indicated that hydroponic cultivation systems will be useful for growing blueberry crop.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1016-1022
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• 2019

Owing to increased interest in preventing obesity in an aging society, both men and women spend considerable amount of cost on obesity managements. In this study, we investigated the natural substances on anti-obesity activities in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. Also, to improve anti-obesityeffects, research using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes cells is crucial. The anti-obesity effect of 70% ethanol extract from Torilis Japonica Decandolle on the differentiation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes to adipocytes was investigated by suppressing adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation with Oil Red O assay, and western blot analysis. Compared to the control, 70% ethanol extract of Torilis Japonica Decandolle was significantly inhibited adipocyte differentiation and intracellular triglyceride (TG) level at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/ml$. To determine the mechanism of reduction in TG content, we determined the level of protein expression of obesity-related proteins, such as peroxisome-proliferatorsactivated-receptor-${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) and CCAAT enhancer-binding-proteins-${\alpha}$ ($C/EBP{\alpha}$), and Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) phosphorylation. As a results, 70% ethanol extract of Torilis Japonica Decandolle significantly decreased protein expression of $PPAR{\gamma}$, $C/EBP{\alpha}$ and ACC phosphorylation. These results indicate that 70% ethanol extract of Torilis Japonica Decandolle is the most effective candidate for preventing obesity. However further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds that confer the anti-obesity activity of Torilis Japonica Decandolle.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.41-50
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• 2022

Recently, research on carbon adsorbents has been active as an interest in improving the environment such as indoor and outdoor air quality. Considering that causative substances deteriorate the air quality are basically volatile organic compounds, it is important to improve the hydrophobicity of the carbon materials for better removal efficiency. This study presents a method for improving hydrophobicity of carbon and a measurement of the hydrophobicity. Generally, methods of improving the hydrophobicity of carbon materials are heat treatment, acid/alkali treatment, coating and immersion with hydrophobic materials. However, it collapses the pore structure and reduces the adsorption capacity. Therefore, this study briefly introduce not only the general method for improving carbon materials' hydrophobicity but also the method for converting the precursor of the material is briefly introduced. Futhermore, this study introduces a analytical technique used to determine hydrophobic modification or not, and aims to enhance the understanding of carbon materials.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.305-315
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• 2021

Background: Panax stipuleanatus represents a folk medicine for treatment of inflammation. However, lack of experimental data does not confirm its function. This article aims to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of triterpenoid saponins isolated from P. stipuleanatus. Methods: The chemical characterization of P. stipuleanatus allowed the identification and quantitation of two major compounds. Analgesic effects of triterpenoid saponins were evaluated in two models of thermal- and chemical-stimulated acute pain. Anti-inflammatory effects of triterpenoid saponins were also evaluated using four models of acetic acid-induced vascular permeability, xylene-induced ear edema, carrageenan-induced paw edema, and cotton pellet-induced granuloma in mice. Results: Two triterpenoid saponins of stipuleanosides R₁ (SP-R₁) and R₂ (SP-R₂) were isolated and identified from P. stipuleanatus. The results showed that SP-R₁ and SP-R₂ significantly increased the latency time to thermal pain in the hot plate test and reduced the writhing response in the acetic acid-induced writhing test. SP-R₁ and SP-R₂ caused a significant decrease in vascular permeability, ear edema, paw edema, and granuloma formation in inflammatory models. Further studies showed that the levels of inflammatory mediators, nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin 6 in paw tissues were downregulated by SP-R₁ and SP-R₂. In addition, the rational harvest of three- to five-year-old P. stipuleanatus was preferable to obtain a higher level of triterpenoid saponins. SP-R₂ showed the highest content in P. stipuleanatus, which had potential as a chemical marker for quality control of P. stipuleanatus. Conclusion: This study provides important basic information about utilization of P. stipuleanatus resources for production of active triterpenoid saponins.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.692-701
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• 2020

Centella asiatica (CA) has been widely used as herbal plants. It is a valuable resources. The aim of the present study was to evaluate physiological activities of solvent extracts from CA cultivated in Chungju, Korea (Good tiger care). After preparing water (cold-water, CA-WE; hot-water, CA-HWE) and EtOH extracts (50% EtOH, CA-50E; 70% EtOH, CA-70E), their total polyphenol, flavonoid, and triterpenoid contents, and anti-oxidant activities, and anti-inflammatory activities were examined and compared. CA-70E showed the most potent anti-oxidant activity based on ABTS radical scavenging activity and reducing ability assays, while CA-50E and CA-70E showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity. Among major triterpenoid glycosides present in CA, madecassoside and asiaticoside contents were found to be the highest in CA-70E, and madecassic acid and asiatic acid were the highest in CA-50E. In LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, CA-70E showed the highest TNF-α inhibitory activity, although CA-50E and CA-70E similarly inhibited nitric oxide production. Ethanol extracts significantly inhibited IL-6 and IL-8 production more than water extracts using TNF-α/IFN-γ-stimulated HaCaT cells, indicating its better inhibitory against skin inflammation. Therefore, Chungju-CA EtOH extract, especially 70% EtOH extract, has high physiologically active ingredients and potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, suggesting its industrial application as a functional material.