• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.583-599
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• 2008

Dokdo, small island located in the eastern end of the Korean Peninsula, has been an uninhabited island for long time due to long distance from the land. Moreover, the steep slope of volcanic tuff at Dokdo is well drained for high permeability and Dokdo has few plain areas, swamps and very thin soil layers. In this study, pollen analysis at Dokdo was attempted on the profile of organic sandy soil for the first time in Korea owing to the marine climate environment with high humidity and precipitation including snowfalls in spite of unprofitable condition geologically or geomorphologically. While many historical, political researches have been accumulated for territorial problem of Dokdo with Japan, natural scientific researches with field work are not sufficient, and few paleoecological researches have been done. As a result of pollen analysis, the ratio of the NAP(Non-Arboreal Pollen) and spore was higher than AP(Arboreal Pollen), and the vegetation change existed by showing dramatic decrease of AP at the upper layer. AP was composed of almost Pinus, and a little Alnus, Quercus, Betula, Carpinus, Picea and Ulmus. NAP was composed of Gramineae, Compositae, Chenopodiaceae Cyperaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Liliaceae, Umbelliferae, Artemisia, Lobelia, Rumex, Polygonum. Increase of the NAP such as Gramineae, Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae, they would mostly have been transported from the other areas because agricultural activity is impossible at Dokdo. While one reason of Pinus thunbergii decrease could be regarded as environmental change, the other reason would be lumbering of pine trees by human activity which is adapted to Dokdo environment.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.644-668
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• 2019

Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants which belongs to Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae sensu in APG system has been known as a useful plant in various fields as well as an invasive species spreading all over the world. To understand its phylogenetic relationship with neighbour species, we completed chloroplast genome of D. ambrosioides collected in Korea. Its length is 151,689 bp consisting of four sub-regions: 83,421 bp of large single copy (LSC) and 18,062 bp of small single copy (SSC) regions are separated by 25,103 bp of inverted repeat (IR) regions. 128 genes (84 protein-coding genes, eight rRNAs, and 36 tRNAs) were annotated. The overall GC content of the chloroplast genome is 36.9% and those in the LSC, SSC and IR regions are 34.9%, 30.3%, and 42.7%, respectively. Distribution of simple sequence repeats are similar to those of the other two Dysphania chloroplasts; however, different features can be utilized for population genetics. Nucleotide diversity of Dysphania chloroplast genomes 18 genes including two ribosomal RNAs contains high nucleotide diversity peaks, which may be genus or species-specific manner. Phylogenetic tree presents that D. ambrosioides occupied a basal position in genus Dysphania and phylogenetic relation of tribe level is presented clearly with complete chloroplast genomes.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.46-52
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• 2016

Salicornia herbacea L. (S. herbacea) is an annual herbaceous plant of Chenopodiaceae. It grows in groups on the coast or mud flat of Korea is known to be rich in minerals. S. herbacea has potent anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-obesity, bowel function improvement. However, pharmacological mechanisms of S. herbacea extract (SHE) remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential acute toxicity of SHE in ICR mice administered a single oral dose of 0, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mg/kg by gavage. After administration of the extract, signs of toxicity were observed every day for 14 days. No mortality, abnormal clinical signs, body weight, organ weight or pathological changes were observed compared to a control group, and there were no differences in the body weights of the control and treatment groups. Biological serum activities and histological tests were not significantly changed in the treatment group compared to the control group. Especially, treatment of SHE was significantly decreased of total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. These results indicated that a single oral administration of SHE does not exerts any toxic effects at a dose of 2,000 mg/kg and that the $LD_{50}$ of SHE is greater than 2,000 mg/kg. Accordingly, SHE appears to have potential in various functional agents of foods, without toxicity.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

The discovery of various activities of natural plants has increased interest in halophytes. Suaeda australis and S. maritime are perennial halophytes that belong to the Chenopodiaceae family. Extracts of S. australis and S. maritime plants were investigated for concentration and time-dependent antibacterial and antioxidant activities using bacterial species and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, respectively, as well as total phenolic content. The S. australis extract ($500{\mu}g/mL$) showed activity against all the bacterial species including P. aeruginosa, P. mirabilis, A. baumannii, and VRE with 61.1, 42.3, 44.49, and 40.38%, respectively, inhibition and suppressed of these four species for 12 h. Overall, the S. australis extract showed marked antibacterial activities while, in contrast, the S. maritime extract had excellent antioxidant effects. However, the effects of the two extracts were much lower than that of quercetin. The present study identified antibacterial activities of S. australis, and it would be necessary to perform further phytochemical studies of S. australis.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.195-204
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• 1987

Pollen analysis of moor peat of Daeam Mountain revealed vegetational history around Daeam Mountain. The pollen stratigraphy might be zoned into three, Zone I, Zone II and Zone III for the past 2, 200 years. The time required for amount of the accumulated peat in the moor was estimated in terms of the balance of the accumulation and decay of organic carbon of the deposit peat. Zone I(770~2, 200 yr BP) had Pinus and Quercus as main elements. Gramineae decreased while Typhaceae, Cyperaceae and spores such as Polypodiaceae increased. Zone II(300~770 yr BP) showed warming trend which is suggested by high pollen concentrations of Quercus, Juglans, Carpinus, Ulmus and by a more diverse flora of deciduous borad-leaved trees than Zone I. Pinus decreased in this zone. It suggests that the overall environment became milder than Zones I and III. Zone III(earlier than 300 yt BP) was predominantly Quercu and Pinus with amount of nonarboreal species such as Artemisia, Gramineae and Chenopodiaceae, that was grown under dry conditions. It suggests that overall environment vecome humid by comparison with the present time and it is surmised the course of boggy ground formation by a retrogressive succession.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.256-264
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• 2006

Salicornia herbacea L. (Chenopodiaceae) has been used as a seasoned vegetable by living in coastal areas. S. herbacea (SH) has been demonstrated to stimulate cytokine production, nitric oxide release, and to show anti-oxidative effect. In a series of investigations to develop potential anti-diabetic and/or anti-hyperlipidemic agents from Korean indigenous plants, 50% ethanol extract of Salicornia herbacea was found to prevent the onset of the hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia induced by high fat diet in ICR mice. At 6 week old, the ICR mice were randomly divided into five groups; two control and three treatment groups. The control mice were to receive either a regular diet (RD) or high-fat diet (HFD), and the treatment groups were fed a high fat diet with either 350 mg/kg, 700 mg/kg of SH (SH350 and SH700) or 250 mg/kg of met-formin (MT250) for a 10-week period. SH not only reduced body weight but also corrected associated hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in a dose dependent manner. SH exerted beneficial effects on the plasma glucose and lipid homeostasis possibly ascribed to its specific effects on lipogenesis related genes (SREBP1a, FAS, GAPT), and PEPCK, glucose 6-phosphatase gene expressions in liver. Ethanol extract of S. herbacea has potential as a preventive agent for type 2 diabetes (and possibly hyperlipidemia) and deserves future clinical trial.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.336-342
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• 2002

MeOH extract of Kochia scoparia was fractionated into $CHCl_3-$, EtOAc- and BuOH extracts and the last fraction were hydrolyzed by 3%-NaOH ($MeOH-H_2O$) to compare the bioactivities on antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. Silica gel column chromatography of BuOH fraction afforded a large amount of $3-Ο-{\beta}-D-xylopyranosyl {\;}(1{\rightarrow}3)-{\beta}-D-glucuronopyranosyl$ oleanolic acid (momordin Ic, 4) and that of acid hydrolysate of BuOH fraction gave $3-Ο-{\beta}-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic$ acid (momordin Ib, 3), its 6'-Ο-methyl ester (2) and oleanolic acid (1). Silica gel column chromatography of alkaline hydrolysate afforded a large amount of 4. MeOH extract and both EtOAc- and BuOH fractions were active in the rheumatoidal rat induced Freund's complete adjuvant reagent (FCA) whereas $CHCl_3$ fraction was inactive. Compound 1 and 4 showed significant activities in the same assay but oleanolic acid 3-Ο-glucuronopyranoside (3) showed no activity. These fashions were also observed in carrageenan-induced edema of the rat and in the antinociceptive activity tests undertaken in hot plate- and writhing methods. These results suggest that momordin Ic and its aglycone, oleanolic acid, could be active principles for rheumatoid arthritis.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.192-198
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• 2020

Caenorhabditis elegans model system was used to investigate the antioxidant activity of Beta vulgaris L. (Chenopodiaceae) methanol extract. The methanol extract showed DPPH radical scavenging and superoxide quenching activity in a dose-dependent manner. The B. vulgaris methanol extract was measured for the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and oxidative stress tolerance by using C. elegans, along with reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. In addition, to see that the regulation of the stress response gene is responsible for the increased stress tolerance of C. elegans treated by the methanol extract, SOD-3 expression was measured using a transgenic strain. As a result, the B. vulgaris methanol extract increased SOD and catalase activities, and decreased ROS accumulation, dose-dependently. Furthermore, the methanol extract-treated CF1553 worm showed higher SOD-3::GFP intensity than the control.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.945-953
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• 2006

Hyperlipidemia is one of the major factors causing the atherosclerosis of coronary arteries and a well-documented modifiable risk factor for stroke, especially of the ischemic type. Constipation is the condition of being unable to empty the bowels frequently enough or effectively. However, it is usually temporary and not a serious disease. Salicornia herbacea is a sea coast plant that grows on the western and southern coastal beaches and salt flats of the Korean peninsula. Belonging to Chenopodiaceae by biological classification. Salicornia herbacea is not known from research except that it contains plenty of minerals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with Hamcho-hwanand to observe changes in total cholesterol (T-Chol) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), triglyceride (TG) and constipation. After treatment, total cholesterol decreased from 273mg/dl to 235mg/dl. Triglyceride decreased from 201mg/dl to 126mg/dl. HDL cholesterol increased from 30mg/dl to 40mg/dl. Constipation changed for the better. These results support a role for oriental medical therapy in treating hyperlipidemia and constipation. Further case studies of herbal treatment of this ailment are needed.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.566-574
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to identify the phylogenetic relationships of the plants in the Korean genus Suaeda and to find out the molecular markers that could confirm the interspecies relationships in the family tree through molecular phylogenetic studies. We used the nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS and the chloroplast DNA matK, psbA-trnH, and trnL-trnF as the molecular markers. We could not distinguish between S. japonica and S. maritima and between S. maritima and S. australis in the ITS region and could not distinguish between S. japonica and S. australis with the base sequence in the psbA-trnH and trnL-trnF region. However, we analyzed the combinations of four molecular marker regions and confirmed that each of five plant species of the genus Suaeda formed the independent line. Therefore, it is considered that combinations of molecular markers would be useful for the analysis of phylogenetic relationships in the genus Suaeda. Further investigations of the ecological and morphological characteristics would be needed to understand the phylogenetic relationship and lineage diversification in the genus Suaeda.