• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.302-307
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• 2009

The present study was designed to clarify the antidiabetic activity and mechanism of Dioscorea rhizome in diabetic db/db mice. Mice were administered Dioscorea rhizome and rosiglitazone orally for 7 weeks and the effects of these compounds on fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance and intestinal disaccharidase activity in db/db mice were evaluated. The fasting serum glucose of the D. rhizome treated group was reduced when compared with that of the db/db control group. In addition, the disaccharidase activities in homogenates of the proximal, middle and distal segment of the small intestine were significantly decreased response to D. rhizome treatment, especially in the middle segment. These results suggest that D. rhizome decreases blood glucose via a decrease in the activity of disaccharidase in the mucosa of the middle region of the small intestine in db/db mice.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.55-59
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• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the content of sulfur dioxide residues in the medicine prepared from crue drugs. Total 29 pills that contains salvia miltiorrhiza root, anemarrhena rhizome, fritillaria bulb, glehnia root, asparagus tuber, lycium fruit, moutan root bark, cimicifuga rhizome, pinellia tuber, dipsaci radix, codonopsis pilosula root, liriope tuber, achyranthes root, prepared aconite, aurantii fructus immaturus, corydalis tuber, dioscorea rhizome were examined by the modified Monier_Willams method. Sulfur dioxide were detectd in all the tested samples, and were found over MRLs (30 mg/ kg to medicinal herbs) in 8 samples (27.6%). Especilly, "i2" pills contains 132.46 mg/kg sulfur dioxide that is 4 times over than MRLs.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.39-47
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• 2023

Objectives : The objective of present study was to investigate the vasorelaxant effects of 20 Korean native plants on isolated rat thoracic aorta precontracted with phenylephrine (PE). Methods : Dried 20 plant materials were extracted 3 times with water, ethanol, or methanol for 3h in the reflux apparatus at 70 ± 5℃. Male SD rats were anesthetized by ether inhalation, and their aorta rings were isolated and placed in 10 ㎖ Krebs Henseleit (KH) buffer. While using an isolated organ-chamber technique, the aorta rings were maintained by bubbling with a gas mixture of 95% O₂-5% CO₂ at 37℃. Changes in isometric tension of aorta rings were recorded via isometric transducers connected to a Powerlab Data Acquisition System. Results : Among the 20 native plants, Chrysanthemum indicum L. flower, Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. rhizome, Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. fruit, Anthriscus sylvestris (L.) Hoffm. root, Corydalis turtschaninovii Besser tuber, Corydalis decumbens (Thunb.) Pers. tuber, and Dolichos lablab L. seed showed significant vasorelaxant effect on the contraction of aorta rings induced by PE. In contrast, Mertensia maritima subsp. asiatica Takeda whole plant, Ajuga decumbens Thunb. whole plant, Trigonotis peduncularis (Trevis.) Benth. ex Baker & S.Moore whole plant, Dioscorea quinquelobate Thunb. rhizome, Allium microdictyon Prokh aerial part, Momordica charantia L. fruit, Carthamus tinctorius L. flower, and Clematis terniflora DC. root constricted more the aorta rings precontracted by PE Conclusion : These results suggest that the possibility as useful herbal resources for the development of functional foods or medicines for hypertension treatment.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.455-458
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• 2000

Research on pesticide residues as endocrine disruptors in natural medicines was initiated by Korea Food & Drug Administration this year. We determined the presence and levels of certain pesticides in selected natural medicines. The natural medicines collected this year are Glycyrrhiza Root, Cinnamon Bark, Pueraria Root, Polygonatum Rhizome, Jujube, Schizandra Fruit, Lycium Fruit, Liriope Tuber, Eucommia Bark, Peony Root, Korean Angelica, Dioscorea Rhizome, Cnidium Rhizome, Cassia Seed, Platycodon Root, Comus Fruit, Mentha Herb, Epimedium Herb, Bupleurum Root, and Ginger, which have no data for pesticide residues and 192 samples of them were circulated in Korea, 28 samples were circulated in China. In order to analyze many pesticides in large number of samples we used simultaneous multi-residue analysis of pesticides by GC-ECD, which was followed by GC-MSD analysis to confirm the identity of the detected pesticide in each sample.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.176-180
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• 1998

This experiment was conducted to investigate processing method and usage of dried yam, "Sanyak". Jujube showed the higher value in extract, brix and extract content compared with Danggui and Sanyak. Mixing of Sanyak with Jujube and Danggui was proper to raise extract and taste. Brix and extract content was $1.17^{\circ}$ and 1.80% higher, respectively, in 12 hours of extraction than in 8 hours of extraction. The apt mixing ratio was 3 : 4 : 3 (Sanyak : Danggui : Jujube). By adding 70% of glucose and 10% of lactose to 20% of extract, good viscosity and appearance of paste were obtained. 1.5mm of granule thickness was proper in phase of manufacturing, drying and shaping.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.1016-1020
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• 2007

In this study, dioscin was isolated from Dioscoreae Rhizoma (DR), which is the rhizome of Dioscorea batatas DECNE. that inhabits broad areas of Korea and Japan. To determine whether dioscin induced growth hormone (GH) release, we evaluated its induction effects on GH release both in vitro and in vivo. The 70% methanol extract of DR, and its n-hexane and n-BuOH fractions, induced rat GH (rGH) release in rat pituitary cells 10-fold, 8-fold, and 5-fold higher than the control ($0.36{\pm}0.02 nM$), respectively (p < 0.05 each). The dioscin-induced rGH release of the cells was concentration-dependent and its $ED_{50}$ was $1.14{\times}10^{-5} M$. Within 90 minutes after intravenous administration of $10{\mu}g$/kg (p < 0.05 at $t_{max}$), dioscin caused the greatest increase in rGH concentration ($C_{max}$) in the rat plasma ($34.16{\pm}14.10 ng/ml$) (n = 4), which was twice as high as the control group ($12.88{\pm}3.29 ng/ml$) (n = 27).

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.391-397
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• 2010

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) have been used as medicinal and edible resources worldwide. In the present study, methanol extracts were prepared from various kinds of yam, including D. batatas (Gyeongbuk No. 1 and No. 4), D. alata L. (Gyeongbuk No. 5 and No. 6), and D. bulbifera and D. nipponica, and the antioxidant, antithrombin, and antimicrobial activities of these extracts were evaluated. The water content of the various yams was 54.7~83.2% (D. batatas> D. alata L.>D. nipponica>D. bulbifera) and the methanol extracts contained 0.59-1.59% (w/v) solid matter (D. alata L.>D. batatas >D. nipponica>D. bulbifera). The mean concentrations of total polyphenols, total flavonoids, and total sugars in the different types of yam were 49.82 mg/g, 9.79 mg/g, and 173.81 mg/g, respectively. Analysis of DPPH radical-scavenging activity showed that D. alata L. Gyeongbuk No. 6 had a strong antioxidant capacity (IC50=$142.30{\mu}g/mL$), whereas the other yams showed reduced levels of activity (IC50=371-$486{\mu}g/mL$). D. alata L. Gyeongbuk No. 6 showed a strong antithrombin activity against human thrombin. Upon treatment with a D. alata methanol extract (1.5 mg/mL), thrombin time was increased 7.35-fold compared with that when methanol alone was used. In an antimicrobial activity assay, the D. nipponica extract showed moderate antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, and Salmonella typhimurium. Our results indicate that different varieties of Dioscorea spp., including D. batatas, have useful biochemical attributes, including antioxidant, antithrombin, and antibacterial activities.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.456-463
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 3 types of medicinal herbs (Glycyrrhizae radix, Astragali radix and Dioscorea rhizoma) extracts on estrogen-like activities, proliferation and differentiation in osteoblast. Human breast cancer cell line MCF7 was transfected using an estrogen responsive luciferase reporter plasmid for measure the estrogen-like activity. Estrogen-like activities of extracts were in the range of 1.11~5.73 fold to that of negative control. The extract of G. radix showed the strongest estrogen-like activities. The estrogen-like activities of 50 and $500{\mu}g/ml$ extracts of G. radix were similar to that of $10^{-8}$ and $10^{-7}$ M standard solution ($17{\beta}-estradiol$), respectively. G. radix extract showed no cytotoxicity against osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells at $1{\sim}1,000{\mu}g/ml$. The extract of A. radix showed no significant proliferation of osteoblast. However, the extract of G. radix and D. rhizome showed maximum 148% and 133% proliferation effects. The extract of G. radix also increased alkaline phosphatase activity and the maximum was 122% at $100{\mu}g/ml$ compared to that of control. The nodule formation by the method of the Alizarin red S staining increased compared to control. These results suggest that G. radix is able to perform the bone formation and prevent osteoporosis.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.710-719
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• 2023

Objective: The present study investigated whether protodioscin (PD), a steroidal saponin mainly found in rhizome of Dioscorea species, alleviates oxidative stress-induced damage of porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation. Methods: Oocytes were treated with different concentrations of PD (0, 1, 10, 100, and 200 µM) in the presence of 200 µM H₂O₂ during in vitro maturation. Following maturation, spindle morphology and mitogen-activated protein kinase activity was assessed along with reactive oxygen species level, GSH activity, and mRNA expression of endogenous antioxidant genes at the MII stage. On the day 7 after parthenogenetic activation, blastocyst formation rate was calculated and the quality of embryo and mRNA expression of development-related genes was evaluated. Results: Developmental competence was significantly poorer in the 0 µM PD-treated (control) group than in the non-treated (normal) and 10 µM PD-treated (10PD) groups. Although the reactive oxygen species level did not significantly differ between these three groups, the glutathione level and mRNA expression of antioxidant genes (superoxide dismutase 1 [SOD1], SOD2, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 [Nrf2], and hemo oxygenase-1 [HO-1]) were significantly higher in the normal and 10PD groups than in the control group. In addition, the percentage of oocytes with defective spindle and abnormal chromosomal alignment was significantly lower and the ratio of phosphorylated p44/42 to total p44/42 was significantly higher in the normal and 10PD groups than in the control group. The total cell number per blastocyst was significantly higher in the 10PD group than in the control group. The percentage of apoptotic cells in blastocysts was highest in the control group; however, the difference was not significant. mRNA expression of development-related genes (POU domain, class 5, transcription factor 1 [POU5F1], caudal type homeobox 2 [CDX2], Nanog homeobox [NANOG]) was consistently increased by addition of PD. Conclusion: The PD effectively improves the developmental competence and quality of blastocysts by protecting porcine oocytes against oxidative stress.