• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.346-361
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• 2022

Food poisoning accidents caused by poisonous plants occur every year. As certain poisonous plants are mistaken for edible plants causing food poisoning, accurate species identification of poisonous plants is required. DNA barcodes suitable for species identification of poisonous plants and database that can be used for accurate species identification are necessary for their use in forensic cases. In this study, species identification of 19 poisonous plants native to Jeju Island using seven DNA barcodes (trnH-psbA, trnL-trnF, trnL intron, rbcL, matK, ITS1-ITS4, 18S rRNA) was performed to construct a database containing sequence information and DNA barcode universality. trnL-trnF barcode and ITS1-ITS4 barcode were the easiest markers for PCR amplification and sequence retrieval, and the combination of the two barcodes enabled single species identification in 18 out of 19 plants. Therefore, when an investigation of unknown poisonous plants is requested, combination of trnL-trnF and ITS1-ITS4 barcodes is considered as a primary marker for species identification. The database of recommended DNA barcodes for each poisonous plant presented in this study will be helpful in plants poisoning cases.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.289-300
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• 2018

Coreanomecon is a monotypic and endemic genus in Korea, distributed mainly in the southern regions. Coreanomecon is morphologically similar to Hylomecon by producing red latex, easily distinguished from Chelidonium, which produces yellow latex. Coreanomecon were merged into Hylomecon or Chelidonium depending on the authors. To understand the phylogenetic relationship of Coreanomecon, DNA sequences of chloroplast rbcL and matK and nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) regions were determined from the species of Papaveroideae (Papaveraceae) in Korea and analyzed with the Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian methods. Phylogenetic analyses of Papaveroideae suggest that Coreanomecon is sister to the clade of Chelidonium and Stylophorum in the ITS data and that it is sister to Hylomecon in the chloroplast (cpDNA) data. A constraining analysis using the Shimodaira-Hasegawa test (S-H test) suggested that the ITS data do not reject the sister relationship of Coreanomecon and Hylomecon. The S-H test also suggested that the cpDNA data is compatible with the placement of Coreanomecon as a sister to the clade of Chelidonium and Stylophorum. Although the conflicting phylogenetic results may stem from insufficient phylogenetic signals, they may also be associated with hybridization between Hylomecon and an ancestor of Stylophorum and Chelidonium. The results of this study suggest that Coreanomecon is a distinct lineage as an endemic genus, supporting the morphological data.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 2019

Tartrazine (TAZ) is one of the most commonly used artificial dyes for foods and drugs. We determined the effect of TAZ on fetal development by examining morphological, visceral, and skeletal malformations in rat fetuses following daily oral administration of TAZ to pregnant Wistar rats at the 6th-15th day of gestation. TAZ at 0.45 and 4.5 mg/kg induced 6.0 and 7.1% fetal resorptions, as well as 10.0 and 10.5% fetal mortality, respectively. Fetal body weight and length were significantly lower in the groups treated with TAZ at 0.45 ($3.97{\pm}0.21g$ and $27.3{\pm}0.54mm$, respectively) and 4.5 mg/kg ($3.48{\pm}0.15g$ and $23.22{\pm}1.02mm$, respectively) than in the control group ($4.0{\pm}0.15g$ and $30.01{\pm}0.42mm$, respectively). TAZ at 0.45 and 4.5 mg/kg induced hepatic damage (20 and 33.3%, respectively), dark brown pigmentation due to hemosiderin in the splenic parenchyma (16.7 and 21.7%, respectively), as well as destructed and necrotic renal tubules (16.7 and 26.7%, respectively) in the fetuses. Moreover, TAZ at 0.45 and 4.5 mg/kg caused one or more missing coccygeal vertebrae (20 and 40%, respectively), missing sternebrae (6 and 10%, respectively), missing hind limbs (24 and 4%, respectively), and irregular ribs (16 and 20, respectively) in the fetuses. We concluded that TAZ has embryotoxic and teratogenic potentials in rats.