• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.93-114
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• 2007

Vaccinium uliginosum L. (VU) is a flowering plant in the genus Vaccinium has berry fruit. This study was performed to investigate the effect of water extract of Vaccinium uliginosum L. and fractions on inhibition of melanogenesis and wrinkle formation. One hundred grams of the Vaccinium uliginosum L. was extracted with 2,000 mL of water ($90^{\circ}C$, 16h, 2 times). The water extracts were lyophilized and stored at $4^{\circ}C$ until used. Vaccinium uliginosum L. extracts showed scavenger activities on DPPH radical, superoxide anion radical, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide and singlet oxygen radical, dose dependently. And VU extract and fractions reduced melanin contents on B16F10 melanoma and inhibited the expression of melanogenesis-related proteins, tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein (TRP-1) and dapachrometa utomerase (Dct, TRP-2). Moreover VU extract and fractions stimulated procollagen production and inhibited MMP-1 production in human fibroblast. And it decreased degree of wrinkle formation in hairless mouse skin that induced by DVB irradiation for 9 weeks. From the above results, it is possible that Vaccinium uliginosum L. may be developed to be the health functional food and functional cosmetics that have anti-melanogenesis and anti-wrinkle effect.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2022

In modern society, interest in antioxidants is increasing as the stress caused by oxidants increases. However, the demand for synthetic antioxidants is decreasing because some studies have confirmed that they are harmful when consumed in large quantities; thus, studies on antioxidants derived from natural substances are actively being conducted to replace synthetic antioxidants. Blueberry, known as one of the world's top ten long-lived foods, is a plant of the Vaccinium (Ericaceae) family, and various pharmacological activities of blueberry including antioxidant activity have been studied. Vaccinium oldhamii (VO) is a deciduous broad-leaved shrub in the same genus as blueberries, and in this paper, we summarize the studies on the efficacy analysis of VO extracts and purified products. The content of phenolic compounds in VO fruits was proportional to antioxidant and anti-influenza activity such as the inhibition of NO production, and the total content of polyphenols and anthocyanin was higher than that in blueberries. VO fruit extracts showed anti-inflammatory activity and anti-cancer activity against human acute leukemia; in contrast, VO branch extracts showed anti-inflammatory activity, activity to inhibit osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption due to inflammatory response, and anti-cancer activity against several human cancer cell lines. Compared to blueberries, VO showed higher phenolic compound content, antioxidant activity, and various physiological activities. In addition, VO is considered to have sufficient value as an alternative crop to blueberries, such as it can be grown natively in Korea, with simple mass cultivation and no need to pay royalties for commercialization.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.589-596
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• 2013

Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. is an evergreen plant that belongs to the Genus Vaccinium distributed in Korea, and its fruit has been used for food by the common people and thus has a high possibility of commercialization. Therefore, the habitat environment and individual characteristics of V. bracteatum in Jeju Island were investigated to obtain the basic data for commercialization and preservation. The results showed that V. bracteatum is mostly distributed on the southern slope of Mt. Halla at an altitude of 100 to 500 m. V. bracteatum that occurred in the quadrat were total 30 individuals, which had an average height of 6.0 m, an average DBH of 7.8 cm, and an average number of trunk of 4.3. As for the community structure of the habitat, the average percentage of vegetation cover for the tree layer was 36%, while that for the subtree layer was 78%, which emphasized the importance of the subtree layer. The total number of species that occurred in the quadrat was 76. For the tree layer, total 10 species occurred, which include 2 species of evergreen coniferous trees, 3 species of evergreen broad-leaved trees, and 5 species of deciduous broad-leaved trees. For the subtree layer, total 24 species occurred, which include 1 species of evergreen coniferous tree, 11 species of evergreen broad-leaved trees, and 10 species of deciduous broad-leaved trees. Among these, Eurya japonica Thunb. was the species with a high relative contribution, which threatened V. bracteatum For the shrub layer, 27 species occurred including Cinnamomum japonicum Siebold, and for the herbaceous layer, 64 species occurred including Ardisia crenata Sims. The similarity between the habitats of V. bracteatum was very low, and it did not prefer a characteristic community. The V. bracteatum community around Shinrei stream was distributed on the surrounding area adjacent to the slope of the stream rather than the slope. There were a lot of basins, but the branches, which did not receive sunlight, had withered. It is thought that V. bracteatum would decline if the forest formation continues.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.359-386
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• 2003

The vascular plants in Baekdudaegan of the South Korea were recorded of 1,477 taxa; 126 families, 641 genus, 1,248 species, 3 subspecies, 204 varieties, 22 forma. From the floristic point of view, Jirisan, Backunsan and Duckyusan District in the Baekdudaegan belongs to the southern province in Korea, appeared to Cephalotaxus koreana, Lindera obtusiloba, Lindera erythrocarpa, Lindera glauca, Izex macropoda, Meliosma myriantha, Melisoma oldhami and Stewartia koreana. But on the top regions of these mountains more than 1,000m above the sea level were contained many alpine plants. And on the top regions and ridgeline parts of Duckyusan and Jirisan were the middle province, owing to Betula costata, Betula ermani, Ulmus laciniata, Isopyrum raddeanum, Hylomecon vemale, Viola diamantica, Vaccinium koreanum, Heloniopsis orientalis, Disporum ovale, Symplocarpus renifolius and Veronica arvensis. These results were epresented that plant species of the middle province moved to the South along the ridgeline of Baekdudaegan, on the other hand plants of southern province had biological niche of low ground according to go toward the North.