• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.73-78
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• 2016

Propolis possesses antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anaesthetic and immunostimulating activities. The aim of this study was to evaluated chemical composition and in vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of eight propolis ethanolic extracts form different region in Korea. The chemical composition of eight Korean propolis was investicated by absorption spectrophotomety and UHPLC. Total penolic and total flavonoids content ranged between $21{\pm}1.5$ and $31{\pm}1.8$ gallic acid g/100 g and $7.2{\pm}0.9$ and $24.4{\pm}1.9$ quercetin g/100 g, respectively. The p-coumaric acid as standard components content ranged between $0.29{\pm}0.00$ and $2.34{\pm}0.02mg/g$ using UHPLC. Cinnamic acid content between $0.43{\pm}0.00$ and $1.33{\pm}0.01mg/g$. 80% ethanolic extract of propolis against H. pylori was evaluated by using the disc diffusion method. Ethanol was used as a control. Mean diameters of H. pylori growth inhibition using $10{\mu}g/mL$, $50{\mu}g/mL$ or $100{\mu}g/mL$ ethanol propolis per disc were 0, ranging from 0.9 to 2.1 mm and from 1.9 to 3.5 mm, respectively. In conclusion, variation in the chemical composition of Korean propolis were mainly due to the difference in the preferred regional plants visited by honeybees. Also Korean propolis possesses considerable antibacterial activity against H. pylori. There was not confirmed a correlation between the chemical composion contens and anti-H. pylori effect. The potential of propolis in the prevention or treatment of H. pylori infection is worth further extensive evaluation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.162-166
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• 2005

Two flavonoids, 7-O-methyl-3',4'-didehydroxy quercetin (MDQ) and quercetin, isolated from Chinese propolis, which is the generic name for the resinous substance collected by honeybees from various plant sources, were tested for their antioxidant activity and protective effect against radiation-induced DNA damage in mouse lymphocytes. In antioxidant test, both compounds provided a dose-dependent scavenging effect on DPPH radical and a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation in mouse liver. Quercetin showed stronger scavenging and inhibitory effect than MDQ, and it also provided strong inhibition on superoxide anion radical generated in xanthine-xanthine oxidase system, but there was no inhibitory ability for MDQ. In comet assay using single cell gel electrophoresis, MDQ and quercetin showed a protective effect against DNA damage caused by gamma irradiation. They reduced DNA damage to 54% (p<0.01) and 53% (p<0.01) at 25 $\mu$mol, respectively. These results suggest that free radical scavenging seems to be associated with their catechol form on the B ring, and radioprotection appears to be a likely mechanism of antioxidant activity by these flavonoids.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.651-656
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• 2016

Bee pollen is produced by honeybees and is considered one of the most balanced and nourishing nutritional supplements available. Historically, bee pollen has been prescribed for its healing properties and consumed for its high-energy supply. Recent research has provided evidence that bee pollen has diverse biological activities, such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and even anti-cancer effects. However, the outer membrane of the pollen grain, exine, is highly resistant to most acidic solutions, high pressure, and even digestive enzymes, and the resulting low bioavailability limits its nutritional and clinical applications. This study applied a wet-grinding method to destroy the exine effectively, and it then examined the pollen's enhanced biological activity. First, microscopic observations provided strong evidence that wet grinding destroyed the exine time-dependently. In addition, the content of polyphenols, well-known ingredients of bee pollen and used as internal standards for the quality control of commercial pollen preparations, increased up to 11-fold with wet grinding. Further, the anti-oxidant activity demonstrated on the ABTS anti-oxidant assay, as well as the DPPH radical scavenging assay, was also dramatically increased. Together, the results presented here support a new technology by which bee pollen can be used as a resource for medical, nutritional, and cosmetic applications.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.263-268
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• 2021

The venom of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) is used to treat many diseases because of its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Bee venom consists of several biologically active molecules and exhibits remarkable anti-cancer effects. However, biological amines, which exhibit diverse functionality such as anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects, have not been previously reported in bee venom. In this study, we determined the content of putrescine in bee venom by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography. The specificity, accuracy, and precision of the assay were assessed, and the assay validated. The linearity of the putrescine assay was r ≥ 0.99, indicating a moderate level of putrescine in the bee venom. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were both 0.9 ㎍/mL, while the rate of recovery was 96.4%-99.9%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the intra-day precision and inter-day precision of the putrescine assay were 0.16% - 0.23% and 0.09% - 0.36%, respectively, with the RSD ≤ 5% indicating excellent precision. Thus, the linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and recovery rate of the putrescine assay were satisfactory. The analysis of the bee venom showed that the putrescine content was 3.1 ± 0.09 mg/g. This study provides fundamental data on putrescine content in bee venom, which will prove useful in further studies of its bioactivity.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.60-66
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• 2021

Various insects live around us. Nowadays, insects are raised as a hobby at home or medicinal insects are bred in large quantities for commercial purposes. In addition, various studies have been conducted to understand the various growth characteristics of insects. In the laboratory, environmental factors were changed to do that, but only the growth characteristics could be analyzed. However, it is almost not easy to measure the skin temperature or body temperature basically needed to reveal the growth characteristics in the case of insects. In particular, the results of experiments on the skin temperature of winged insects are very insufficient. In this study, the skin temperature of insects was photographed and measured for bees and butterflies living in natural conditions under various biological activity conditions such as at rest and during flight using a thermal imaging camera, a non-contact temperature measurement method. Through quantitative analysis of the experimental results, the relationship between the biological activity characteristics of each insect and the skin temperature resulting from such biological activity was investigated. In addition, it was confirmed that honeybees maintained different skin temperatures for three important activities, such as flying, honey collection, and relocation, and that the butterflies performed a warm-up stage for flight similar to the characteristics of moths.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.144-148
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• 2021

This study aimed to analyze the content and composition of a biological amine, cadaverine, isolated from the venom of worker honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). This biological amine―which has diverse functionality, such as anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects―has not been previously reported in bee venom. An assay completed in 13 minutes was developed for the cadaverine present in the bee venom using an ultra-performance liquid chromatograph and a Halo C18 column with acetonitrile and water as the mobile phase. The specificity, accuracy, and precision of the assay were verified, and the assay was validated. The linearity for cadaverine in the bee venom was R2=0.99 or above, indicating a moderate level. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were both 0.3 ㎍/ml, and the rate of recovery was 97.6%-99.1%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the intra-day precision and inter-day precision for cadaverine was 0.25%-0.44% and 0.25%-1.25%, respectively, with an RSD that fell within 5% indicating excellent precision. Through this novel assay, it was found that the mean content of cadaverine was 1.10±0.05 mg/g. Our results indicated that the linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and rate of recovery of the cadaverine assay were of a satisfactory level, and the cadaverine content of the bee venom was ably determined. This study provides basic data on cadaverine in bee venom, which will prove useful in further studies on the bioactivity of this component.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2017

Small hive beetle (SHB, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) is a honeybee pest infesting combs and stores inside the hive. Contamination of the SHB on Apis mellifera colonies were firstly noticed on September 23, 2016, in Miryang City, Gyeongnam Province in Korea. After that, on October 5, 2016, we investigated the spatial distribution of SHB inside the hive and outside soil within the apiary. Total of 169 beehives were observed. We found all stages of SHB inside or outside of hives. 61% of hives infested with the adult SHB still had live honeybees whereas hives containing larval SHB did not have bees, implying colony destruction In hives with live bees, infestation density was higher as bee population became higher. Coefficient of dispersions (CD) showed significant clumped distribution of infestation among hives. CDs were much higher inside hive than outside soil. Our results indicates SHB could result in honeybee colony collapse it not managed properly. Also even during October, there are new infestation into honeybee colonies and every stage of SHB could still be able to develop. Further detailed analysis of this insect' adaptation in Koran environment could help guide the management strategies of the invaded new pest of honeybee.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2017

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are common pollinators and important insects studied in agriculture, ecology and basic research. Recently, RDA (Rural Development Administration) and YIRI (Yecheon-gun Industrial Insect Research Institute) have been breeding a triple crossbred honey bee named Jangwon, which have the ability to produce superior quality honey. In this study, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker in the genome of Jangwon honeybee, particularly, in the paternal line (D line). Initially, we performed Sequence-Based Genotyping (SBG) using the Illumina Hiseq 2500 in 5 honeybee inbred lines; A, C, D, E, and F; and obtained 1,029 SNPs. Seventeen SNPs for each inbred line were generated and selected after further filtering of the SNP dataset. The 17 SNP markers validated by performing TaqMan probe-based real-time PCR and genotyping analysis was conducted. Genotyping analysis of the 5 honeybee inbred lines and one hybrid line, $D{\times}F$, revealed that one set of SNP marker, AmD9, precisely discriminated the inbred line D from the others. Our results suggest that the identified SNP marker, AmD9, is successful in distinguishing the inbred honeybee lines D, and can be directly used for genotyping and breeding applications.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.46-58
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• 2024

Pollinators are organisms that carry out the pollination process of plants and include Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Among them, bees not only pollinate plants but also improve urban green spaces damaged by land use changes, providing a habitat and food for birds and insects. Today, however, the number of pollinating plants is decreasing due to issues such as early flowering due to climate change, fragmentation of green spaces due to urbanization, and pesticide use, which in turn leads to a decline in bee populations. The decline of bee populations directly translates into problems, such as reduced biodiversity in cities and decreased food production. Urban beekeeping has been proposed as a strategy to address the decline of bee populations. However, there is a problem asurban beekeeping strategies are proposed without considering the complex structure of the socio-ecological system consisting of bees foraging and pollination activities and are therefore unsustainable. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the socio-ecological system of honeybees, which are pollinators, structurally using system thinking and propose a green space planning strategy to revitalize urban beekeeping. For this study, previous studies that centered on the social and ecological system of bees in cities were collected and reviewed to establish the system area and derive the main variables for creating a causal loop diagram. Second, the ecological structure of bees' foraging and pollination activities and the structure of bees' ecological system in the city were analyzed, as was the social-ecological system structure of urban beekeeping by creating an individual causal loop diagram. Finally, the socio-ecological system structure of honey bees was analyzed from a holistic perspective through the creation of an integrated causal loop diagram. Citizen participation programs, local government investment, and the creation of urban parks and green spaces in idle spaces were suggestedas green space planning strategies to revitalize urban beekeeping. The results of this study differ from previous studies in that the ecological structure of bees and the social structure of urban beekeeping were analyzed from a holistic perspective using systems thinking to propose strategies, policy recommendations, and implications for introducing sustainable urban beekeeping.