• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.378-384
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• 2012

In aquatic invertebrates, particularly marine gastropods, organotin compounds induce irreversible sexual abnormality in females, which is termed imposex, at very low concentrations. Organotin compounds are agonists for nuclear receptors such as RXRs and $PPAR{\gamma}$. However, the imposex phenomenon has not been reported to act as an antagonist on estrogen receptors in other species, including vertebrates and invertebrates. In order to gain insights into the antagonistic activity of organotin compounds on estrogen receptors (ERs), we examined the inhibitive effect of these compounds on estradiol-dependent ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity using the yeast two-hybrid detection system consisting of a combination of the human estrogen receptor ($hER{\beta}$) ligand-binding domain and the co-activator steroid receptor co-activator-1 (SRC1). Tributyltin-hydroxide (TBT-OH) and triphenyltin-chlorine (TPT-Cl) exhibited an inhibitive effect on $E_2$-dependent transcriptional activity, similar to antagonistic chemicals such as 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) or ICI 182,780, at a very low concentration of $10^{-14}$ M TBT or $10^{-10}$ M TPT, respectively. The yeast growth and transcriptional activity with transcriptional factor GAL4 did not exhibit any effect at the tested concentration of TBT or TPT. Moreover, the yeast two-hybrid system using the interaction between p53 and the T antigen of SV40 large did not describe any effect at the tested concentration of OHT or ICI 182,780. However, the interaction between p53 and T antigen was inhibited at a TBT or TPT concentration of $10^{-9}$ M, respectively. These results indicate that TBT and TPT act as inhibitors of ER-dependent reporter gene transcriptional activation and of the interaction between $hER{\beta}$ LBD and the co-activator SRC1 in the yeast two-hybrid system. Consequently, our data could partly explain the occurrence of organotin compound-induced imposex on the endocrine system of mammals, including humans.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2015

Objectives : The present study was an evaluation and standardization of herbal components in order to establish the efficacy and safety of Shinbaro pharmacopuncture. Methods : Among the raw materials of Shinbaro pharmacopuncture, the components Cibotii Rhizoma, Eucommiae Cortex, and Ledebouriellae Radix were assessed through ingredient verification experiments using thin-layer chromatography(TLC) and ultraviolet rays(UV) lamps. In addition, we standardized Acanthopanacis Cortex and Achyranthis Radix through validation using high performance liquid chromatograph-diode array detector(HPLC-DAD). Results : As result appeared a blue-white fluorescence under ultraviolet rays; changed to dark green after adding 1 % ferric chloride solution(due to Cibotii Rhizoma), and presented a yellow-green fluorescence when mixed with an ethyl ether under UV lamps by way of the ethyl ether layer, confirming Eucommiae Cortex. Ledebouriellae Radix was confirmed as dark brown spots at Rf values of 0.56 and 0.71 using TLC. Additionally, Acanthopanacis Cortex and Achyranthis Radix HPLC test results showed that linearity was $R^2{\geq}0.99$, and detection limit and quantitation limit were 0.23 to $1.29{\mu}g/mL$, and 0.71 to $3.90{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Furthermore, precision and accuracy were confirmed to have relative standard deviation(RSD) values of 0.10 to 1.89 % and 96.19 to 103.72 %, respectively. Shinbaro pharmacopuncture did not have any overlapping or interference from other peaks in detection under the abovementioned analysis conditions. Conclusions : In conclusion, we confirmed that maintenance of Shinbaro pharmacopuncture validity was possible by means of quality control of Cibotii Rhizoma, Eucommiae Cortex, and Ledebouriellae Radix through ingredient identification and Acanthopanacis Cortex and Achyranthis Radix through high performance liquid chromatograph(HPLC) analysis. Further, we hope to contribute to the development strategy of herbal industry acupuncture.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1697-1703
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• 2012

Obesity is a risk factor for numerous metabolic diseases. Recently, naturally occurring compounds that may improve obesity have received increasing attention. Xanthigen is a mixture of fucoxanthin and punicic acid derived from brown seaweed and pomegranate seed, respectively, which have been traditionally used for lipid-lowering effects in humans. In this study, we investigated whether Xanthigen attenuates high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6N mice. The mice were fed on a normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), HFD plus 1% Xanthigen or HFD plus 1% green tea extract (GTE) for 11 weeks. Food efficiency ratio (FER) and body weight were significantly reduced in mice fed HFD plus Xanthigen compared to HFD-fed mice. Consistent with the results in body weight change, Xanthigen also significantly decreased the weights of epididymal adipose tissue, retroperitoneal adipose tissue, and liver in HFD plus 1% Xanthigen-fed mice. The serum level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol was significantly decreased in HFD plus Xanthigen-fed mice compared to HFD-fed mice. These results suggest that Xanthigen may be useful in the development of a functional health food for anti-obesity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1399-1406
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• 2012

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of various extracts of Hizikia fusiforme on the anti-obesity effects in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. We used H. fusiforme extracts from ethanol (EEHF), dichloromethane (CFHF), ethyl acetate (EAFHF), butanol (BFHF), and water (WFHF). Treatment with these extracts significantly suppressed terminal differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes in a dose-dependent manner as confirmed by a decrease in lipid droplet content through Oil Red O staining; this effect was higher in WFHF than in other extracts. The concentrations of cellular triglyceride were also reduced in 3T3-L1 cells by exposure with these extracts, especially when compared with the controls. Treatment with 200 ${\mu}g/ml$ of WFHF and CFHF caused approximately 42.6% and 23.7% reduction, respectively. In addition, the extracts of H. fusiforme significantly reduced the expression levels of key pro-adipogenic transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) and CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins ${\alpha}$ (C/$EBP{\alpha}$) and C/$EBP{\beta}$ as compared with controls. Accordingly, our data indicated that WFHF has a preeminent effect on inhibition of adipocyte differentiation among various extracts, and H. fusiforme extracts may be an ideal candidate for obesity relief.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1557-1561
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• 2013

Carbonic anhydrase isozymes are a widespread, zinc-containing metalloenzyme family. The enzyme catalyzes the reversible inter-conversion of $CO_2$ and $HCO_3$. This reaction is the main role played by CA enzymes in physiological conditions. This enzyme has been found in virtually all organisms, and at least 16 isozymes have been isolated in mammals. Unlike mammals, there is little information available regarding CA isozymes in the tissues of non-mammalian groups, such as fish. Carbonic anhydrase is very important in the osmotic and acid-base regulation in fish. It is well-known that the gills of fish play the most important role in acid-base relevant ion transfer, the transfer of $H^+$ and/or $HCO_3^-$, for the maintenance of systemic pH. Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is the most important freshwater fish species in the aquaculture industry of Korea, with annual production increasing each year. In addition, environmental toxicology research has shown that rainbow trout is known to be the species that is most susceptible to environmental toxins. Consequently, carbonic anhydrase was detected in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. The isolated protein showed the specific band with a molecular weight of 30 kDa and pI of 7.0, and it was identified as being carbonic anhydrase. The immunohistochemical result demonstrated that the carbonic anhydrase was located in the epithelial cells of the gills.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.115-132
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• 2005

This research was conducted to make suggestions for the promotion of research activities in the field of animal resources sciences, and we evaluated the research funding trend and the present status of research funding offered by KOSEF in this field. Comparative portion of the number of research projects and grants in this field to other fields has a tendency to be decreased year by year except recent few years. Researchers in this field have received more research funding from the group-based program than from the individual-based program. Also, they have received less money(per project) than did researchers in the fields of general agricultural sciences and other science and technology. Researchers in this field ranges from 43 to 51 years of age and showed 48 years of average age. It was found that researchers who has been funded in the field of animal resources sciences have showed tendency of publication of more articles to SCI journals in recent 5 years. The strong points of the animal resources of agricultural sciences field in South Korea include: lots of researchers, the establishment of research infra-structure, the excellence in research competitiveness and technology level. However, its weaknesses are: a lack of leadership in relevant societies and institutes, a predicted shortfall of researchers in the next generation and insufficient research productivity. The opportunities include: increasing the importance of the biotechnology industry, activating international cooperation researches and exploring the multitude of possible research areas to be studied. However, some concerns still exist, such as threats from developed countries for the government to open the agricultural market, the reduction of the number of full-time farms and intensification of needs for economic and social effects. The diverse actions and systems based upon the strongpoint, weakness, opportunity and threats above-mentioned are required to encourage research activities in the field of animal resources of agricultural sciences in Korea In addition, researchers in this fields would make an effort to keep pace with international society as well as domestic demands.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.229-235
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• 2014

Gastrodia elata Blume, an achlorophyllous orchid plant, has been used in traditional medicine and harvests in spring and fall. Here we investigated the quantitative changes of amino acids in G. elata by harvest times and seed tubers. In the results, we found that there was not big difference in contents of total amino acids but the distribution of amino acids differed depending on harvest times. 19% of total amino acids were asparagin and valine, an essential amino acid, occupied 10% within total amino acids in the tubers harvested in October. Among amino acids in the tubers harvested in April, serine occupied 23% and arginine, an essential amino acid, occupied 10% within total amino acids in tuber. Interestingly, the use of sexually propagated seed tubers produced high concentration of total amino acids compared to vegetatively propagated seed tubers. As for sexually propagated seed tubers, essential amino acids contents similar to the tubes harvested in October and nonessential amino acids contents similar to the tubers harvested in April. In this study, we found that amino acids contents in G. elata tubers altered depending on various cultivation practices. Therefore if these results can be applied to food industry, the value of G. elata as a natural food resource will be enhanced to a great extent.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.128-135
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• 2009

In this study, the selected 789 lines having agronomic values out of over 2,500 mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) germplasms, examined the 27 characters including hypocotyl color and leaf size of 401 lines in 2005 and of 388 lines in 2006, and analyzed the contents of vitexin and isovitexin in these mungbean germplasms. The average contents of vitexin and isovitexin in mungbean of the 401 lines used in 2005 were 8.71($1.1{\sim}13.4$) and 9.54($0.9{\sim}15.9$) mg/g, respectively, and the correlation coefficiency ($R^2$) of the contents of vitexin and isovitexin was 0.958. Nine lines including VC3890B were selected to be the ones containing high vitexin and isovitexin. The average contents of vitexin and isovitexin in mungbean of the 388 lines used in 2006 were 10.17($2.0{\sim}15.9$) and 10.64($0.2{\sim}17.6$) mg/g, respectively, and the correlation coefficiency ($R^2$) of the contents of vitexin and isovitexin was 0.958. Six lines including VC4096-2B-4-B-2-B were selected to be the ones containing high vitexin and isovitexin. The contents of vitexin and isovitexin were higher in the mungbean with larger leaves and longer ripening period out of the main characters.

• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2019

Ginseng has been recognized as a lifespan extending medicine which has been regarded as one of the medicines classified as top medicines, as the Boncho (medical herbs) study which is influenced by the idea of guidance's costume and food concept mainly in China is gaining its bona fide form. As the demand for ginseng has been expanded to other levels, the demand for ginseng has been increasing. Ginseng from the nature reached its supply chain limit due to its extinction and difficulty of picking, so it translated into ginseng cultivation of economy rather than harvesting in nature. After the start of ginseng cultivation, the ginseng cultivation was further enhanced by the rapid development of processing methods such as white-ginseng and red-ginseng, and the surge of consumption due to the traditional belief in ginseng drug efficacy and support of scientific research. In the Joseon Dynasty, the name Gasam (cultivated ginseng) had been created as ginseng was cultivated on farmland after the stage of SanYang (wild cultivated ginseng), the purpose of the new name Gasam is to differentiate from natural ginseng, and natural ginseng lost its firm position as the genuine ginseng as the Gasam replaced the genuine ginseng, and the natural ginseng got a new name of SanSam (wild ginseng). Because the real ginseng substance concept dissipated, and as Gasam is being called ginseng, the name Gasam was also disappeared. As a result, it was possible to grow large quantities according to the arrival of the Gasam era, and it was possible to supply the demand for ginseng, and it could become one agricultural industry. In this ginseng cultivation, in Japan where ginseng did not grow naturally, it was difficult to obtain ginseng from Joseon and faced with a shortage of ginseng at all times. Therefore, the shogun cultivated the Gasam systematically at the national level by the inside of the shogunate. However, since the natural ginseng is native to China and Korea, there is a concern about the deterioration of the quality of natural ginseng due to the incorporation of cultivated ginseng (Gasam). To protect the interests, the cultivation of ginseng was subject to control. For this reason, the lack of historical information on Gasam cultivation, which had to be started secretly, would be a natural result. In this paper, althouh not sufficient enough, the historical informations were used to summarize the history of ginseng cultivation in China, Japan and Korea.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2019

Due to the rapid global expansion of aquaculture industry during the past decades, production volume of aquatic organisms has accordingly grown. This has been accompanied by a rise in the incidence of diseases in aquatic organisms, leading to an increased use of aquatic medicines. While aquatic medicines are essential for the prevention and treatment of diseases of aquatic organisms, misuse can cause evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pose serious problems to the safety and hygiene of fisheries products. In this study, we surveyed and compared, by analyzing data compiled by all national control centers for aquatic animal diseases in South Korea, to estimate the amount of aquatic medicines sold in different regions between 2012 through 2015. Since we also examined the marketing routes of aquatic medicines, this basic data can be utilized for policy implementation to improve drug safety. In the future research, however, it will be clearly necessary to estimate directly the amounts of drugs actually applied to aquaculture organisms. The current sales figure data should be helpful for preparation of an effective system for aquatic drug use management.