• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.109-117
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• 1999

Thirty two species of coastal plants (mainly halophytes) were investigated for their free amino acids and the total and water-soluble nitrogen contents in leaves. All plants except some species (e.g. Scutellaria and Linaria) contained proline, but only Ageratum. Tetragonia and Raphanus in rather high amounts, that it can be thought to serve as a cytoplasmic osmolyte. In some plant species (Euphorbia. Glehnia. Peucedanum. Raphanus and monocotyledonous Carex and Zoysia), however, hydroxyproline. (OH-Pro) rather than proline were accumulated to a considerable extent. The concentrations of total free amino acids were low in Aster tripolium, Linaria. Lysimachia. Plantago. Rumex, Vitex and especially in the members of the Chenopodiaceae and Crassulaceae. Marked differences also occurred in the nitrogen levels. Aizoaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cruciferae, Euphorbiaceae and Leguminosae usually showed high values of total and soluble amino nitrogen, while the opposite was true for most of the Cyperaceae, Gramineae, Lamiaceae, Plantaginaceae, Scophuriaceae, and Verbenaceae. The free amino acids in the investigated plant species contributed very little to the nitrogen content, but in plants of Euphorbia, Messerschmidia and Orostachys. their amino acid-N made up for 25∼30% of the total nitrogen. In conclusion, only a few cases did proline known as compatible solute constitute a significant proportion of the free amino acid pool in coastal plants.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.261-275
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• 2014

Although a few recent taxonomic studies focusing on infraspecific taxa in each species of Isodon have been reported, a detailed taxonomic revision of the Korean Isodon taxa has yet to be performed. We investigated the morphological characters of Korean Isodon based on approximately 600 herbarium sheets from major herbaria in Korea and Japan. We identified characters which distinguish seven Korean Isodon taxa and created a key to Korean Isodon based on the results from this study and on recent studies of the Korean Isodon taxa. The following unique characters for several taxa were recognized: 1) dense non-glandular hairs in stems for I. inflexus var. canescens (over 70 ea/mm on one side of the stem), 2) dense glandular hairs on the abaxial surface of the leaf for I. serra (over $40ea/mm^2$), 3) protruding pistils and stamens from the corolla with the length of the protruding part longer than that of the lower lobe of corolla for I. japonicus, and 4) the presence of non-glandular hairs on the entire surface of the fruit of I. inflexus var. microphyllus. Based on this study, we recognized that there are four species, two varieties, and one forma of Isodon taxa in Korea.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.158-163
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• 2018

Perilla (Perilla frutescens var.frutescens) is an annual plant of the Lamiaceae family, mainly grown for obtaining oil by press extraction after roasting the seeds. Oil yield is one of its important traits, but evaluating this yield is time-consuming, requires many seeds, and is hard to adjust to pedigrees in a breeding field. The objective of this study was to develop a method for selecting high-oil-yield lines in a breeding population without oil extraction. Twenty-three perilla cultivars were used for evaluating the oil yield and seed traits such as seed hardness, seed coat thickness, seed coat proportion and crude fat. After evaluation of the seed traits of 23 perilla cultivars, the ranges of oil yields, seed hardness, seed coat thickness, seed coat proportion, 100-seed weight, and crude fat were 24.68-38.75%, 157-1166 gf, $24-399{\mu}m$, 15.4-41.5%, 2.79-6.69 g, and 33.0-47.8%, respectively. In an analysis of correlation coefficients, the oil yield negatively correlated with seed length, seed width, the proportion of seed coat, seed hardness, and 1000-seed weight, but positively correlated with crude fat content. It was observed that as the seed coat proportion increased, the seed coat thickness, hardness, and 1000-seed weight also increased. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was employed to find major variables affecting the oil yield. Among the variables, traits crude fat content and seed coat proportion were assumed to be indirect parameters for estimating the potential oil yield, with respect to a significant positive correlation with the observed oil yield ($R^2=0.791$). Using these two parameters, an equation was derived to predict the oil yield. The results of this study show that various seed traits in 23 perilla cultivars positively or negatively correlated with the oil yield. In particular, crude fat and the seed coat proportion can be used for predicting the oil yield with the newly developed equation, and this approach will improve the efficiency of selecting prominent lines for the oil yield.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.149-161
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of Deokjeongsan Mt. (Ganghwa-gun) from March to October 2016. The vascular plants identified during the 8 round field surveys were a to total of 484 taxa: 107 families, 305 genera, 423 species, 8 subspecies, 48 varieties, 4 forms and 1 hybrid. The plant formation of Deokjeongsan Mt. is the deciduous broad-leaved and conifer mixed forest which is the common one in the middle part of Korean peninsula. All most mountain covered with young secondary forest which is mainly composed of Pinus and Quercus. The plant species diversity largest families were Asteraceae (62 taxa, 12.7%), Poaceae (48 taxa, 9.9%), Cyperaceae (27 taxa, 5.6%), Fabaceae (23 taxa, 4.7%), and Lamiaceae (21 taxa, 4.3%). The four taxa of Korean endemic plants such as Clematis brachyura Maxim., Salix koriyanagi Kimura ex Goerz, Carex brevispicula G. H. Nam & G. Y. Chung, and Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai were collected. The vascular plants on the red list according to IUCN evaluation basis were found to be five taxa: Near Threatened (NT) species of Senecio argunensis Turcz., Least Concern (LC) species Pseudoraphis ukishiba Nakai, and Not Evaluate (NE) species of Thladiantha dubia Bunge, Cirsium lineare (Thunb.) Sch. Bip., and Scorzonera austriaca ssp. glabra Lipsch. & Krasch. ex Lipsch., respectively. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 26 taxa comprising one taxa of degree V, two taxa of degree IV, four taxa of degree III, eight taxa of degree II, and 11 taxa of degree I. In addition, the alien plants were identified as 46 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 9.5%, and urbanization index (UI) was 14.3%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.401-408
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• 2017

Salvia plebeia R. Br. (Lamiaceae) has been used in folk medicines in Asian countries, including Korea and China, to treat inflammatory diseases. The focus of our research was on the anti-adipogenic activity of ethanol extract from Salvia plebeia R. Br. (SPE) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. This study investigated inhibition of differentiation and lipogenesis upon SPE treatment in 3T3-L1 cells. The results reveal that SPE at non-cytotoxic concentration significantly suppressed triglyceride accumulation and reduced expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha, and sterol regulatory element-binding protein as adipogenic transcription factors in 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared to non-treated control cells. Inducible phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase, acetyl CoA carboxylase, and hormone-sensitive lipase as well as carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 mRNA expression increased upon SPE treatment, which suppressed expression of fatty acid synthase. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that SPE can inhibit expression of adipogenic genes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Our study suggests that SPE has potential anti-obesity effects and is a novel therapeutic functional agent with anti-adipogenic activity via reduction of lipogenesis.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.202-208
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• 2020

The objective of this study was to select the right species among Agastache in the family Lamiaceae as the result of growth analysis and functional substance analysis. Among 22 species of Agastache, five species (Agastache cana, Agastache foeniculum, Agastache rugosa 'Spike Blue', Agastache rugosa 'Spike Snow', Agastache rupestris) were selected by referring to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s plant hardiness zone area and Korea's one based on USDAs. These plants were cultured at 24 ± 1℃ and 18 ± 1℃ (day and night temperatures, respectively) and 65 ~ 75% relative humidity in a hydroponic culture system for 4 weeks. In terms of growth analysis experiment, stem length, root length, leaf width, leaf area, leaf number, SPAD value, and fresh and dry weights of shoots and roots were measured. The results showed that A. rugosa SS and A. rugosa SB have a higher overall balance value than other species. When compared functional substance value (rosmarinic acid, tilianin, and acacetin) of five species, A. rugosa SS and A. rugosa SB are significantly higher than other species in Agastache. It seems to be directly proportional to the growth analysis results. When considering the growth and functional substance part comprehensively, A. rugosa SS and A. rugosa SB are the most optimal high-value species among Agastache.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.659-677
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• 2020

Leonurus japonicus (L. japonicus) Houtt., a biennial plant in the Lamiaceae family is broadly distributed in Asia such as Korea, China, Japan. The aerial part of L. japonicus is used as a traditional medicine to treat uterine disease including dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, sterility. In this study, we examined the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of L. japonicus ethanol extracts. The antioxidant activity of L. japonicus was measured by total polyphenol and flavonoid content, and DPPH, ABTS scavenging, reducing power activity, and intracellular ROS expression assay. The anti-inflammatory effects were measured by nitric oxide (NO), cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β) production and inflammatory protein expression in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Total polyphenol and flavonoid content of L. japonicus were 51.40 ± 0.47 mg of gallic acid equivalents/g and 73.28 ± 0.10 mg of rutin equivalents/g respectively. DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity and reducing power activity tended to increase concentration-dependent and treatment L. japonicus with 400 ㎍/mL reduced ROS production by 69.5%. Furthermore, L. japonicus inhibited NO, TNF-α and IL-1β production in a concentration-dependant manner and reduced the expression levels of inflammatory proteins via regulating NF-κB, MAPK pathway. Therefore, we suggest that L. japonicus could be a natural antioxidants and medicinal source to treat oxidative stress and inflammation-related disease.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.363-369
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• 2018

Since the establishment of the Korean Society of Plant Taxonomists (KSPT) on Dec. 13, 1968, the professional manpower training and research activities have been analyzed. The survey method was based on the homepage of the KSPT and the Korean J. Pl. Taxon, and on data provided by each university about professional manpower. Over the past 50 years, a total of 680 specialists in plant taxonomy have been trained, consisting of 537 master's degree holders (274 males, 263 females) from 30 universities and 143 PhDs (97 males, 46 females) from 26 universities, and the number has increased significantly since 1998. With regard to changes in the field of research over the last ten years, revision papers were the most common in the period of 1988-1997 (72%), but this rate has decreased to 51% over the last ten years, while the number of unrecorded papers has increased to 28%. In the 629 revision papers on taxa, 49% of the taxa belong to Asteraceae, Ranunculaceae, Cyperaceae, Liliaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Orchidaceae, Oleaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Polygonaceae, and Amaryllidaceae. With regard to changes in research methods, the number of morphological papers increased from 6% to 51%, while pollen papers have decreased from a rate of 20% to only 2%. Chromosome studies account for 3-4%, chemotaxonomic studies 2%, and DNA studies remain low at 3-16%. The percentage of papers in English now stands at 43%, mainly due to the increased number of papers on unrecorded species.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2022

Perilla is an annual plant in the family Lamiaceae and are widely cultivated in Asian countries. Perilla leaves are important sources of bioactive compounds and are reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-cancer and antioxidant effects, drawing attention as functional food materials. We examined caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, total phenol content, and antioxidant activity in the leaves of 18 perilla accessions obtained from the gene bank of the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Jeonju, Korea. The caffeic acid content ranged between 9.86-27.52 mg/g with an average content of 17.75 mg/g while the level of. rosmarinic acid was in the range between 49.14 and 90.30 mg/g with an average content of 61.88 mg/g. The total polyphenol content ranged between 138.39 ㎍ GAE/mg dried extract (DE) and 378.19 ㎍ GAE/mg DE with an average content of 225.93 ㎍ GAE/mg DE. Cluster analysis based on the content of caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid. and antioxidant activity showed that the accessions collections were grouped in two distinct classes. The first group contained six genetic resources with high content of rosmarinic acid, and antioxidant activities respectively. The second group contained 12 genetic resources with high content of caffeic acid. These results could help develop new varieties of nutrient dense perilla resources.