• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.244-251
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• 2011

Galactinol and rafinose accumulation in plants is associated with stressful environmental conditions such as cold, heat, or dehydration by the action of galactinols synthase (GolS) in the raffinose family of oligosaccharides biosynthetic pathway from UDP-galactose. Moreover, several reports mentioned that GolS transcription is up regulated by various environmental stresses like cold, heat, dehydration. Therefore, to determine whether MoGolS1 was induced with the abiotic stress we analyzed the expression pattern of the gene under various abiotic stresses like heat, cold, abscisic acid, sucrose and salt concentration in the lemon balm plants grown in standard MS medium. The MoGolS1 gene was 981-bp in length encoding 326 amino acids in its sequence and shared 77 and 76% sequence similarity with Arabidopsis thaliana galactinol synthase4 (AtGolS4) and AtGolS1 genes respectively. The MoGolS1 gene was strongly expressed by the abiotic stress induced by sucrose, ABA or heat shock. It was also expressed in responses to cold, Identification and Functional Characterization of the GALACTINOL SYNTHASgene induction with various stresses may be possible for itscrucial function in abiotic stress tolerance in plants, providing a good engineering target for genetic engineering.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5703-5707
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• 2015

Background: Medicinal plants, especially examples rich in polyphenolic compounds, have been suggested to be chemopreventive on account of their antioxidative properties. Melissa officinalis L. (MO), an aromatic and medicinal plant, is well known in thios context. However, toxicity against cancer cells has not been fully studied. Here, we investigated the selective anticancer effects of an MO extract (MOE) in different human cancer cells. Materials and Methods: a hydro-alcoholic extract of MO was prepared and total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were determined by colorimetric assays. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH radical scavenging activity. MTT assays were used to evaluate cytotoxicity of different doses of MOE (0, 5, 20, 100, 250, 500, $1000{\mu}g/ml$) towards A549 (lung non small cell cancer cells), MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma), SKOV3 (ovarian cancer cells), and PC-3 (prostate adenocarcinoma) cells. Results: Significant (P<0.01) or very significant (P<0.0001) differences were observed in comparison to negative controls at all tested doses ($5-1000{\mu}g/ml$). In all cancer cells, MOE reduced the cell viability to values below 33%, even at the lowest doses. In all cases, $IC_{50}$ values were below $5{\mu}g/ml$. The mean growth inhibition was 73.1%, 86.7%, 79.9% and 77.8% in SKOV3, MCF-7 and PC-3 and A549 cells, respectively. Conclusions: Our results indicate that a hydro-alcoholic extract of MO possess a high potency to inhibit proliferation of different tumor cells in a dose independent manner, suggesting that an optimal biological dose is more important than a maximally tolerated one. Moreover, the antiprolifreative effect of MO seems to be tumor type specific, as hormone dependant cancers were more sensitive to antitumoral effects of MOE.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.821-830
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• 2017

In this study, the DPPH free radical scavenging activity, antimicrobial effects, growth inhibition and cytotoxicity of herb extracts were determined to screen alternative antibiotics. Hot water extracts of 10 species herbs (Origanum vulgare, Monarda didyma, Echinacea purpurea, Ocimum basilicum, Mentha piperita, Melissa officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Stevia rebaudiana, Rosmarinus officinalis, Matricaria recutica) were used. DPPH free radical scavenging activity of all herb extracts was ranged from 31.4-49.9%, and significantly great activties were found at Rosmarinus officinalis, Origanum vulgare and Matricaria recutica (P<0.05). Hot water extracts of monarda didyma, origanum vulgare, thymus vulgaris and rosmarinus officinalis showed greater antimicrobial activities compared to others. Additionally, those four extracts represented relatively low cytotoxicity compared to others. As a result, it was found that Origanum vulgare and Rosmarinus officinalis which possessed great antioxidant and antimicrobial activity with less cytotoxicity. So these two herb extracts can be used as an alternative of antibiotics for organic farming.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2003

Repellencies of herb plants and essential oils against alate Myzus persicae were investigated in a insect cage, a screen house, and a tobacco field. Numbers of nymphs deposited by alate or apterous Myzur persicae were lower on rosemary(Rosmarinus officinalis), silver thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and lemon balm(Melissa of fcianazis). Rosemary and silver thyme show little repellency against alate Myzus persicae on a nearby tobacco plant Rosemary oil, peppermint (Mentha piperita) oil, and ginger oil showed repellency against alate Myzus persicae, but spearmint (Mentha spicata) oil and lavender oil showed little repellency in a screen house. Rosemary oil, ginger oil, peppermint oil, lavender oil, and spearmint oil showed repellency against alate Myzus persicae in a tobacco field, but there was no significant difference among oils.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.372-379
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• 2022

This study investigated the effect of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) extract on improving blood triglycerides according to the extraction solvent using 3T3-L1 cells. Lemon balm was extracted with water (MOW100), 70% ethanol (MOE70), 50% ethanol (MOE50), and 30% ethanol (MOE30). To verify its efficacy on improving blood triglycerides, cell viability, lipid accumulation, triglyceride (TG) content, and expressions of protein kinase A (PKA), adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), perilipin, and CGI-58 proteins were evaluated. Cytotoxicity was not evident up to an extract concentration of 1 mg/mL. Lipid accumulation and TG content were decreased in a concentration-dependent manner compared to their levels in the control group. When the MOW100 extract was applied at a concentration of 0.2 mg/mL, an inhibitory effect was evident, with lipid accumulation inhibited by 21.3% and TG content reduced by 32.7%. PKA phosphorylation and ATGL HSL and CGI-58 levels were increased. The data indicate that lemon balm extract obtained using water is more efficacious than extracted with ethanol. The aqueous extract shows potential in triglyceride control through lipolysis and lowering triglyceride levels.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.241-254
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• 2016

Environmental microbes like Bordetella petrii has been established as a causative agent for various infectious diseases in human. Again, development of drug resistance in B. petrii challenged to combat against the infection. Identification of potential drug target and proposing a novel lead compound against the pathogen has a great aid and value. In this study, bioinformatics tools and technology have been applied to suggest a potential drug target by screening the proteome information of B. petrii DSM 12804 (accession No. PRJNA28135) from genome database of National Centre for Biotechnology information. In this regards, the inhibitory effect of nine natural compounds like ajoene (Allium sativum), allicin (A. sativum), cinnamaldehyde (Cinnamomum cassia), curcumin (Curcuma longa), gallotannin (active component of green tea and red wine), isoorientin (Anthopterus wardii), isovitexin (A. wardii), neral (Melissa officinalis), and vitexin (A. wardii) have been acknowledged with anti-bacterial properties and hence tested against identified drug target of B. petrii by implicating computational approach. The in silico studies revealed the hypothesis that lpxD could be a potential drug target and with recommendation of a strong inhibitory effect of selected natural compounds against infection caused due to B. petrii, would be further validated through in vitro experiments.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.495-500
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• 2020

Leaf spot on lemon balm is frequently observed in Korea, causing considerable damage to crops. In 2014 and 2015, the occurrence of leaf spot was observed in several production greenhouses at Suwon, Gongju, and Namwon in Korea. Symptoms on lower leaves initially developed as small, distinct, discolored lesions, which enlarged progressively turning into dark brown, angular spots surrounded by purplish-brown margins. Based on the morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of actin (ACT), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF-1α), internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 28S nrDNA (LSU), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2), the fungus associated with the lemon balm leaf spot was determined as Septoria melissae. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of lemon balm leaf spot caused by S. melissae in Asia as well as in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.96-105
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• 2018

This study examined the growth of herb plants in response to irrigation on a green rooftop area in order to select herb plants that can be used for rooftop greening. Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens), Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), Spearmint (Mentha spicata), Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans), Choco Mint (Mentha ${\times}$ piperita 'Choco Mint'), Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum), Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) and Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) showed increased growth when irrigated. Conversely, Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia ), Peppermint (Mentha ${\times}$ piperita ), Vicks Plant (Plectranthus tomentosa), Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla), Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens), Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) and Lady's mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) demonstrated satisfactory growth regardless of irrigation. Peppermint, Tansy, Lemon Verbena, Soapwort, and Lady's mantle seem to be suitable for green rooftop because of their overwintering ability and drought hardiness. Pineapple sage, Apple Mint and Thyme would seem to be inappropriate for rooftop greening because they showed negative growth response to drought and failed overwintering. Although Spearmint, Lemon balm, Choco Mint, Ox-eye Daisy and Roman Chamomile had reduced growth during dry conditions, they were able to overwinter satisfactorily and can be used as rooftop plants with irrigation.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.533-542
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• 2014

This study was performed to investigate the effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) on various quality and antioxidant activity of hamburger patties. Lemon balm extract (LBE) showed the highest amount of total polyphenol (801.00 mg TAE/g DW) and flavonoids (65.05 mg RA/g DW). The $IC_{50}$ value of DPPH hydroxyl scavenging of LBE was $132{\mu}g/mL$. The hamburger patties were prepared by 0% (N), 0.1% (L1), 0.5% (L2), and 1.0% (L3) of the lemon balm powder. The addition of lemon balm powder increased the chewiness value, but did not affect the hardness, cohesiveness, and springiness values. Lemon balm powder had positive effects on sensory evaluation of patties. The pH of all patties decreased with longer storage period. 2-Thiobarbituric acid value, volatile basic nitrogen content, and the total microbial counts of hamburger patties in the L3 group were lower, compared to those of the normal (N group). In conclusion, the L3 group had significantly delayed lipid peroxidation compared to other treatment groups. However, the addition of lemon balm powder into patties showed no significantly influence on proximate composition, calorie contents, water holding capacity and cooking loss of patties. Therefore, lemon balm might be a useful natural antioxidant additive in meat products.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.63-66
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• 2017

Twenty nine edible plants were selected in order to study their exfoliation effect on abalone Haliotis discus hannai from its substrate. Exfoliation was observed in spearmint Mentha spicata, lemon balm Melissa officinalis, rose flower, onion Allium cepa, wasabi powder, mustard powder, omija Schizandra Chinensis, and hibiscus Hibiscus sabdariffa solutions. In particular, both the omija and hibiscus solutions exfoliated over 90% of the abalone. In field tests, 3% and 4% omija solutions exfoliated 93.6% (850/908) and 97.1% (810/834) of abalone, respectively, whereas 3% and 4% hibiscus solutions exfoliated 96.1% (780/812) and 97.4% (700/719), respectively. The detached abalone were recovered within 1 min 39 seconds. These results indicate that the omija and hibiscus solutions (3% and 4%) may be useful in the exfoliation of abalone.