• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.750-755
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• 2010

Crude Orostachys japonicus polysaccharide extract (OJP) was prepared by hot steam extraction. Polysaccharides (OJPI) were separated from OJP by gel filtration chromatography and phenol-sulfuric acid assay. The average molecular weight of the OJPI was 30-50 kDa. The anti-proliferative effect of OJPI on HT-29 human colon cancer cells was investigated via morphology study, cell viability assay, apoptosis assay, cell cycle analysis, and cDNA microarray. OJPI inhibited proliferation and growth of HT29 cells and also stimulated apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In cell cycle analysis, treatment with OJPI resulted in a marked increase of cells in the G0 (sub G1) and G2/M phases. To screen for genes involved in the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, the gene expression profiles of HT-29 cells treated with OJPI were examined by cDNA microarray, revealing that a number of genes were up- or down-regulated by OJPI. Whereas several genes involved in anti-apoptosis, cell proliferation and growth, and cell cycle regulation were down-regulated, expression levels of several genes involved in apoptosis, tumor suppression, and other signal transduction events were up-regulated. These results suggest that OJPI inhibits the growth of HT-29 human colon cancer cells by various apoptosis-aiding activities as well as apoptosis itself. Therefore, OJPI deserve further development as an effective agent exhibiting anticancer activity.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.239-243
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• 2006

Orostachys japonicus, a monocarpic plant, is artificially grown in greenhouses. The study was carried out to examine the effect of shading (0, 35, 55, 75, 95%) on growth, morphological characters, and flowering. The treatments were done on August 25 and afterward samples were taken every 2 weeks until October 20, in which growth, morphological and flowering related characters were measured. With severer shading plant height, inflorescence length, number of leaves including bracts and stem diameter were decreased although severely declined in 95% shading treatment. Leaves and bracts, stem, root, shoot and total dry weights increasingly declined with severer shading. Florets formed on the inflorescence showed similar response to the shading treatment as plant height did. Flowering of the florets was not observed throughout all the sampling period, meaning that different light intensities by shading did not affect their flowering.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.359-371
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• 2003

Numerical analyses using 28 morphological characters from 14 populations of four Korean Orostachys species were conducted to investigate infra-specific variation and to test species relationships. The resulting phenogram recognized three distinct clusters, and the populations of O. malacophyllus, O. iwarenge and O. minutus were closely related each other. The populations of O. japonicus from Gaeksanri (I) and Gadeuk-do were isolated from the remaining populations of the species, and it suggests that the ranges of morphological variation within the species are significant, and related to the previous cytological variation. The Jungdongjin population of O. malacophyllus was not grouped together with the same species, but was clustered with the populations of the O. japonicus, and suggested that it seems to be an unrelated population in O. malacophyllus. The results of the PCA analysis recognized two distinct groups: the populations of O. japonicus and remaining species populations. The populations of O. malacophyllus, O. minutus and O. iwarenge placed within the closely related species.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.29-34
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• 2014

Objectives : Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease, which is one of chronic gastrointestinal disorders. Orostachys japonicus (OJ) has been used as a traditional medicine for various diseases including gastric cancer, gastric ulcers and intoxication. However, the regulatory effect of OJ on intestinal inflammation has not been fully understood, yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of OJ on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Methods : To ascertain the pharmacological effects of OJ, the colitis mice were induced by drinking water containing 5% DSS for 7 days. Mice were randomized into groups receiving OJ (100 mg/kg), sulfasalazine (150 mg/kg) as a positive control, or water as a negative control. We evaluated the effects of OJ on DSS-induced the clinical signs, measuring weight loss and colon length. In addition, the inhibitory effect of OJ on the tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) level was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in colitis tissue. Results : The results indicated that mice treated with DSS showed remarkable clinical signs, including weight loss, and reduced colon length. However, treatment with OJ significantly improved the weight loss and DAI as clinical symptoms. Moreover, OJ reduced the TNF-${\alpha}$ levels in DSS-treated colon tissues. Conclusions : Collectively, the findings of this study provide us with novel insights into the pharmacological actions of OJ as a potential medicine for use in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.524-531
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• 2017

The study aimed to investigate the antioxidant activity and neuroprotective effect of the ethyl acetate fraction from Orostachys japonicus A. Berger extract (EFOJ) and its main constituent compounds. Among all fractions, the highest content of total phenolics was found in EFOJ. The antioxidant activity of EFOJ was confirmed through the 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), 1-1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays and the inhibitory effect of malondialdehyde (MDA). In addition, we ascertained that EFOJ not only decreased the intracellular ROS level, but also protected the neuronal cells against $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress. In liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, the following were found to be the main compounds of EFOJ: quercetin-3-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, and kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside. Consequently, these results suggested that the protective effect on neuronal cells was based on the antioxidant activities of the physiologically active compounds of Orostachys japonicus A. Berger extract, which could therefore help to mitigate neurodegenerative diseases.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.159-162
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• 2001

The genetic relationships of Korean native Orostachys species collected from various regions were analysed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method. Eighteen Orostachys species analysed with UPGMA were clustered into three groups A, B, and C. However, four species were not clustered into any group. O. iwarenge species in group A (No. 18-No. 22) showed low similarity with 66.3-73.9% according to the cluster analysis. O. malacophyllus species in group B (No. 12-No. 17) showed low similarity with 66.7-83.7% according to the cluster analysis. The similarity coefficient value of O. japonicus (No. 3-No. 8) except Anmyeondo collected variety (No. 9) showed higher level with 84.2-92.3% than O. iwarenge or O. malacophyllus. Therefore, O. japonicus is thought to be genetically stable, and have less regional variation.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.361-373
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• 2016

This study tested the antioxidant activities and anti-aging effects of an extract of Orostachys japonicus, a herb used as a folk remedy for cancer for a long time. To assess the antioxidant activities of the Orostachys japonicus extract (OJE), the total polyphenol content was confirmed to have a high caffeic acid equivalent weight of 12 g by dry weight of 100g OJE and the total flavonoid content was confirmed that the quercetin equivalent of 1.7 g by dry weight of 100g OJE. DPPH free radical scavenging activity was confirmed a high scavenging activity of 79.7% at a concentration of 1%. To confirm the anti-aging effect of OJE, MMP-1 expression was decreased in $25{\mu}L/mL$ and $50{\mu}L/mL$ similar to control. In a clinical experiment, a group of subjects who used a cosmetic product containing OJE showed a significant increase in the amount of skin moisture from the forehead, left cheek, and chin. The experimental group showed a significant increase in the amount of skin sebum from the chin and maintaining pH balance of normal skin, As a result, the OJE demonstrates the efficacy of natural cosmetic material as antioxidant and anti-aging.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2011

Background : Despite recent advances in cancer management, prognosis of ovarian cancer is poor. Anticancer effects of herbal medicine, such as Euonymus alatus Sieb, Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxburgh, and Orostachys japonicus A. Berger, have been reported in treatment of ovarian and cervical cancers, but the systematic approaches to explain their molecular mechanism(s) have not yet been established. Objectives : To establish a basis of understanding for anti-cancer mechanisms of herbal medicine, we profiled protein expression in human ovarian and cervical cancer cells treated with the extracts from Euonymus alatus Sieb, Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxburgh and Orostachys japonicus A. Berger. Methods : Human ovarian cancer cell line NIH:OVCAR-3, and human cervical cancer cell line HeLa were employed in the present study. Whole protein was obtained from the cells harvested at 48 hours after the treatment with herbal water-extract, and analyzed by 2DE-based proteomic approach. Results : Various changes of protein expression induced by the herbal treatment were monitored : down-regulation of molecular chaperone (calreticulin variant), glycolytic enzymes (D-3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and alpha-enolase), RNA processing molecules (hnRNP A2/B1), and antioxidant protein (peroxiredoxin 1). Conclusions : Repression of glycolysis has been accepted as the mechanism to increase anticancer reagent's effect. Thus, down-regulation of glycolytic enzymes by the herbal extracts suggested a possible synergistic effect of herbs in the presence of platinum-based therapeutics. In further study, as well as the synergistic effect of the herbs, it has to be further validated whether artificial regulation of hnRNP A2/B1 in ovarian cancer cells affects various cancer survival factors, since RNA processing can be interrupted by deranged expression of hnRNP subtypes, and it results in an inhibition of cancer cell growth.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.465-469
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• 2015

Background: Orostachys japonicus A. Berger (A. Berger) is commonly used as a folk remedy for cancer therapy. However, the mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity are poorly investigated in human cancer cells. In this study, we investigated whether flavonoids extracted from Orostachys japonicus A. Berger (FEOJ) might have anticancer effects in human leukemia cells, focusing on cell death mechanisms. Materials and Methods: U937 human leukemic cancer cells were used. Results: FEOJ induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in human U937 cancer cells. Flow cytometry revealed significant accumulation of cells with sub-G1 DNA content at the concentrations of $200{\mu}g/mL$ and $400{\mu}g/mL$. FEOJ-induced apoptosis was caspase-dependent through loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ${\Delta}{\Psi}m$) in human U937 cancer cells, which might be associated with suppression of Bcl-2 and XIAP proteins. FEOJ induced the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, playing at least in part an important role in FEOJ-induced apoptosis. Conclusions: This study suggested that FEOJ may induce caspase-dependent apoptosis in human leukemic cells by regulating MMP (${\Delta}{\Psi}m$) through suppressing Bcl-2 and X-IAP. In addition, the results indicated that upstream p38 MAPK signaling regulates the apoptotic effect of FEOJ. This study provides evidence that FEOJ might have anti-cancer potential for human leukemic cells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2014

This study was performed to determine the anticancer effects of cultivated Orostachys japonicus (COJ) and wild Orostachys japonicus (WOJ) on primary human prostate cancer cells (RC-58T/h/SA#4 cells). The morphology of cells treated with COJ and WOJ was distorted to shrunken cell masses. In addition, cell death induced by COJ and WOJ was associated with increased population of cells in sub-G1 phase as well as the formation of apoptotic bodies and nuclear condensation. COD and WOJ markedly reduced the number of viable prostate cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner, and cell numbers were lower than control cells. COJ and WOJ also inhibited increases in cell proliferation induced by environmental hormones such as dioxin and bisphenol A in charcoal-treated FBS (cFBS) medium. COJ and WOJ methanol extracts at the tested concentrations (150, 300, and 600 ${\mu}g/mL$) also dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation induced by environmental hormones. These results indicate that COJ and WOJ exert anticancer effects on primary human prostate cancer cells.