• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.764-770
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• 2013

Stevia rebaudiana is a traditional herb used as a sweetener in Brazil and Paraguay as well as Korea and China. This study investigated the efficacy of Stevia rebaudiana methanol extract (SRE) to protect cells against the mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in hepatocyte. To determine the effects of SRE on oxidative stress, we used the human derived hepatocyte cell line, HepG2 cell. Treatment of arachidonic acid (AA)+iron in HepG2 cells synergistically amplified cytotoxicity, as indicated by the excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial permeability transition by fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) and immunoblot analysis. Treatment with SRE protected hepatocytes from AA+iron-induced cellular toxicity, as shown by alterations in the protein levels related with cell viability such as procaspase-3. SRE also prevented the mitochondrial dysfunction induced by AA+iron, and showed anti-oxidant effects as inhibition of $H_2O_2$ production and GSH depletion. Moreover, we measured the effects of SRE on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator in determining cell survival or death. Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase (ACC), a direct downstream target of AMPK. SRE increased phosphorylation of ACC, and prevented the inhibition of ACC phosphorylation by AA+iron. These results indicated that SRE has the ability to protect cells against AA+iron-induced $H_2O_2$ production and mitochondrial impairment, which may be mediated with AMPK-ACC pathway.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 2010

In this paper, we tried to investigate the adjusting patterns of production fluctuation of major soybean production countries. In particular, we focus our attention on the trade transmission effect of major soybean production countries on world market. We found that the instability of world market for soybean is likely to be increased mainly due to the production fluctuation and trade transmission effect of major production countries, e.g. Brazil, Paraguay, and Canada. Most of the major production countries have adjusted the production fluctuation through consumption and trade rather than inventory management, and hence the instability of world market for soybean tends to be more instable. Therefore we need to develop the effective policy measures for making domestic soybean market more stable such as a plan for keeping domestic production, a valid inventory management strategy, a use of futures market, and a strategy to diversify import market as a large importing country.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.371-385
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• 2023

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze Korea's trade relations centered on the MERCOSUR, a major economic integration in Latin America, and identify its problems and suggest measures that can be taken by the government and corporations to reinforce economic cooperation. Design/methodology/approach - To improve the level of contribution of the study, an empirical analysis is necessary. However, due to limited data access, the study will approach the topic of trade relations between Korea and the MERCOSUR with various statistics and literature. Findings - First, there is an urgent need for changes in import-export goods between Korea and the MERCOSUR, as trade is focused on specific items. Second, although foreign direct investment from Korea to the MERCOSUR is centered in manufacturing and mining industries, there should be different investment strategies by countries and industries. Third, it is necessary to reinforce commercial cooperation. Korea currently has Free Trade Agreements with Chile, Peru, and Columbia, but not with MERCOSUR. Therefore, Korea must take active measures to sign an TA with MERCOSUR, which has been put on hold. Research implications or Originality - Latin America has the most thriving market when it comes to Free Trade Agreements worldwide. MERCOSUR is a South American Trade Bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. However, there is still a lack of research on the MERCOSUR, and corporations that aim to enter the Latin American market face difficulties due to lack of information. By investigating MERCOSUR and its prospects and analyzing the trade relations with Korea, this study will provide strategic measures for corporations that wish to enter the Latin American market.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.69-89
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• 1981

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is a perennial herb widely distributed in the mountainous area of Paraguay. It belongs to the family Compositae and contains 6 to 12 percent stevioside in the leaves. Stevioside is a glucoside having similar sweetening character to surgar and the degree of sweetness is approximately 300 times of sugar. Since Korea does not produce any sugar crops, and the synthetic sweetenings are potentially hazardous for health, it is rather urgent to develop an economical new sweetener. Consequently, the current experiments are conducted to establish cultural practices of stevia, a new sweetening herbs, introduced into Korea in 1973 and the results are summarized as followings: 1. Days from transplanting of cuttings to the flower bud formation of 6 stevia lines were similar among daylengths of 8, 10 and 12 hours, but it was much greater at daylengths of 14 or 24 hour and varietal differences were noticable. All lines were photosensitive, but a line, 77013, was the most sensitive and 77067 and Suweon 2 were less sensitive to daylength. 2. Critical daylength of all lines seemed to be approximately 12 hours. Growth of plants was severely retarded at daylengths less than 12 hours. 3. Cutting were responded to short daylength before rooting. Number of days from transplanting to flower bud formation of 40-day old cuttings in the nursery bed was 20 days and it was delayed as duration of nursery were shorter. 4. Number of days from emergence to flower bud formation was shortest at short day treatment from 20 days after emergence. It was became longer as initiation of short day treatment was earlier or later than 20 days. 5. Plant height, number of branches, and top dry weight of stevia were reduced as cutting date was delayed from March 20 to May 20. The highest yield of dry leaf was obtained at nursery duration of 40-50 days in march 20 cutting, 30-40 days in April 20 cutting, and 30 days in May 20 cutting. 6. An asymptotic relationship was observed between plant population and leaf dry weight. Yield of dry leaf increased rapidly as plant population increased from 5,000 to 10,000 plants/10a with a reduced increasing rate from 10,000 to 20,000 plants/l0a, and levelled off at the plant population higher than 20,000 plants/l0a. 7. Stevia was adaptable in Suweon, Chengju, Mokpo and Jeju and drought was one of the main factors reducing yield of dry leaf. Yield of dry leaf was reduced significantly (approximately 30%) at June 20 transplanting compared to optimum transplanting. 8. Yield of dry leaf was higher in a vinyl house compared to unprotected control at long daylength or natural daylength except at short day treatment at March 20. Higher temperature ill a vinyl house does not have benefital effects at April 20 transplanting. 9. The highest content of stevioside was noted at the upper leaves of the plant but the lowest was measured at the plant parts of 20cm above ground. Leaf dry weight and stevioside yield was mainly contributed by the plant parts of 60 to 120cm above ground but the varietal differences were also significant. 10. Delayed harvest by the time of flower bud formation increased leaf dry weight remarkably. However, there were insignificant changes of yield as harvests were made at any time after flower bud formation. Content of stevioside was highest at the time of flower bud formation and earlier or later harvest than this time was low in its content. The optimum harvesting time determined by leaf dry weight and stevioside content was the periods from flower bud formation to right before flowering that would be the period from September 10 to September 15 in Suweon area. 11. Stevioside and rebaudioside content in the leaves of Stevia varieties were ranged from 5.4% to 14.3% and 1.5% to 8.3% respectively. However, no definit relationships between stevioside and rebaudioside were observed in these particular experiments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.412-421
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• 2012

The yerba mate that grows in the subtropical forests of South America is an evergreen tree within the Aquifoliaceae family. The yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) tea is habitually used as a drink in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Southern Brazil. A wild mate tree needs about 25 years to fully grow to 15 a height of meters; however, they only grow to a height of 3-5 meters when cultivated. The leaves are 7-11 cm long and 3-5cm wide with a serrated margin. Yerba mate tea-based beverages are made from the leaves and stems of the mate tree. It is known that they contain a rich content of antioxidants and polyphenol, vitamins, amino acids, minerals and colorants. Dyeing properties of a mate plant in the silk, wool, linen and cotton fabrics were investigated. Constituents of colorant of mate tea are chlorophyll and carotinoid; in addition, it has more minerals such as (Fe, Ca, Mn, Mg, Na, K, Zn, and Cu) than green tea. Mate tea colorants showed good affinity to silk and wool fabrics. It was found that the optimum condition for dyeing was 30 minutes for dyeing time, 7 for pH of dyebath, and at a dyeing temperature of $80^{\circ}C$. The maximum absorbance wavelength (${\lambda}_{max}$) of silk and wool fabrics dyed with mate tea were at 420-440nm; however, that of linen and cotton fabrics were at 400nm. K/S values of fabrics dyed under optimum conditions were 1.979 for silk fabrics, 1.541 for wool fabrics, 0.551 for linens and 0.465 for cotton fabrics. Munsell hue values of dyed fabrics measured 3.1Y-6.4GY for silk, 1.4Y-8.3Y for wool, 5.5Y-3.7GY for linen, and 5.3Y-1.3GY for cotton. All dyed fabrics showed hues in-between greenish yellow and greenyellow. Colorfastness to rubbing, perspiration and dry-cleaning of dyed fabrics with mate tea were very good; however, the grades of colorfastness to washing of dyed linen and cotton fabrics were poor, and colorfastness to light were poor.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2004

Pata de Vaca (Bauhinia forficata) Is a tree which grows naturally in the rainforests and tropical parts of Peru and Brazil, as well as tropical zones of Asia, eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. The active fraction (Pata-50) of the 70% ethanol extract from Pata de Vaca was sequentially fractionated by HP-20 Diaion column chromatography and C-18 column chromatography, and its characteristics were investigated. The growth of all cancer cells tested except for MCF-7 was Inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by Pata-50. Its $IC_{50}$ values were estimated to be 40.4 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ on AGS, 51.3 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ on HT-29, 52.1$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ on HepG2, 65.2$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ on A549, and 77.5$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ on HeLa cells. A flow cytometric analysis of HepG2 cells revealed induction of apoptosis, but cell cycle regulation was not affected. The HepG2 cell population of apoptosis region increased In a concentration-dependent manner by Pata-50.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.130-137
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• 2020

We found Diplachne fusca subsp. uninervia (J. Presl) P.M. Peterson & N. Snow, an unrecorded alien plant, in Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do and Ganghwa-gun, Incheon Metropolitan City. Diplachne fusca subsp. uninervia is native to North America (the USA and Mexico), Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua), the Caribbean (the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico), and South America (Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay). It is reported as an invasive species worldwide. Diplachne fusca subsp. uninervia is closely related to D. fusca subsp. fascicularis (Lam.) P.M. Peterson & N. Snow (Gaet-deu-reong-sae in Korean), an invasive species in Korea, and both are infraspecific taxa of the species D. fusca. Diplachne fusca subsp. uninervia is distinguished from D. fusca subsp. fascicularis by the small size of its spikelets, glumes, and lemmas, with apex awnless. Its common name is "Jom-gaet-deu-reong-sae" based on the short spikelets. We found that D. fusca (≡Leptochloa fusca), previously known as "Gaet-deu-reong-sae", was misapplied. It is morphologically different from D. fusca subsp. fascicularis. Therefore, we changed the scientific name of Gaet-deu-reong-sae from D. fusca (≡L. fusca) to D. fusca subsp. fascicularis based on the type specimens, original descriptions, and recent studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.456-461
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• 2012

The leaves of $Stevia$ $rebaudiana$ are well-known in Japan, Korea, and China as a natural sweetener. Medicinal uses of this plant originated in Paraguay and Brazil in the form of aqueous decoctions of the leaves used as a contraceptive agent and for the treatment of hyperglycemia. In the present study, the antioxidant, anti-hypertension, and anti-inflammatory activities of $S.$ $rebaudiana$ extracts are investigated for their use in food. The biologically-active compound was isolated and purified from $S.$ $rebaudiana$. The isolated compound was identified as austroinulin ($C_{20}H_{34}O_3$; molecular weight 322) by mass, IR spectrophotometry, 1D, and 2D-NMR. Austroinulin was characterized as a diterpenoid possessing a 3-methylpenta-2,4-dienyl at C-9. When subjected to an inflammatory mediator inhibitory assay from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages, the austroinulin inhibited the enhanced production of nitric oxide (NO) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression (10 ${\mu}g$/mL＝67.9 and 45.1%, respectively). This was significant and dose-dependent. The results suggest that austroinulin from $S.$ $rebaudiana$ inhibited the NO and iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.30-42
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• 2006

This experiment was conducted to investigate current situation and plant grouping by light and watering of mingled several cacti and succulents in a pot. The main 11 cacti are consist of Myrtillocactus geometrizans (Mart.) Cons., Gymnocalycium mihanovichii var. friedrichii Werd., Marginatocereus marginatus(DC.) Backbg., Eriocactus leninghausii (Hge. Jr.) Backbg, Notocactus scopa (Spreng.) Berg., Lobivia nealeana Backbg., Mammillaria elongata var. intertexta (DC.) SD., Pseudoespostoa (Vp1.) Backbg., Mammillaria albilanata Backbg., Mammillaria klissingiana Bod. and Espostoa lanata (HBK.) Br. & R. The main 10 succulents are Kalanchoe thyrsifolia Harv., Portulacaria afra var. foliis-variegatis Jacobs., Crassula perforata Thunbg., Echeveria pulvinata Rose, Aeonium arboreum cv. atropurpureum., Echeveria lauii Moran & J. Meyran, Pachypodium lamerei Drake, Sedum rubrotinctum cv. Aurora Boom., Aloe mitriformis Mill., and Euphorbia coerulescens Haw. The cacti were native to Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, etc. The sucullents were native to Mexico, Africa, Gran Canaria, Madagascar, etc. Most of all the cacti and sucullents in the experiment are growing well under full sun or light shade, however Portulacaria afra var. foliis-variegatis Jacobs, and Sedum rubrotinctum cv. Aurora Boom. did not influenced by light. And all the plants require a little or moderate watering. Thus, planting by similar required water and light, when growing in a pot of several cacti and succulents, might be decreased the rate of death causing by their different plant physiology.