• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.70-78
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• 2008

Prunus sargentii R. of Rosaceae familiy, has been reported to have radical scavenging activity and anti-inflammatory effect. On these facts, biological activity and safety test were conducted to evaluate biological activities of the extracts of P. sargentii R. as a potential pharmaceutical ingredient. The electron donating ability of its ethanol extracts at a 500 ppm level showed 92%, which was higher than that of hot water extract (59%), the superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity of the water extract of P. sargentii R. was about 50%, the ethanol extract of P. sargentii R. was about 40% at 1,000 ppm concentration. Xanthine oxidase inhibition by the water extract of P. sargentii R. was about 40% and that by the ethanol extract was 60% respectively at 500 ppm concentration. From the measurement on lipid oxidation, the $Cu^{2+}$ chelating effect of the ethanol extract was higher than that of hot water extract. The $Fe^{2+}$ chelating effect was also shown to be about 80% at a 500 ppm concentration in both hot water extract and ethanol extract. The tyrosinase inhibition effect related to skin-whitening was 26% by hot water extract and 20% by ethanol extract respectively at a 1,000 ppm. Hyaluronidase inhibition activity related to the anti-inflammation effect was 96% in ethanolic extract at a 500 ppm. Clear zones formed by P. sargentii R. against the human skin-resident micro-flora such as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli and Propionibacterium acnes indicated that antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract was higher than that of the hot water extract.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.396-418
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the flora and the vegetation of Samusan mountain on Jecheon-si, located in the middle part of the Korean peninsula. The vascular plants which were collected in 9 times from June 2014 to October 2015 were identified as 502 taxa in total, including 102 families, 314 genera, 445 species, 6 subspecies, 49 varieties, 1 form and 1 hybrid. The largest families were as follows; Asteraceae (70 taxa), Poaceae (52 taxa), Rosaceae (30 taxa), Fabaceae (28 taxa), and Cyperaceae (20 taxa). Of them, Korean endemic plants numbered 10 taxa, and vascular plants listed in the red data according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) numbered 14 taxa. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 61 taxa in total. Among them, 5 taxa revealed the floristic grade V, 11 for floristic grade IV, 14 for floristic grade III, 10 for floristic grade II, and 21 for floristic grade I. The alien plants were identified as 43 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 8.6%, and urbanization index (UI) was 13.4%, respectively. Samples of the forest vegetation on the Samusan Mt. were mainly classified as Pinus densiflora, Quercus variabilis, Q. acutissima, Q. mongolica, Zelkova serrata and Robinia pseudoacacia forest. The vertical structures of the forest were stable and the DBH-Class analyses showed that the dominant tree species would be maintained. In the surveyed areas, high plant diversity was shown, and a number of endemic, rare, calcicole plants and phytogeographically important plants were found. Nonetheless, numerous and diverse biological resources native have been consistently disturbed or damaged by human activities without some form of protection. Therefore, it is needed to set up strategies for conservation forest vegetation in this study area.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.3
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• pp.369-392
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• 2021

This study aimed to provide basic data for efficient flora management of vascular plants, halophytes, and naturalized plants in the Gwangpo Bay area in Sacheon city, Gyeongsangnam-do. The flora found in this area incorporated 520 taxa, including 93 families, 299 genera, 466 species, 3 subspecies, 41 varieties, and 10 forma, and accounted for approximately 10.6% of total vascular plants (4,884 species) in Korea. According to the survey, 76 species of Gramineae showed the highest frequency (14.6%), followed by 67 species of Compositae (12.8%), 34 species of Leguminosae (6.5%), 27 species of Cyperaceae (5.2%), and 22 species of Rosaceae (4.2%). Rare plant species designated by the Korea Forest Service were categorized into six taxa, including three taxa in the LC grade, one taxon in the CR grade, one taxon in the VU grade, and one taxon in the EN grade. Korea endemic plants belonged to nine taxa consisting of seven families, seven genera, and nine species. The special floristic plants included 44 taxa, including one taxon (Prunus yedoensis) in the V grade, four taxa in the IV grade, ten taxa in the III grade, six taxa in the II grade, and 23 taxa in the I grade. Naturalized plants included 62 taxa consisting of 15 families, 47 genera, 59 species and 3 varieties. Halophytes consisted of 27 taxa, including 13 families, 24 genera, 24 species, 2 varieties, 1 forma, which consisted of Atriplex gmelinii, Suaeda glauca, Suaeda maritima, and Lathyrus japonicus. Invasive alien species in the Gwangpo Bay area included seven taxa. Since Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Sicyos angulatus, andPaspalum distichum var. indutummay have harmful effects on native plants, these plants must be artificially controlled.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1369-1378
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• 2018

Prunus mume Siebold & Zucc., a member of the Rosaceae family (called Maesil in Korea), has been widely distributed in East Asia, e.g. Korea, Japan and China, and its fruit has been used as a traditional drug and health food. In this study, we evaluated physicochemical properties and physiological activities of condensed Prunus mume juice treated with pectinase (PJ). The values of total acidity, pH, sugar contents, turbidity moisture content of the PJ were 35.81%, 2.73, $54.36^{\circ}Brix$, 2.75 and 51.32%, respectively. The PJ had effective DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power effect, $H_2O_2$ scavenging activity and ${\beta}$-carotene bleaching effect. DPPH radical scavenging activities of PJ was 46.31%; their reducing power ($OD_{700}$) was 1.80; $H_2O_2$ scavenging activity of PJ was 91.62%; and ${\beta}$-carotene bleaching effect of PJ was 73.02%. Also, PJ showed effective levels of ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition activity. The cell viability was measured by SRB assay. The PJ significantly decreased the cell viability of mouse melanoma cells (B16) and human melanoma cells (SK-MEL-2 and SK-MEL-28) in a dose-dependent manner, however, there was no effect on human keratinocyte HaCaT. In morphological study, PJ-treated SK-MEL-2 cells showed distorted and shrunken cell masses. Total polyphenol contents and total flavonoid contents of PJ were 588.31 mg% (gallic acid equivalent) and 860.45 mg% (rutin equivalent). The antiproliferative effect of PJ seems to be associated with the antioxidant activity of its flavonoid and polyphenol contents. In conclusion, PJ may be beneficial in development of a functional food material.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.528-553
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• 2020

Upland fields are characterized by dry environments, a high degree of disturbance by farming practices such as double-cropping, and a high diversity of crops compared to other field types. This study focused on the floristic composition and characteristics of upland fields in South Korea. Flora surveys were conducted in 36 areas in nine provinces at two times (June and August) in 2015. The results showed that the vascular plants in the upland fields in South Korea included 532 taxa, containing 100 families, 322 genera, 483 species, nine subspecies, 37 varieties, one form, and two hybrids. Among the 100 families, Asteraceae was the most diverse in species (75 taxa), followed by Poaceae (68 taxa), Fabaceae (34 taxa), Polygonaceae (21 taxa), Rosaceae (19 taxa), and Liliaceae (17 taxa). Based on the occurrence frequency of each species, Acalypha australis L. (100%), and Artemisia indica Willd. (100%) were the highest, followed by Humulus scandens (Lour.) Merr., Rorippa palustris (L.) Besser, Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronquist, Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers., Lactuca indica L., Commelina communis L., Digitaria ciliaris (Retz.) Koeler, Echinochloa crus-galli(L.) P.Beauv., Cyperus microiria Steud., and Oxalis corniculata L. The biological type of upland fields in South Korea was determined to be Th-R₅-D₄-e type. Rare plants were found in 11 taxa: Taxus cuspidata Siebold & Zucc, Magnolia kobus DC, Clematis trichotoma Nakai, Aristolochina contorta Bunge, Buxus sinica (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) M.Cheng var. koreana (Nakai ex Rehder) Q.L.Wang, Melothria japonica (Thunb.) Maxim, Mitrasacme indica Wight, Lithospermum arvense L., Carpesium rosulatum Miq., Allium senescens L., and Pseudoraphis sordida (Thwaites) S.M.Phillips & S.L.Chen. Ninety-seven taxa contained naturalized plants composed of 24 families, 68 genera, 97 species, one variety, and one form. The urbanization and naturalization indices were 30.5% and 18.4%, respectively.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.371-384
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• 2023

We investigated the occurrence of insect pests on street trees that were planted or naturally grew in a total of six urban and suburban parks (two sites in Iksan, one site in Gimje and three sites in Gwangju) in Honam region, South Korea from May to September, 2022. The six survey sites are divided into three characters, two 'nearby forest (NF)', two 'nearby river (NR)' and two 'nearby downtown (ND)' according to the created location of sites and the results on fauna of insect pests compared with street tree species for each character of survey sites. As results, we could discover 51 species of 49 genera in 27 families belonging to five insect orders from a total of 21 tree species belonging to 13 families in six survey sites. Among the insect taxa, hemipteran pests are most diverse with 22 species of 20 genera in 12 families and it is confirmed that Prunus × yedoensis Matsum. (Rosaceae) is damaged by most diverse 25 insect pests. With regard to character of survey sites, trees in 'nearby river' were affected by most diverse 34 insect pests, even though tree species were few compare to sites of 'nearby forest' and 'nearby downtown. Among the affected area of tree parts, leaf-feeding insect pests are most diverse with 22 species. From the present study, we provided a checklist of insect pests from the street trees and selected six most concerned species. Indeed, it is needed to conduct sustainable surveys and monitoring on occurrence of insect pests from street trees in urban and suburban parks because the species of planted street trees in parks can be extremely diverse with occurrence of unexpected insect pests.