• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.270-275
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• 2005

Superoxide dismutases (SOD) are metalloenzymes that convert $O_2^-\;to\;H_2O_2$. Rehmannia glutinosa is highly tolerant to paraquat-induced oxidative stress. The primary objective of this study was to characterize regulation of SOD gene expression in R. glutinosa in response to oxidative stresses and hormones. A full-length putative SOD clone (RgCu-ZnSOD1) was isolated from the leaf cDNA library of R. glutinosa using an expressed sequence tag clone as a probe. RgCu-ZnSOD1 cDNA is 777 bp in length and contains an open reading frame for a polypeptide consisted of 152 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of the clone shows highest sequence similarity to the cytosolic Cu-ZnSODs. The two to three major bands with several minor ones on the Southern blots indicate that RgCu-ZnSOD1 is a member of a small multi-gene family. RgCuZnSOD1 mRNA was constitutively expressed in the leaf, flower and root. The expression of RgCu-ZnSOD1 mRNA was increased about 20% by wounding and paraquat, but decreased over 50% by ethylene and $GA_3$. This result indicates that the RgCu-ZnSOD1 expression is regulated differentially by different stresses and phytohormones at the transcription level. The RgCu-ZnSOD1 sequence and information on its regulation will be useful in investigating the role of SOD in the paraquat tolerance of R. glutinosa.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the composition of Rehmannia glutinosa's essential oils with Rehmanniae Radix herbal acupuncture Methods : I obtained the essential oils of Rehmannia Radix by hydrodistillation extraction method and supercritical fluid extraction(SFE) method, and then I analyzed those by GC/MS(gas chromatography/mass spectrum). Results : 1. With GC(gas chromatography) and GC/MS(gas chromatography/mass spectrum) analysis. I identified 9 compounds in the Rehmanniae Radix's essential oil obtained through the SFE method. The main compounds were as follows : Hexachloroethane(2.24%), N-Butyl-benzenesulfonamide(2.05%), hexadecanoic acid(1.93%), hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester(3.49%), 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid(z,z)(2.70%), (9E)-9-Octadecenoic acid(6.14%), ethyl linoleate(4.43%), ethyl oleate(5.80%). 2. I failed to get Rehmanniae Radix's essential oil obtained through the hydrodistillation method. 3. With GC(gas chromatography) and GC/MS(gas chromatography/mass spectrum) analysis. I identified 4 compounds in the Rehmanniae Radix's essential oil obtained through the hydrodistillation method. The main compounds were as follows : Ethylbis(trimethylsilyl)amine(1.04%), 2-(Trimethylsiloxy)benzoic methyl ester(2.65%), Hexadecanoic acid trimethylsilyl ester(12.61%), octadecanoic acid, trimethylsilyl ester(6.28%). Conclusions : The substances by hydrodistillation method may not perfectly match with the substances by supercritical fluid extraction(SFE) method in essential oils extracted form Rehmanniae Radix. But, the main substances was assumed Hexadecanoic acid and octadecanoic acid.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.874-883
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• 2011

Many studies have shown that the steamed root of Rehmannia glutinosa (SRG), which is widely used in the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases in the context of Korean traditional medicine, is effective for improving cognitive and memory impairments. The purpose of this study was to examine whether SRG extracts improved memory defects caused by administering scopolamine (SCO) into the brains of rats. The effects of SRG on the acetylcholinergic system and proinflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus were also investigated. Male rats were administered daily doses of SRG (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) for 14 days, 1 h before scopolamine injection (2 mg/kg, i.p.). After inducing cognitive impairment via scopolamine administration, we conducted a passive avoidance test (PAT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) test as behavioral assessments. Changes in cholinergic system reactivity were also examined by measuring the immunoreactive neurons of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and the reactivity of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) in the hippocampus. Daily administration of SRG improved memory impairment according to the PAT, and reduced the escape latency for finding the platform in the MWM. The administration of SRG consistently significantly alleviated memory-associated decreases in cholinergic immunoreactivity and decreased interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$) and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) mRNA expression in the hippocampus. The results demonstrated that SRG had a significant neuroprotective effect against the neuronal impairment and memory dysfunction caused by scopolamine in rats. These results suggest that SRG may be useful for improving cognitive functioning by stimulating cholinergic enzyme activities and alleviating inflammatory responses.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.406-414
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• 2004

Resveratrol, which is both a phytoalexin with antifungal activity and a phytochemical associated with reduced cancer risk and reduced cardiovascular disease, is synthesized in a limited number of plant species including peanut. Resveratrol synthesis is catalyzed by the enzyme stilbene synthase including resveratrol synthase (RS). Resveratrol synthase gene (RS3) obtained from peanut, Arachis hypogaea, Fabaceae has been transferred into chinese foxglove, Rehmannia glutinosa by using Agrobacterium mediated transformation. RS t-DNA introduced to chinese foxglove (R. glutinosa L) by transformation and its reaction product, $resveratrol-3-O-{\beta}-D-glucoside$ was isolated and characterized using HPLC. Also its biological effects was tested in inhibition of the lipid peroxidation of mouse LDL by glycosylated stilbenes derivatives obtained from transgenic plants. $Resveratrol-3-O-{\beta}-D-glucoside$ isolated from transgenic R. glutinosa L. showed antimicrobial activity of the growth inhibition zone against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Therefore, this compound can be contributed to be useful as a phytoalexin for plant health as well as a phytochemical for human health.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.360-365
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• 2004

Rehmannia glutinosa shows a high level of resistance to the non-selective herbicide paraquat. To characterize the antioxidant enzyme system of R. glutinosa, we comparatively examined the responses of antioxidant enzymes to UV, wounding and a general elicitor yeast extract in R. glutinosa and soybean. The levels of enzyme activities of the two plant species were drastically different between those per fresh weight (general activity) and per protein (specific activity) bases. The general activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR) were lower, but that of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was higher in R. glutinosa than in soybean. The specific activities of the enzymes, however, were about two- to seven-fold higher in R. glutinosa than in soybean, except that of CAT, which was about 12-fold higher in soybean. The general and specific enzyme activities of R. glutinosa relative to those of soybean showed a consistent increase in responses to the stresses only in SOD. The specific activities of SOD and APX were higher in R. glutinosa in all stress treatments. The results might suggest a relatively higher contribution of SOD and APX to the stress tolerance.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2017

Background: Rehmannia glutinosa is a perennial herb belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae. Its root has been utilized as a traditional medicine but the aerial parts (flower, flower stalk, leaf) are not used. We aimed to determine the content of three compounds [aucubin, catalpol, and ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA)] in the different organs of R. glutinosa cultivars (Dakang, Tokang, and Suwon 9) Methods and Results: The flower, flower stalk, leaf, and root of R. glutinosa were harvested at the end of August. The aucubin and catalpol contents were analyzed by LC/MS, whereas the GABA content was analyzed by GC/MS. The aucubin content was the highest in the leaf, while catalpol and GABA were the highest in the flower. The aucubin contents of leaf in Dakang, Tokang, and Suwon 9 were 1.43, 0.81, and 1.07 mg/g, respectively. The catalpol contents of flower in Dakang, Tokang, and Suwon 9 were 41.06, 28.78, and 37.48 mg/g, respectively, the GABA contents were 0.79, 0.76, and 0.65 mg/g, respectively. Conclusions: The aucubin, catalpol, and GABA contents were higher in the leaf and flower than that in the root. This study show that R. glutinosa leaf and flower can be used as a potential supplement.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.130-141
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• 2000

The dried roots of Rehmannia glutinosa (RG) have been used in the traditional medicine for treatment of diabetes, fever and dysuria, etc. In order to investigate the quality evaluation of the dried roots of RG, we conducted the physico-chemical and biological evaluation method. The amount of catalpol from commercial samples is very diverse about $0.00{\sim}3.89%$ by using HPLC method, because it is easily decomposed by processing of RG. So, we should try to identify the correlation with the contents of catalpol and biological activities of RG. We chose 3 samples which were a wide difference of catalpol contents between each sample (Sample-I; 3.4%, Sample-II; 2.8%, Sample-III; 0.05%). Sample-I and Sample-II were found to be more effective than Sample-III on the DPPH free radical scavenging effect and inhibitory effect on $H_2O_2-catalyzed$ lipid peroxidation in rat liver in vitro. And, Sample-I and Sample-II exhibited more significant effects than Sample-III on accelerating actions of the small and large intestinal transport, and diuretic action in mice. So, it is suggested that the quantitative determination of catalpol should be required for the tandardization of the dried roots of RG.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.559-564
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• 2018

Rehmannia glutinosa root (R. root) has been used as an traditional medicine, and is important resource for natural medicines and functional foods. However, R. root contains catalpol which is bitter, and undigested sugars, including stachyose and raffinose, which can cause diarrhea. Therefore, this study was performed to identify the changes in reducing sugar from undigested sugars and in catalpol contents in R. root slurry induced by aging treatments. R. root slurry was treated at $10{\sim}70^{\circ}C$ for up to 72 hr; and extracted with a 50% ethanol solution. The catalpol content was analyzed using HPLC-UVD. Reducing sugar content generated from undigested sugars was measured by the Nelson-Somogyi methods, and the reaction rates were calculated from their variation according to aging time and temperature. During the aging treatment, reducing sugar increased and catalpol decreased. Their formation and degradation rates were highest at $50^{\circ}C$ and $30{\sim}40^{\circ}C$, and their rates were $2.05mg/g{\cdot}hr$ and 23.09 to 23.33%/hr, respectively. These results indicated that aging treatment can positively affect the sweetness and digestibility of R. root slurry. Therefore, an aging treatment could be considered for improving the taste and digestibility of R. root.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.251-256
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• 2020

The aging treatment was applied to Rehmannia glutinosa rhizome (RGR) to improve the digestibility by the enzymatic hydrolysis of undigestible sugars. However, RGR spoils easily during the aging treatment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of ethanol addition as preservatives on sugars and microbial growth of aged RGR. The RGR was treated with the addition of ethanol (0~10%) at 55℃ for eight days. Reducing, free sugars, and total bacterial counts of RGR with ethanol concentrations were analyzed during the aging periods. The aged RGR with 0-2% ethanol appeared spoiled in appearance, and total bacterial counts of these samples increased from 1.1×10⁵ to 2.2×10⁷ CFU and then decreased again. When treated with 4~10% ethanol, the total bacterial counts of aged RGR decreased by more than 99.9% at eight days. In all samples, reducing and digestible sugars increased, and stachyose decreased by the aging treatment. Sucrose content was highest in the 6% ethanol sample (18.2% at six days). These results indicate that the ethanol addition can be applied to the aging treatment of the RGR for improving qualities (sweetness, digestibility, and microbial growth), and can be considered for the stable production of high quality aged RGR.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2017

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by recurrent and unpredictable seizures that are usually controlled with antiepileptic/anticonvulsive drugs. However, most antiepileptic drugs produce various side effects such as tolerance and sedation. Thus, there is a growing interest for alternative anticonvulsive drugs, preferably from natural or herbal sources. In this study, we evaluated the anticonvulsive effects of Rehmannia glutinosa (RG). The anticonvulsive effect of RG extract was evaluated using electroshock- and chemical-induced seizure tests in mice. To identify its probable mechanism of action, the effects of RG extract on $Cl^-$ influx was measured in vitro. We found that RG extract has anticonvulsive effects against electroshock-induced seizures, as indicated by an increased seizure threshold in mice. The RG extract also decreased the percentage of seizure responses induced by the GABAergic antagonist, pentylenetetrazole. These results suggest that the anticonvulsive effects of RG extract are mediated through a GABAergic mechanism. In support of this mechanism, our in vitro test showed that RG extract increases intracellular $Cl^-$ influx. Furthermore, RG extract did not show sedative and/or muscle relaxant effects in the open-field and rota-rod tests. Altogether, these results confirm that RG extract could be a herbal anticonvulsant and a potential alternative for clinical use.