• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.439-455
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• 2018

Hanon made in the largest maar crater in Korea, is the only paddy field ecosystem in Jeju Island that has been conducting rice farming, for the past 500 years. Flora surveys were conducted eight times, 2015-2018, to understand floristic characteristics and a restoration plan of the study area. As a result, vascular plants of Hanon paddy fields were listed 225 taxa that consist of 55 families, 151 genera, 194 species, 1 subspecies, 25 varieties, and 4 forms. The taxonomic group including the most species, was Gramineae (36 taxa). The next families were Compositae (29 taxa), Cyperaceae (20), Leguminosae (13), and Polygonaceae (11). Biological type of the Hanon was $Th-R_5-D_4-t$ type. The rare plants revealed 3 taxa; Ottelia alismoides(L.) Pers., Acorus calamus L., Pseudoraphis ukishiba Ohwi. Endemic plant revealed 1 taxon; Saururus chinensis(Lour.) Baill. Forty three taxa were naturalized plants composed of 15 families, 24 genera, 41 species, and 2 varieties. The urbanization index and naturalized index were 13.3% and 16.9%, respectively. The Hanon has high plant diversity, including endemic plant and rare plants, and is the only rice paddy in Jeju Island. So, the Hanon has sufficient values in ecological and socio-cultural aspects, so it should be maintained continuously in the future.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2014

Background: The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3)is constitutively activated in many human cancers. It promotes tumor cell proliferation,inhibits apoptosis, induces angiogenesis and metastasis, and suppresses antitumor hostimmune responses. Therefore, Stat3 has emerged as a promising molecular target for cancertherapies. In this study, we evaluated the Stat3-suppressive activity of 38 herbal medicinestraditionally used in Korea.Methods: Medicinal herb extracts in 70% ethanol were screened for their ability to suppressStat3 in the A549 human lung cancer cell line. A Stat3-responsive reporter assay system wasused to detect intracellular Stat3 activity in extract-treated cells, and Western blot analyseswere performed to measure the expression profiles of Stat3-regulated proteins.Results: Fifty percent of the 38 extracts possessed at least mild Stat3-suppressive activities(i.e., activity less than 75% of the vehicle control). Ethanol extracts of Bupleurum falcatumL., Taraxacum officinale Weber, Solanum nigrum L., Ulmus macrocarpa Hance, Euonymus alatusSieb., Artemisia capillaris Thunb., and Saururus chinensis (Lour.) Baill inhibited up to 75% of thevehicle control Stat3 activity level. A549 cells treated with these extracts also had reducedBcl-xL, Survivin, c-Myc, and Mcl-1 expression.Conclusion: Many medicinal herbs traditionally used in Korea contain Stat3 activity-suppressing substances. Because of the therapeutic impact of Stat3 inhibition, these resultscould be useful when developing novel cancer therapeutics from medicinal herbs.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.337-342
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate total polyphenols, total flavonoid, and DPPH radical scavenging activity in 26 species of Korean natural plants and 14 species of medicinal plant extracts. The plant containing the highest total polyphenols and total flavonoids were Plantago asiatica, and Lespedeza cuneata G. Don, respectively. The content of polyphenols and flavonoids in natural plants was the highest in Lespedeza cuneata G. Don, which also demonstrated high DPPH radical scavenging activity. In medicinal plant extract, Saururus chinensis (Lour.) Baill and Artemisiae Asiaticae Herba had the highest level of total polyphenols (194.60 and 203.92 mg/g extract, respectively) and DPPH radical scavenging activity. Diospyros kaki Thunb and Dryopteris crassirhizoma did not contain high levels of total polyphenols (112.98, 121.46 mg/g extract, respectively) and flavonoids (46.10, 58.69 mg/g extract respectively), but DPPH radical scavenging activity was relatively high. Further study regarding plants that exhibit higher total polyphenols, total flavonoid, and DPPH radical scavenging activity is needed.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.427-452
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• 2020

This study of vascular plants was conducted over a period of 33 days from March to October of 2018 in Byeonsanbando National Park, South Korea. Based on voucher specimens and photographs, 829 taxa in total were recorded, including 141 families, 458 genera, 748 species, 16 subspecies, 59 varieties, and 6 forma. Two endangered taxa were identified, Iris koreana Nakai and Saururus chinensis (Lour.) Baill. Five rare taxa were found, including Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai and Hypodematium glanduloso-pilosum (Tagawa) Ohwi. A total of 17 Korean endemic plants were investigated. Examples include Elsholtzia byeonsanensis M. Kim, Eranthis byunsanensis B. Y. Sun, and Lycoris flavescens M. Kim & S. T. Lee. Of floristic regional indicators (third to fifth degree), 52 taxa were identified. Naturalized plants were identified, which included 79 taxa, and 7 species of ecosystem disturbance plants, such as Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., Lactuca serriola L., and Solidago altissima L. were found. We recorded 39 taxa of the plants vulnerable to climate change.