• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.187-193
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• 2014

To identify potential gastrointestinal prokinetic agents, water and 70% ethanol extracts and isolated compounds from 41 different traditional medicinal herbs were evaluated for the stimulation of gastrointestinal (GI) motility in vivo. Of the 41 water and 70% ethanol extracts, 12 extracts were found to enhance GI motility activity in mice by more than 10%. The 12 extracts are as follows: Atractylodes japonica (root), Crataegus pinnatifida (flower), Aucklandia lappa (root), Inula helenium (root), Cynanchum wilfordii (root), Chinese Liriope platyphylla (root), Codonopsis pilosula (root), Glehnia littoralis (root), Pinellia ternate (tuber), Agastache rugosa (aerial part), Angelica decursiva (whole plant), and Peucedanum praeruptorum (whole plant). In particular, the extracts from Atractylodes japonica (root), Cynanchum wilfordii (root) and Angelica decursiva (whole plant) have demonstrated the highest GI motility activity. In addition, 26 isolated compounds from the medicinal herbs were tested, and 8 isolated compounds were found to be active. They are ${\alpha}$-ionone, ${\beta}$-ionone, trans-caryophyllene, cedrol, methyl-3,5-di-O-E-caffeoyl-quinate, lobetyolin, oleoyllinoleoylolein and cis-jasmone. ${\beta}$-ionone from Aucklandia lappa (root) showed the most potent GI motility activity. The active traditional medicinal herbs and isolated compounds might be therapeutically advantageous in the treatment of GI motility disorders.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.217-225
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• 1995

In this study the essential oil and pharmacologically active components of different valerian species (Valeriana fauriei var. dasycarpa Hara and V. officinalis L. from Korea and V. wallichii DC from Nepal) were analyzed to search for native plant resources that can be used for medicinal herb and tobacco flavoring. The oil contents in dry roots of V. fauriei, V. officinalis and V. walhchii were 1. 71%, 0. 82% and 0. 83 %, respectively. The composition of the essential oil among different valerian species was compared. In V. fauriei 47 compounds were identified, while 21 and 25 compounds were identified in V. officinalis and V. wallichii. The major compounds in the oil of V. fauriei were bornyl acetate (33.8%) and camphene (10.8%), cedrol (4. 1 %), -pinene (3. 2%) and unidentified sesquiterpene alcohol (3. 0%). The major compounds were borneol (62. 5%) and ${\beta}-sesquiphelandrene$(6. 8%) and spathulenol (2. 1%) in V. officinalis, and borneol (74. 3%) and ${\alpha}-elemene$ (2.7%) and -sesquiphellandrene (2. 3%) in V. wallichii. Among the components known as major pharmacologically active compounds in European or Japanese valerian roots, valeranone, valerenal and -kessyl acetate was detected in a small amount in V. fauriei, but kessoglycol diacetate was not detected in V. faudei and V. officinalis Among the valepotrate compounds, major pharmacologically active components in V. wallichii, valtrate was detected in a small amount in V. fauriei and V. officinalis., and detected 1. 42% in V. wallichii. Didrovaltrate was also detected in the three valerian species tested, but acevaltrate was not detected except V. wallichii. On the other hand, antioxidative activity was slightly higher in V. fauriei than those of V. officinalis.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.1-27
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• 2023

Objectives : To investigate the modern research achievements of agarwood and its association with the efficacy of herbal medicine based on the in vivo and in vitro activities of volatile compounds detected in agarwood. Methods : Databases such as PubMed and ScienceOn were searched for medicinal in vivo and in vitro activity studies on agarwood. They were categorized into "medicine and pharmacy" and "others not related to medicine and pharmacy," and the studies on medicine and pharmacy were organized according to active efficacy. The efficacy and virtue of agarwood as identified in the book (or herbal medicine/herbology) corresponded to modern medical terms and diseases in reference to the . Separately, the Gas Chromatography & Mass spectrometer (GC-MS) analysis results of agarwood from a total of 5 production areas of Aquilaria crassna from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Cambodia as identified in previous studies were consulted to search for research papers on the medicinal activity of the 13 compounds of the aromatic sesquiterpene family detected in agarwood, and they were categorized according to topic. Results : There were 123 studies on the medicinal activity of agarwood. Overall, 46 studies on single extracts of agarwood reported activities such as improving mental health, including anti-anxiety and stability, and antiallergic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and digestive system protective effects. In total, 59 papers on the activities of single compounds isolated from agarwood reported anti-inflammatory and mental health benefits. Separately, 13 compounds detected in agarwood, such as α-agarofuran and β-caryophyllene, were reported by 110 studies to have anticancer, stabilizing, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. There were also papers on the cultivation methods and resin formation conditions of agarwood trees unrelated to the efficacy of herbal medicine. Conclusion : Among the pharmacological papers, a total of 57 papers corresponded to the effects of agarwood in traditional herbal medicine, including 33 papers related to agarwood extracts and 24 papers analyzing 8 types of sesquiterpenes, such as β-caryophyllene and cedrol, from previous studies. Based on the research findings of each paper, it was possible to correlate the effects of agarwood in traditional herbal medicine with the achievements of modern pharmacological research. In addition, further research is anticipated in new areas related to traditional herbal medicine, including the improvement of mental health such as anti-depression, as well as activities related to anticancer, antioxidant, and hair growth.