• CELLMED
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.6.1-6.6
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• 2013

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lungs, characterized by increased sensitivity to bronchoconstriction associated with infiltration of immune cells and mucus hyper secretion. In South Africa, the indigenous plant Siphonochilus aethiopicus, is used by traditional health practitioners to treat colds and flu, wheezing of the chest, coughs, influenza, sinus problems and mild asthma. In this study we aimed to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties of S. aethiopicus in vitro. The dried and powdered S. aethiopicus plant material was extracted with organic solvents. The dried extracts were screened in vitro in the transcription response, NF-${\kappa}B$ and a cytokine assay. Significant activity was observed for organic extracts of the plant in these assays. This study provides evidence that S. aethiopicus has anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressing properties in vitro. These findings may support anecdotal accounts of its effectiveness against allergic asthma.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.105-114
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• 2022

Tinospora crispa (L.) is a medicinal plant traditionally used to treat various ailments including diabetes. The stem has been widely studied for its antidiabetic properties, however the antidiabetic potential of its leaves has not been explored. This study investigates the antidiabetic properties of methanolic T. crispa stem and leaves extracts on alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The stems and leaves were extracted using Soxhlet extraction with methanol as solvent. Crude extracts were administered at 500 mg/kg body weight (BW) (high dose) and 250 mg/kg BW (low dose) via oral route to alloxan induced diabetic rats. T. crispa stem and leaves extracts was found to significantly reduce blood glucose following a twelve-week treatment period. The highest mean difference in blood glucose level was exhibited by animals in the high dose treated stem and low dose leaf extracts. Both extracts showed approximately 75% percentage recovery from hyperglycaemia. The highest regenerative capacity was observed in animals treated with the low dose leaf extract.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.12-16
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• 2007

This study was carried out to investigate the cultivated soil properties, the growth and yield of Ostericum koreanum Kit. in the Bonghwa area. The results were as follows: In Bonghwa area, soil texture of upland soil were mostly sandy loam and loam. Sloped areas of $7\sim15%$ were plentiful than the other slopes, that of next was $15\sim30%$ slope. Sandy loam and loam soil were mostly 'well' in the drainage class, but loamy coarse sand and loamy sand soil were 'excessively well' drainage class. In the 'moderately well' drainage class, yield of Ostericum koreanum was 289kg/10a, and that of 'poorly' drainage class was low. The yield of loam soil texture was 284kg/10a. Soil organic matter, Potassium and EC were lower in 'poorly' drainage, but the other constituents were not definite tendency by different drainage classes.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.189-200
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• 2020

Pleurotus djamor var. roseus is an edible mushroom isolated from the wild and cultivated on paddy straw substrates. The present study was carried out to compare the nutritional composition and antioxidant properties of P. djamor var. roseus at different growth stages (primordia, basidiomata, and mycelia). The protein content was is in the range of 31.48 to 35.50 g/100g dw. The crude fiber content ranged from 8.0 to 14.60 g, and that of total carbohydrates ranged from 44.75 to 48.90 g. Sodium, magnesium, and calcium reached the maximum levels in basidiomata, and selenium was detected in basidiomata and mycelia (0.47 - 0.22 mg/Kg). The amino acid profile showed that all essential and nonessential amino acids and glycine showed maximum levels in basidiomata and 15.98 ± 0.01 g/100g. The fatty acid profile showed the presence of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids; the unsaturated fatty acid content was maximum in all of the samples, ranging from 76 - 40.41%. The total phenol and flavonoid contents as well as the scavenging (DPPH), ferric thiocyanate (FTC), and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) activities in the context of methanol and water extracts from primordia, basidiomata, and mycelium were determined. Among them, basidiomata and mycelial methanol extracts exhibited significant antioxidant activity. Overall, these findings show that P. djamor var. roseus can be used as a functional food for daily consumption.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.49-54
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• 2017

Objectives : Bangki is commonly Sinomeni Caulis et Rhizoma (SC) in Korea. But it often confused with others such as Cocculi Radix (CR), Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix (SR) and Aristolochiae Fangchi (AR) due to the similarity in herbal names and morphological characteristics. However, because all of these types of Bangi have different healing properties, they need to be differentiated. Methods : A discrimination on external features of original plants and external characteristics of herbal medicines was carried out using visual examination, stereoscope. For the examination of Internal characteristics of herbal medicines, tissues were dyed using fast green FCF, hematoxylin and safranin O, and the features were observed by the microscope. Results : In external morphology of original plants, the original plants of SC and AR were lignum plants and others were herbaceous plants. The leaf blade and the petiole were another discriminative criteria. In external morphology of herbal medicines, SR and AR have powders and others didn't. Also, SC and CR were determined by the dense of the radiation pattern in the cross section. In internal morphology of herbal medicines, SR and AR were distinguished by the dense of Stone cells. Moreover, SC and CR were different in the pattern of medullary ray and vascular bundle. Conclusions : The results above could be used as identification keys of Bangki. Moreover, these identifications might attribute as a fundamental material to further studies like physicochemical pattern analysis and biological reaction.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.179-191
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• 2017

Objectives : Increased oxidative stress by reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been suggested as a major cause of muscle fatigue. Although several studies have demonstrated the various biological properties of Sophora flavescens Aiton, Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fischer and Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz, but the antioxidative potentials have not been clearly demonstrated. The present study was designed to investigate the protective effects of their water and ethanol extract mixtures (medicinal herbal mixtures, MHMIXs) on hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced cell damage and apoptosis in C2C12 myoblasts. Methods : Cytotoxicity was assessed by an MTT assay. Quantitative evaluation of apoptosis induction and ROS production was evaluated by flow cytometry analysis. Expression levels of apoptosis regulatory and DNA-damage proteins were detected by Western blotting. Result : The inhibition of $H_2O_2$-induced cell proliferation was effectively blocked in extracts of 3: 1: 1 (EMHMIXs-1) or 2: 2: 1 (EMHMIXs-2) of S. flavescens, G. uralensis and D. dasycarpus Turcz, ethanol extracts from various complex extracts in C2C12 myoblasts. EMHMIXs-1 and EMHMIXs-2 also effectively attenuated $H_2O_2$-induced C2C12 cell apoptosis, which was associated with the restoration of the upregulation of Bad and death receptor 4, and downregulation of XIAP and cIAP-1 induced by $H_2O_2$. In addition, these herbal mixtures significantly blocked the $H_2O_2$-induced ROS generation and phosphorylation of $p-{\gamma}H2A.X$, which suggests that they can prevent $H_2O_2$-induced cellular DNA damage. Conclusions : The results suggest that EMHMIXs-1 and EMHMIXs-2 could block the DAN damage and apoptosis of C2C12 myoblasts by oxidative stress through blocking ROS generation.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.359-364
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• 2012

This study were carried out to find bolting response of cultivation in different regions and to isolate FLC (FLOWERING LOCUS C) homologs in Angelica gigas Nakai. The mean temperature of different regions, ordering in altitude, were as follows: 100 m > 350 m > 530 m > 700 m. The largest amount of rainfall was occurred in the region of 350 m while the longest time of sunshine was occurred in the region of 100 m. The content of soil chemical properties in regions showed pH 6.2 ~ 7.4, T-N 0.17 ~ 26, organic mater $1{\sim}32gkg^{-1}$, $P_2O_5$ ${151{\sim}664_{mgkg}}^{-1}$, exchangeable potassium and calcium and magnesium were 0.78 ~ 1.15, 3.9 ~ 10.0, ${0.7{\sim}3.2_{cmol}}^{+kg-1}$. L5 line of A. gigas was occurred in bolting at all regions, but the bolting ratio was 60.0% in 700 m region with non-mulching treatment. Manchu of A. gigas was not occurred in bolting at all regions. The accumulation bolting ratio of L5 line by non-mulching was higher than that of mulching as 90.4% and 72.8% in 100 m region. The MADS-box transcription factor FLC is one of the well-known examples as a strong floral repressor. We decided to isolate FLC homologs from A. gigas as a starting point of flowering mechanism research of this plant. We have isolated two RT-PCR products which showed very high amino acid sequence homology to Arabidopsis FLC.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.284-291
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• 2019

Background: Ginseng root rot disease, caused by Cylindrocarpon destructans and Fusarium solani is a major cause of replant failure in continuous cropping ginseng. Methods and Results: To control replant injury in soil infected with C. destructans and F. solani, biosolarization was performed by covering the plot with transparent polyethylene film after adding green manure of maize and sunflower for the summer season. Per 10 a, fresh and dry weight of maize was 10.1 and 2.5 tons, respectively, and that of sunflower was 8.1 tons and 1.2 tons, respectively. Mean maximum temperature at 20 cm depth was $33.2^{\circ}C$, $41.5^{\circ}C$ and $41.8^{\circ}C$ in the control, maize-incorporated and sunflower-incorporated plots, respectively. The elapsed time over $40^{\circ}C$ was 36.4 h in the maize-incorporated plot and 77.3 h in the sunflower-incorporated plot. Biosolarization increased $NO_3$ content in soil, while content of organic matter, Ca, and Mg was decreased. Electrical conductivity, $NO_3$ and $P_2O_5$ in soil significantly increased after two years of biosolarization. The number of spores of C. destructans in soil was significantly decreased by biosolarization, and sunflower treatment was more effective than maize treatment in decreasing the number of spores. Root yield of 3-year-old ginseng was significantly increased by biosolarization, however, there was no significant difference between maize and sunflower treatments. Rate of root rot in 3-year-old ginseng decreased to 16.5% with the incorporation maize and 5.0% with the incorporation of sunflower, while that in control 25.6%. Conclusions: Biosolarization was effective in inhibiting ginseng root rot by decreasing the density of root rot disease and improving soil chemical properties.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2014

This study was to investigate the quality characteristics of brown rice mixed with white rice and boiled in hydrothermal extract of the medicinal herbs which was effective for diabetes in order to suggest a way of taking the rice everyday in Korean dietary life. The moisture content of the cooked rice was decreased with an increase of brown rice addition. The moisture content was same at Herbs extract ($H_2$). The physical properties of Herbs extract ($H_1$)and Herbs extract ($H_2$) showed a similar tendency. The hardness of the control, 100% of white rice, was lowest. The hardness was increased with increase of brown rice addition. The springiness, cohesiveness and gumminess tended to be decreased with increase of brown rice addition, while the chewiness was increased with increase of brown rice addition. In chromaticity, $H_1$ and $H_2$ revealed a similar trend. The color value L was decreased with increase of brown rice addition. The value a was decreased with increase of brown rice amount. On the contrary, the value b was increased with increase of brown rice amount. In the sensory test result of the cooked rice by using $H_1$, the appearance, taste, texture and the overall preference exhibited a tendency to decreased with increase of brown rice addition. The incase was similar to the rice cooked with $H_2$ and the overall preference showed a similar tendency, being highest at the sample added with 30% of brown rice.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.173-185
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• 2019

Background: Galgeun-tang used in traditional Korean medicine, is a mixture of the medicinal plants Cinnamomi Ramulus, Ephedrae Herba and Puerariae Radix, and has been prescribed for the treatment of various ailments, including fever. Although the use of traditional medicinal herbs to treat diseases has recently increased, their safety and toxicity profiles incompletely elucidated. Thus, we evaluated Galgeun-tang's toxicity in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods and Results: Galgeun-tang (1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 mg/kg) was orally administered to rats for 13 weeks, and then, they were maintained for 4 weeks without administration (recovery period). Their clinical signs, and hematological and urinary properties, were monitored. The results showed that Galgeun-tang administeration slightly increased serum creatinine, urea nitrogen and, aspartate aminotransferase levels. Additionally, 2,000 and 4,000 mg/kg Galgeun-tang significantly increased urinary bilirubn and protein levels of male and female rats, which were restored during the recovery period. Conclusions: The no-observed-adverse-effect level of orally administered Galgeun-tang was 4,000 mg/kg in both female and male rats, and no target organs were identified. In addition, 400 mg/kg was found to be the no-observed-effect level for toxicity under the study conditions.