• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.99-111
• /
• 2009

In this study vegetation structure was monitored focusing on slanting surface of stream for the purpose of developing a management plan and ecological restoration of small stream in Paju. The study was conducted by types of geographical structure, yearly flora, naturalization rate changes, actual vegetation changes, plant community changes. Slope area of small stream in Paju was varied in the slope range of $10{\sim}35^{\circ}$. The survey results of yearly flora showed that 37 species appeared in 2000, 55 species in 2001, 95 species in 2002, and 125 species in 2003. Therefore, the trend of continuous increase of flora each year was observed. In the case of yearly changes of actual vegetation, indigenous wetland herb community including Phragmites communis$(19.99%{\rightarrow}18.42%{\rightarrow}19.60%)$ did not show substantial changes in the area, while the influence of controlled flora such as Humulus scandens$(8.86%{\rightarrow}5.26%{\rightarrow}9.73%)$, and Ambrosia artemisiifolia$(1.06%{\rightarrow}1.43%{\rightarrow}6.93%)$ were increased. The vegetation structure investigated by 18 preset belt-transects also indicated that Phragmites communis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus were maintaining the status or decreasing the population, while the population of Humulus scandens, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Setaria viridis, and Erigeron canadensis were greatly increased. Our proposal management to restore ecology is as follows: first, preservation and restoration of Phragmites communis landscape; second, restoration of potential stream vegetation community; third, selection and removal of controlled plants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 2000.04a
• /
• pp.10-14
• /
• 2000

The cycloooxygenase enzymes catalyze the oxidative conversion of arachidonic acid into prostag1andin H$_2$Which mediates both benificial and pathological effects. The COX-1 is constitutively expressed in most tissues and in blood platelets wherease the expression of COX-2 isoform is induced in response to inflmmatory stimuli such as cyctokynes. Thus the identification of a novel COX-2 selective inhibitor should offer excellent antiinflammatory activity with minimal side effects such as gastrointestinal toxicity. Recently, a group of structurally unique and biologically active pimarane diterpenoids has been isolated from indigenous Korean medicinal plants. These new diterpenoids turned out to be potential analgesic and antiinflammatory agent due to their potent inhibitory activities of prostaglandin synthesis. We have also found that the inhibition of PGE$_2$synthesis is attributed to the potent COX inhibition by pimarane diterpenoid in arachidonic acid cascade. In conjunction with development of new analgesic and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent, a series of works on these diterpenoids have been extensively carried out in our laboratories. These efforts involve the structure-activity relationship of pimaradienoic acid, molecular modelings and COX inibitory activities as well as actiinflammatory effects of its structural analogues. In addition, the total syntheses of the new natural pimarane diterpenoids, their stereoisomers and other structural variants were intensively investigated.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.205-211
• /
• 2016

Leaf chlorophyll content provides valuable information about physiological status of plants. However, fewer studies have investigated the difference in chlorophyll concentration in leaves of tropical afforestation tree species. Therefore, this study examines the difference in foliar chlorophyll contents of six tropical afforestation tree species namely: Tectona grandis, Pentaclethra macrophylla, Piptademiastrum africanum, Azadirachta indica, Brachystegia eurycoma and Gmelina arborea found in the relict forest in Umudike, South east, Nigeria. A single factor experiment in a completely randomised design in three replicates was employed to analyse the rate of leaf chlorophyll contents. Fisher's least significant different was used to test for significance in mean difference in foliar chlorophyll contents between tree species at 95% confidence interval using analysis of variance. The results of this study showed a significant difference in foliar chlorophyll concentration between the tree species with Tectona grandis having a higher chlorophyll concentration than other trees this could be as a result of its higher vegetative activity which increases its primary productivity followed by Pentaclethra macrophylla while Azadirachta indica having least the chlorophyll concentration. The study further revealed that other indigenous tree species like Piptademiastrum africanum and Brachystegia eurycoma have higher chlorophyll concentration. Further studies should be carry out to examine factors that have contributed informed the differences in the chlorophyll concentration of these trees species, thus this would broaden the understanding of their physiological status and equally encourage there conservation.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.391-399
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to improve the antioxidative activity of instant noodles containing enzymatic extracts from Ecklonia cava (EEC). EEC has relatively better antioxidative activity than extracts from other indigenous plants in Jeju Island. The EEC (2.5 mg/mL) had 82.5% for the hydroxy radical, 78.4% for the DPPH radical, and 64.9% for the superoxide anion radical scavenging activities, and 65.2% for the cell viability (100 ${\mu}g/mL$). According to the texture of the dough, the DPPH free radical scavenging of uncooked instant noodles, sensory evaluation of cooked instant noodles, and turbidity of the cooking drip, the optimal EEC concentration was 1.8% for the instant noodles. The major amino acids in the instant noodles with EEC were glutamic acid (24.2%), proline (10.2%), valine (10.0%), and isoleucine (12.3%). The zinc and iron in the instant noodles were enhanced by adding 1.5-1.8% EEC. The antioxidant activity of instant noodles with EEC was 75.4% for the hydroxy radical, 74.1% for the DPPH radical, and 51.2 % for the superoxide anion radical scavenging activities.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.146-156
• /
• 1993

Boletus is a symbiotic ectomycorrhizal flesh fungi forming mycorrhizas with trees of Pinaceae, Fagaceae and Betulaceae. The species in the genus have relatively strong host specificity to enhance the growth of host plants and some of them are flavorful. But Korean rarely consumes these kinds of mushrooms and B. edulis has not been reported in this country. In the genus twenty six species have been reported in Korea, but the number is expected to increase as collection efforts are intensified. Keys to the families of Boletaceae and Strobilomycetaceae, to the genus of Boletaceae and to the species of Boletus were provided based on published keys and the descriptions of species reported in Korea. However, the key to the Boletus species did not include all the species occurring in Korea and not all the ones in the key are indigenous.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.149-156
• /
• 2004

The objectives of this study were to investigate the morphology of mycorrhizal roots, and the effects of root age and soil texture on the mycorrhizal infection in ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) growing in Korea. Ginseng roots at ages of two to six years were collected from fields in late June. Their infection by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) was studied by clearing the roots and staining fungal hyphae with trypan blue. Root infection varied greatly depending on the developmental stages of young roots. Young tertiary roots, in diameter of smaller than 0.8 mrn, formed during the current growing season had root hairs and were frequently and in some cases heavily infected by AMF. Hyphal coils and arbuscules were abundant, while vesicles were rarely observed. Older secondary or tertiary roots in diameter of bigger than 1.0 mm with fully differentiated primary xylem formed during the previous growing season had no root hairs, and were not infected at all. The rates of mycorrhizal infection in the young tertiary roots were not affected by the age of the ginseng plants, suggesting that fungal populations might have not much changed during the aging of the cultivated fields up to six years. The differences in the infection rates among the different ages of ginseng were caused by differences in the amount of young tertiary roots in the samples. Soil texture, either sandy loam or clay loam, did not affect the rate of root infection. There were large variations in the infection rates among the different farms and locations within a farm. It strongly suggested that infection rates of the ginseng roots by AMF would be influenced by the practice of the farmers, possibly by avoiding consecutive planting, introduction of new topsoil, and the ways of handling the soil before transplanting the ginseng, such as fumigation or sterilization that might have affected indigenous inoculum sources of the AMF.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2018.04a
• /
• pp.62-62
• /
• 2018

Inhibition of aldose reductase (AR) has been shown to prevent the onset and progression of many diabetic complications wherein several AR inhibitors were isolated from plants abundant in polyphenolic compounds. Lespedeza cuneata (Fabaceae), a perennial plant indigenous in East Asian countries, is shown to be abundant in these polyphenolic substances such as flavonoids and tannins. However, there are no studies to date regarding its effects on AR. In this study, the inhibitory activity of the methanol extract and stepwise polarity fractions of Lespedeza cuneata on AR was investigated. The bioactive compounds purified from L. cuneata by repeated column chromatography were also tested for AR inhibition. Results show that the ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions of L. cuneata exhibited potent inhibition against AR with $IC_{50}$ values of 0.57 and $0.49{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Further analysis led to the isolation of acacetin (1), afzelin (2), astragalin (3), kaempferol (4), and scutellarein 7-O-glucoside (5). The AR inhibitory effects these five compounds were also determined in which compounds 2, 3, and 5 showed potent AR inhibitory effects with $IC_{50}$ values of 2.20, 1.91, and $12.87{\mu}M$, respectively. Quantitative analysis of astragalin (3) by HPLC-UV was also performed in the leaves and roots of L. cuneata (0.626 and 0.671 mg/g, respectively). This study reports that the flavonoids isolated from L. cuneata show promising AR inhibitory activities which can be further developed as natural therapies for treating and managing diabetic complications.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.335-339
• /
• 2019

Endophytic fungi have the ability to live inside the host plant tissues without causing neither symptoms of diseases/or harm. Opportunistic infections are accountable for majority of the outbreaks, thereby putting a burden on the health system. To investigate and characterize the bioactive compounds for the control of bacteria of clinical importance, extracts from endophytic fungi were isolated from indigenous South African medicinal plants. Extracts from endophytic fungi were isolated from 133 fungal strains and screened against Gram positive and negative bacteria namely Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecium, and E. gallinarum using disk diffusion. Furthermore, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed to identify the bioactive compounds. Sixteen out of one hundred and thirty-three (12%) fungi extracts exhibited antibacterial properties against some of the selected bacteria. E. coli was found to be the most susceptible in contrast to E. faecium and E. gallinarum which were the most resistant. The isolate MHE 68, identified as Alternaria sp. displayed the greater spectrum of antibacterial activities by controlling selected clinical bacteria strains including resistant E. faecium and E. gallinarum. The chemical analysis of the extract from MHE 68 indicated that linoleic acid (9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)) and cyclodecasiloxane could be accountable for the antibacterial activity. This is the first study conducted on the secondary metabolites produced by endophytic fungal strains isolated from the Pelargonium sidoides DC. possessing antibacterial properties.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.399-422
• /
• 2020

Remediating soils contaminated with heavy metals due to urbanization and industrialization is very important not only for human health but also for ecosystem sustainability. Of the available remediation technologies for heavy metal-contaminated soils, phytoremediation is a relatively low-cost environment-friendly technology which preserves biodiversity and soil fertility. The application of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) during the phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils can enhance plant growth against heavy metal toxicity and increase heavy metal removal efficiency. In this study, the sources of heavy metals that have adverse effects on microorganisms, plants, and humans, and the plant growth-promoting traits of PGPB are addressed and the research trends of PGPB-assisted phytoremediation over the last 10 years are summarized. In addition, the effects of environmental factors and PGPB inoculation methods on the performance of PGPB-assisted phytoremediation are discussed. For the innovation of PGPB-assisted phytoremediation, it is necessary to understand the behavior of PGPB and the interactions among plant, PGPB, and indigenous microorganisms in the field.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.265-274
• /
• 2022

Lipoxygenase is an enzyme, mainly produced by plants, capable of converting unsaturated fatty acids to fatty acids. It has vast application potential in the food, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. The aim of this study was to isolate novel lipoxygenase-producing bacteria from the environment and to investigate the lipoxygenase enzymatic properties for industrial production. The strain, NC1, isolated from cultivation soils, was identified as Bacillus subtilis based on the phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This strain formed a pink color around the colony when cultured on indamine dye formation plates. The production of lipoxygenase by B. subtilis NC1 was influenced by the composition of the medium and linoleic acid concentrations. The optimum temperature and pH for lipoxygenase activity was determined to be 40 ℃ and pH 6, respectively. The enzyme showed relatively high stability at temperatures ranging from 20-50 ℃ and acid-neutral regions. In addition, the lipoxygenase produced by B. subtilis NC1 was able to degrade commercially available oils including sunflower seed oil and Perilla oil. In this study, a useful indigenous bacterium was isolated, and the fundamental physicochemical data of bacterial lipoxygenase giving it industrial potential are presented.