• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.359-364
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• 2013

Inordinate stress causes disorders of various systems in humans and activates defense mechanisms to maintain homeostasis in the body. Sleep is a vital, highly organized process regulated by complex systems of neuronal networks and neurotransmitters. Sleep is an essential biological process whose underlying regulating involves numerous anatomical structures and biochemical substances that can be compromised by stress and by the immune system. Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system, and activation of GABAA receptors is known to favor sleep. This study was conducted to evaluate the possible application of Lactobacillus brevis BJ20 fermentation to improve the functional qualities of sea tangle Saccharina japonica and oyster Crassostrea gigas. Antioxidant activity was determined by assaying levels of radical scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide. L. brevis BJ20 fermentation of sea tangle and oyster enhanced both antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities. These results suggested that L. brevis BJ20 fermented sea tangle and oyster could be used for alleviation of stress and to promote sleep.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.757-761
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• 2006

Six protoberberine alkaloids were isolated from the chloroform layer of the rhizome of Coptis japonica Makino (Ranunculaceae). The structures of the isolated compounds were determined to be 6-([1,3]dioxolo[4,5-g]isoquinoline-5-carbonyl)-2,3-dimethoxy-benzoic acid methyl ester (1), oxyberberine (2), 8-oxo-epiberberine (3), 8-oxocoptisine (4), berberine (5) and palmatine (6) by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods. The compound 3 (8-oxo-epiberberine) was first isolated from natural sources. The compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against five tumor cell lines in vitro by SRB method, and also tested for the MDR reversal activities. Compound 4 was of significant P-gp MDR inhibition activity with ED50 value $0.018\;{\mu}g/mL$ in MES-SA/DX5 cell and $0.0005\;{\mu}g/mL$ in HCT15 cell, respectively.

• ALGAE
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.191-197
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• 2003

Histones are important proteins that interact with the DNA double helix to form nucleosome. Two putative histone genes, GjH2A-1 and GjH2A-2 were isolated from a red alga Griffithsia japonica. The putative open reading frame of GjH2A-1 and GjH2A-2 shared high similarity with the previously reported amino acid sequences of histone H2As. They have a motif consisting of seven amino acids A-G-L-Q-F-P-V, which matches the histone H2A motif [AC]-G-L-x-F-P-V. Phylogenetic trees were constructed from amino acid sequences of 38 histone H2As. The histone H2As were divided into two groups: major H2As and H2A.F/Z variants. The major histone H2A group consisted of animals, fungi, plants + green algae, and red algae H2A subgroups. The animal histone H2A subgroup was divided into vertebrates, echinoderms, nematodes, insects, and segmented worms H2As. The putative red algal histone genes, GjH2A-1 and GjH2A-2, constituted an independent lineage. This is the first report on red algal histone genes.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.161-167
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• 1998

Root and shoot development of two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars with different genetic backgrounds was studied with reference to their relative growth. Tongil type (indica-japonica hybrid) cultivar 'Kuemkangbyeo' and japonica cultivar 'Koshihikari' were grown in $5000^{-1}$ a Wagnar pots under flooded condition. Three plants with roots of both cultivars were taken in every phyllochron through the heading stage to record morphological characteristics of shoot and root system. Compared to Koshihikari, Kuemkangbyeo produced more tillers and had greater shoot weight and leaf area per hill. Length and weight of the root system in both cultivars increased exponentially with time. At the same time, root system development was significantly faster in Kuemkangbyeo than in Koshihikari after the panicle initiation stage. As a result, Kuemkangbyeo has a vigorous root system which consists of larger number of nodal roots compared to Koshihikari. Also, the root length and weight per unit leaf area of Kuemkangbyeo were larger than those of Koshihikari in the later half of growing period, which suggests possible higher physiological activity of the root system of Kuemkangbyeo which is known as a high-yielding cultivar. The relationship between root traits (crown root number, total root length, and root dry weight) and shoot traits (leaf area and leaf+culm dry weight) in both cultivars closely showed allometry until the flag leaf stage.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.215-222
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• 2016

This study was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanol extract from Glycyrrhizae radix (GR) and ethanol extract from Glycyrrhizae radix cultured with Paecilomyces japonica mycelium (GRPM). Antimicrobial activity was measured by paper disc diffusion assay and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by measurement of NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. For the results of the paper disc diffusion assay, GRPM showed high antimicrobial activities against Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the MIC of GRPM (100 ppm) was lower than that of GR (200 ppm) against L. monocytogenes. When the morphology of L. monocytogenes treated with GRPM was observed using a FE-SEM, the surface of cells treated with GRPM were damaged, and some parts of the cell wall were destroyed. The inhibitory effect on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells was significantly increased by GRPM treatment. In conclusion, GRPM is superior to GR in terms of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.137-147
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• 1994

We have established a high-frequency plant regeneration system via organogenesis from mature seed of Korean lawngrass(Zoysia japonica Steud.). The effects of 2,4-dichiorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), 6-furfuryl amino purine (kinetin), $\alpha$-naphthaiene acetic acid (NAA), N6-benzyl amino pu-rine (BAP), and casein hydrolysate (CR) on cailus induction and multiple shoot formation on ex-posure to light were evaluated. Callus produced on the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 2,4-D and kinetin had high organogenesis potency. A single addition of 1.0 mg $L-^1$ 2,4-D significantly induced callus. Also, 1.0 mg L-$^1$ 2,4-D, with the addition of 0.1 mg $L-^1$ kinetin highly enlianced callus induction. The trend of cailus induction was also found on mediurn containing 0.1 mg $L-^1$ BAP with 1.0 mg $L-^1$2,4-D, and 1 g $L-^1$ CR with the addition of 1.0 mg $L-^1$ 2,4-D. However, NAA was no effective on callus formation. The growth of root was significantly high in the presence of 0.1 mg $L-^1$ kinetin compared to other concentrations. Over 2 mg $L-^1$ kinetin highly lengthened roots. Fresh weight of plantlet was highest on medium containing 0.1 mg $L-^1$ 2,4-D. Also, on medium containing 0.1 mg $L-^1$ BAP, fresh weight of piantlet was highly enhanced. BAP was significantly effective on multiple shoot formation, particularly when 2.0 mg $L-^1$ was added with 0.1 mg $L-^1$ 2,4-D. Callus induction and multiple shoot formation were achieved on MS basal medium containing 1.0 g $L-^1$ CH.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.105-108
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• 2005

Culture conditions for plant regeneration of Camellia japonica were achieved by organogenesis in explants of cotyledon. Seed cotyledons were cultured on MS medium containing various auxin, 2,4-D or NAA and cytokinins BA. The adventitious shoot buds were efficiently formed without embryogenesis on the basal region of cotyledon cultured on MS medium supplemented with $0.1\;{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ 2.4-D and $1\;{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ BA. Seed cotyledons could be used as a source of explants in experiments of genetic transformation of the genotypes evaluated for improving the efficiency of production of transgenic Camellia plants.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.564-568
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• 2007

In this study, the ethanolic extracts of 40 species of traditional herbal medicines were examined for their antimicrobial activities against Clostridium difficile. Among the 43 screened traditional herbal medicines, Achyranthes Japonica Nakai (AJN), Siegesbeckia glabrescens Makino, and Phelloedendron amurense Ruprecht showed antimicrobial activities greater than 90% at a concentration of 500 ppm. According to the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the AJN ethanolic extracts (AJNEA) showed the highest growth inhibitory activity against C. difficile, with a MIC of $625{\mu}g/mL$. In addition, the effect of AJNEA on the growth of lactic acid bacteria was investigated. AJNEA did not inhibit the growth of the tested Bifidobacterium spp. or Lactobacillus spp., with the exception of B. longum, Streptococcus thermophilus, and L. helveticus. These results indicate that AJNEA can be utilized as a potential antimicrobial agent against C. difficile related disease.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.178-186
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• 2019

This study used the probit analysis to evaluate the toxicity of three chemicals - benomyl (Germicide), carbofuran (insecticide), and thiobencarb (herbicide) - with the FETAX (Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay-Xenopus) protocol using the incubated embryos of tree frog, Hyla japonica. The results showed that the larval body length decreased while the mortality and malformation rates increased as the concentrations of benomyl, carbofuran, and thiobencarb increased. The teratogenic concentration ($EC_{50}$) of benomyl, carbofuran, and thiobencarb were 1.00, 0.58, 4.75 mg/L, respectively, indicating that the malformation of larvae was the most sensitive to carbofuran. The embryo lethal concentration ($LC_{50}$) was 7.04, 28.71, and 16.12mg/L, respectively, indicating that benomyl showed the lowest embryo lethal concentration. The teratogenic index (TI) was 7.04 in Benomyl, 49.50 in Carbofuran, and 3.39 in Thiobencarb, indicating that the TI values were above 1.5, which is the criterion of teratogenicity, for all three chemicals. All three pesticides examined by this study were considered to be the most teratogenic substances, and the carbofuran was the most potent teratogen.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.634-643
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• 2023

The effects of dietary supplementation with fermented blood meal (FBM) in two forms were evaluated on the growth performance, hematological parameters, innate immune response, antioxidant capacity, digestive enzyme activity and intestinal histology of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica. A commercial powder feed was used as a basal diet (Con). Six other diets were prepared by supplementing 2, 4 and 6% FBM either in powder or liquid form to the Con diet (designated as P2, P4, P6, L2, L4 and L6, respectively). In total 420 eels (initial mean body weight: 55.1±1.71 g) were distributed into 21 tanks (450L) at a density of 20 eels per tank. Three replicate groups of fish were fed one of the seven diets twice daily for 12 weeks. No significant differences were observed in the growth performance and survival among all groups. Fish fed FBM-containing diets showed significantly improved hematological parameters, innate immunity and antioxidant capacity than those in the Con group. Fish fed FBM-containing diets showed significantly enhanced digestive enzyme activity, villus length and goblet cells than those in fish fed Con diet. These results indicate that both powder and liquid FBM could be a good functional feed additive to improve innate immunity and digestion in Japanese eel.