• 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.

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.309-310
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• 2012

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.307-308
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• 2012

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.301-302
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• 2012

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.306-313
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• 2012

Herbal medicines are medicinal products containing a single or a mixture of two or more different herbal substances or herbal preparations as active principles. Recently, much attention has been paid to developing various kinds of fermented herbal extracts, a new type of traditional herbal medicine in the field of Korean traditional medicine. The fermentation of medicinal herbs is intended to exert a favorable influence on bioestability, bioavaliablilty and pharmacological activity of herbal extract in the gastrointestinal tract as well as intensifying the nutritional and pharmacological aspects of the medicinal herbs. The purpose of this study was to investigate biological activities of fermented Rehmanniae Radix by lactic acid bacteria at $30^{\circ}C$ for 3 days in comparison with those for Rehmanniae Radix The fermented Rehmanniae Radix exhibited different chemical profile to Rehmanniae Radix generated with HPLC, indicating production of new ingredients during fermentation. Rehmanniae Radix served as good nutritional sources for the growth of lactic acid bacteria showing increased number of bacteria during fermentation. Toxic effect of the fermented Rehmanniae Radix to cells were not seen judged by the MTT assay. The fermented Rehmanniae Radix exhibited better antioxidant effect than non-fermented Rehmanniae Radix analyzed by a SOD-likely assay. Both hypoglycemic and hypotensive effects of the fermented Rehmanniae Radix were also detected and better than those for Rehmanniae Radix in showing dose-dependent inhibitory effects on alpha-glucosidase and ACE, respectively. In conclusion, fermented Rehmanniae Radix appears to have more biological activities than non-feremented Rehmanniae Radix showing not only antioxidant effect but also cardiovascular protection.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2009

Several parts of Lythrum salicaria were used for this study. Scavenging activities on radicals, inhibitory activity on linoleic acid peroxidation and total phenol contents of extracts from root, flower, and aerial part were evaluated. Flower and root selected from in vitro assay were subjected to in vivo assay on $CCL_4$-induced liver injury rat model for two weeks. Carbon tetrachloride intoxication on rats produced large amounts of hepatic lipid peroxidation product, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) compared with normal rats. Treatment with root extract of L. salicaria (LSR) showed effective inhibitory activity on lipid peroxidation product. Administration with LSR extract significantly alleviated $CCL_4$-induced increase in GPT activity which were more effective than silymarin. The results of this study suggest that root and flower of L. salicaria have antioxidant and liver protecting activities, and root part is the most effective candidate to develop a new functional material.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2006

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known to cause oxidative modification of DNA, proteins, lipids and small cellular molecules and are associated with tissue damage and are the contributing factors for diabetes, inflammation, aging, cancer, arteriosclerosis, and hypertension. We screened the anti-oxidative effect on V79-4 hamster lung fibroblast cells induced by hydrogen peroxide with eleven extracts of combined medicinal plants. Dancheonhwankakambang and Samikangyabtang were found to show the scavenging activities of DPPH radical and intracellular reactive oxygen species, which is measured by dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate method (DCHF-DA).

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.55-61
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• 1982

Thirtyfour species of Korean medicinal plants which have been frequently used in oriental herb prescriptions were evaluated on their cytotoxicity and potential antitumor activities against AC glioma(9 ASK) in vitro. Dose of $100{\mu}g/ml$ of plant extracts appeared to exhibit slight cytotoxicity. Seven plant extracts, Aralia continentalis(Araliaceae), Lycium chinensis(Solanaceae), Epimedium koreanum(Berberidaceae), Platyodon grandiflorium(Campanulaceae), Pleuropterus multiflorus(Polygonaceae), Rheum undulatun(Polygonaceae) and Scutellaria baicalensis(Laminaceae), exhibited significant reversal$(51{\sim}90%)$ of astrocyte formation into original neuroglial cells' morphology through the prescreen tests.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.190-195
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• 2009

Osteoblasts play an important role in bone metabolism by bone formation. Natural medicines having a stimulatory activity on osteoblast proliferation and differentiation can improve bone diseases such as osteoporosis. The methanol extracts of 159 herbal medicines were screened for the stimulatory activity on osteoblast proliferation by MTT assay and differentiation in the presence of ascorbic acid and $\beta$-glycerophosphate. Among the tested extracts, Alpiniae Semen, Amomi Semen, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma, Bambusae Folium, Cannabis Semen, Dalbergiae odoriferae Lignum, and Luffae Fructus Retinervus showed relatively strong stimulatory activity on osteoblast proliferation, whereas Amomi Semen showed strong stimulatory activity on osteoblast differentiation.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.236-239
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• 2005

Ethyl acetate extracts of traditional medicinal herbs were screened for their antifungal activity against Malassezia furfur through the liquid growth inhibition method with 96 well plate and the paper disk agar diffusion assay. Among the 91 kinds of herbal solvent extracts, borneolum (borneo-camphor, No. 56) was finally selected as the best antifungal effective medicinal herb. The MIC value of No. 56 against M. furfur was 0.3 mg/ml ($8.2{\times}10^6$ CFU/ml) and it was three times more efficient than midazole which is the known antifungal agent in clinical medicines.