• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.358-365
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• 2011

Lespedeza cuneata G. Don is a plant commonly grown in Asian countries, which has been widely used as an oriental medicinal herb to treat diabetes, diarrhea and various other inflammatory diseases. The phenolics of dry leaves of L. cuneata G. Don were extracted by using 80% (v/v) aqueous methanol in assistance with homogenization and sonification. The phenolic extract and its five different fractions (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water) were used to evaluate the levels of total phenolics, total flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity as well as the inhibitory effect of tyrosinase activity. Ethyl acetate fraction (1 g) had the highest levels of total phenolics at 240.8 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE), total flavonoids as 90.4 mg catechin equivalents (CE) as well as antioxidant capacity at 523.4 mg vitamin C equivalents (VCE) on ABTS assay and 329.5 mg VCE on DPPH assay among fractions. One g of water fraction contained total phenolics at 133.1 mg GAE, total flavonoids at 34.5 mg CE, and antioxidant capacity at 333.4 mg VCE for ABTS assay and 313.2 mg VCE for DPPH assay. Inhibition of tyrosinase activity of water fraction at 300 ${\mu}g{\cdot}mL^{-1}$ was at 47.2% and 21.1% for L-tyrosine and L-DOPA as its substrate, respectively. On the other hand, ethyl acetate fraction at 300 ${\mu}g{\cdot}mL^{-1}$ showed tyrosinase inhibition of 10.2% for L-tyrosine and 11.9% for L-DOPA. These results suggested that the phenolics from dry leaves of L. cuneata G. Don may be utilized as a potent source of antioxidants and skin whitening agents.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to analyze the microbiological hazards of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge on the post-harvest processing. Samples from processing equipments (cleaner, water, cart, table, tray and packaging machine), personal hygiene (hand) and harvested crops (before washing, after washing, after sorting, and after drying) were collected from four farms (A, B, C, and D) located in Chungchengbuk-do, Korea. The samples were analyzed for sanitary indication bacteria and pathogenic bacteria. First, total aerobic bacteria and coliform in processing facilities were detected at the levels of 0.93~4.86 and 0.33~2.28 log CFU/$100cm^2$ and/mL respectively. In particular, microbial contamination in hand (5.43~6.11 and 2.52~4.12 log CFU/Hand) showed higher than processing equipments. Among the pathogenic bacteria, Bacillus cereus was detected at the levels of 0.33~2.41 log CFU/$100cm^2$, 1.48~3.27 log CFU/Hand and 0.67~3.65 log CFU/g in equipments, hands, and plants and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in cleaner, table, hand and harvested crops (before washing and after sorting) by qualitative test. Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. were not detected. These results indicated that personal hygiene and processing equipments should be managed to reduce the microbial contamination of A. membranaceus Bunge. Therefore, management system such as good agricultural practices (GAP) criteria is needed for hygienic agricultural products.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.1761-1768
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• 2010

Hypoglycemic effect through activity inhibition of $\alpha$-glucosidase and $\alpha$-amylase was evaluated using leaves of Eleutherococcus senticosu, Eleutherococcus gracilistylus, Eleutherococcus sieboldianus and Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus which belong to Acanthopanax sessiliflorus genus. As a result of measuring $\alpha$-glucosidase activity inhibition, extract of Eleutherococcus gracilistylus showed around 43.38% of activity inhibition compared with acarbose and extract of Eleutherococcus senticosu showed 41.24% inhibitory effect. As a result of measuring $\alpha$-amylase activity inhibition, acarbose showed 73.25% of activity inhibition in 10 mg/mL concentration, and the extract of Eleutherococcus senticosu leaves showed 91.90% higher activity inhibition compared with acarbose. Also, after subjects in a model were induced diabetes with streptozotocin (STZ) intake plant extract from Acanthopanax sessiliflorus for 2 weeks, effect of improving blood glucose level and fat was examined. In all groups with specimen, Eleutherococcus senticosu (T1), Eleutherococcus gracilistylus (T2), Eleutherococcus sieboldianus (T3) and Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus (T4), blood glucose level was significantly decreased compared with that in control group (C). In an experiment of examining changes in fat concentration in blood, total cholesterol content increased in a control group compared with a normal, while in T1, T3 and T4, it decreased significantly compared with the control group. As for HDL-cholesterol, it significantly increased in all diabetes induced groups compared with the normal group, and in T3, it increased the most significantly by 55.61% compared with the control group. In case of LDL-cholesterol, specific difference between the normal group and the control group was not found; however, significant increase was detected in T2 and T3, whereas in T1 and T4, it decreased significantly compared with the control group. As for triglyceride, its concentration increased in the control group like total cholesterol. It decreased 60.16% in T3, 60.80% in T4 and 50.16% in T1 compared with the control group. As a result of measuring the concentration of triglyceride in extracted liver, the control group showed significant increase compared with the normal group, whereas T1 and T2 showed significant decrease compared with the normal group. The above results show that extracts from Acanthopanax sessiliflorus genus are effective for hypoglycemic and improving fat metabolism due to diabetes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.1397-1403
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• 2011

Epimedium koreanum Nakai is a wild medicinal plant commonly consumed in South Korea due to its health beneficial effects. In the present study, the antioxidative, antimutagenic and immunological activities of E. koreanum Nakai extracts were investigated for their use in food. The yields of icariin compounds from the ethanol extract as well as the ethyl acetate, butanol, hexane, water, and chloroform fractions of E. koreanum were 27.9, 2.5, 1.7, 1.4, and 1.3 ${\mu}g/g$, respectively. The icariin components (295.5 ${\mu}g/g$) were collected from the ethyl acetate fraction by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and analyzed via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The antioxidant activities of each fraction were as follows: ethyl acetate (49.0 ${\mu}g/mL$), butanol (59.2 ${\mu}g/mL$), hexane (119.8 ${\mu}g/mL$), water (122.0 ${\mu}g/mL$), and chloroform (138.5 ${\mu}g/mL$), based on $RC_{50}$ ${\mu}g/mL$. Icariin, isolated and identified as the main component, showed strong antioxidant activity with a $RC_{50}$ value of 15.3 ${\mu}g/mL$, which was higher than those of ascorbic acid (19.5 ${\mu}g/mL$) and ${\alpha}$-tocopherol (18.2 ${\mu}g/mL$). In an Ames test, none of the fractions produced mutagenic effects on Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 and TA100. In an immunomodulating activity test, the effects of E. koreanum Nakai on B cells (Rhamos) and T cells (Jurkat) were investigated. These results show that the growth and viability of B and T cells were increased by isolated icariin components for 1.27 and 1.28 fold, respectively. These results also provide preliminary data for the development of E. koreanum Nakai as an edible food material.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.283-290
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• 2008

The Siberian ginseng and Eucommia are a kind of medicinal plant with powerful anti-oxidant activity. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Siberian ginseng leaf and Eucommia leaf at level of 0.5% and 1% per feed in Ross commercial broiler for 4 to 35 days of age on performance, organ weight, blood biochemical profiles and telomere quantity. Chickens consuming diets containing 1% Siberian ginseng had higher feed conversion ratio than the other treated chicken during experimental period whereas no significant differences were detected in body weight, weight gain and feed intake. The weight of bursa of fabricius was significantly increased in chickens with dietary supplementation compared with chickens fed control but this was not seen in liver, spleen and thymus. In blood biochemical profiles, chickens with dietary supplementation had higher concentration than chickens fed control in triglyceride, cholesterol and glucose. The concentration of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, albumin and total protein, however, was not significantly different between dietary supplemented chickens and control chickens. The relative amount of telomeric DNA of lymphocytes in chickens with dietary supplementation was significantly higher than that of control chickens but the difference was not found in liver, heart and testis tissues. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of Siberian ginseng and Eucommia in broiler improved immune activity and telomere length without decreasing chicken growth performance.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 2008

There are many kinds of anti-oxidant materials in natural plant resources. The Siberian ginseng and Eucommia are well known as anti-oxidant and medicinal plants. To investigate the effect of their anti-oxidant-like activity on telomere quantity and egg quality, diets containing Siberian ginseng leaf and Eucommia leaf at 0.5% and 1% were given Hyline Brown commercial laying hens during two periods of age: 20 to 30 wks and 60 to 70 wks. The amount of telomere in lymphocyte, liver, ovary, heart and lung was analyzed by quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization using telomeric DNA probe. Egg weight, albumin height, Haugh unit, egg yolk color, egg shell color, egg shell thickness, egg shell weight and egg shell density were measured to analyze egg quality. The chickens consuming diets Siberian ginseng and Eucommia had higher telomeric DNA in lymphocytes than control chickens in younger layers whereas no significant differences were detected in all target cells analyzed from older layers. Egg quality was increased in younger hens with dietary supplementation as determined by egg weight, albumin height and Haugh unit but there were no effects in older hens. These results imply that dietary supplementation of Siberian ginseng and Eucommia in layers improves bio-activity and egg quality at early laying stage.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2011

Maintenance of adequate soil water potential during the period of crop growth is necessary to support optimum plant growth and yields. A better understanding of soil water movement within and below the rooting zone can facilitate optimal irrigation scheduling aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of water stress on crop growth and development and the leaching of water below the root zone which can have adverse environmental effects. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a portable irrigation controller with an Watermark sensor for the cultivation of drip-irrigated vegetable crops in a greenhouse. The control capability of the irrigation controller for a soil water potential of -20 kPa was evaluated under summer conditions by cultivating 45-day-old tomato plants grown in three differently textured soils (sandy loam, loam, and loamy sands). Water contents through each soil profile were continuously monitored using three Sentek probes, each consisting of three capacitance sensors at 10, 20, and 30 cm depths. Even though a repeatable cycling of soil water potential occurred for the potential treatment, the lower limit of the Watermark (about 0 kPa) obtained in this study presented a limitation of using the Watermark sensor for optimal irrigation of tomato plants where -20 kPa was used as a point for triggering irrigations. This problem might be related to the slow response time and inadequate soil-sensor interface of the Watermark sensor as compared to a porous and ceramic cup-based tensiometer with a sensitive pressure transducer. In addition, the irrigation time of 50 to 60 min at each of the irrigation operation gave a rapid drop of the potential to zero, resulting in over irrigation of tomatoes. There were differences in water content among the three different soil types under the variable rate irrigation, showing a range of water contents of 16 to 24%, 17 to 28%, and 24 to 32% for loamy sand, sandy loam, and loam soils, respectively. The greatest rate increase in water content was observed in the top of 10 cm depth of sandy loam soil within almost 60 min from the start of irrigation.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to identify beauty food activity of Polygala japonica Houtt., which were widely used as a folk medicinal plant to treat inflammatory diseases. Both hot water and 50% ethanol extract of P. japonica Houtt. were evaluated for their anti-oxidant, whitening, anti-wrinkle and anti-inflammatory effect based on their phenolic concentration. To measure anti-oxidant activity, four experiments were carried out. 1,1-diphenyl-3-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothia-zoline-6-sulfonic acid) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances all showed more than 80% efficacy in both hot water and 50% ethanol extract of P. japonica Houtt. and likewise antioxidant protection factor value more than 2. To investigate the whitening effect of P. japonica Houtt., the inhibition effect of tyrosinase on hot water and 50% ethanol extract was inhibited by 12.46 and 22.10%, respectively. To examine the anti-wrinkle effect, the inhibition effect of elastase and collagenase on hot water and 50% ethanol extract were inhibited by 28.28, 58.36% and 59.73, 78.90% respectively. To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect and moisturizing effect by hyaluronidase inhibitory effect, hot water and 50% ethanol extract were 35.65 and 86.80%, respectively. The result of all the above experiments show values at a concentration of $200{\mu}g/mL$, and based on these experimental results, P. japonica Houtt. can be expected as a functional material in beauty foods.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.569-581
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• 2016

This experimental study employs a pretest -posttest method concerning the integrated therapy of neurofeedback training, brain gymnastics, and oriental herbal tea effects on seniors living alone. The purpose of the study is to identify effects on brain functions and quality of life. The study participants included 23 seniors living alone (male 10, female 13), ranging in age from 65~90. The experiment lasted 8 weeks, from December 22, 2014, to February 28, 2015. The neurofeedback training utilized the 2 Channel neurofeedback system by Braintech Corporation and was conducted a total of 16 times over 8 weeks, having two sessions per week lasting for 30 minutes focusing on relaxation, concentration and memory. Brain gymnastics, developed by the Korean Science Institute of Psychiatry, ran for 30 minutes, twice a week for a total of 16 sessions administered over 8 weeks. Participants were required to drink 3 cups of oriental herbal tea developed according to Donguibogam for 8 weeks. The results of applying integrated therapy found positive effects on brain function resulting from changes in level of tension and anti-stress quotient. Quality of life, daily life basic measurements, and depression symptoms were significantly influenced by decreases in blood pressure and blood sugar. Results of this study find the integrated therapy of neurofeedback training, brain gymnastics, and oriental herbal tea can significantly enhance brain functions and quality of life within seniors living alone. Therefore integrated therapy involving neurofeedback, brain gymnastics, and oriental herbal tea is a necessary intervention to improve the quality of life of seniors living alone, and will improve the quality of life through healing both mind and body in a more practical and systematical manner.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.272-281
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• 2003

Nontraditional or alternative medicine is becoming an increasingly attractive approach for the treatment of various inflammatory disorders and cancers. Curcumin is the major constitute of turmoric powder extracted from the rhizomes of the plant Curcuma longa. Resveratrol is a phytoalexin present in grapes and a variety of medicinal plants. In this report, We investigated the effect of curcumin and resveratrol on regulatory protein of cell cycle, induction of apoptosis and MMP activity. Treatment with 75 M curcumin for 24 hrs produced morphological changing in HN-4 cells. Curcumin and resveratrol inhibited the cellular growth in HN-4 cells. Inhibition of cell growth was associated with down-regulation of cell cycle regulatory proteins. Curcumin-induced caspase-3 activation and Bax degradation were dose-dependent with a maximal effect at a concentration of 100 M. The elevated caspase-3 activity in curcumin treated HN-4 cells are correlated with down-regulation of survivin and cIAP1, but not cIAP2. Curcumin induced a dose-dependent increase of cytochrome c in the cytosol. Curcumin induced-apoptosis was mediated through the release of cytochrome c. In addition, curcumin-induced apoptosis was caused by the generation of reactive oxygen species, which was prevented by antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). Cotreatment with NAC markedly prevented cytochrome c release, Bax cleavage and cell death. Also resveratrol-induced apoptosis was preceded by down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, cIAP1, and caspase-3 activity. However, resveratrol-induced apoptosis was not prevented by antioxidant NAC. In addition, HN-4 cells release basal levels of MMP2 when cultured in serum-free medium. Treatment of the cells with various concentrations of PMA for 24 hr induced the expression and secretion of latent MMP9 as determined by gelatin zymography. HN-4 cells were treated with various concentrations of curcumin and resveratrol in the presence of 75 nM PMA, and MMP2 and 9 activities were inhibited by curcumin and resveratrol. These findings have implications for developing curcumin-based anticancer and anti-inflammation therapies.