• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.354-361
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• 2019

The red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most important vegetables in traditional Korean food, containing vitamins A, C, and E, polyphenol, and flavonoids. In addition, red peppers have high anti-oxidant ability and are known to be effective in preventing obesity, diabetes, hypertension, digestive disorders, stress, and aging. In this study, we investigated the effects against obesity and diabetes of both fermented and non-fermented red pepper. C57BL/6N mice with induced obesity from an eight-week 45% high fat diet (HFD) were then fed either an HFD or diets containing 2.5% non-fermented red pepper marc (NRM), 1.25% fermented red pepper marc (FRM), or 2.5% FRM for a further eight weeks. An oral glucose tolerance test was performed seven weeks after dietary intake, and body weight, liver, epididymal fat weight, serum insulin level, and HOMA-IR were measured and a lipid content test performed at eight weeks. The results show that the 2.5% FRM diet reduced body and tissue weight, lipid content, serum insulin levels, and HOMA-IR compared to the 2.5% NRM and HFD diets. These results suggest that fermented red pepper is effective against obesity and diabetes. We will use this information as the basic data for the development of health food materials using red pepper.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.107 no.4
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• pp.361-377
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to examine whether the guideline by the Ministry of Environment (ME) successfully and appropriately applied the IUCN Red List criteria at regional level and the rare and endangered national list considered eligible. A certain number of vascular plants, which are widely distributed in the world or in east Asia, deemed to be ineligible for assessment at a regional level as Not Applicable category (NA), because it occurs at very low numbers in South Korea. Among 377 vascular plant taxa evaluated by the ME, NA included 238 species, which represented 63.1%. The number of synonymized species or illegitimate name species were 13 species, which accounted for 3.4%. 21 species (9.3%) were threatened at global level and 103 species were possibly candidates species list for Red List assessments at regional level in the near future. The proportion of NA or waiting list was 66.6% among the list assessed by the ME. The most common errors involved incorrectly application of species extinction in case of population extinction in South Korea to the assessment and provided incorrect interpretation of the Red List criteria at regional level. The most assessments proposed by ME were not backed up without quantitative data quality, justifications, and sources. It is suggested that the risk of extinction should be reassessed at least in the Korean peninsula within the light of their overall distribution including far eastern Russia and North eastern China in north and for Japan and Taiwan in south for regional assessment. The results obtained here using the IUCN criteria at regional level showed that the list proposed by the ME produced an overestimation of the number of threatened vascular plants. Also, the misapplication of the term 'species extinction' for regional assessment was open to some degree of subjectivity and misinterpretation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.287-297
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• 2021

Cornus officinalis Siebold & Zucc. is traditionally used as an edible and medicinal plant in many countries in East Asia. Previous studies have shown the pharmacological potential of extracts and components of C. officinalis, but comparative analysis of the composition of the leaf, stem, and fruit extracts has been insufficient to date. In the present study, the content of active antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients was verified in different C. officinalis parts (under-ripe sansuyu, ripe sansuyu, seed, leaf, stem, and dried sansuyu). One active component, morroniside, was high in fruit (under-ripe and ripe sansuyu), while loganin was high in fruit (under-ripe sansuyu) and cornin was high in seeds. Total polyphenol contents were highest in fruit (ripe sansuyu) and flavonoids were highest in leaves. DPPH radical scavenging activity was highest in leaves, followed by seeds and then ripe sansuyu extract. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of leaf extracts of C. officinalis (LCO) was further investigated by measuring their effects on levels of nitric oxide (NO) and the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of LCO effectively decreased the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of inducible NO synthase, resulting in decreased NO production. LCO also significantly suppressed LPS-induced production and expression of IL-1β and IL-6. Taken together, the present findings suggest that C. officinalis leaves have potential as natural materials for the development of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.4
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• pp.371-381
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• 2020

The Ministry of Environment (ME) is planning to adopt in 2020 the IUCN regional Red List for "Guidelines for listing and delisting rare & endangered species and management of endangered Species System". The ME designated 377 species of vascular plants on the regional Red List. In a previous study it had been suggested that 103 species from this list are candidates for the regional Red List. With respect to a possible Red List, we assessed 59 species (after excluding 34 additional NA species and ten endemic species). These assessments indicated that 16 species are at the "threatened" level. Of those, one species is Critically Endangered, ten are Endangered, and five are Vulnerable. A further four species are classified as Near Threatened, 30 as Of Least Concern, and nine as Data Deficient. We found that most of the assessments proposed by the Ministry of Environment were not supported by scientific data, including quantitative geographic data (over 70%) in Criteria B. In order to determine the endangered species belonging to the orchid family, it is necessary to obtain records of illegal activities or data on overcollection. The current problem with the Ministry of Environment Red List has been the lack of management of scientific data on species showing a trend in decreasing population in the mid- to long-term; thus, there is a lack of critical resources for policy-makers. The ME legally designated categories and assessment, and the lack of expertise in failing to comply with the legal law by itself. The key to presenting an accurate overview of the state of Korean flora is to fill the information gaps with respect to significant geographical and taxonomical biases in the quality and quantity of data. By regularly updating the qualified data, we will be able to track the changes in the conservation status of the flora and inform the necessary conservation policies.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.235-250
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• 2023

This study was carried out to identify the vascular flora of Mt. Bonghwa in the Baekdudaegan Mountain range, located on the border between Namwon City and Jangsu Country in Jeollabuk Province and Hamyang Country in Gyeongsangnam Province and use them as basic data for the conservation of plant diversity and prevention of the spread of alien plants. Specimens deposited at the Herbarium of Korea National Arboretum (KH) were reexamined, and 15 field surveys were conducted from April 2020 to July 2023. The result revealed a total of 466 taxa, consisting of 97 families, 279 genera, 409 species, 16 subspecies, 32 varieties and 9 forms, Of which, eight taxa were endemic plants, and one taxon, Aconitum coreanum (H.Lév.), belonged to the vulnerable (VU) on the national red list species. Moreover, there were 57 floristic target species, including 1 taxon of grade V, 9 taxa of grade III, 14 taxa of grade II, and 33 taxa of grade I, whereas there were 24 taxa of alien plants and 1 taxon of ecosystem disturbance species. In the usefulness survey, 353 taxa were for food, 3 for textiles, 71 for medicinal use, 21 for ornamental use, 108 for pasture use, 2 for industrial use, 7 for miscellaneous use, and 11 for timber plants.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.22-32
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• 1997

This experiment was conducted to obtain information for the cultivation of Korean valerian(Valeriana lauriei var. dasycarpa Hara) which will be useful for medicinal and aromatic resources. The effect of different temperature conditions, light intensities and soil water conditions on growth, yield and component of essential oil of V. fauriei were measured at the Dankook University, Cheonan, and a study on the shading treatment was at Umsung, Chungchongbukdo, and Jinbu, Kangwondo, in 1995. V. laudei was planted at five different temperature conditions, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 3$0^{\circ}C$, eight light intensity conditions, 1, 000, 2, 500, 5, 000, 20, 000, 30, 000, 40, 000, 50, 000 and 60, 000lux, six soil water contents, 30, 45, 55, 70, 80 and 90％ of the saturated soil, during growth stage. Shading treatment was three conditions, 0, 25 and 50％, during the daytime in field conditions. Photosynthesis had a highly significant relationship with temperature conditions in a quadratic regression model, from which the temperature for the plant growth was estimated to be 17.7$^{\circ}C$. A highly significant quadratic regression was noted between temperature and leaf width or root weight of V. fauriei. It was estimated from the regression equation that the optimum temperature for root growth was 20.3$^{\circ}C$. The content of essential oil and extract rate of root was the highest in the 15~2$0^{\circ}C$. Photosynthesis also was significantly affected by light intensity in a quadratic regression model, from which the optimum light intensity for the growth was estimated to be 40, 000lux. Root yield was more produced in Jinbu than that of in Umsung. The root yield was increased by the shading treatment in Umsung, whereas it was decreased by the shading treatment in Jinbu. The content of essential oil was not affected by the shading treatment of plants during the cultivation, while the compositions of components of essential oil were related to the growing locations. As soil water content was higher, the growth and content of root extract were increased. The optimum soil moisture for the growth of V. fauriei was 80~90％ of the saturated soil. In summary, the results indicated that the growth, yield and component of essential oil in V. fauriei were affected by environmental factors as well as soil moisture.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.820-827
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• 2023

Since COVID-19 began at the end of 2019, the wearing time of protective clothing used to prevent pathogenic bacteria and virus infection has increased, and the development of safe protective materials that are human-friendly and have antibacterial and antiviral functions has been required. In this study, we investigated the possibility of developing natural antibacterial protection materials using ethanol extract of the medicinal plant Zanthoxylum Piperitum DC. The antibacterial activity assay of the 80% ethanol extract of Z. piperitum DC leaves against various nosocomial infectious bacteria, using the disk diffusion method, showed that Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883, Salmonella typhimurium, and Aeromonas hydrophila are sensitive to the inhibitory action of the extract. The IC₅₀ values of the ethanol extract against S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, P. vulgaris and A. hydrophila were about 0.59 mg/ml, 0.50 mg/ml, 1.06 mg/ml, and 0.06 mg/ml, respectively. To determine whether the ethanol extract of Z. piperitum DC leaves can be applied to the development of antibacterial protective fabric, the ethanol extract was tested using a protective fabric from the KM Health Care Corp. using the JIS L1902-Absorption method. As a result, the bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity values of S. aureus ATCC 25923 and K. pneumoniae ATCC 13883 appeared to be more than 2.0 when treated with the ethanol extract at a concentration of 1% (w/v). Together, these results suggest that Z. piperitum DC leaves can be applied to develop natural antibacterial functional protective fabrics.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.130-140
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• 2014

Recently, some of the previous studies reported that tolclofos-methyl is still exist in ginseng cultivated soil, even though it is has been banned for ginseng. Therefore, the current study was aimed to examine the levels of absorption and translocation of tolclofos-methyl from ginseng cultivated soil to ginseng root and leaf stem for the period of 1 year. For this study, ginseng plants were transplanted in pots and treated with $5.0mg\;kg^{-1}$ of tolclofos-methyl (50% WP). At the end of each interval periods (every three months) the samples (soil, roots and leaf stems) were collected and analyzed the absorption and translocation levels of tolclofos-methyl using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The limit of quantitation of tolclofos-methyl was found to be $0.02mg\;kg^{-1}$ and 70.0~120.0% recovery was obtained with coefficient of variation of less than 10% regardless of sample types. In this study, a considerable amount of translocation of tolclofos-methyl residues were found in soil (4.28 to $0.06mg\;kg^{-1}$), root (7.09 to $1.54mg\;kg^{-1}$) and leaf stem (0.79 to $0.69mg\;kg^{-1}$). The results show that the tolclofos-methyl was absorbted and translocated from ginseng cultivated soil to ginseng root and ginseng leaf stem and found to be decreased time-coursely. Secondly, we were also analyzed soil, root and leaf stems samples from Hongcheon, Cheorwon, Punggi and Geumsan by GC-MS/MS (172 pesticides), LC-MS/MS (74 pesticides). In this study, 43 different pesticides were detected ($0.01{\sim}7.56mg\;kg^{-1}$) in soil, root and leaf stem. Further, tolclofos-methyl was detected 4 times separately in root sample alone which is less ($0.01{\sim}0.05mg\;kg^{-1}$) than their maximum residual limit (MRL) in ginseng. Consequently, the results from both studies indicate the residues of tolclofos-methyl found in ginseng cultivated soil and ginseng ensuring their safety level. Moreover, long-term evaluations are needed in order to protect the soil as well as ginseng free from tolclofos-methyl residues.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.32-51
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• 2016

This study examines, based on the database of the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics(ITKC), the garden plants and their symbolism, and the landscape culture recorded in 'Jipkyungjaeyoungsi(the Series of Poems on Gardens Poetry)' in relevance to traditional houses. First, Jipkyungjaeyoungsi had been continuously written since mid-Goryeo dynasty, when it was first brought in, until the late Joseon dynasty. It was mainly enjoyed by the upper class who chose the path of civil servants. 33 pieces of Jaeyoungsi(題詠詩) in 25 books out of a total of 165 books are related to residential gardens. The first person who wrote a poem in relation to this is believed to be Lee GyuBo(1168~1241) in the late Goryeo dynasty. He is believed to be the first person to contribute to the expansion of natural materials and the variation of entertainment in landscape culture with such books as 'Toesikjaepalyoung(退食齋八詠)', 'Gabeunjeungyukyoung(家盆中六詠)'and 'Gapoyukyoung(家圃六詠)'. Second, most of the poems used the names of the guesthouses. Out of the 33 sections, 19(57.5%) used 8 yeong(詠), then it was in the sequence of 4 yeong(詠), 6 yeong, 10 yeong, 14 yeong, 15 yeong, 16 yeong, 36 yeong(詠) and so on. In the poem writing, it appears to break the patterns of Sosangpalkyung(瀟湘八景) type of writings and is differentiated by (1) focusing on the independent title of the scenery, (2) combining the names of the place and landscape, (3) focusing on the name of the landscape. Third, the subtitles were derived from (1) mostly natural landscape focused on nature and garden plants(22 sections, 66.7%), (2) cultural landscape focused on landscape facilities such as guesthouses, ponds and pavilions(3 sections), (3) complex cultural scenery focused on the activities of people in nature(8 sections). Residents enjoy not only their aesthetic preferences and actual view, but the ideation of the scenery. Especially, they display attachment to and preference for vegetables and herbs, which had been neglected. Fourth, the percentage of deciduous tree population(17 species) rated higher(80.9%) compared to the evergreens(4 species). These aspects are similar results with the listed rate in 'Imwonkyungjaeji(林園經濟志)' by Seo YuGu [evergreen 18 species(21.2%) and deciduous trees 67 species(78.8%)] and precedent researches [Byun WooHyuk(1976), Jung DongOh(1977), Lee Sun(2006)]. Fifth, the frequency of the occurrence of garden plants were plum blossoms(14 times), bamboos(14 times), pine trees(11 times), lotus(11 times), chrysanthemum(10 times), willows(5 times), pomegranates(4 times), maple trees(14 times), royal foxglove trees, common crapemyrtle, chestnut trees, peony, plantains, reeds and a cockscombs(2 times). Thus, the frequency were higher with symbolic plants in relations to (1) Confucian norms(pine trees, oriental arbor vitae, plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, bamboos and lotus), (2) living philosophy of sustain-ability(chrysanthemum, willow), (3) the ideology of seclusion and seeking peace of mind(royal foxglove ree, bamboo). Sixth, it was possible to trace plants in the courtyard and outer garden, vegetable and herb garden. Many symbolic plants were introduced in the courtyard, and it became cultural landscape beyond aesthetic taste. In the vegetable and herb garden, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants are apparently introduced for epigenetic use. The plants that were displayed to be observed and enjoyed were the sweet flag, pomegranate, daphne odora, chrysanthemum, bamboo, lotus and plum blossom. Seventh, it was possible to understand garden culture related to landscaping materials through poetic words such as pavilions, ponds, stream, flower pot, oddly shaped stones, backyard, orchard, herb garden, flower bed, chrysanthemum fence, boating, fishing, passing the glass around, feet bathing, flower blossom, forest of apricot trees, peach blossoms, stroking the pine tree, plum flower blossoming through the snow and frosted chrysanthemum.