• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2005

Salt-tolerant transgenic Panax ginseng plants were produced by introducing the SAL1 geue (3'(2'), 5'-bis-phosphate nucleotidase) that confers tolerance to the salts through Agrobacterium tumefaciens co-cultivation. Cotyledon explants of immature ginseng zygotic embryos cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium lacking growth regulators formed somatic embryos directly with below 10%, but the 74% tranformation rate were observed at the treatment of phytohormone with 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D and 0.5 mg/l kinetin. Somatic embryos were initially cultured on MS medium supplemented with 250 mg/l cefotaxime for 3 weeks and subsequently subcultured five times to a medium containing 100 mg/l kanamycin and 250 mg/l cefotaxime. Upon development into the cotyledonary stage, these somatic embryos were transferred to on the medium containing 50 mg/l kanamycin and 10 mg/l gibberellic acid to induce germination and strong selection. Integration of the transgene into the plants was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction with specific primers. The ginseng transformants with well-developed shoots and roots were successfully acclimatized in a greenhouse when they were planted in soil.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2014

This study was performed to investigate the physiological responses of Oplopanax elatus by water condition. Drought stress was induced by withholding water for 26 days. The results show that $P_{N\;max}$, SPAD, gs, E and Ci were significantly decreased with decreasing of soil moisture contents. However, AQY and WUE were decreased slightly only at 26 day. This implies that photosynthetic rate is reduced due to an inability to regulate water and $CO_2$ exchange through the stomatal. According to JIP analysis, ${\Phi}_{PO}$, ${\Psi}_O$, ${\Phi}_{EO}$ and $PI_{ABS}$ were dramatically decreased at 21 day and 26 day, which reflects the relative reduction state of the photosystem II. On the other hand, the relative activities per reaction center such as ABS/RC, TRo/RC were significantly increased at 26 day. Particularly, Dio/RC and DIo/CS increased substantially under drought stress, indicating that excessive energy was consumed by heat dissipation. These results of chlorophyll a fluorescence show that the sensitivity changes photosystem II activity. Thus, according to the results, O. elatus was exhibited a strong reduction of photosynthetic activity to approximately 10% soil moisture contents, and JIP parameters could be useful indicator to monitor the physiological states of O. elatus under drought stress.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2017

Bacteria are among the most common causes of severe diseases in both plants and animals. Salmonella spp. has deleterious effects and is the cause of various transmittable diseases. Because of strains resistivity, side effects and high prices of synthetic antibiotics, it has become essential to explore safe and economical natural sources of antibiotics. In this study, growth inhibitory effects of natural antibiotics present in crude extracts of Galla rhois, Thujae semen, Paeonia japonica, and Armeniacae semen were investigated both in vivo and iv vitro. Ethanol extracts of the above-mentioned plants were prepared and tested against seven serovars of Salmonella and Escherichia coli by disc diffusion method. In addition, the antibacterial effects of the plant extracts were determined in vivo using ducks as model animals. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed using blood and fecal samples of control, infected, and treated groups of the ducks to determine the gene expression levels of the bacteria. Our results confirmed that the Galla rhois ethanol extract had the highest antibacterial activity among the plant extracts when they were used individually. However, the Galla rhois, Thujae semen, and P. japonica ethanol extracts showed stronger antibacterial effects against all the bacterial species used when the extracts were combined at a ratio of 3:3:2, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.198-204
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• 2011

This study was performed to enhance antifungal activity of anthracnose in chili pepper by nanopaticles of thiamine di-lauryl sulfate (TDS) through high pressure homogenization process. Yield of TDS was 79.14% by reaction of thiamine hydrochloride and sodium lauryl sulfate. TDS nanopaticle solution was manufactured through high pressure homogenization process. The turbidity of nanoparticles solution was increased with increasing the concentration of TDS, and nanoparticles solution of 100 ppm was showed the highest turbidity with absorbance of 3.212. The size of nanoparticles solution was measured as average 258.6 nm by DLS. Nanoparticles solution of 100 ppm showed growth inhibition activity with higher than about 80% compared to the control group against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Finally, nanoparticles solution was increased effectively the penetration of the TDS nanopaticles on attached cell membrane of hyphae and started to destruct the cells under microscope observation. Consequently, we suggested that the TDS nanoparticle solution by high pressure homogenization process might be suitable biochemical pesticides for improving the antifungal activities against anthracnose in pepper.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2015

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of Salvia plebeia R. Br. ethanolic extract with different aspects (stem/leaf and whole plant) on differentiation and lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. The morphological changes and the degrees of lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells were measured by Oil Red O staining and intra-cellular triglyceride (TG) assay. The mRNA expressions of special peroxisome proliferation activated receptor- genes (PPAR), CCAAT/ enhancer-binding protein (C/$EBP{\alpha}$), fatty acid synthase (FAS) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) were detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The 50% ethanolic extracts ($100{\mu}g/mL$) of stem and leaf (SALE) and 30% ethanolic extracts (100 g/mL) of whole plant (SAE) from Salvia plebeia R. Br. were significantly attenuated lipid accumulation during adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. Ethyl acetate-soluble fractions ($50{\mu}g/mL$) significantly inhibited lipid droplet accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. In addition, SALE induced down-regulation of specific adipogenic transcriptional factors (C/$EBP{\alpha}$ and $PPAR{\gamma}$) and target genes (FAS and LPL) during adipogenesis. Salvia plebeia R. Br. may be used as a safe and efficient natural substance to manage obesity.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.146-152
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• 2012

Panax ginseng (PG) is a globally utilized medicinal herb. The medicinal effects of PG are primarily attributable to ginsenosides located in the root and leaf. The leaves of PG are known to be rich in various bioactive ginsenosides, and the therapeutic effects of ginseng extract and ginsenosides have been associated with immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities. We examined the effect of PG leaf extract and the isolated ginsenosides, on nuclear factor (NF)-${\kappa}B$transcriptional activity and target gene expression by applying a luciferase assay and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$-treated hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. Air-dried PG leaf extract inhibited TNF-${\alpha}$-induced NF-${\kappa}B$transcription activity and NF-${\kappa}B$-dependent cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression more efficiently than the steamed extract. Of the 10 ginsenosides isolated from PG leaves, Rd and Km most significantly inhibited activity in a dose-dependent manner, with $IC_{50}$ values of $12.05{\pm}0.82$ and $8.84{\pm}0.99\;{\mu}M$, respectively. Furthermore, the ginsenosides Rd and Km inhibited the TNF-${\alpha}$-induced expression levels of the COX-2 and iNOS gene in HepG2 cells. Air-dried leaf extracts and their chemical components, ginsenoside Rd and Km, are involved in the suppression of TNF-${\alpha}$-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and NF-${\kappa}B$-dependent iNOS and COX-2 gene expression. Consequently, air-dried leaf extract from PG, and the purified ginsenosides, have therapeutic potential as anti-inflammatory.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.329-337
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• 2010

'Angelicae Pubescentis Radix' (APR) is an important oriental medical preparation. In Korea, Aralia continentalis has been recognized as the source plant of APR. Aralia cordata, which is difficult to distinguish from A. continentalis, and Heracleum moellendorffii, which is frequently used in lieu of A. continentalis, are traded in Korean herbal markets. In contrast, in China, Angelica pubescens is recognized as the source plant of APR. In this study, we devised a method not only to discriminate A. contientalis from A. cordata, but also to discriminate both A. contientalis and A. cordata from H. moellendorffii and A. pubescens. Based on the discrepancy in the sequences of specific regions of ITS, we designed a Cont F/ Cont R primer set to amplify a 173 bp PCR band that appears only in A. continentalis. Additionally, we designed an Ara F/ Ara R primer set to amplify a 278 bp PCR band that appears in both A. continentalis and A. cordata. Using these primer sets and the ST R primer to confirm the PCR amplification results, we developed a simple multiplex PCR method for differentiating A. continentalis from A. cordata and to concurrently differentiate both A. continentalis and A. cordata from other APR herbs.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.138-143
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• 2015

This study was carried out to evaluate the preventive effect of three forms of Korean ginseng roots (fresh, white and red) against bisphenol A (BPA) toxicity in mouse male germ cells (GC-2spd, TM3, TM4). ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation were measured by DCF-DA (2',7'-dichlorohydrofluorescein diacetate) assay. Also, semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to quantify the mRNA expression levels of apoptosis-related genes, Bax (pro-apoptotic gene) and Bcl2 (anti-apoptotic gene). ROS generation was increased by $50{\mu}M$ BPA, but definitely decreased by treatment with Korean ginseng extracts (fresh, white and red) in mouse male germ cells. In especial, Korean fresh ginseng extract reduced significantly ROS production to normal control. In addition, Korean fresh and white ginseng extracts suppressed the apoptosis of mouse male germ cells by fine-tuning mRNA levels of apoptotic genes changed by BPA. In general, Korean fresh ginseng extract was more effective than white ginseng extract for reducing BPA-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in mouse male germ cells. Therefore, Korean fresh and white ginseng may help to alleviate biphenol A toxicity in mouse male germ cells.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.442-449
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• 2021

Background: Panax ginseng is an important crop in Asian countries given its pharmaceutical uses. It is usually harvested after 4-6 years of cultivation. However, various abiotic stresses have led to its quality reduction. One of the stress causes is high content of heavy metal in ginseng cultivation area. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can play a role in healthy growth of plants. It has been considered as a new trend for supporting the growth of many crops in heavy metal occupied areas, such as Aluminum (Al). Methods: In vitro screening of the plant growth promoting activities of five tested strains were detected. Surface-disinfected 2-year-old ginseng seedlings were dipping in Rhizobium panacihumi DCY116^T suspensions for 15 min and cultured in pots for investigating Al resistance of P. ginseng. The harvesting was carried out 10 days after Al treatment. We then examined H₂O₂, proline, total soluble sugar, and total phenolic contents. We also checked the expressions of related genes (PgCAT, PgAPX, and PgP5CS) of reactive oxygen species scavenging response and pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Results: Among five tested strains isolated from ginseng-cultivated soil, R. panacihumi DCY116^T was chosen as the potential PGPR candidate for further study. Ginseng seedlings treated with R. panacihumi DCY116^T produced higher biomass, proline, total phenolic, total soluble sugar contents, and related gene expressions but decreased H₂O₂ level than nonbacterized Al-stressed seedlings. Conclusion: R. panacihumi DCY116^T can be used as potential PGPR and "plant strengthener" for future cultivation of ginseng or other crops/plants that are grown in regions with heavy metal exposure.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.540-545
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• 2022

Betulin is a triterpenoid natural product contained in several medicinal plants including Betulae Cortex. These medicinal plants have been used for controlling diverse inflammatory diseases in folk medicine and betulin showed anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticancer activities. In this study, we tried to examine whether betulin exerts a regulative effect on the gene expression of MUC5AC mucin under the status simulating a pulmonary inflammation, in human airway epithelial cells. Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated with betulin for 30 min and then stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 24 h or the indicated periods. The MUC5AC mucin mRNA expression and mucin glycoprotein production were measured by reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. To elucidate the action mechanism of betulin, effect of betulin on PMA-induced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) signaling pathway was also investigated by western blot analysis. The results were as follows: 1) Betulin significantly suppressed the production of MUC5AC mucin glycoprotein and down-regulated MUC5AC mRNA expression induced by PMA in NCI-H292 cells. 2) Betulin inhibited NF-κB activation stimulated by PMA. Suppression of inhibitory kappa B kinase (IKK) by betulin led to the inhibition of the phosphorylation and degradation of inhibitory kappa B alpha (IκBα), and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. This, in turn, led to the down-regulation of MUC5AC glycoprotein production in NCI-H292 cells. These results suggest betulin inhibits the gene expression of mucin through regulation of NF-kB signaling pathway, in human airway epithelial cells.