• Title/Summary/Keyword: medicinal substances

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Limits of Innovation in Korean Medicine Industry (한의학산업의 혁신 저해요인)

  • Ku, Nam-Pyong;Seol, Sung-Soo
    • Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.667-692
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    • 2015
  • The study examined the Korean medicine industry from the perspective of the innovation system theory of each business, while it concentrated on the conflict between traditional Korean medicine and Western medicine, which have a major influence on the innovation system of Korean medicine industry, rather than the innovation system itself. The Korean healthcare system is a dual system of Western and Korean medicine, yet the definitions of Western medical practices and Korean medical practices are ambiguous. Thus the distinction of dual system depends on judicial precedents, and the innovation of Korean medicine has been inhibited due to the excessive emphasis placed on the Western medical practice in both healthcare system and pharmaceutical system. First of all, the usage of most medical devices derived from the development of modern medical engineering is not permitted in the Korean medicine industry, on the basis that most of the medical devices were originated from the Western medicine field. Secondly, new drugs using natural substances, once approved by the drug administration, cannot be prescribed by the Korean medicine industry although they are developed based on Korean medicine. Thirdly, the major safety issues on herbal medicine are about hazardous materials in medicinal herbs and liver toxicity of prescribed herbal medicine. The problem of hazardous materials can be solved by appropriate quality and safety tests in the cultivation and importation process. Whereas the Korean medicine circles points out that the liver toxicity issue is only a unilateral condemnation by the Western medicine circles.

Regression Analysis-based Model Equation Predicting the Concentration of Phytoncide (Monoterpenes) - Focusing on Suri Hill in Chuncheon - (피톤치드(모노테르펜) 농도 예측을 위한 회귀분석 기반 모델식 -춘천 수리봉을 중심으로-)

  • Lee, Seog-Jong;Kim, Byoung-Ug;Hong, Young-Kyun;Lee, Yeong-Seob;Go, Young-Hun;Yang, Seung-Pyo;Hyun, Geun-Woo;Yi, Geon-Ho;Kim, Jea-Chul;Kim, Dae-Yeoal
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.47 no.6
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    • pp.548-557
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    • 2021
  • Background: Due to the emergence of new diseases such as COVID-19, an increasing number of people are struggling with stress and depression. Interest is growing in forest-based recreation for physical and mental relief. Objectives: A prediction model equation using meteorological factors and data was developed to predict the quantities of medicinal substances generated in forests (monoterpenes) in real-time. Methods: The concentration of phytoncide and meteorological factors in the forests near Chuncheon in South Korea were measured for nearly two years. Meteorological factors affecting the observation data were acquired through a multiple regression analysis. A model equation was developed by applying a linear regression equation with the main factors. Results: The linear regression analysis revealed a high explanatory power for the coefficients of determination of temperature and humidity in the coniferous forest (R2=0.7028 and R2=0.5859). With a temperature increase of 1℃, the phytoncide concentration increased by 31.7 ng/Sm3. A humidity increase of 1% led to an increase in the coniferous forest by 21.9 ng/Sm3. In the deciduous forest, the coefficients of determination of temperature and humidity had approximately 60% explanatory power (R2=0.6611 and R2=0.5893). A temperature increase of 1℃ led to an increase of approximately 9.6 ng/Sm3, and 1% humidity resulted in a change of approximately 6.9 ng/Sm3. A prediction model equation was suggested based on such meteorological factors and related equations that showed a 30% error with statistical verification. Conclusions: Follow-up research is required to reduce the prediction error. In addition, phytoncide data for each region can be acquired by applying actual regional phytoncide data and the prediction technique proposed in this study.

Changes in the constituents and UV-photoprotective activity of Astragalus membranaceus caused by roasting (황기의 볶음 조건에 따른 성분 및 자외선 광보호 활성 변화)

  • Park, Jeong-Yong;Lee, Ji Yeon;Kim, Hyung Don;Jang, Gwi Yeong;Seo, Kyung Hye
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
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    • v.52 no.5
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    • pp.413-421
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    • 2019
  • Purpose: Astragalus membranaceus (AM) is an important traditional medicinal herb. Pharmacological research has indicated that AM has various physiological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, anticancer, hypolipidemic, antihyperglycemic, and hepatoprotective activities. The bioactive substances responsible for the physiological activities in AM, including many antioxidant substances, change during the roasting process. This study investigated and compared the changes in the antioxidant constituents of AM caused by roasting. Methods: DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) and $ABTS^+$ (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt) radical scavenging activities and their total phenolic content (TPC) were measured. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was performed to confirm any changes in the isoflavonoids of roasted AM (R-AM),. The cell viability of UVB-induced HDF (Human dermal fibroblast) cells treated with AM and R-AM extracts was investigated. The comet assay was used to examine the inhibitory effects of R-AM extracts on DNA damage caused by oxidative stress. Results: The DPPH and $ABTS^+$ radical scavenging activities were $564.6{\pm}20.9$ and $108.2{\pm}3.1$ ($IC_{50}$ value) respectively, from the 2R-AM. The total phenol content was $47.80{\pm}1.40mg$ GAE/g from the 1R-AM. The values of calycosin and formononetin, which are the known isoflavonoid constituents of AM, were $778.58{\pm}2.72$ and $726.80{\pm}3.45{\mu}g/g$ respectively, from the 2R-AM. Treatment of the HDF cells with R-AM ($50{\sim}200{\mu}g/mL$) did not affect the cell viability. Furthermore, the R-AM extracts effectively protected against UVB-induced DNA damage. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that R-AM increases its isoflavonoid constituents and protects against UVB-induced DNA damage in HDF cells.

Studies on Seed Germination Characters and Germination Inhibitors of Bupleurum falcatum L. (자호(紫胡)의 발아특성(發芽特性)과 발아억제물질(發芽抑制物質)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Lee, Sang-Hyun;Lee, Sang-Chul
    • Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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    • v.5 no.4
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    • pp.276-283
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    • 1997
  • This experiment was conducted to investigate the optimum temperature and the effects of sulfuric acid, flowing water and $GA_3$ on the germination of Bupleurum falcatum. At the same time, the effect of germination-related compounds in Bupleurum falcatum seed was tested. Among the tested temperatures $(15,\;20,\;25\;and\;30^{\circ}C)$ the highest germination rate was obtained at $15^{\circ}C$. The optimum soaking time of sulfuric acid was 5 minutes at the concentration of both 0.1 and 1.0%. At the same time, the germination rate was highest when Bupleurum falcatum seed was washed for 2 days in the flowing water before germination test. The effect of $GA_3$ on the germination was highest at 100 ppm out of 10, 50 and 100 ppm. Regardless of treatments, the germination rate of Jeongseon species was higher than that of Mishima species. SEM photographs revealed that most of germination-inhibiting substances in the seed coat were washed away by rinsing in the flowing water for 2 days thus the seed coat became more smooth. The 4, 000 ppm alcohol extract of Bupleurum falcatum seeds inhibited the germination of lettuce seeds as much as 41.7% in Jeongseon species and 58.3% in Mishima species. The higher extract concentration from seed of Bupleurum falcatum, the lower the germination of lettuce seeds was obtained. Out of phenolic acids, the contents of orchinol, pyrogallol, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid were highest in both varieties. Compared with Mishima species, Jeongseon species showed much higher content of salicylic and vanillic acid.

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Antimicrobial and Hemolytic Activity of Oriental Medicinal Herbs (한약재의 항균 활성 및 인간 적혈구 용혈 활성)

  • Ryu, Hee-Young;Ahn, Seon-Mi;Shin, Yong-Kyu;Sohn, Ho-Yong
    • Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.190-197
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    • 2010
  • To develop the safe and natural antimicrobial agents, the 68 ethanol extracts from the 61 different kinds of oriental herbal medicine were prepared and their antimicrobial activities were evaluated. The herbal medicine used were from China (46 kinds), South Korea (14 kinds), North Korea (5 kinds) and Vietnam (3 kinds), respectively, and the root (27 species) was popular part in this study. The average water content and extraction ratio for ethanol were 7.10% and 6.75%, respectively. Determination of antimicrobial activity by disc-diffusion assay at 0.5 mg/disc concentration showed that the extract of Angelica tenuissima Nakai (china), Illicium verum, Junci medulla, Rhus javanica L., Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and Syzygium aromaticum has strong antimicrobial activities against different food spoilage and pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Determination of MIC and MBC/MFC further showed that the extract of Syzygium aromaticum has MIC of 1.25 mg/mL and MBC/MFC of 1.25~5.00 mg/mL against Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. And, the extract of Junci medulla, Rhus javanica L. and Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge showed strong antibacterial activities with MIC of 0.08~0.63 mg/mL and MBC/MFC of 0.08~2.50 mg/mL against the tested bacteria except E. coli and P. aeruginosa. In a while, the results of hemolytic activity of 68 different herbal extracts against human red blood cells showed that the extract of Angelica tenuissima Nakai has hemolytic activity at 0.5 mg/mL concentration. Therefore, Illicium verum, Junci medulla, Rhus javanica L., Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and Syzygium aromaticum were finally selected for natural antimicrobial resources. Further research on active substances and the mode of action of the selected herbal medicine is necessary.

Study on Medical Records In ${\ulcorner}$the Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms${\lrcorner}$ ("삼국사기(三國史記)"에 기록된 의약내용(醫藥內容) 분석)

  • Shin, Soon-Shik;Choi, Hwan-Soo
    • Journal of The Association for Neo Medicine
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.35-54
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    • 1997
  • We tried to observe the features of ancient medical practice by analysing the records related to medicine in the book, ${\ulcorner}$the Historical Records of the Three Kingdom${\lrcorner}$ of which content includes the features of medicine in mythology, plague, delivery of twins, drugs, medical system, shamanism, constitutional medicine, psychiatry, forensic medicine, deformity, a spa, medical phrase, health and welfare work, religion, death. physiological anatomy, Taoist medicine, acupuncture, the occult af of transformation and etc. Our initial concern was about where to draw line as of medical field and we defined medicine in more broad meaning. The book ${\ulcorner}$the Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms${\lrcorner}$ describes the world of mythology by way of medicine which is not clearly a conventional one. There appears records of birth of multiple offsprings 7 times in which cases are of triplets or more. Delivering multiple offsprings were rare phenomenon though such fertility was highly admired. This shows one aspect of ancient country having more population meant more power of the nation. Of those medical records conveyed in that book includes stories of childbirth such as giving birth to a son after praying, giving birth to Kim Yoo-shin after 20 months after mother's dream of conception, and a song longing for getting a laudable child. Plagues were prevalent throughout winter to spring season and one can observe various symptoms of plagues in the record. Of these epidemic diseases, cold type might have been more common than the heat one. Appearance of epidemic diseases frequently coincided with that of natural disasters that this suggests a linkage between plague and underlying doctrine on five elements' motion and six kinds of natural factors. There exists only a few names of diseases such as epidemic disease, wind disease, and syndrome characterized by dyspnea. Otherwise there appeared only afflictions that were not specified therefore it remains cluless to keep track of certain diseases of prevalence. Since this ${\ulcorner}$Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms'${\lrcorner}$ wasn't any sort of medical book, words and terms used were not technical kind and most were the ones used generally among lay people. Therefore any mechanisms of the diseases were hardly mentioned. Some of medicinal substances such as Calculus Bovis, Radix Ginseng, Gaboderma Luciderm, magnetitum were also in use in those days. 53 kinds of dietary supplies appears in the records and some of these might have been used as medicinal purpose. Records concerning dicipline of one's body includes activities such as hunting, archery, horseback riding etc. In Shilla dynasty there were positions such as professor of medicine, Naekongbong(內供奉), Kongbong's doctor(供奉醫師), Kongbong's diviner(供奉卜師). As an educational facility, medical school was built at the first year of King Hyoso's reign and it's curricula included various subjects as ${\ulcorner}$Shin Nong's Herbal classic${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$Kabeul classic of acupuncture and moxbustion${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$The Plain Questions of the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$Classic of Acupuncturer${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$The Pulse Classic${\lrcorner}$, ${\ulcorner}$Classic of Channels and Acupuncture Points${\lrcorner}$ and ${\ulcorner}$Difficult Classic${\lrcorner}$. There were 2 medical professors who were in charge of education. To establish pharmacopoeia, 2 Shaji(舍知), 6 Sha(史), 2 Jongshaji(從舍知) were appointed. In Baekje dynasty, Department of Herb was maintained. Doing praying for the sake of health, doing phrenology also can be extended to medical arena. Those who survived over 100 years of age appear 3 times in the record, while 98 appears once. The earliest psychiatrist Nokjin differentiated symptoms to apply either therapies using acupuncture and drug or psychotherapy. There appears a case of rape, a case of burying alive with the dead, 8 cases of suicide that can characterize a prototype of forensic medicine. Deformity-related records include phrases as follow: 'there seems protrudent bone behind the head', 'a body which has two heads, two trunks, four arms.', 'a body equipped with two heads' In those times spa can be said to be used as a place for he리ing, convalescence, and relaxation seeing the records describing a person pretended illness and went to spa to enjoy with his friends. Priest doctors and millitary surgeons were in charge of the medical sevice in the period of the Three Kingdoms by the record written by Mookhoja(墨胡子) and Hoonkyeom(訓謙). Poor diet and regimen makes people more vulnerable to diseases. So there existed charity services for those poor people who couldn't live with one's own capacity such as single parents, orphans, the aged people no one to take care and those who are ill. The cause of affliction was frequently coined with human relation. There appeared the phenomenon of releasing prisoners and allowing people to become priests at the time of king's suffering. Besides, as a healing procedure, sutra-chanting was peformed. There appears 10 cases of death related records which varies from death by drowning, or by freezing, death from animals, death from war, death from wightloss and killing oneself at the moment of spouse's death and etc. There also exist certain records which suggest the knowledge of physiology and anatomy in those times. Since the taoist books such as ${\ulcorner}$Book of the Way and Its Power(老子道德經)${\lrcorner}$ were introduced in the period of Three Kingdoms, it can be considered that medicine was also influenced by taoism. Records of higher level of acupuncture, records which links the medicine and occult art of transformation existed. Although limited, we could figure out the medical state of ancient society.

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Evaluation of External Quality of Brand Soybeans (콩 시판 브랜드 제품의 외관 품질 평가)

  • Jong, Seung-Keun;Woo, Shun-Hee;Kim, Hong-Sig
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.52 no.3
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    • pp.239-248
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    • 2007
  • Although high nutritional values and continuous identification of important functional substances of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill.] promote consumption of soybean products worldwide, informations on quality of brand soybean is not enough for consumers. Total of 100 brand soybeans [32 for soypaste and source, 45 black testa (lage), and 17 black testa (small) or medicinal soybean and beansprout soybean] were collected at supermarkets and several external quality factors were analyzed. Brand soybeans were marked with the environmental friendly and intimating words along with soybean (white or yellow), black soybean (black-, frost-, late frost-, green or inner-green-), medicinal soybean and beansprout soybean. Among 100 brand soybeans 30% was 1 kg package and 59% was 500 g package, difference between printed and actual weights of 70% brand soybeans was ${\pm}1%$ and weights of 2/3 of brand soybeans were higher than printed weight. Range of 100 seed weights of soypaste and source, black testa (large) and black testa (small) and beansprout soybeans were $23.7{\sim}47.8g$, $21.9{\sim}44.5g$ and $9.5{\sim}15.0g$, respectively. Although ranges of 100 seed weights of soypaste and source and black testa (large) soybeans were similar, 63% of soypaste and source were less than 29 g, while 78% of black testa (large) soybeans were higher than 30 g. Although average and highest percentages of seeds separated with 6.7 mm sieve were similar with 87.4% and 99.9% for soypaste and source soybean and 86.5% and 99.5% for black testa (large) soybean, respectively, the lowest percentages were 70.7% for soypaste and source soybean and 14.4% for black testa (large) soybean. When 100 seed weight was greater than 35 g, 90% of seeds were remained on 6.7 mm sieve. On the other hand 100 g weight and percentage of seeds remained on 6.7 mm sieve showed significantly positive correlations [r=0.7488** for soypaste and source soybean and r=0.7874** for black testa (large) soybean when 100 seed weight was $20{\sim}30g$. Based on hilum color and/or appearance, 76% of brand soybeans collected (more than 90% in yellow testa soybeans) were found to be mixed more than 10% with other cultivars or landraces. Foreign materials such as sand, piece of clothe, wood piece, dead insects, other soybeans were found in 20% of brand soybeans. Average test weight of brand soybeans was 762g $L^{-1}$ with a range of $645{\sim}820g\;L^{-1}$. Soybeans from local markets were as good as brand soybeans in 100 seed weight, uniformity of seeds, weight of foreign materials and test weight.

Survey on Cultural Environment and Soil Morphological Characteristics of Platycodon grangiflorus (도라지 재배환경 및 토양 형태학적 특성)

  • Lee, Young-Han;Park, Sang-Ryeol;Ryu, Jae-San;Lim, Sun-Tech;Ko, Byong-Gu;Yun, Han-Dae
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.215-222
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    • 1999
  • Platycodon root contains abundant pharmaceutical substances and is widely used as a food and a medicinal herb. This study was conducted to determine the cultural environment and soil morphological characteristics of platycodon. Sampling sites were Keochang 4, Kimhae 7, Haman 6, Chinju 6 and Koseong 3 fields in Kyongnam province and Hongcheong 6 fields in Kangwon province. The average continious cropping year was highest Chinju 8.0-years old, whereas lowest Hongcheon 2.3-years old. The average cropping area and compost application were highest Hongcheon 1.3ha and $108Mg\;ha^{-1}$ respectively than other areas. The slope was in order to Koseong steep slope with 35%. Koechang 28%, Flaman 16%, Chinju 11.7%, Kimhae 11% and Hongcheon 7.5%. The drainage classes was well drained in Koechang. Kimhae, Chinju and Koseong, while it s poorly drained in Hongcheon and Haman. Distribution of topography was highest rolling 37.9% and drainage classes was highest well drained 48.3%. The root disease incidence rate was in the order of Haman 56.8%, Hongcheon 52.5%, Kimhae 36.7%, Koechang 35.3%, Chinju 32.3% and Koseong 30.0%. The yield at the Chinju $36.17Mg\;ha^{-1}$ was higher than that of Koseong $25.00Mg\;ha^{-1}$, Kimhae $13.57Mg\;ha^{-1}$, Koechang $11.75Mg\;ha^{-1}$, Haman $9.50Mg\;ha^{-1}$ and Hongcheon $5.24Mg\;ha^{-1}$. The average temperature was correlated with the disease incidence rate by $Y=3.07X^2-87.16X+649.26(R^2=0.947^{**})$ and yield by $Y=-478.68X^2+13403X-90836(R^2=0.763^*)$. The root disease incidence rate was correlated with drainage classes Y=19.1X-5.26($R^2=0.592{***}$), topography Y=9.68X+10.77($R^2=0.205^{**}$) and slope Y=0.85X+-27.88 ($R^2=0.143^*$). The yield was correlated with drainage classes Y=-10X+42($R^2=0.348^{**}$), topography Y=-5.34X+34.5 ($R^2=0.134^*$) and slope Y=-0.68X+25.48($R^2=0.129^*$). The optimum cultivated land of perennial platycodon was average temperature $14^{\circ}C$, direction of southeast, topography of flat or undulating, slope of 0-6%, well drained.

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The Needs for Rehabilitation Day Care Center in Stroke Patients (뇌졸중 환자의 주간 재활간호센터에 대한 요구)

  • Ko, Sun-Hwa;Lee, Myung-Ha
    • Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.114-128
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    • 2002
  • In order to provide information for the establishment and maintenance of a rehabilitation day care center for stroke patients. this study is to assess needs for the rehabilitation day care center of the stroke patients and to identify the factors influencing the needs for the center. The data were collected face-to-face interview with 223 stroke patients. using a structured questionnaire. from September 24. 2001 to November 20. 2001. Major findings are as follows. 1. Most of the participants($94.6\%$) needed rehabilitation day care center for stroke patients. $95.5\%$ of participants were willing to use the rehabilitation day care center. 2. Also the score of the needs for the center's health services was $2.84\pm60$ out of 4.00. In regards to the sub-contents. while the physical exercise therapy showed the highest mark($3.54\pm71$) in the needs. the following marks showed physical therapy($3.48\pm79$), training for the memory. thinking and judgment($3.30\pm93$). training for ADL($3.09\pm99$). health education program($3.04\pm93$). In the meantime. the expected effects from the use of the center are $2.89\pm61$ out of 4 and its sub-contents showed that the center would promote their physical and mental well-being($3.30\pm74$) and the center would be more effective than in home care($3.12\pm70$). 3. Meanwhile. the desired frequency of use in the future and distance had significant interrelation with their families living together(p<.05). In addition those who paid to use it differentiated significantly according to their ages and the types of insurance they had(p<.05). 4. The needs in degrees of speech disorder therapy and hobbies & amusements. the patients with other disease had significantly higher degrees than those patients without it (p<.05). Also in regard to the need degrees for physical therapy. healthy education programs and individual counseling including their families. the degrees of the patients with speech disorders were significantly lower than those of the patients without the disorder (p<.05). On the other hand. the patients with speech disorders were significantly higher than those patients without it in the need degree of the speech disorder therapy (p=.000). And the needs in degree concerning about speech disorder therapy. physical exercise therapy. training for ADL. medicinal substances therapy and family education were negatively correlated with the ADL (r=-.236$\sim$.305, (p<.005). 5. Finally. the expected effect of using the rehabilitation day care center showed significant differences statistically according to whether or not they had other disease (p<.05). In conclusion. the study showed the stroke patients were willing to use the center and had a high requirements for it and they especially had relatively high need degrees for the physical exercise therapy. physical therapy. training for memory. thinking and judgment. and healthy education program. And significant factors for the use of the center were their ages. types of insurance. family cohabitation. complications and speech disorders. ADL and so forth. Accordingly. the rehabilitation day care center needs to be established for the stroke patients and the center should develop rehabilitation care programs. which are individual and special programs customized for each patient's characteristics and health conditions.

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Development trend of the mushroom industry (버섯 산업의 발달 동향)

  • Yoo, Young Bok;Oh, Min Ji;Oh, Youn Lee;Shin, Pyung Gyun;Jang, Kab Yeul;Kong, Won Sik
    • Journal of Mushroom
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.142-154
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    • 2016
  • Worldwide production of mushrooms has been increasing by 10-20% every year. Recently, Pleurotus eryngii and P. nebrodensis have become popular mushroom species for cultivation. In particular, China exceeded 8.7 million tons in 2002, which accounted for 71.5% of total world output. A similar trend was also observed in Korea. Two kinds of mushrooms-Gumji (金芝; Ganoderma) and Seoji-are described in the ancient book 'Samguksagi' (History of the three kingdoms; B.C 57~A.D 668; written by Bu Sik Kim in 1145) during the Korea-dynasty. Many kinds of mushrooms are also described in more than 17 ancient books during the Chosun-dynasty (1392~1910) in Korea. Approximately 200 commercial strains of 38 species of mushrooms were developed and distributed to cultivators. The somatic hybrid variety of oyster mushroom, 'Wonhyeong-neutari,' was developed by protoplast fusion, and distributed to growers in 1989. Further, the production of mushrooms as food was 199,829 metric tons, valued at 850 billion Korean Won (one trillion won if mushroom factory products are included) in 2015. In Korea, the major cultivated species are P. ostreatus, P. eryngii, Flammulina velutipes, Lentinula edodes, Agaricus bisporus, and Ganoderma lucidum, which account for 90% of the total production. Since mushroom export was initiated in 1960, the export and import of mushrooms have increased in Korea. Technology was developed for liquid spawn production, and automatic cultivation systems led to the reduction of production cost, resulting in the increase in mushroom export. However, some species were imported owing to high production costs for effective cultivation methods. In academia, RDA scientists have conducted mushroom genome projects since 1997. One of the main outcomes is the whole genome sequencing of Flammulina velutipes for molecular breeding. With regard to medicinal mushrooms, we have been conducting genome research on Cordyceps and its related species for developing functional foods. There are various kinds of beneficial substances in mushrooms; mushroom products, including pharmaceuticals, tonics, healthy beverages, functional biotransformants, and processed foods have also became available on the market. In addition, compost and feed can likewise be made from mushroom substrates after harvest.