• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.1894-1897
• /
• 2007

Cassiae Semen (seeds of Cassia tora) showed a remarkably different HPLC chromatogram after being treated with a crude enzyme extract from Aspergillus usamii. Increased and decreased compounds were identified as aurantio-obtusin and glucoaurantio-obtusin, respectively. The aurantio-obtusin content reached its maximum level ($133.58{\pm}0.39\;{\mu}g/mg$ extract) after being incubated for 50 min at $37^{\circ}C$, whereas the inactivated crude enzyme-treated control remained unchanged ($54.13{\pm}1.33\;{\mu}g/mg$). On the other hand, the glucoaurantio-obtusin content decreased by less than one-third ($51.09{\pm}1.63\;{\mu}g/mg$) ofthe untreated control ($143.19{\pm}2.12\;{\mu}g/mg$), suggesting that an increase in aurantio-obtusin content originated from the enzymatic cleavage of its glucoside glucoaurantio-obtusin.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.21
• /
• pp.9049-9058
• /
• 2014

Casticin (3', 5-dihydroxy-3, 4', 6, 7-tetramethoxyflavone) is an active compound isolated from roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds of a variety of plants. It is well known for its pharmacological properties and has been utilized as an anti-hyperprolactinemia, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotetective, analgesic and immunomodulatory agent. Recently, the anticancer activity of casticin has been extensively investigated. The resulkts showed that it exerts protective potential by targeting apoptosis, considered important for cancer therapies. In this article, our aim was to review the pharmacological and therapeutic applications of casticin with specific emphasis on its anticancer functions and related molecular mechanisms. Chemotherapeutic effects are dependent on multiple molecular pathways, which may provide a new perspective of casticin as a candidate anti-neoplastic drug. This review suggests that additional studies and preclinical trials are required to determine specific intracellular sites of action and derivative targets in order to fully understand the mechanisms of its antitumor activity and validate this compound as a medicinal agent for the prevention and treatment of various cancers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.18
• /
• pp.8411-8418
• /
• 2016

The effect of Eruca sativa seed extract (SE) on nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) gene expression levels was investigated in rat mammary gland carcinogenesis induced by 7,12 dimethylbenz(${\alpha}$)anthracene (DMBA). DMBA increased NF-${\kappa}B$, COX-2 and Bcl-2 gene expression levels and lipid peroxidation (LP), while, decreased glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and total antioxidant concentration (TAC) compared to the control group. After DMBA administration, SE treatment reduced NF-${\kappa}B$, COX-2 and Bcl-2 gene expression levels and LP. Hence, SE treatment reduced inflammation and cell proliferation, while increasing apoptosis, GST and SOD activities and TAC. Analysis revealed that SE has high concentrations of total flavonoids, triterpenoids, alkaloids and polyphenolic compounds such as gallic, chlorogenic, caffeic, 3,4-dicaffeoyl quinic, 3,5-dicaffeoyl quinic, tannic, cinnamic acids, catechin and phloridzin. These findings indicate that SE may be considered a promising natural product from cruciferous vegetables against breast cancer, especially given its high antioxidant properties.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.294-303
• /
• 2010

We determined arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium concentrations in Chinese herbal medicines sold in the United States by medical use parts. 54 kinds of herbal products including 9 medical use parts (radix, rhizoma, cortex, pericarpium, fructus, lignum, semen, folium, and herba) were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for arsenic, lead and cadmium, and using mercury analyzer for mercury. Arsenic (median concentration, 0.25 mg/g), mercury (0.20 mg/g), lead (3.78 mg/g) and cadmium (0.39 mg/g) were detected in 71%, 54%, 35%, and 18% of 143 herbal medicine samples, respectively. A total of 27% and 12% of 143 products analyzed contained mercury and cadmium above the regulatory standards. Herba and folium (leaves of herbal plants) were the most contaminated parts from metals, whereas pericarpium, lignum and semen (outer layers and seeds) were less contaminated. This study suggests that metal contamination is different by medical use parts. Our findings provide further evidence that efforts to protect people using traditional remedies from metal intoxication should be made to enforce the regulatory standards.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.4
• /
• pp.25-28
• /
• 1965

The study was carried on a new disease of rice seedling which named 'Black rot of rice seedling'. None of papers on this disease was reported recently. The symptom of this disease was quite different from other seedling rot of rice plant. Submerged mycelial growth in water was black colored and it was surrounded whole surface of seed. Soil on which diseased seedlings were placed was black colored by this disease and the seedlings, finally stopped to grow within 3 em in height, and appeared with black rot symptom. Sporulation of the pathogen does not occurred under both of natural and artificial conditions. The mycelium appeared in dark color and with distinguished septation under the microscope. With those results it is easily recognized that the pathogen does not belong to those which causal organism:; of other seedling rot of rice plant like as Phycomycetes or Fusarium species. The study should be continued on identification of the causal organism. Favorable environments for the disease did not differ from other seedling rot of rice plant, and varietal resistance also did not significantly differ among the varieties used in this experiment. Dissemination of the disease was carried out not by planted seeds but by infected soil.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.199-208
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted in order to analyze weather characteristics during the reign of King Sejo in the Chosun Dynasty based on The Annals of the Chosun Dynasty. For this purpose, first of all, we need to determine whether The Annals of the Chosun Dynasty is a reliable material for research on weather characteristics. Thus, we compared weather phenomena during the reign of King Sejo with those in China and Japan in the same period. From the results, it was found that The Annals of the Chosun Dynasty is a useful material at least to grasp macroscopic trends in weather phenomena. Based on this assumption, we analyzed weather characteristics during the reign of King Sejo using data from The Annals of the Chosun Dynasty. During the days of King Sejo, the climate was not changed violently and there were not many disasters caused by abnormal climate such as bad harvests. This suggests that the climate was relatively stable during the period of King Sejo. As a consequence of stable weather, famine decreased markedly. However, this was not only because of stable climate but also because of the government's active efforts to reduce disasters. As droughts and floods were not frequent, social costs for recovery from disasters also decreased considerably and the saved money could be invested in the construction of social safety nets for the prevention of disasters. One of factors supporting the enthronement of King Sejo was a series of heavily damaging bad harvests during the reign of Kings Munjong and Danjong. The prevention of bad harvests was a historical mission given to the regime of King Sejo. During his reign, King Sejo promoted various policies in order to stop bad harvests. Such efforts included the government's active construction of embankments, introduction of seeds suitable for reclaimed lands, and inspiration of the consciousness of forceful farming enduring natural disasters such as floods. As a result, abnormal weathers such as floods and droughts did not lead directly to bad harvests.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.47-51
• /
• 2012

Among 38 Vietnamese medicinal plant extracts investigated for their ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity, 35 extracts showed $IC_{50}$ values below $250{\mu}g/mL$. The MeOH extracts of the heartwood of Oroxylum indicum, the seeds of Caesalpinia sappan, and the fruits of Xanthium strumarium exhibited strong ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity with $IC_{50}$ values less than $50{\mu}g/mL$. Fractionation of the MeOH extract of the heartwood of O. indicum led to the isolation of oroxylin A (1), oroxyloside (2), hispidulin (3), apigenin (4), ficusal (5), balanophonin (6), 2- (1-hydroxymethylethyl)-4H,9H-naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-dione (7), salicylic acid (8), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (9), protocatechuic acid (10), isovanillin (11), and ${\beta}$-hydroxypropiovanillon (12). Compounds 1 - 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 showed more potent activities, with $IC_{50}$ values ranging from 2.13 to $133.51{\mu}M$, than a positive control acabose ($IC_{50}$, $241.85{\mu}M$). The kinetic study indicated that oroxyloside (2) displayed mixed-type inhibition with inhibition constant (Ki) was $3.56{\mu}M$.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.336-340
• /
• 2007

Plants from the genus Centaurea (C.) (Family: Asteraceae alt. Compositae), widely distributed in Asia, Europe and North America, have traditionally been used in the treatment of various ailments. As a part of our on-going studies on the plants from the genus C. for their phytochemistry and biological activities, extracts of the seeds of Turkish endemic C. species, C. bornmuelleri and C. huber-morathii, were tested for their cytotoxicity towards the CaCo2 colon cancer cell line as well as for the toxicity towards the brine shrimps, using the MTT and the brine shrimp lethality assays, respectively. Among the extracts, the MeOH extract of these plants showed significant toxicity towards the brine shrimps ($LD_{50}=55.2{\times}10^{-2}\;and\;42.4{\times}10^{-2}mg/ml$, respectively). The MeOH extract of both C. species also inhibited the growth of CaCo2 colon cancer cells in the MTT assay ($IC_{50}$=29.9 and 33.0 g/ml, respectively). As the most prominent activities in both assays were observed with the MeOH extracts, it can be assumed that the compound(s) responsible for these activities are polar in nature.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.764-769
• /
• 1992

Strigol, a natural product isolated from root exudates of cotton, was found to be an extremely potent seed germination stimulant for the parasitic plant, witchweed. Witchweed seeds can remain dormant in the soil for several years until favorable conditions prevail including exposure to some type of chemical germination stimulant. Several strigol analogues, 3-methyl-4-(2-oxo-3,3a,6,6a-tetrahydro-2H-cyclopenta[b]furan-3-ylidenemethoxy)-but-2-en-4-olide(21), 4-(2-oxo-3,3a,6,6a-tetrahydro-2H-cyclopenta[b]furan-3-ylidenemethoxy)but-2-en-4-oilde(22), 3-methyl-4-(2-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-ylidenemethoxy)-but-2-en-4-olide(23), and 4-(2-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-ylidenemethoxy)-but-2-en-4-olide(24), were synthesized.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2017.06a
• /
• pp.90-90
• /
• 2017

Regulation of seed dormancy is important in many grains to prevent pre-harvest sprouting. To identify and understand the gene related to seed dormancy regulation, we have screened for viviparous phenotypes of rice mutant lines generated by insertion of Ds transposon in a Korean Japonica cultivar (Dongjin) background. One of the mutants, which represented viviparous phenotype, was selected for further seed dormancy regulation studies and designated dor1. The dor1 mutant has single Ds insertion in the second exon of OsDor1 gene encoding glycine-rich protein. The seeds of dor1 mutant showed a higher germination potential and reduced abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity compared to wild type Dongjin. Over-expression of Dor1 complements the viviparous phenotype of dor1 mutant, indicating that Dor1 function in seed dormancy regulation. Subcellular localization assay of Dor1-GFP fusion protein revealed that the OsDor1 protein mainly localized to membrane and the localization of OsDOR1 was influenced by presence of a giberelin (GA) receptor OsGID1. Further bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis indicated that OsDOR1 interact with OsGID1. The combined results suggested that OsDOR1 regulates seed dormancy by interacting with OsGID1 in GA response. Additionally, expression of OsDOR1 partially complemented the cold sensitivity of Escherichia coli BX04 mutant lacking four cold shock proteins, indicating that OsDOR1 possessed RNA chaperone activity.