• Mycobiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.215-218
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• 2007

The caterpillar-shaped Chinese medicinal mushroom (DongChongXiaCao) looks like a worm in the winter and like a grass in the summer. The fruiting body has been regarded as popular folk or effective medicines used to treat human diseases such as asthma, bronchial and lung inflammation, and kidney disease. The fruiting bodies of Paecilomyces tenuipes that formed on the living silkworm (Bombyx mon) host were used in this examination. This study was carried out to investigate the proximate composition, soluble sugar, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and contents of the bioactive ingredient including adenosine and D-mannitol in the fruiting-bodies. The moisture content was 57.56%. Soluble sugars found were glycerol, glucose, mannitol and sucrose, and the contents exceeded $24\;mgg^{-1}dry$ weight. Total free amino acid content was $17.09\;mgg^{-1}dry$ weight. Arginine, glycine, proline and tyrosine were main amino acids. The content of oleic acid in fatty acids was high. Adenosine was more abundant in fruiting bodies than corpus.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.599-607
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• 2009

Prunellae Spica is the spike or whole plant of Prunella vulgaris Linne, which has been used for clearing heat from the liver, brightening the eyes and treating headache in traditional oriental medicines. This study was conducted to evaluate the inhibitory effects of the aqueous extract of Prunellae Spica (PSE; PS extract) on the production of NO and PGE2 in LPS-activated Raw 264.7 cells. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay, and all three doses of PS extract (0.03, 0.1 and 0.3 mg/ml) had no significant cytotoxicity during the entire experimental period. The cells were treated with 1 ${\mu}g/ml$ of LPS 1 h before adding PS extract, and increased NO and PGE2 production were detected in LPS-activated cells compared to control. However, these increases were dose-dependently attenuated by treatment with PS extract. The inhibition of NO by PS extract was due to the suppression of iNOS expression via inhibition of $NF{\kappa}B$ nuclear translocation and proteolytic degradation of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$. The decreased level of PGE2 was derived from inhibition of COX-2 activity, but expression of COX-2 protein was not affected by PS extract. Moreover, PS extract reduced the elevated production of IL-${\beta}$ and IL-6 by LPS. These results demonstrate that PS extract has inhibitory effects on the production of NO and PGE2 as a consequence of the reduction of proinflammatory cytokines, especially IL-${\beta}$ and IL-6 in LPS-activated Raw 264.7 cells.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.33 no.1 s.128
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• pp.64-68
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• 2002

Eighty methanol extracts prepared from Vietnamese plants were tested for their cytotoxic activity against A549 cells, a human lung carcinoma cell line. Nine extracts showed survival rates of tumor cells of less than 30% at $100\:{\mu}g/mL$ of the methanol extracts. Among them, three were less than 15%; Meliosma pinnata (VK03, 4%), Goniothalamus vietnamensis (VK05, 06, 0%), Garcinia sp. (VK50, 51, 0%) and Aglaia aphanamixis (VK63, 11%). Both leaf and root extracts of Goniothalamus vietnamensis and the leaf extract of a Garcinia species completely inhibited the growth of A549 cells at the concentration of $100\:{\mu}g/mL$ methanol extract.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.71-78
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• 2020

The plant Dendropanax morbifera Léveille is effective folk medicines for the treatment of several conditions, such as infectious diseases, skin diseases, and other illnesses. Although the inhibitory effects of D. morbifera on the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) have been shown in our previous study, its effects in vivo remain to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effects of the extracts from D. morbifera (EDM) on neointimal hyperplasia of rat carotid artery and explore the underlying mechanisms. We observed that the ratio of intima to media thickness (I/M) was significantly decreased in the EDM-treated groups by ~80% compared to that of the control. The expression of Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen was decreased by ~70% in the EDM-treated groups compared to that of the control. In addition, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2 and MMP9 significantly reduced in the neointimal layer of the EDM-treated groups. Moreover, the decreased levels of contractile phenotypic markers of VSMCs, such as α-smooth muscle actin, myocardin, and smooth muscle-myosin heavy chain, were successfully restored by EDM treatment. Furthermore, the levels of synthetic phenotypic markers, cellular retinal binding protein 1 and connexin 43 were also restored to normal levels. These results suggest that EDM inhibits vascular neointimal hyperplasia induced by balloon injury in rats via phenotypic modulation of VSMCs. Therefore, EDM may be a potential drug candidate for the prevention of restenosis.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.510-518
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• 2013

This study aims to demonstrate the effect of farming technology on introducing medicinal plants (MP) and wild food plants (WFP) into a traditional agricultural system within peri-urban zones. Field investigations and semi-structured focus group interviews conducted in the Buhozi community showed that 27 health and nutrition problems dominated in the community, and could be treated with 86 domestic plant species. The selected domestic MP and WFP species were collected in the broad neighboring areas of the Buhozi site, and introduced to the experimental field of beans and maize crops in Buhozi. Among the 86 plants introduced, 37 species are confirmed as having both medicinal and nutritional properties, 47 species with medicinal, and 2 species with nutritional properties. The field is arranged in a way that living hedges made from Tithonia diversifolia provide bio-fertilizers to the plants growing along the hedges. The harvest of farming crops does not disturb the MP or WFP, and vice-versa. After harvesting the integrated plants, the community could gain about 40 times higher income, than from harvesting farming crops only. This kind of field may be used throughout the year, to provide both natural medicines and foods. It may therefore contribute to increasing small-scale crop producers' livelihood, while promoting biodiversity conservation. This model needs to be deeply documented, for further pharmaceutical and nutritional use.

• Mycobiology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.82-87
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• 2002

Species of Phellinus were known to harmful fungi causing white pocket rot and severe plant disease such as canker or heartrot in living trees in the West, but some species have been used to traditional medicines in the Orient for a long time. In this study the partial D1-D2 nucleotide sequences of 28S ribosomal DNA from 13 Phellinus strains were determined and compared with the sequences of 21 strains obtained from GenBank database. According to the neighbor-joining(NJ) method comparing the sequence data the phylogenetic tree was constructed. The phylogenetic tree displayed the presence of four groups. Group I includes P. ferreus, P. gilvus and P. johnsonianus, Group II contains P. laevigatus, P. conchatus and P. tremulae, Group III possesses P. linteus, P. weirianus, P. baumii, P. rhabarbarinus and P. igniarius, and Group IV comprises P. pini, P. chrysoloma. P. linteus and P. baumii, which were used mainly in traditional medicine, belong to the same group, but exactly speaking both were split into two different subgroups. To detect P. linteus only, we developed the PCR primer, D12HR. The primer showed the specific amplification of P linteus, which is permitted to medicinal mushroom in the East. The results make a potential to be incorporated in a PCR identification system that could be used for the rapid identification of this species from its related species, P. linteus especially.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2008

This study was performed to assess the potential use of ozone or UV radiation for the treatment of water contaminated with sulfamethoxazole (SMX), which is frequently used antibiotic in human and veterinary medicines, especially focusing on the kinetic study and effect of pH. In a study using ozone alone, kinetic study was performed to determine second-order rate constant ($k_{O3,SMX}$) for the reactions of SMX with ozone, which was found to be $1.9{\times}10^6M^{-1}s^{-1}$ at pH 7. The removal efficiencies of SMX by ozone were decreased with increase of pH due to rapid decomposition of ozone under the condition of various pH (2.5, 5.3, 7, 8, 10). In a UV irradiation study at 254 nm, a kinetic model for direct photolysis of SMX was developed with determination of quantum yield ($0.08mol\;Einstein^{-1}$) and molar extinction coefficient ($15,872M^{-1}cm^{-1}$) values under the condition of quantum shielding due to the presence of reaction by-products formed during photolysis. For effect of pH on photolysis of SMX, SMX in the anionic state ($S^-$, pH > 5.6), most prevalent form at environmentally relevant pH values, degraded more slowly than in the neutral state (SH, 1.85 < pH < 5.6) by UV radiation at 254 nm.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.357-362
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• 2015

Background : A series of studies were conducted to optimize adventitious root induction in vitro from explants of Astragalus membranaceus using various nutrient media supplemented with plant hormones. Methods and Results : Levels of active components were analyzed from adventitious roots induced under different media conditions. Among the different media conditions, Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with $1.0mg{\cdot}{\ell}^{-1}$ indole-3-butyric acid resulted in the greatest adventitious root induction rate. The amount of the major active component of the adventitious roots of Ama1, calycosin-7-O-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside was higher than that of other adventitious root samples. Conclusions : These results suggest that the adventitious roots of A. membranaceus could be used for the commercial production of medicines.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.137-144
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• 2009

In this study, quantitative and pattern recognition analyses for the quality evaluation of Herba Epimedii using HPLC was developed. For quantitative analysis, five major bioactive constituents, hyperin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, and icariin were determined. Analysis was carried out on Capcell pak $C_{18}$ column ($250{\time}4.6$ mm, 5 ${\mu}m$) with a mobile phase of mixture of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid, using UV detection at 270 nm. The linear behavior was observed over the investigated concentration range (2-50 ${\mu}g/mL;\;r_2\;>$ 0.99) for all analytes. The intraand inter-day precisions were lower than 4.3% (as a relative standard deviation, RSD) and accuracies between 95.1% and 104.4%. The HPLC analytical method for pattern recognition analysis was validated by repeated analysis of one reference sample. The RSD of intra- and inter-day variation of relative retention time (RRT) and relative peak area (RPA) of the 12 selected common peaks were below 0.8% and 4.7%, respectively. The developed methods were applied to analysis of twenty Herba Epimedii extract samples. Contents of hyperin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, and icariin were calculated to be 0$\sim$0.79, 0.69$\sim$1.91, 0.93$\sim$9.58, 0.65$\sim$3.05, and 2.43$\sim$11.8 mg/g dried plant. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that most samples were clustered together with the reference samples but several apart from the main cluster in the PC score plot, indicating differences in overall chemical composition between two clusters. The present study suggests that quantitative determination of marker compounds combined with pattern-recognition method can provide a comprehensive approach for the quality assessment of herbal medicines.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.158-161
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• 1993

This experiments were carried out determine planting date for highest Yields and select an covering material for enhancement of environments in Cassia tora L.The highest Yields by regressions estimate produced 352 kg/10a at May 18. of coure, it is possible to plant at June and early-July in spite of slight decreas of Yields, therefore Cassia tora L. is benefit to establish cropping system with barley, wheat or other crops. The covering materials for highest yielding was Black-white nonporous PE(low density) and it out yielded about 53% than conventional cultivations. Cassia tora L. is possible to produce Without agricultural medicines because of little occurence of decrease except occuring of Damping off(Rhizoctonia solanikuhn) at early planting.