• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.32 no.3 s.58
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• pp.161-171
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• 2006

In this study, we investigated the whitening and anti-oxidant activity of 37 Jeju island native plants. The active ingredients of the plants were prepared by methanol extraction. Whitening activity of plant extracts was examined from the inhibitory effect of tyrosinase and the inhibition of melanin synthesis of the B16-F1 cell line. Their anti-oxidant activity was measured by electron donating ability of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ROS (reactive oxygen species) scavenging activity in V79-4 lung fibroblast cells using DCF-DA (dichlorofluorescin diacetate). Cytotoxicity of the extracts on cell s based experiments was investigated by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) assay. Also, the toxicity test using a rabbit and the human skin patch test were carried out for examining the safety of the extracts which showed the high whitening activity. It is interesting that the extracts of Lespedeza cuneata, Ligustrum lucidum (stem), Morus bombycis (stem) and Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina showed both potent whitening and anti-oxidant activities.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.210-219
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• 2007

In this study was investigated the growth effect of native plant (Microlepia marginata(panzer Christ., Prunella vulgaris. aleutica Fernald, Perillafrutescens var. japonica Hara., Gleichenia japonica Spreng) extracts on various lactic acid bacterias, electron donating ability, total cell count and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. The total cell count of Enterococcus faecium KCCM 12118, Lactobacillus rhamnosus KCCM 32826, Lactobacillus plantarum KCCM 11542, Pediococcus pentosaceus KCCM 40464 in the absence of native plant extracts (10%) at $37^{\circ}C$ after 48hr were $2.2{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$, $2.1{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$, $2.3{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$, $2.2{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$. On the other hand, the total cell count of E. faecium KCCM 12118, L. rhamnosus KCCM 32826, L. plantarum KCCM 11542, P. pentosaceus KCCM 40464 in the presence of native plant extracts (10%) at $37^{\circ}C$ after 48hr were $4.3{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$, $4.3{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$, $4.8{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$, $3.9{\times}10^9\;cfu/ml$. The electron donating ability indicated to E. faecium KCCM 12118, L. rhamnosus KCCM 32826, L. plantarum KCCM 11542, P. pentosaceus KCCM 40464 added by 10% native plant extracts, respectively. when 10% native plant extracts were added lactic acid bacterias, the electron donating ability is the highest. Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of E. faecium KCCM 12118, L. rhamnosus KCCM 32826, L. plantarum KCCM 11542, P. pentosaceus KCCM 40464 showed higher than that of control.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.584-589
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• 1995

To select new useful plants with antibacterial activity, ninety five sample of eighty different species of wild plants were collected, and extracted with methanol. Antibacterial activity of the methanol extracts was tested against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The methanol extracts from Artemisia capillaris, Hemistepta lyrata, Youngia japonica, Prunella vulgaris, Lamium amplexicaule and Juniperus chinensis was effective against all bacterial strains tested, and eight methanol extracts including Ixeris dentata, Gnaphalium affine, Chelidonium majus and Spiraea prunifolia exhibited the antibacterial activity against at least 3 bacterial strains. Methanol extracts from leaf of Syringa vulgaris, Drava nemorosa and clove of Erythronium japonicum showed a selective antibacterial activity against two gram negative bacteria, V. parahaemolyticus, and B. subtilis, respectively. With investigations on antibacterial activity against a certain bacterial strains tested, metahnol extracts from clove of Erythronium japonicum, Spiraea prunifolia, leaf and twig of Camelia japonica, and Drava nemorosa showed strongest activities against B. subtilis, S. aureus, E. coli, and V. parahaemolyticus, respectively. Nine methanol extracts based on the results were successively fractionated with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and water portions, which were examined antibacterial activity against B. subtilis and V. parahaemolyticus. Among the all fractions tested, chloroform fractions of Hemistepta lyrata showed strongest antibacterial activity against both B. subtilis (17mm) and V. parahaemolyticus (29 mm). Chloroform fractions of Youngia japonica, n-hexane fractions of Artemisia capillaris, Iexeris dentata and Prunella vulgaris, and ethyl acetate fraction of leaf and twig of Camelia japonica showed relatively a strong antibacterial activity. On the other hand, Juniperus chinensis and Equisetum arvense was distributed to all fractions except for water fraction.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.5B
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• pp.519-524
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• 2010

This study was carried out to select suitable plants for beach revegetation as a preliminary study for quantifying the effect of decreasing sand movement. After planting some herbal plants in field, monitoring of temporal change of vegetation coverage which was index of the growth rate was conducted. Through literature reviews, 24 candidate plants for beach revegetation were selected, then seven species of them, Peucedanum japonicum Thunb., Dianthus japonicus Thunb. ex Murray, Sedum oryzifolium Makino, Sedum takesimense Nakai, Sedum spectabile Boreau, Farfugium japonicum (L.) Kitam., Aster sphathulifolius Maxim. were picked through salinity tolerance experiments in laboratory. Seven species selected by salinity tolerance experiments and two additional herbal plants, Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina Nakai and Linaria vulgaris Mill., not the candidates, were nine final species which were planted in the beach around Osan port, Uljin, Korea. The changes of vegetation coverage of each species were investigated from photos periodically taken for about a year using image processing methods. As a result of the monitoring, Sedum takesimensei, Dianthus japonicus and Aster sphathulifolius were observed with high coverages during the whole monitoring while Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina and Linaria vulgaris were observed with low coverage during the same period. Consequently, Sedum takesimensei, Dianthus japonicus and Aster sphathulifolius were concluded as the most suitable plants for beach revegetation. Furthur study to quantify the effects of decreasing sand movement by the selected species is needed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.9
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• pp.524-529
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• 2014

Oxidative stress and inflammation are common to many pathological conditions. Defense mechanisms protect cells from oxidative stress, but can become over-activated following injury and inflammation. NF-${\kappa}B$ and Nrf2 transcription factors regulate proinflammatory and antioxidant gene expression, respectively. Studies have shown that many natural dietary compounds regulate NF-${\kappa}B$ and Nrf2, preventing inflammation and oxidative stress. Here, we report major compounds of Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina such as rosmarinic acid, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and caffeic acid as a potential therapeutic for oxidative stress and inflammation. The major compounds exhibited high anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting NO, PGE2 production, NF-${\kappa}B$ expression and activating Nrf2 expression. In addition, we examined the effect of major compounds on MafK expression. Among the compounds, oleanolic acid significantly decreased MafK expression and MafK-mediated p65 acetylation. These findings suggest that oleanolic acid as NF-${\kappa}B$ inhibitors can potentially be used in therapeutic applications for the treatment of oxidative stress-induced diseases.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.125-136
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• 2004

The pharmacological mechanisms of most Oriental medicines have not been clearly defined in spite of their effective use in treating many diseases throughout the world. Many Oriental medicines have been used against various allergic diseases for generations, and still occupy an important place in traditional medicine in far eastern countries including Korea. It is also still unclear how Oriental drugs prevent allergic disease in vivo or in vitro models. Some Korean folk medicine inhibited the mast cell-mediated allergic reaction. This review summarizes the effective folk medicine in experimental effect on systemic or local anaphylaxis reaction. Potential anti-anaphylactic folk medicines include: Poncirus trifoliata; Siegesbeckia glabrescence; Solanum lyratum; Aquilaria agallocha; Ulmi radicis; Polygonum tinctorium; Hwanglyun-Haedok-Tang; Rehmannia glutinosa; Kum-Hwag-San; Syzygium aromaticm; Spirulina platensis; Sosiho-Tang; Sinomenium acutum; Schizonepta tenuifolia; Shini-San; Magnoliae flos; Sochungryong-Tang; Oryza sativa; Cryptotympana atrata; Salviae radix; Rosa davurica; Asiasari radix; Chung-Dae-San; Cichorium intybus; Perilla frutescens; Vitex rotundifolia; Terminalia chebula; Siberian Ginseng; Solanum melongena; Gahmi-Shini-San; Alpinia oxyphylla; Acanthopanax senticosus root; Prunella vulgaris; Allergina; Ixeris dentate; Acanthopanax senticosus stem; Tongkyutang; Salvia plebeia; Rubus coreanus; Sinpo- Tang; Dodutang; Forsythia fructus; Xanthii fructus; and Purple bamboo slat. Ensuring the effects and understanding the mechanisms of action for these Oriental medicines can permit drug development and laying of the ground-work for evaluating potential synergistic effects by addition and subtraction of prescriptions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.64-64
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• 2003

It is thought that highly reactive oxygen radicals generated at the ischemia-reperfusion in case of strokes play an important role in damaging the brain. We examined the neuroprotective effects from the several medicinal herbs in the transient ischemic rat model and compared their effects with the free radical scavenging activities. Transient ischemia was induced by intraluminal occusion of the right middle cerebral artety for 120 min and reperfusion was continued for 22 h in rats. The free radical scavenging properties of medicinal herbs were examined in vitro by determination of the interaction with the 1,l-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) stable free radical. Aqueous extracts of 11 medicinal herbs (200 mg/kg) were orally administered, promptly prior to reperfusion and 2 h after reperfusion. Total infarction volume in the ipsilateral hemisphere of ischemia reperfusion rats was significantly lowered by the treatment of 7 medicinal herbs (Sophora flavescens, Lycopus lucidus, Sanguisorba officinalis, Caesalpinia sappan, Albizia julibrissin, Rubia akane, Psoralea corylifolia, Prunella vulgaris). However, all of these medicinal herbs did not show antioxidative activities. These results suggest that neuroprotective effects of several drugs are not always correlated with their antioxidative properties.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.293-296
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• 2003

Prunellae Spica is a flower petal of Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina used for treatment of lymphoma, breast cancer, hepatitis and pathological fluid related diseases in oriental medicine. We tried to evaluate the mechanism of Prunellae Spica in the treatment of cancer. The ethyl acetate layer of Prunellae Spica showed a good cytotoxicity on U937 cells with IC50 of 8 ug/ml. It induced apoptosis in U937 dose-dependently by cell cycle analysis following PI staining. We also confirmed it induced DNA fragmentation in U937 cells from the concentration of 10 ug/ml. From western blot assay we observed the ethyl acetate layer of Prunellae Spica downregulated procaspase-3 and cleaved PARP in a dose dependent manner, whereas it didn't affect bax and bcl-2. Taken together, these results indicate the ethyl acetate layer of Prunellae Spica can induce apoptosis in U937 cells suggesting it can be potently applied to cancer.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2005

Nitric Oxide (NO), derived from L-arginine, is produced by two types (constitutive and inducible) of nitric oxide synthase (NOS: cNOS and iNOS). The NO produced in large amounts by the iNOS is known to be responsible for the vasodilation and hypotension observed in septic shock, cancer metastasis and inflammation. The inhibitors of iNOS, thus, may be useful candidates for the treatment of inflammatory diseases accompanied by the overproduction of NO. We prepared alcoholic extracts of herbal drugs which have been used for the treatment of inflammation in oriental medicine. We have screened the inhibitory activity of NO production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages after the treatment of these extracts. Among 82 kinds of extracts of herbal drugs, 35 extracts showed the potent inhibitory activity of NO production above 50% at the concentration of $50\;{\mu}g/mL$. The inhibitory activities of NO production were also evaluated for several solvent fractions at two different concentrations. Especially, hexane and EtOAc fractions of Alpinia officinarum, Angelica gigas, Ostericum koreanum, Saussurea lappa, Torilis japonica, and hexane fractions of Agrimonia pilosa, Machilus thunbergii, Hydrangea serrata, Magnolia obovata, Prunella vulgaris, Tussilago farfara, and EtOAC fractions of Perilla frutescence showed a significant activity at 10 and/or $25\;{\mu}g/mL$. In Western blot analysis, the hexane fractions ($5\;{\mu}g/mL$) of Magnolia obovata and Saussurea lappa, and EtOAc fractions ($20\;{\mu}g/mL$) of Hydrangea Serrata, Perilla frutescence and Torilis japonica inhibited the expression of iNOS protein in LPS-activated macrophages. These plants may be promising candidates for the study of the activity-guided purification of active compounds and might be useful for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and endotoxemia accompanying overproduction of NO.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.110-120
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• 2009

The hipped roof on the research building, which was constructed 51.9m above sea level on a hillock by Korea National University of Education in June 1999, is composed of four inclined planes which are 12m in breadth, 8m in length and have a 30 degree gradient. For the roof vegetation, the yellow earth collected from around the building was laid on top. It was designed to supply the soil on the slope with water for a considerable period by making rainfall pool at the edges. In order to prevent the soil on the slope from being swept away, 31 sorts of grass seeds were imported from Germany and sown in the soil. At the present day, 10 years after the seeds began to sprout and inhabit the settled slope, 30 individual plant species were identified in the period between April 2008 and March 2009. Out of 31 species were seeded on the slanted, soiled roof, only 8 were still alive. It was confirmed that the Artemisia Princeps var, Chrysantheum, Prunella Vulgaris and Lespedeza Cuneata have been the major species inhabiting the east, west, south and north inclined planes respectively. The Phragmites Communis was inhabiting the edge of the roof where the water supply was adequate, while the Dianthus Barbatus was primarily inhabiting the south-east side of the roof. As a whole, 26 identifiable plants and 4 unidentified plants were observed on the inclined planes of the hipped roof. In consideration of the plant distribution on the slope, it was confirmed that the selection of seeds may have had an effect on the slope vegetation. As for the yellow earth laid on the roof, it was discovered that about 2~3cm thickness around the ridge was swept away, but the rest of the slope was in relatively good condition. Accordingly, it has been proven that vegetations can be applied to hipped roofs by using ordinary plants without any special structural measures.