• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2005

Pathogens, insects and weeds have significantly reduced agricultural productivity. Thus, to increase the productivity, synthetic agricultural chemicals have been overused. However, these synthetic compounds that are different from natural products cannot be broken down easily in natural systems, causing the destruction of soil quality and agricultural environments and the gradually difficulty in continuous agriculture. Now agriculture is faced with the various problems of minimizing the damage in agricultural environments, securing the safety of human health, while simultaneously increasing agricultural productivity. Meanwhile, plants produce secondary metabolites to protect themselves from external invaders and to secure their region for survival. Plants infected with pathogens produce antibiotics phytoalexin; monocotyledonous plants produce flavonoids and diterpenoids phytoalexins, and dicotylodoneous plant, despite of infected pathogens, produce family-specific phytoalexin such as flavonoids in Leguminosae, indole derivatives in Cruciferae, sesquitepenoids in Solanaceae, coumarins in Umbelliferae, making the plant resistant to specific pathogen. Growth inhibitor or antifeedant substances to insects are terpenoids pyrethrin, azadirachtin, limonin, cedrelanoid, toosendanin and fraxinellone/dictamnine, and terpenoid-alkaloid mixed compounds sesquiterpene pyridine and norditerpenoids, and azepine-, amide-, loline-, stemofoline-, pyrrolizidine-alkaloids and so on. Also plants produces the substances to inhibit other plant growths to secure the regions for plant itself, which is including terpenoids essential oil and sesquiterpene lactone, and additionally, benzoxazinoids, glucosinolate, quassinoid, cyanogenic glycoside, saponin, sorgolennone, juglone and lots of other different of secondary metabolites. Hence, phytoalexin, an antibiotic compound produced by plants infected with pathogens, can be employed for pathogen control. Terpenoids and alkaloids inhibiting insect growth can be utilized for insect control. Allelochemicals, a compound released from a certain plant to hinder the growth of other plants for their survival, can be also used directly as a herbicides for weed control as well. Therefore, the use of the natural secondary metabolites for pest control might be one of the alternatives for environmentally friendly agriculture. However, the natural substances are destroyed easily causing low the pest-control efficacy, and also there is the limitation to producing the substances using plant cell. In the future, effects should be made to try to find the secondary metabolites with good pest-control effect and no harmful to human health. Also the biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites have to be elucidated continuously, and the metabolic engineering should be applied to improve transgenics having the resistance to specific pest.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.242-250
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to investigate the terpenoids of Total Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) released during drying of Cryptomeria japonica using the thermal extractor (TE). Considering the drying process of C. japonica, temperatures of TE were set at $27^{\circ}C$, $60^{\circ}C$, $80^{\circ}C$, $100^{\circ}C$, and $120^{\circ}C$, respectively. As the result, the emission factors of VOCs and terpenoids were increased as temperature increased. The amount of terpenoids included in VOCs emission factors were 87.5%, 81.6%, 83.6%, 90.1%, and 97.3% depending on above temperatures, respectively. Especially at$100^{\circ}C$ and $120^{\circ}C$, the amount of terpenoids were measured more than 90%. ${\delta}$-cadinene was the highest yield at each temperature and 32 types of terpenoids were collected. Emitted terpenoids were classified into the sesquiterpene group which consists of 15 carbon sources. These 32 sesquiterpenes were used for determining the useful bioactivity such as antifungal activity by the agar dilution. As the result, they showed the antifungal activity against Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum gypseum. The 5,000 ppm concentration of terpenoids showed a strong activity with 100% against the 3 fungi. At the 1,000 ppm concentration of terpenoids, the antifungal activities against three fungi were 95.2%, 98.7%, and 97.3%, and their activities were a little inhibited at 100 ppm concentration.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.379-385
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• 2020

Phlojodicarpus sibiricus and Artemisia kruhsiana Besser are medicinal plants traditionally used in Russia. Phlojodicarpus sibiricus extracts (PSE) have been shown to have anti-obesity properties, and Artemisia kruhsiana Besser extracts (AKBE) contain terpenoid compounds that exert various medicinal effects. Here, we investigated the potential pro-apoptotic effects of PSE and AKBE in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and elucidated the underlying mechanism. PSE and AKBE treatment of six DLBCL cell lines with various genetic abnormalities effectively reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, while having a minimal impact on the survival of normal murine bone marrow cells and splenocytes. This suggests that the cytotoxic effects of PSE and AKBE are specific to DLBCL cells. Therefore, we expect limited side effects when these plant extracts are administered to DLBCL patients. Our JC-1 assays demonstrate that the pro-apoptotic effects of these plant extracts are produced by a reduction of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members and, thereby, disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover, PSE and AKBE induce cell death independently of Myc, whose abnormalities are frequently observed in patients with DLBCL and are associated with poor prognosis. Our findings reveal hitherto uncharacterized pro-apoptotic effects of PSE and AKBE in DLBCL. Isolation of single compounds with anti-lymphoma activities should be pursued further.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.139-146
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• 2017

Floral scent emitted from many plants is the critical factors for pollinator attraction and defense for adaptation in environments. The fragrance components of flowers are different in composition by geographical origins, climate factors and the development stages of flowers. In the present study, we investigated the volatile-floral compounds in flowers of Robinia pseudoacacia L. and defined the chemical contribution for flowering periods. The volatile compounds analysis was performed by gas chromatography with mass selective detector after solid phase microextraction (SPME). We reported different compositional features of fragrance compounds according to flowering periods. The abundant compounds identified in stage 1 were ${\alpha}$-pinene (66.80%) and ${\beta}$-pinene (26.53%). Those of the stage 2 were (Z)-${\beta}$-ocimene (37.57%), ${\alpha}$-pinene (15.16%), benzaldehyde (16.63%), linalool (12.13%). The volatiles of stage 3 comprised an abundance of (Z)-${\beta}$-ocimene (64.94%), ${\alpha}$-pinene (9.84%), linalool (8.92%), benzaldehyde (1.71%). Leaf volatiles were distinct from those in the reproductive plant parts by their high relative amount of (E)-${\beta}$-ocimene (23.50%) and (Z)-3-Hexenyl acetate (27.87%). Differences in flower scents of the different stages and leaves are discussed in light of biochemical constraints on volatile chemical synthesis and of the role of flower scent in evolutionary ecology of R. pseudoacacia.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.134-142
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• 1997

Pectin and tannin analysis were carried out to inverstigate any available components from Pinus densiflora, P. koraiensis, P. thunbergii and P. rigida. To analyze terpenoid components, the essential oils were extracted with steam distillation method from four kinds of pine needles. The essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC-MS spectroscopy. The results were summarized as follows: Pectin content was highest in P. koraiensis with 0.40%, and tannin content was highest in P. koraiensis with 1.05. Major components of P. densiflora needles were ${\alpha}$-pinene, ${\beta}$-caryophyllene, ${\Delta}^3$-carene and phytol. ${\alpha}$-Pinene, ${\Delta}^3$-carene, ${\beta}$-caryophyllene, germacrene D, and camphene were found major components in P. koraiensis. Major components of P. thunbergii needles were ${\beta}$-pinene, ${\alpha}$-pinene, ${\beta}$-caryophyllene and germacrene D. ${\beta}$-Pinene, ${\alpha}$-piene, humulene oxide and ${\alpha}$-elemene were major components in P. rigida. Sabinene and citronellol were infrequent components in P. koraiensis, and ${\alpha}$-pinene oxide was present only in P. rigida. ${\alpha}$-Pinene, limonene, and bornylacetate well known as the main components of green air bath were found in P. densiflora and P. koraiensis.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.692-701
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• 2020

Centella asiatica (CA) has been widely used as herbal plants. It is a valuable resources. The aim of the present study was to evaluate physiological activities of solvent extracts from CA cultivated in Chungju, Korea (Good tiger care). After preparing water (cold-water, CA-WE; hot-water, CA-HWE) and EtOH extracts (50% EtOH, CA-50E; 70% EtOH, CA-70E), their total polyphenol, flavonoid, and triterpenoid contents, and anti-oxidant activities, and anti-inflammatory activities were examined and compared. CA-70E showed the most potent anti-oxidant activity based on ABTS radical scavenging activity and reducing ability assays, while CA-50E and CA-70E showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity. Among major triterpenoid glycosides present in CA, madecassoside and asiaticoside contents were found to be the highest in CA-70E, and madecassic acid and asiatic acid were the highest in CA-50E. In LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, CA-70E showed the highest TNF-α inhibitory activity, although CA-50E and CA-70E similarly inhibited nitric oxide production. Ethanol extracts significantly inhibited IL-6 and IL-8 production more than water extracts using TNF-α/IFN-γ-stimulated HaCaT cells, indicating its better inhibitory against skin inflammation. Therefore, Chungju-CA EtOH extract, especially 70% EtOH extract, has high physiologically active ingredients and potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, suggesting its industrial application as a functional material.