South Korea is the representative consumption country of herbal medicines and most of herbal medicines circulating in Korea have been importing from the developing countries of Southeast Asia such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and so forth. Domestic hygiene and safety are continuously proposed because herbal medicines which are circulating have the possibility could remain contaminants or residues. Physicochemical contaminants such as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, radionucleosides, microbial toxins, biological contaminants such as microorganisms and animals, agrochemical residues such as pesticides, substances used for fumigation, antiviral agents, and solvent residues are classified as major contaminants and residues in herbal medicines from 2005 September WHO.$^{1)}$ Currently our administration have established a permission standard and the inspection criteria against the heavy metal, the residual pesticides and a residual sulfur dioxide. Furthermore our administration is continuously monitoring and conducting researches for the policies and their scientific ground against herbal medicines. But the appearances or discoveries of the harmful new species due to environmental and industrial developments are becoming social problems. Therefore it may be necessary to continuously consider and investigate regarding hereupon. Recently, the contamination of the mycotoxins against foods such as cereals, nuts and the powdered red pepper have developed and started became problematic issue, and possibility of contamination against the herbal medicine is proposed. And since populations who are using the herbal medicines very limited to several nations, recognition and researches about contamination of mycotoxins in herbal medicines are very insufficient. Therefore it will be need to more focus on the international regulation of quality control and safety for herbal medicines. Now on, we are going to introduce the importance, occurrence, characteristic properties, World-wide research trends and detoxification of aflatoxins, which is known as the most potent mutagen, carcinogen and teratogen mycotoxins.

Aucklandia lappa Decne (Compositae) has been used for treatment of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and indigestion and Inula helenium L. (Compositae) for sweat and urination. In spite of difference species and efficacy, we have been used Aucklandia lappa Dence together with Inula helenium L. To distinguish Aucklandia lappa Dence from Inula helenium L., we have compared the contents of dehydrocostuslactone and costunolide by HPLC. The average contents of costunolide of Aucklandia lappa Dence was 0.84% $({\pm}\;0.29)$ but was not detected in Inula helenium L. The contents of dehydrocostuslactone from Aucklandia lappa Dence and Inula helenium L. were about 1.70% $({\pm}0.37)$ and 1.82% $({\pm}0.59)$, respectively.

Seven compounds, scopoletin (1), p-hydroxyphenethyl trans-ferulate (2), $1-({\alpha}-L-rhamnosyl(1\;{\rightarrow}\;6)-{\beta}-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzene$ (3), benzyl ${\alpha}-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1\;{\rightarrow}\;6)-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (4), suberic acid (5), sebacic acid (6) and scopolin (7) were isolated from the methanol extract of the roots of Althaea rosea Canival. Compounds $1\;{\sim}\;7$ were first isolated from this plant. The isolated compounds were tested for their cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines using a SRB method in vitro.

Seven compounds were isolated from the n-BuOH soluble fraction of stem of Rhododendron mucronulatum as cytotoxic principles against brine shrimp lethality test. On the basis of spectral data, seven compounds were identified as (-)-catechin (1), (+)-epicatechin (2), taxifolin (3), scopoletin (4), quercetin (5), $taxifolin-3-O-{\alpha}-L- arabinopyranoside$ (6), and astragalin (7). Among tested compounds, $taxifolin-3-O-{\alpha}-L-arabinopyranoside$ (6) exhibited potent activity with $LC_{50}$ value at 4.6 ${\mu}g/ml$.

Hyo Shim Dan Hwan (孝心丹丸) is a Chinese patent medicine which is used for neuralgia and palsy in Korea. This medicine consists of 15 kinds of powdered crude drugs. For the identification of individual ingredients in such powdery mixtures, microscopic method may advantageously be used, as it requires only small amount of specimens. In this study, the effectiveness of this method is exemplified by the identification of the ingredients in Hyo Shim Dan Hwan, which contains 15 powered crude drug ingredients.

The herbal formulation (KH-204) mainly consisted of the fruits of Lycium chinense, Cornus officinalis, Rubus coreanus, Cuscuta chinensis and Schizandra chinensis. We investigated the effects of this herbal formulation on the penile erection and corpus cavernosum of spontaneous hypertensive male Rats (SHR). We used male SHR aged 16 weeks as a model of hypertension. The treatment groups received once a day oral doses KH-204 100 and 300 mg/kg per day for 4 weeks. Distilled water was administered in the control group. To investigate the penile erection, intracavernosal pressure (ICP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded in all groups. We analyzed the distribution of NOS by immunohistochemical staining and the expression of nNOS, eNOS concentration in the isolated corpus cavernosum by western blotting. In the control group, ICP/MAP ratio was $14.9{\pm}1.4%$ after pelvic nerve stimulation. ICP/MAP ratio was markedly increased in the treatment group with KH-204 100, 300 mg/kg, compared with control group. Immunohistochemical staining for NOS showed that eNOS and nNOS was stained as brown color. Compared with the control group, NOS activities of KH-204 100, 300 mg/kg were increased significantly. Also the penile expression levels of nNOS, eNOS in KH-204 100, 300 mg/kg treatment group were more increased significantly than control group by western blotting. This study showed that KH-204 enhances the penile erection and the level of eNOS and nNOS expression of penile corpus cavernosum of male SHR.

Artemisia princeps PAMPANINI has been used in traditional medicine of the treatment of inflammatory, liver dysfunction and order disorder in the far east countries including Korea. The present study was carried out to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of ethanol extract of Artemisia princeps (AP) and its fermented agents (AP-F) by lactic acid bacteria derived from human intestinal bacteria on liver injured rat induced by $CCl_4$ and d-galactosamine. Hepatoprotective activity was monitored by estimating serum ALT, AST, ALP, LDH, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione redeuctase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) activities in the liver injured by hepatotoxin. Pretreating rats with AP or AP-F at the same dosage regimen significantly suppressed the acute elevation of serum transaminase, ALP, LDH and GR activities, and significantly increased the lowering of blood SOD and GR activites induced by hepatoxin. Based on these findings, it is presumed that AP and APF may have the hepatoprotective effect on $CCl_4$ and d-galactosamine-induced hepatotoxicity rat.

The aerial parts of Brassica juncea (Cruciferae) called by brown or oriental mustard have been widely used as a spice in food and also traditional folk medicine as stimulant, diuretic and expectorant agent. And Gatkimchi made of the aerial parts of this plant are very popular in Korea. The aerial parts of this plant was refluxed with MeOH and then fractionationed with $CH_2Cl_2$, EtOAc, n-BuOH and $H_2O$, successively. One higher alcohol compound and three flavonoids were isolated from the EtOAc fraction through silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies. Their structures were elucidated as n-hexacosanol(1), kaempferol(2), isorhamnetin $3-O-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside(3)$ and isorhamnetin $3-O-(6'-O-acetyl)-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside(4)$ by comparison of spectral data with those in references. And compounds 1 and 4 were firstly isolated from this plant.

In the present study, we investigated the antioxidant activity of methanol extract and its organic fractions (n-hexane, $CH_2Cl_2$, EtOAc, n-BuOH and $H_2O$) of Capsiccum annuum leaves against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. As results, methanol extract, and its ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed good scavenging effect at 100 ${\mu}g/ml$. Four compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction through silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies. Their chemical structures were elucidated as apigenin (1), vanillic acid (2), uracil (3) and apigenin $7-O-{\beta}-D-apiofuranosyl(1{\rightarrow}2)-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (4) by comparison of spectral data with those in reference. $IC_{50}$ value of compound 2 was 14.7 ${\mu}g/ml$, while compounds 1, 3 and 4 had no effect on the DPPH radical.

Nelumbo nucifera (Nymphaeaceae) has been widely used in a traditional oriental medicine to treat bleeding, fever, diarrhea, hemorrhoid, sunstroke, dysentery and dizziness. The leaves of this plant were refluxed with methanol, and then fractionated with organic solvents to screen the antioxidant activity using DPPH radical. Ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed good DPPH radical scavenging effects and were carried out column chromatographies to isolate nine compounds. Their chemical structures were characterized as p-hydroxybenzoic acid (1), uracil (2), luteolin (3), quercetin $3-O-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (4), $rhamnetin 3-O-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (5), $isorhamnetin 3-O-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (6), $quercetin 3-O-{\beta}-D-glucuropyranoside$ (7), $quercetin 3-O-{\beta}β-D-xylofuranosyl(1{\rightarrow}2)-{\beta}-D-galactopyranoside$ (8), and adenine (9) by comparison NMR spectral data and with those in references. Compounds 1, 2, 5 and 9 were firstly isolated from this plant. Compounds 1, 3 and 4 showed potent DPPH radical scavenging activity. Especially, compound 3, luteolin showed the higher effect than ascorbic acid used as a positive control.

To evaluate the leaf shoots and stem barks of Kalopanax pictus (Araliaceae) as an edible vegetable and a traditional medicinal drug, respectively, the compounds of syringin, liriodendrin, astragalin, quercetin, and kalopanaxsaponins were quantitatively measured by HPLC analysis. The leaf shoot exhibited low contents of syringin, liriodendrin and kalopanaxsaponins but a high chlorogenic acid content, whereas the grown leaves contained very high amounts of kalopananxsaponins. In contrast, the stem bark had very high amounts of syringin and liriodendrin and relatively low kalopanaxsaponins. In particular, the kalopanaxsaponin contents were rapidly increased with monthly variation until October but decreased from September. It was also observed that the leaf shoot contained chlorogenic acid by 30.73 mg/g and the barks showed the concentration of liriodendrin by 20.75 mg/g. These results indicate that high contents of syringin and liriodendrin in the stem bark and high contents of chlorogenic acid in the leaf shoot support scientific bases on the traditional uses of K. pictus as a medicinal drug and a functional food, respectively.

In our continuing effort to investigate compounds having anti-inflammatory activity from natural products, Ailanthus altissima was examined. Among six compounds isolated from Ailanthus altissima, Luteolin-7-O-glucoside (L7G) along with ethanol extract of Ailnathus altissima (EAa) were chosen to determine their inhibitory activity on secretory recombinant phospholipase $A_2s$ enzyme activity in vitro. As a results, EAa inhibited human recombinant $sPLA_2-V$ ($IC_{50}$ of about 100 ${\mu}g/ml$) and $cPLA_2$, ($IC_{50}$ of about 59 ${\mu}g/ml$), while L7G showed strong inhibitory effect on $sPLA_2-A$, V and $cPLA_2$ with an $IC_{50}$ value of approximately 40 ${\mu}M$, respectively.

Quality evaluation of Magnoliae Flos and Anthrici Radix was studied to ensure their safety and efficacy, which was based on physico-chemical determination of the content of total ash, acid insoluble ash and diluted ethanol-soluble extract. In addition, quantitative analysis of magnolin and anthricin by HPLC suggested that the content of magnolin and anthricin in Magnoliae Flos and Anthrici Radix was $31.09{\pm}15.74%$ and $1.08{\pm}0.85%$.

Phytochemical investigation of the MeOH extract of the dried stem barks of Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance (Oleaceae), as guided by cytoprotective activity against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced cell injury in mouse hippocampal HT22 cells, furnished two coumarins, esculetin (1) and fraxetin (2). Compounds 1 and 2 had the significant cytoprotective effects on t-BHP-induced cellular oxidative injury in HT22 cells. Furthermore, compounds 1 and 2 showed potent DPPH radical scavenging effect, exhibiting $IC_{50}$ values of 14.68 and 9.64 ${\mu}M$, respectively.

Eight compounds were isolated from the whole plants of Euphorbia supina (Euphorbiaceae) through repeated silica gel, YMC gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Their chemical structures were elucidated as 7-hydroxy-6-methoxycoumarin (scopoletin) (1), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2), methyl gallate (3), gallic acid (4), quercetin (5), quercetin $3-O-{\alpha}-L-arabinofuranoside$ (avicularin) (6), kaempferol $3-O-{\alpha}-L-arabinofuranoside$ (juglanin) (7) and kaempferol $3-O-{\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (astragaline) (8) by spectroscopic (NMR and MS) analysis.

Two lignan glycoside compounds were isolated from the twigs of Vaccinium oldhami (Ericaceae) through repeated column chromatography. Their chemical structures were elucidated as lyoniside and ssioriside, respectively, by spectroscopic analysis.