• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.257-279
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• 2009

Plants of genus Dioscorea have long been served as important carbohydrate-stuffed foods in the tropical and subtropical regions, and utilized as traditional herb medicines to enhance digestive function, improve anorexia, and treat diarrhea in oriental countries. It is known that around 600 species of Dioscorea are distributed in the world including 107 species in Asia, but actually utilized Dioscorea species are restricted to small numbers. Phytochemical investigations for Dioscorea species have revealed a number of chemical components such as sapogenins, saponins, phenanthrenes, stilbenes, diterpenes and purine derivatives. According to recent pharmacological studies, Dioscorea species possess significant antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities as well as anticancer, antidiabetic, cholesterol-lowering and hypolipidemic effects. Here, seven Dioscorea species (D. batatas, D. japonica, D. bulbifera, D. opposita, D. tokoro, D. nipponica and D. alata), mainly distributed and used in Korea, China, and Japan, are reviewed to provide their botanical, phytochemical and pharmacological properties were described.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.380-390
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• 2015

The morphological characters were observed in six taxa in the genus Dioscorea of Korea (D. polystachya, D. japonica, D. nipponica, D. quinqueloba, D. tenuipes, and D. dokoro). The underground structure and the formation of bulbil were useful characters for separating sect. Enanatiophyllum from sect. Stenophora. The important characters for discriminating taxonomic entities were as follows: the position of the anther and the shape of the pistil in the microstructural characters, including the protuberance of the base of the petiole, the shape and color of the flower, the shape of the fruit, and the shape of the seed wing. Based on the results, a key to Korean Dioscorea is provided and the distribution of these species in Korea is described.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2017

As part of the search for bioactive constituents of Korean medicinal plants, twelve steroids (1-12) were isolated from the rhizomes of Dioscorea nipponica. The isolated compounds were identified as diosgenin ($3{\beta}$, 25R)-spirost-5-en-3-ol (1), 25(R)-dracaenoside E (2), dioscin (3), gracillin (4), prosapogenin B (5), 25(R)-dracaenoside G (6), diosgenin 3-O-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl($1{\rightarrow}3$)-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside (7), ophipogonin C′ (8), 7-oxodioscin (9), protodioscin (10), hypoglaucin F (11), and protoneogracillin (12). Their structures were characterized by spectroscopic data and identified by comparing these data with those in the literatures. All the isolates (1-12) were evaluated for their neuroprotective effects through induction of nerve growth factor in C6 glioma cells and effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in murine microglia cell line BV-2. Compounds 7 and 12 were found to induce upregulation of NGF secretion without causing significant cell toxicity and compound 4 exhibited potent anti-neuroinflammatory activity.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.391-397
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• 2010

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) have been used as medicinal and edible resources worldwide. In the present study, methanol extracts were prepared from various kinds of yam, including D. batatas (Gyeongbuk No. 1 and No. 4), D. alata L. (Gyeongbuk No. 5 and No. 6), and D. bulbifera and D. nipponica, and the antioxidant, antithrombin, and antimicrobial activities of these extracts were evaluated. The water content of the various yams was 54.7~83.2% (D. batatas> D. alata L.>D. nipponica>D. bulbifera) and the methanol extracts contained 0.59-1.59% (w/v) solid matter (D. alata L.>D. batatas >D. nipponica>D. bulbifera). The mean concentrations of total polyphenols, total flavonoids, and total sugars in the different types of yam were 49.82 mg/g, 9.79 mg/g, and 173.81 mg/g, respectively. Analysis of DPPH radical-scavenging activity showed that D. alata L. Gyeongbuk No. 6 had a strong antioxidant capacity (IC50=$142.30{\mu}g/mL$), whereas the other yams showed reduced levels of activity (IC50=371-$486{\mu}g/mL$). D. alata L. Gyeongbuk No. 6 showed a strong antithrombin activity against human thrombin. Upon treatment with a D. alata methanol extract (1.5 mg/mL), thrombin time was increased 7.35-fold compared with that when methanol alone was used. In an antimicrobial activity assay, the D. nipponica extract showed moderate antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, and Salmonella typhimurium. Our results indicate that different varieties of Dioscorea spp., including D. batatas, have useful biochemical attributes, including antioxidant, antithrombin, and antibacterial activities.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.165-165
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.99-99
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.175-175
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• 2005

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.217-223
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• 2005

Effects of growth regulators on growth of adventitious roots and accumulation of steroidal saponins, such as dioscin, prosapogenin A and prosapogenin C, in cultures of Dioscorea nipponica were determined. The maximum growth of adventitious roots was observed in MS medium supplemented with 30 g/L sucrose and 1.0 mg/L NAA. Addition of BA in combination with NAA appeared to be no effective in the growth of adventitious roots. Among the twenty different adventitious roots formed from different seeds, strain No. 10 was selected based on production ability of dioscin, and its stability through the successive liquid culture. During the first 4 weeks of incubation, contents of steroidal saponins in adventitious roots were negligible but the contents were markedly increased at 5 weeks of incubation. Dioscin and prosapogenin C content in IBA-treated adventitious roots were significantly higher than those in NAA-treated roots. However, content of prosapogenin A was not significantly different among NAA or IBA level. Results provide that liquid culture of adventitious roots of D. nipponica have a potential for mass production of dioscin including prosapogenin A and prosapogenin C.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2002

A lot of clones of the genus Dioscorea species have been introduced from some tropical and subtropical regions since 1997. The aim of this study was to determine characteristics of the production process in yams(Dioscorea spp). By utilizing 51clones of water yams(Dioscorea spp), some morphological characteristics were investigated at the field. Intraspecific genetic relationship of 51 variation types of the Yam classified by their external morphological characteristics such as leaf and tuber shape were assessed by DNA using random and specific primers. D. Alata and D. opposita were showed different relationship between yield and the growth of their aboveground parts. This suggests that even in the same species there were differences in yield volume and translocation of assimilation products, depending on the types. D. alata were distinguished from others Dioscorea species at 62% level in AFLP analysis. Also in principal component analysis, D. alata were showed the class from II to V.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.305-310
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• 1991

In order to find out the values of the steroid resources for the future use, the compositions and contents of steroidal sapogenins from 13 domestic plants have been investigated. As a result Dioscorea nipponica, D. quinqueloba and Smilax china were found to have large amount of diosgenin. And pennogenin in Trillium kamtschaticum and Paris verticillata, yuccagenin in Allium fistulosum, hecogenin in Agave americana and neochlorogenin in Solanum nigum were appeared to be major steroidal sapogenins.