• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.90-99
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• 2020

This study aimed to screen for plants with antimicrobial potential among the evergreen woody species of South Korea that are used for horticulture and landscaping and to provide basic information about plants with proven antimicrobial activity to underpin future research. The plant materials were extracted under various conditions, and the antimicrobial activities of the extracts were evaluated by agar diffusion assay. The screening tests demonstrated that the crude extracts of 43 species had inhibitory effects against S. aureus. The inhibitory activities of four species (Elaeocarpus sylvestris, Camellia japonica, Cleyera japonica, and Quercus salicina) were relatively higher than that of the synthetic antimicrobial agents methylparaben and phenoxyethanol. The highest inhibitory activity was observed with the leaf extracts (extracted with methanol for 30 minutes) of E. sylvestris, based on induction of the largest inhibition zone of 23.3 mm in size. In addition, solvent fractions of E. sylvestris were evaluated. The largest inhibitory zone of 23.1 mm was observed for the n-butanol fraction, which is likely to contain effective compounds that exhibit inhibitory activity against S. aureus. In contrast, n-hexane and residual aqueous fractions showed no antimicrobial activity. Overall, our findings confirm that evergreen woody plants native to South Korea have potential antimicrobial activity.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.36-42
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• 2004

Inhibitors of α-amylase are important for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Using enzyme inhibitor's activity, ethanolic extracts of 87 species in 12 families were screened and compared their inhibitory effect on α-amylase, As a results, we can find that extracts of Distylium racemosum, Acer tegmentosum, Corylapsis veitchiana, Cornus walteri and Corylapsis spicata showed higher α-amylase inhibitory activities than the others and have potential possibility of using control agents for carbohydrate-dependent disease.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.330-341
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• 2018

This study was performed to investigate and measure the antimicrobial activity of evergreen woody species extracts on Trichophyton mentagrophytes. To do this, leaves and stems were collected from Wando and Jeju islands, and were used for the extraction with different solvents (i.e., distilled water, 80% ethanol, and 100% methanol), and at different ultrasonic extracting times (i.e., 15, 30, and 45 minutes). The experiment was conducted by using the agar diffusion method. The clear zone was measured after incubating the paper disc containing the plant extract in a bacterial culture medium. The controls were synthetic antimicrobials, methylparaben and phenoxyethanol, at concentrations of 0.4, 1, 2, and 4 mg/disc. Altogether, extracts of 56 out of 64 species used in this study had inhibitory activity, which confirmed their antimicrobial activity against Athlete's foot. Among them, the crude ethanolic extract of Elaeocarpus sylvestris in 45 min showed a zone of inhibition < 20.2 mm, while the clear zone of Actinodaphne lancifolia ethanolic extraction for 30 min was 23.5 mm. Also, Quercus acuta, Dendropanax morbiferus and Daphne odora showed clear zones of 28.0 mm (45 minutes ethanolic extraction), 20.5 mm (45 minutes crude methanolic extraction) and 19.7 mm (45 minutes methanolic extraction), respectively. Thus, these results confirm that the extracts of evergreen woody species have therapeutic potential against Athlete's foot, and suggest that in order to extract adequate amounts of antimicrobial substance from the plant sources, ideal extraction condition has to be considered.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.499-503
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• 2007

Antioxidant activity, total phenolics level and cytotoxicity of the methanol extracts from the young sprouts of 5 Korean woody salad plants were determined. Methanol extracts of Kalopanax pictus had the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity, with an $IC_{50}$ value of 23.5mg $100g^{-1}$, and followed by Valeriana fauriei(43.1mg $100g^{-1}$), and Morus alba(>100mg $100g^{-1}$). Total phenolic content showed the highest amount in methanol extracts from Kalopanax pictus(23.7mg $100g^{-1}$), and followed by Valeriana fauriei(22.7mg $100g^{-1}$), Aralia elata(16.8mg $100g^{-1}$) and Morus alba(14.2mg $100g^{-1}$). In a MTT assay, methanol extracts of Aralia elata with $IC_{50}$ values of 151.0 and $140.7{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ showed the most potent cytotoxicity on Calu-6 and MCF-7, respectively. On the other hand, methanol extracts of Kalopanax pictus($IC_{50}=96.5{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$) showed the highest activity against HCT-116, and followed by those of Aralia elata($123.3{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$), and Actinidia arguta($162.0{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$). Total phenolic content of the tested plant extracts was correlated with the DPPH radical scavenging activity, suggesting the phenolic compounds may contribute to the antioxidant properties of Korean salad plants.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.142-146
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• 2004

Woody plant tissues contain great amounts of phenolic compounds and polysaccharides. These substances inhibit the activation of reverse transcriptase and/or Taq polymerase in RT-PCR. The commonly used multiple-step protocols using several additives to diminish polyphenolic compounds during nucleic acid extraction are time consuming and laborious. In this study, sodium sulfite was evaluated as an additive for nucleic acid extraction from woody plants and the efficiency of RT-PCR assay of commercial nucleic acid extraction kits and small-scale dsRNA extraction was compared. Sodium sulfite was used as an inhibitor against polyphenolic oxidases and its effects were compared in RNA extraction by commercial extraction kit and small-scale double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) extraction method for RT-PCR. During nucleic acid extraction, addition of 0.5%-1.5%(w/v) of sodium sulfite to lysis buffer or STE buffer resulted in lighter browning by oxidation than extracts without sodium sulfite and improved the RT-PCR detection. When commercial RNA extraction kit was used, optimal concentrations of sodium sulfite were variable according to the tested plant. However, with dsRNA as RT-PCR template, sodium sulfite 1.5% in STE buffer improved the detection efficiency of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV) and Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) in fruit trees, and reduced the unspecific amplifications signi-ficantly. Furthermore, when viruses existed at low titers in host plant, small-scale dsRNA extractions were very reliable.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.271-275
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• 2007

Naturally occurring substances are important biomedical resources with low toxicity and ethnopharmacology-based efficacy. Four out of 45 extracts (Celastrus orbiculatus, Cercis chinensis, Stephanadra incisa, and Weigela subsessilis) prepared from the bark of Korea Forest plants exhibited more than 50% of inhibition on $TNF-{\alpha}$ production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 cells at $100\;{\mu}g/m{\ell}$. In particular, potential inhibitory components of 4 extracts showed more than 50% inhibition seemed to be concentrated in methylene chloride (MC) fraction from C. orbiculatus, in ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction from C. chinensis and in hexane (Hx) fraction from S. incisa, whereas inhibitory activities of W. subssilis were broadly seen in non-polar solvent fractions such as Hx, MC and EtOAc. Therefore, our results suggest that extracts from C. orbiculatus, C. chinensis, S. incisa and W. subsessilis may be developed as a therapeutic remedy against $TNF-{\alpha}-mediated$ diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or further fractionated to isolate active components having $antiTNF-{\alpha}$ inhibitory activity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.139.1-139
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• 2003

Tissues from woody plant contain higher amount of phenolic compounds and polysaccharides, which give inhibitory effects on reverse transcriptase and/or Taq ploymerase. The common multiple-step protocols using several additives to inhibit polyphenoic compounds during nucleic acid extraction are time consuming and laborious. Sodium sulfite (Na$_2$SO$_3$) was used as inhibitor of polyphenolic oxidases in extraction buffer and compare it's effect between commercial RNA extraction kit and small-scale double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) extraction by RT-PCR. During nucleic acid extraction procedure, addition of 0.5％-1.5％ (w/v) sodium sulfite to Iysis buffer or STE buffer resulted in lighter color change than extracts without sodium sulfite and improve the RT-PCR detection. When commercial RNA extraction kit used, optimal concentration of sodium sulfite were variable according to the host plant. However, using dsRNA as RT-PCR template, 1.5％ sodium sulfite in STE buffer improves the detection of both viruses and unspecific amplifications were reduced significantly, Furthermore, when viruses existed at low titers in host plant, small-scale dsRNA extractions were very reliable.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.8-17
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• 2004

Antifungal, antibacterial, and antioxidative activities of ethanol extracts from 65 families 263 species were investigated to select tree species for the utilization of natural fungicide or preservative resources. The antifungal activities of extracts from wood, leaf and bark were measured as hyphal growth inhibition rate using four plant pathogenic and five wood rotting fungi. High inhibitory effect on the fungi growth was found in five species of Pinaceae (Pinus koraiensis, P. rigida, P. densiflora, P. banksiana. Cedrus deodara), three species of Cupressaceae (Juniperus rigida, J. chinensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa) and three species of Leguminosae (Albizzia julibrisssin, Sophora japonica, Maackia amurensis), respectively. Antibacterial activities of ethanol extracts were determined by means of disc-agar plate diffusion method using three gram-positive and five gram-negative bacteria. The ethanol extracts, which showed prominent effect on the suppression of bacteria growth, were six species of Betulaceae (Carpinus tschonoskii, C. coreana, C. laxiflora, Alnus hirsuta, A. firma, Betula schmidtii), five species of Fagaceae (Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii, Quercus serrata, Q. mongolica, Q aliena, C crenata), four species of Euphorbiaceae (Aleurites fordii, Sapium sebiferum, S japonicum Mallotus japonicus) and three species of Elaeagnaceae (Elaeagnus umbellata, Elaeagnus glanbra, Elaeagnus macrophylla). According to these results, the extracts from Zelkova serrata, Pinus densiflora, Maackia amurensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa and Juniperus chinensis could be available for natural fungicide or food preservatives, because ethanol extracts from these species indicated excellent antifungal and antibacterial activities. In order to test antioxidative activities of ethanol extracts, free radical scavenging method was adopted with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrohydrazyl (DPPH). Free radical scavenging activity was proved very high in the extracts of eight species of Rosaceae (Eriobotrya japonica, Prunus takesimensis, P yedoensis, P padus, P armeniaca var. ansu, Chaenomeles sinensis, Stephanandra incisa, Rosa multiflora) and five species of Ericaceae (Rhododenron mucronulatum, R. scblippenbacbii, R. yedoense var. poukhanense, Vaccinium bracteatum, V oldbami), resvectively. It turned out from this study that only six species among 48 species of Rosaceae showed less than 80% free radical scavenging activity. As a consequences, it could be deduced that the components effective on antioxidative activity commonly exist in Rosaceae plant family.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.317-323
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• 1993

In order to clarify the contents of active principles in floral inhibition cultured Angelica gigas roots, the amounts of crude extract and the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate in the yearly roots were analyzed and compared with respect to the root age, root part and growth stage. The woody cell, weight and width of pith and cortex were also investigated at different growth stage to observe the developmental characteristics of lignification in the roots as bolting and flowering in normal cultured Angelica gigas. The amount of crude extracts did not differ with plant ages, whereas the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate were differed and the highest in 3 year old roots. The contents of decursin in 1, 2 and 3 year old roots were 3.71, 4.76 and 8.20% and those of decursinol angel ate were 2.84, 3.40 and 5.01%, respectively. The amount of crude extracts, and the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate were the highest in fine roots, followed by the lateral roots and the lowest in the primary roots. On the other hand, the amount of the constituents in the cortex were much higher than those in the pith of the root. The amounts of crude extract, and the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate showed the highest value at the vagetative stage and decreased with development to bolting and blooming stage. Woody cells were accumulated in the pith of the root as advancing growth stage, so that the weight and radius of the pith increased, whereas the relative weight and width of the cortex decreased slightly.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.243-252
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• 2014

Forest tree species usually takes for long periods to be harvested and cultivated but spearmints are a good model system for woody plant because of reducing and shortening cultivation time. Spearmints are good model plants (Mentha species) for research about terpenoids production and industrial essential oil manufacture. Isopentenyl pyrophosphate isomerase (Iso) and limonene synthase (Limo) are the key enzymes of terpenoid biosynthesis pathway. Transgenic and wild spearmints (Mentha spicata, MS) were cultured in vitro and assessed for the essential oil contents. The content of essential oil of transgenic spearmint also was enhanced slightly depending on the target terpenoid genes. In an attempt to increase productivity of terpenoids further, salt and fungal elicitation strategy was adopted on transgenic Mentha spicata. The salt (800 mM NaCl) as abiotic and two fungi (Botrytis cinerea and Glomerella cingulata) as biotic were used for elicitors. In the absence of salt stress four terpenoids were detected from the spearmint extracts, all of them being monoterpenes. On the other hand, the transgenic (MSIso) extracts contained eleven terpenoids (10 monoterpenes and 1 phenylpropene) while transgenic (MSLimo) extracts contained seven monoterpenes. After 3 days of fungal infection, the resistance indices further increased to 4.38, 3.89 and 2.04 for wild type, MSIso and MSLimo, respectively. The salt and fungal elicitators proved beneficial towards modifying both the terpenoids profile and improvement in the composition of essential oil. These results have important applications for the large-scale production of essential oils and forest biotechnology with respect to spearmint.