본 연구는 에탄올과 염산으로 유도된 위염모델에 대해 익모초의 물 추출물이 위염예방효과를 나타내는지 알아보기 위해 진행하였고, 안전성 평가를 위해 유전독성평가인 소핵시험을 수행하였다. 익모초 물 추출물은 음성대조군 대비 위에서 분비되는 PGE2의 농도를 증가시켰을 뿐만 아니라 염산과 에탄올 투여에 의한 점막 표피세포 및 선상피세포의 손상과 울혈을 충분히 예방하는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 익모초 물 추출물에 대한 소핵시험을 실시한 결과, 익모초 물 추출물은 소핵을 유발하지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 결과를 종합하였을 때 익모초 물 추출물은 자체적으로 위염 예방효과를 나타냈지만 정확히 어떤 기전을 통해 예방하는지 추가적인 실험이 필요하다고 사료되며, 익모초에 포함된 여러 단일 성분을 이용해 위염 예방평가를 실시하여, 위염에 대한 익모초의 효능과 효율을 높이는 연구가 필요하다고 생각된다.

Background: Taraxacum platycarpum has been used in traditional medicine in Korea to treat intoxication and edema and as a diuretic. According to previous reports, it has anti-cancer, anti-gastritis, and anti-inflammation effects. However, the improvement effect of T. platycarpum on rheumatoid arthritis has not been investigated. The anti-oxidative and anti-inflammation effects of the aerial parts of T. platycarpum are different from those of its subterranean parts. Thus, we evaluated the effect of the water extracts of Taraxaci radix (WTR) on type II collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis (CIA) in animal models. Methods and Results: Rheumatoid arthritis was induced by type II collagen. WTR (100㎎/㎏ and 500㎎/㎏) was administered to the animal models. Methotrexate was used as the positive control. The levels of interleukin-6, TNF-alpha, and type II collagen IgG in the animals were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Treatment with 500㎎/㎏ WTR decreased the serum levels of interleukin-6, TNF-alpha, and collagen IgG in the CIA models. Moreover, treatment with WTR diminished the arthritisinduced swelling of the hind legs and monocyte infiltration in the bloodvessels of the animal models. Conclusions: These results indicate that WTR has the potential to improve rheumatoid arthritis by reducing the levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha. However, further experiments are required to elucidate the influence of WTR on signal transduction in vitro and in vivo.

Polygonatum is a genus placed in the family Liliaceae, distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and 16 of the species are grown naturally in Korea. In oriental medicine, the rhizomes of Polygonatum have been used as two different medicines, Okjuk (Polygonati odorati Rhizoma) and Hwangjeong (Polygonati Rhizoma). However, it is difficult to identify the morphological and chemical differences between the medicinal groups and thus easy to confuse the one with the other. Therefore, a clear classification standard needs to be established so as to be able to discriminate between them. In the study, the morphological characteristics of the plants, Polygonatum spp., were examined. Then, the differences in SNPs among the DNA sequences of 7 of the Polygonatum spp. and 1 of the Disporum spp. were analyzed by DNA barcoding with rpoC1, rpoB2, matK, and psbA-trnH of the cpDNA region. In the results, three regions, rpoC1, rpoB2, and matK were useful for discriminating the species, P. stenophyllum and P. sibiricum. Furthermore, it was possible to discriminate the individual germplasm within the species by using the combination of the results obtained from rpoB2, rpoC1, and matK.