Background : Recently, ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer.) berry has been used as a health-promoting supplements. Also, Mulberries (Morus alba L.) fruit have been used in traditional herbal medicine to treat and prevent diabetes. In this study, we measured the cytotoxicity after fermentation of the extracts in Panax Ginseng Berry and Mulberry Fruit. Methods and Results : The extracts were prepared by decoction for 3 hours in distilled water (100 g/L). The dried extract was then dissolved in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in preparation for use. Cell viability was examined by an MTT assay. RAW 264.7 cells were seeded at 1 × 104/mL densities in 96-well plates. Each grouping had a non-treated group as the control. The extracts were added to each well and incubated for 24 hours at 37°C and 5% CO2. The MTT solutions (5 mg/mL) were added to each well, and the cells were cultured for another 2 hours. The supernatant was then discarded, and 100 μL of dimethyl sulfoxide was added to each well. The optical density was read at 540 nm. Conclusion : Probiotics and prebiotics modulate the composition of human and domestic animal gut microbiota. The beneficial effects may result from suppression of harmful microorganisms or stimulation of organisms which contribute in a positive way to the nutrition and health of human and domestic animal. Recently, fermentation using microorganisms for the production of more effective compounds has been extensively studied. In particular, the novel pharmacological effects of a new compound generated by fermentation have been reported. Some previous studies have demonstrated that Fermented herbal medicine extract showed better bioactivity than normal herbal Plants extract when used at the same concentration.

Background: The public has increasing concerns about herbal crops owing to insufficient information on biological hazards such as foodborne pathogens. Therefore, the objective of this study is the development of a herbal crop quality control system through monitoring with biological hazard analysis. Today, it is estimated that millions of people become ill every year from food contamination. The public demands agricultural products of stable and consistent quality. Governments have the responsibility of establishing the standards, legislation and enforcement programs necessary to control food quality and safety. However, research on the biosafety of herbal crop products is still insufficient. Therefore, the implementation of monitoring systems with high standards is critical for public safety. Methods and Results: In this study, we collected 52 samples of herbal crop products, and conducted both quantitative and qualitative biological hazard analysis. With biological hazard analysis, aerobic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Coliforms, and Listeria spp. could be detected. Conclusions: Herbal crops were found to be contaminated with aerobic bacteria at 3.69 ± 0.32 log CFU/g. Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Coliforms, and Listeria spp. were not detected in any of the samples. This research suggests that continuous monitoring of biological hazards is required to improve the quality of herbal crops.

Plant breeding requires the collection of genetically diverse genetic resources. Studies on the characteristics of Platycodon grandiflorum resources have not been carried out so far. The present study was carried out to discriminate P. grandiflorum based on morphological characteristics and genetic diversity using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Methods and Results :We collected 11 P. grandiflorum cultivars: Maries II, Hakone double white, Hakone double blue, Fuji white, Fuji pink, Fuji blue, Astra white, Astra pink, Astra blue, Astra semi-double blue and Jangbaek. Analyses of the morphological characteristics of the collection were conducted for aerial parts (flower, stem and leaf) and underground parts (root). Next, the genetic diversity of all P. grandiflorum resources was analyzed using SSR markers employing the DNA fragment analysis method. We determined that the 11 P. grandiflorum cultivars analyzed could be classified by plant length, leaf number and root characteristic. Based on the genetic diversity analysis, these cultivars were classified into four distinct groups. Conclusions : These findings could be used for further research on cultivar development using molecular breeding techniques and for conservation of the genetic diversity of P. grandiflorum. Moreover, the markers could be used for genetic mapping of the plant and marker-assisted selection for crop breeding.

A new extraction method-heated ultrasonic extraction was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed for the extraction of major ginsenosides from ginseng extract; this new high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was compared with the official extraction method of Korean industrial standards and standard for health functional food. Methods and Results : Ginsenoside compounds were analyzed for 35 minutes by the new HPLC analysis method using a Halo® RP-Amide column. The new HPLC analysis method was validated by the measurement of intra-day and inter-day precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ) of each ginsenoside. The correlation coefficients (r2) for the calibration curves of the ginsenoside compounds were over 0.9997 in terms of linearity. The heated ultrasonic extraction method using ultrasonication for 30 minutes at 50℃ yielded higher amount of ginsenosides than the extraction method of the Korean industrial standards owing to the enhancement of extraction efficiency. Conclusions : Compared to the other extraction methods, the heated ultrasonic extraction method yielded a higher amount of ginsenoside Rb1 than Rg1 index compounds for the quality evaluation of ginseng roots.

Background : This study was conducted to determine out the effect of storage temperature on the quality of fresh ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) during distribution. Methods and Results : Fresh ginseng was washed, packed in 30㎛ low density polyethylene (LDPE) film, then stored at 0, −2 and −4℃. After 4 weeks of storage, ginseng was then stored at 5℃, as a simulation of the distribution process. Ginseng stored at −4℃ showed higher respiration rate, ethylene production and electrolyte conductivity during the distribution phase than those stored at 0 and −2℃. Decay and browning rate rapidly increased following 3 weeks of distribution in samples stored −4℃. However ginseng stored −2℃, which is below freezing point, for 4 weeks did not show the physiological change or quality deterioration. Ginsenoside contents decreased during storage for all plant, but did not differ significantly between storage temperatures. Conclusions : Storage at temperatures below −2℃ can negatively affect respiratory characteristics and electrolyte leakage and increase quality deterioration and decay rates during distribution.

This study has been conducted to establish the optimal extraction process and HPLC analysis method for thedetermination of marker compounds as a part of the materials standardization for the development of health functionalfood materials from Astragali radix. Five extraction conditions including the shaking extraction at room temperature andthe reflux extraction at 85℃ with 30%, 50% and 95% ethanol were evaluated. Reflux extraction with 50% ethanol showedthe highest extraction yield as 27.27±2.27%, while the extraction under reflux with 95% ethanol showed significantly thelowest yield of 10.55±0.24%. The quantitative determination methods of calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and calycosin asmarker compounds of Astragali radix extracts were optimized by HPLC analysis using a Thermo Hypersil column(4.6×250㎜, 5㎛) with the gradient elution of water and acetonitrile as the mobile phase at the flow rate of 0.8mL min-¹and a detection wavelength of 230㎚. The HPLC/UV method was applied successfully to the quantification of two markercompounds in Astragali radix extracts after validation of the method with the linearity, accuracy and precision. The con-tents of calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and calycosin in 50% ethanol extracts by reflux extraction were significantly higher as1,700.3±30.4 and 443.6±8.4㎍ g-1, respectively, comparing with those in other extracts. The results indicate that thereflux extraction with 50% ethanol at 85℃ is optimal for the extraction of Astragali radix, and the established HPLCmethod are very useful for the evaluation of marker compounds in Astragali radix extracts to develop the health functionalmaterial from Astragali radix.

This study investigates the effect of supercritical fluid extract (CMPB803-C) of Lithospermum erythrorhizon,shikonin and acetylshikonin isolated from Lithospermum erythrorhizon on IL-1β-induced chondrocytes and monosodiumiodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis in rat. Shikonin (50μM) and acetylshikonin (3μM) treatment reduced signifi-cantly the mRNA expression and enzyme activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, −3 and −13 in IL-1β-inducedSW1353 chondrosarcoma cells. The chondro-protective effects of CMPB803-C and acetylshikonin were than analyzed in arat OA model using a single intra-articular injection of MIA (1㎎) in the right knee joint. CMPB803-C (200㎎/㎏) or ace-tylshikonin (5㎎/㎏) was orally administered daily for two weeks starting after 1 week of MIA injection. In the histologicalobservation, CMPB803-C and acetylshikonin clearly improved OA lesions being comparable to or better that control group.Our results demonstrated that CMPB803-C and acetylshikonin as active compound of Lithospermum erythrorhizon have astrong chondro-protective effect in OA rats, which likely attributes to its anti-inflammatory activity and inhibition ofMMPs production.

Objective The aim of this work was to ascertain whether the memory disturbance following scopolamine administration and the neuroprotective effect of could be evidenced in global cerebral ischemia by evaluating improved cognitive capacity in the rats. Materials and Methods Neuronal cell density was measured by counting viable cells in the left and right CA1 regions of three coronal sections of 30 um. Behavior test; Acquisition deficits after ischemia.. Use passive avoidance test. Results Neuroprotective effect of GB at 100mg/kg is 87.3%. Representative photomicrographs of cresyl violet-stained hippocampal regions of either sham-operated animals(A,B) or animals that had been subjected to 10 min ischemia followed by the treatment with either saline (C,D) or 100mg/kg of Ginkgo biloba (E,F). Boxed regions in A, C, and E are shown in B, D, and F, respectively. The 10 min ischemia caused selective and delayed neuronal cell loss in the hippocampal CA1 region (C,D). In contrast, GB treatment conferred neuroprotection by markedly reducing the number of damaged pyramidal cells in the CA1 subfield (E,F). Scale bar is 100 um. Effect of GB on scopolamine induced memory deficits in the passive avoidance test. At 30 min after trainining trials, scopolamine(1mg/kg i.p.) or the same volume of saline was administered to rats. At 30 min after scopolamine injection, the rats were treated with GB(100mg/kg). Acquisition trials were carried out 30 min after GB treatment. At 24 hr after acquisition trials, the test trials were carried out. Data represents mean ± SEM (n=6).

Angelica acutiloba cultivar developed by a medicinal crop breeding teamof the National Institute of Crop Science during the period from 1993 to 204. The cultivar was selected from Jinbu local variety.Jinil has a green stem color. It has a broader leaf bla

New balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorum) variety, ‘Jangbaek’, had been developed by pureline selection from some native cultivars collected in Milyang by the medicinal crops research team of the National Yeongnam Agricultural Experiment Station at 200