Background: The study was conducted to elucidate the extraction conditions under which white ginseng has cognition-improving efficacy.Methods and Results: Extracts from white ginseng under different solvent and temperature conditions were analyzed for ginsenoside content and inhibitory effect on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and acetylcholinesterase. The total ginsenoside contents and amounts of ginsenoside Rb1 plus ginsenoside Rg1 from the 1st extracts (prepared with EtOH/H2O as solvent) were higher than those from the 2nd extracts (extracted with H2O after the 1st EtOH/H2O extraction). The contents in the 1st and 2nd extracts produced at 80°C were also higher than those obtained at 50°C. Samples from the 1st extraction at 80°C indicated higher inhibitory activities on NMDA receptors-whose excessive activation is thought to mediate the calcium-dependent neurotoxicity associated with several neurodegenerative diseases-than those from the 2nd extraction. Among the samples prepared at varying temperatures, the extract prepared at 50°C showed the highest suppression activity on NMDA receptors. Note, however, that the extracts from the 2nd extraction at 50°C inhibited acetylcholinesterase-whose inhibition could be a therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases with cognitive deficits and memory malfunction-more effectively than those from the 1st extraction.Conclusions: To enhance the cognition-improving activity of white ginseng extract, it is suggested that the extracts be utilized after being combined the 1st extracts (made with EtOH/H2O solvent) and the 2nd extracts (prepared with H2O) at low temperature.

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 : A series of studies were conducted to optimize adventitious root induction in vitro from explants of Astragalus membranaceus using various nutrient media supplemented with plant hormones. Methods and Results : Levels of active components were analyzed from adventitious roots induced under different media conditions. Among the different media conditions, Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1.0㎎• ℓ −1 indole-3-butyric acid resulted in the greatest adventitious root induction rate. The amount of the major active component of the adventitious roots of Ama1, calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside was higher than that of other adventitious root samples. Conclusions : These results suggest that the adventitious roots of A. membranaceus could be used for the commercial production of medicines.

국내외에서 수집된 유전자원 632점에 대한 isoflaovne 함량의 변이를 구명하여 기능성 콩 품종개발의 기초자료로 활용하고자 본 연구를 수행하였다. Isoflavone의 총 함량 평균은 801.2㎍/g, 범위는 162.2~3,569.5㎍/g 이었다. Daidzein의 총 함량의 평균은 312.6㎍/g이었고, 47.3∼2,050.1㎍/g의 범위였으며, glycitein은 평균 121.1㎍/g, 범위는 27.1∼443.8㎍/g이었다. Genistein의 평균함량은 367.6㎍/g이었고, 19.5∼1,404.6㎍/g의 범위였다. 총 함량이 2000㎍/g이상 되는 고함량 자원은 IT262889, IT167230, IT100869, IT171009, IT208248, IT142854 및 IT142911이었다. 수집국가에 따른 총 평균함량은 캐나다가 가장 높았으며, 일본, 미국, 북한, 중국, 한국, 러시아의 순이었고, 종실크기에 따른 총 평균함량은 소립종이 가장 높았으며, 중립종, 대립종의 순이었다. 종피색에 따른 총 평균함량은 녹색콩이 가장 높은 함량을 보였으며, 검정콩, 갈색콩, 황색콩의 순서로 나타났다. Daidzein, glycitein 및 genistein과 총 isoflavone함량 간에는 정의 상관이었으며, 각 함량간의 상관관계 또한 정의 상관이었다.