Bacterial phytopathogen Pectobacterium causes soft rot disease in several vegetable crops globally, resulting in heavy agricultural losses at both the pre and postharvest stages. The present work was carried out to screen Kimchi cabbage genetic resources conserved at the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Rural Development Administration, Korea, for resistance against the soft rot pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum KACC 21701 over a period of three years (from 2020 to 2022). Infection of the phytopathogen was carried out at four-leaf stage and for each accession, twenty-five plants per germplasm were infected with KACC 21701. Kimchi cabbage cultivars Wangmatbaechu, Seoulbaechu, and CR Kiyoshi were used as control. Seven-days post-infection, the Disease Index (DI) values were manually recorded from zero to four, zero matched perfectly heathy plants and four completely dead plants. The 682 accessions of Kimchi cabbage exhibited varying degrees of disease resistance to KACC 21701 and thirty accessions, exhibiting a DI≤2, were considered for replication studies. During the replication studies, four landrace germplasms (IT102883, IT120036, IT120044, and IT120048) and one cultivar (IT187919) were confirmed to be moderately susceptible to KACC 21701. Results of the preliminary screening as well as replication studies were documented for the all the 682 germplasms. Addition of such information to the passport data of stored germplasms might serve as potential bio-resource for future breeders and researchers to develop resistant varieties or study the mechanisms involved in resistance of plants to such phytopathogen.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most important leafy vegetables in the world due to its health related benefits. Bitter sesquiterpene lactones (BSLs) are crucial secondary metabolites of lettuce which are useful in many physiological activities, and also has been used to relieve pain. This study was conducted to appraise the variability of phenotypic characteristics and the total content of BSLs in fifty lettuce germplasm. The germplasm collections exhibited wide variation in both qualitative and quantitative characters. The average plant weight was 333.3 g with a range from 60.0 to 700.0 g and the lactucin content was varied from 3.4 (IT265031) to 448.6 (IT300287) μg/g DW with an average concentration of 94.0 μg/g DW. Whereas lactucopicrin ranged from 6.8 (IT217859) to 2,714.9 (Superseonpung) μg/g DW with an average concentration of 805.8 μg/g DW. Total BSLs content was ranged from 19.6 (IT217859) to 2,821.9 (Superseonpung) μg/g DW with the average concentration of 899.8 μg/g DW. Significant (p≤0.05) differences in lactucin, lactucopicrin and total BSLs content were found among the germplasm collections. Leafy type lettuce germplasm collections originated from South Korea revealed the highest average total BSLs content (2,821.9 μg/g DW). Principal component analyses of lactucin and lactucopicrin generated based on leaf color and plant growth type yielded two principal components, PC1 and PC2, which accounted for 60.8 and 39.2 % of the total variance, respectively. Our study provides fundamental insights on phenotypic characteristics and the total content of lactucin and lactucopicrin of lettuce germplasm which may further help researchers and breeders to produce improved lettuce varieties.

High-quality and high-phytonutrient watermelon fruits have strong market opportunities besides their health related benefits. Hence, investigating quality and nutritional related traits of watermelon genetic resources could provide important baseline data in breeding for increased lycopene content thereby increasing the marketability of watermelon. To this end, we have examined some fruit morphological traits and lycopene content of 105 genetic resources. Seeds, originally obtained from 22+ countries, were obtained from the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Jeonju, South Korea, grown in an experimental field and harvested at a fully mature stage. The size of pistil scar (SPS), the width of stripes (WS), weight of fruit (WF), length of fruit (LF), width of fruit (WIF), the thickness of pericarp (TP), soluble solids content (SSC), fruit shape in longitudinal section, ground color of skin, the intensity of the green color of skin, fruit shape at the apical part, grooving distribution, conspicuousness of stripes, and main color of the flesh were recorded on the field and inside laboratory and the lycopene was measured using spectrophotometric and HPLC methods. Watermelon fruits have shown a diverse morphological characters. Red and pink fleshed fruits dominated in the entire collections. Fruits with higher thickness of rind were found to exhibit less soluble solid content (SSC). Korean origin fruits were characterized by intermediate SSC while the United States of America (USA), Russia (RUS), Tajikistan (TJK), Turkmenistan (TKM), Taiwan (TWN), and Uruguay (URY) originated fruits had the highest SSC. The lycopene content varied between 41.37 and 182.82 ㎍/g, 2.81 and 163.72 ㎍/g, and 3.54 and 255.47 ㎍/g using HPLC, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and microplate reader spectrophotometer, respectively. Red- and pink-fleshed fruits had the highest levels of lycopene content compared to the yellow- and orange-fleshed. Lycopene content had a significant positive correlation with SSC, however, no correlations were detected between lycopene and other quantitative fruit morphological characters. Our study demonstrated high diversity exists in fruit morphological traits and lycopene content of the germplasm collections which provide beneficial baseline data for a future breeding program and utilization of watermelon germplasm collections in gene banks for the maintenance and improvement of the current levels of production, marketability, and health-related benefit of watermelon fruits.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate total phenolic content (TPC) and individual phenolic compounds in leaves of perilla genetic resources, assess whether they could be used as distinguishing factor among germplasms, and evaluate their relationship with some quantitative and qualitative morphological characters. TPC and individual phenolic compounds were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu method and UPLC-PDA system, respectively. Wide variations in TPC (7.99 to 133.70 ㎎GAE/g DE), rosmarinic acid (ND to 21.05 ㎎/g DE), caffeic acid (ND to 1.17 ㎎/g DE), apigenin- 7-O-diglucuronide (ND to 2.21 ㎎ luteolin equivalent (㎎LUE)/g DE), scutellarein-7-O-glucuronide (ND to 5.25 ㎎ LUE/g DE), and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide (ND to 2.81 ㎎ LUE/g DE) were observed. Intensities of green pigment at abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces were positively correlated with phenolic compounds whereas leaf length and width had negative correlation. Purple pigmented accessions were shorter in leaf length and width but exhibited higher amount of phenolic compounds compared to green pigmented accessions in most cases. Leaf shape was not related with content of phenolic compounds, color of leaves, and length/width of leaves. TPC and individual phenolic compounds along with morphological characters could be useful distinguishing factors for perilla genetic resources.

본 연구는 이란 등 5개국에서 수집한 홍화자원을 대상으로 하여 천연항산화제로써 홍화종자의 항산화 활성을 평가하고, 세로토닌 유도체인N-(p-Coumaroyl) serotonin과N-feruloylserotonin의 함량을 측정하여 항산화 활성과의 상관관계를 조사하였다. 총폴리페놀함량은 28.25 ~ 90.53 ㎍ GAE/㎎ DE의 범위를 나타내었고, 색소화합물인 DPPH 라디칼과ABTS+을 이용한 유리라디칼소거능을 측정하는 DPPH assay와 ABTS assay 의 값은 18.76 ~ 93.98 및 48.91 ~ 163.73 ㎍ ASCE/㎎ DE의 범위를 나타내었다. 시료의 환원능을 측정하는 방법인 FRAP assay 과 RP assay는 3.80 ~ 132.29 및 26.32 ~ 80.08 ㎍ ASCE/㎎ DE의 범위로 나타내었다. UHPLC를 이용하여 CS와 FS를 분석한 결과, CS 함량은 2.56 ~ 64.99 ㎎/g DE이고, FS 함량값은 1.92 ~ 65.36 ㎎/g DE이었다. 5개국 중 이란 원산종은 다른 나라에 비해 세로토닌 유도체 함량과 항산화 활성의 평균값이 높게 측정되었다. 항산화 활성과 세로토닌 유도체 함량 간의 상관관계 분석 결과, CS는 TPC와 ABTS, DPPH와 높은 상관성을 보였고(r = 0.673, 0.727, 0.820), FS는 DPPH와 높은 상관성을 보였다(r = 0.740). RACI를 통하여 선발된 IT321214과 IT321215는 항산화 활성이 높은 자원으로 천연항 산화제 소재 탐색 및 개발에 기초자료로 활용할 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

Inflorescence, stem, and leaf samples of lettuce grown in a greenhouse in spring and autumn seasons were assayed for sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) content by high performance liquid chromatography. The concentrations of SLs were significantly higher in the inflorescences followed by upper leaf and stem compared to the other plant parts in most of the samples. SLs content (sum of lactucin and lactucopicrin) in various tissues of lettuce cultivated in spring season varied from 5.7 to 22.5 fold ranging from 27.4 ㎍/g dry weight (DW) in the upper stem (cultivar “PI 176588”) as the lowest to as high as 2,292.0 ㎍/g DW in the inflorescence (cultivar “709849-1”). During autumn cultivation, the concentration of SLs varied from 2.0 to 14.4 fold ranging from as low of 32.4 ㎍/g DW in the lower stem (cultivar “PI176588”) to as high of 838.0 ㎍/g DW in the upper leaf (cultivar “Dambaesangchu”). Higher lactucin (1.2 to 5.6 fold) and lactucopicrin (1.1 to 3.9 fold) concentration was observed during spring compared to autumn cultivation in most of the samples. SLs content in various organs of lettuce increases from the basal plant part going upwards. As lactucin and lactucopicrin are the major SLs which affects the sensory property of lettuce, their quantitative variation in the lettuce cultivars is useful for breeding new varieties with better consumer acceptance.

Background : The purpose of this study is to select potential genetic resources from safflower germplasm collected from India based on their oil compositions and agronomic characteristics. Methods and Results : The agronomic characteristics were measured during the growing period of the safflower. Total oil contents were recovered by Soxhlet extraction and the fatty acid compositions were analyzed by using gas chromatography. The mean of plant height, leaf length and leaf width were 100.19 ㎝, 20.49 ㎝, and 7.29 ㎝, respectively. The percentage of leaf margin with serration was 95%, and 2% of the total resources didn’t have spines on the involucral bract. K185681 had no spines on the involucral bract and the plant height was the smallest. 73% of the flower of safflower was yellow. 68% of safflower germplasm changed flower color from yellow to red. Total oil contents of 267 safflower accessions showed a significant variability among the entire domain of collections and ranged from 5.81 to 38.91%. Palmitic and stearic acid were ranged from 4.98 to 6.65%, and 1.82 to 2.73%, respectively. Oleic and linoleic acid showed a wide variation which ranged from 10.53 to 22.27%, and 69.46 to 81.26%, respectively. Linolenic acid was ranged from 0.06 to 0.13%. K185639 and K185639 had the highest total oil contents and linoleic acid, respectively. Cluster analysis based on oil composition and agronomic characteristics data divided the germplasm collections into three groups. Group Ⅲ having 114 accessions contained accessions with taller plant height than the other groups. Group Ⅱ having 68 accessions, the main color of flower was white but the other groups were yellow. Oleic acid showed a strong negative correlation (r = -0.9691**) with linoleic acid. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on the oil compositions and agronomic characteristics data revealed that the first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) together explained 36.28% total variation. Conclusion : These results showed that K185681, K185639 and K185639 could be useful to develop breeding and functional food.

Background : To select potential plant resources as natural antioxidants and functional materials, e valuation of N-(p-coumaroyl)serotonin (CS) and N-feruloylserotonin (FS) in 43 safflower accessions collected from South Asia was conducted. Method and Results : CS and FS were analyzed by using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC). Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method and antioxidant activities were estimated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis-3- ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activities, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and reducing power (RP). The mean CS content was 32.74 ㎎/g dried extract (DE) with a range from 3.44 to 83.30 ㎎/g DE, and the FS content ranged from 1.43 to 34.53 ㎎/g·DE with a mean of 12.69 ㎎/g DE. The mean of TPC of 43 safflower accessions was 55.22 ㎍ GAE/㎎·DE. The average values of antioxidant activities based on DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and RP assay showed 48.77 ㎍ ASC eq/㎎ DE, 97.62 ㎍ ASC eq/㎎ DE, 70.22 ㎍ ASC eq/㎎ DE, and 50.01 ㎍ ASC eq/㎎ DE, respectively. The 43 safflower accessions were classified into two groups based on the complete linkage cluster analysis using their CS, FS, TPC, DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and RP. Group Ⅱ showed higher CS, FS and antioxidant activity than Group Ⅰ (p < 0.05). K185245 and K185247 were included in Group Ⅱ, K185245 had the highest CS and FS, and K185247 was the highest in TPC, DPPH, and ABTS. CS had significant positive correlation with FS (r = 0.849**). Significantly high correlation coefficients were recorded between TPC and antioxidant assays including DPPH, ABTS, and RP. The first two principal components had accounted for the 80.46 % of the total variance. Conclusion : These results showed that K185245 and K185247 could be used as a source of valuable natural antioxidant materials and could be useful to develop new functional materials.

Background : Carotenoids are pigments that are found in plants, fruits, bacteria, and fungi. β -carotene and canthaxanthin are orange pigments among thousands of carotenoids that possess potent antioxidant activity. The objective of this study was to determine β-carotene and cantaxanthin in 55 Kimchi cabbage germplasm using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method. Method and Results : 55 Kimchi cabbage accessions were sown in plug trays in the end of August, 2016. All the tissue samples were freeze-dried for 1 week and ground into fine powder and stored at -20℃ until analysis. Crude carotenoids from freeze-dried materials (100 mg) were extracted using 1 ㎖ of 100% (v/v) hexane in 10 minutes by using sonication bath followed by centrifugation. The average β-carotene contents was 1.43 ㎎·㎏-1 and ranged from 0.76 (IT 120045) to 2.25 ㎎·㎏-1 (IT 100378). The average canthaxanthin content in the entire domain of sample was 0.59 ㎎·㎏-1 with a range between 0.36 (IT 32746) and 1.08 ㎎․㎏-1 (IT 100386). Canthaxanthin content was significantly positively correlated with β-carotene (r = 0.65**) and leaf length (r = 0.63**). However, canthaxanthin was negatively correlated with cotyledon color (r = -0.41**). Principal component analysis results of the first two components (PC1 and PC2) explained 44.53% of the point variability. Conclusion : The resources with the highest β-carotene and canthaxanthin content are IT 100378, 100386, 100391, and 110828. This study could be useful to select a potential sources of health beneficial carotenoids (β-carotene and canthaxanthin) in Kimchi cabbage germplasm in nutraceutical formulations and for further applications as a breeding material and other research activities.

Background : Alpha-linolenic acid is a type of omega-3 fatty acid and has been reported to be found at a remarkably high content in seeds of perilla (Perilla frutescens). The purpose of this study was to investigate the fatty acid compositions in 45 perilla accessions collected from Russia and recommend the potential genetic resources related to their fatty acid compositions. Methods and Results : The 45 accessions of perilla seeds which were collected from Russia were used for the study. Perilla seed oil was recovered using hexane in a soxhlet extraction method. The fatty acid compositions were analyzed using gas chromatography. The total oil content was ranged between 28.39 and 46.89%. The compositions of palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acid ranged from 5.57 to 7.09%, 1.16 to 2.27%, 11.83 to 19.55%, 11.92 to 16.71%, and 59.19 to 67.28%, respectively. Cultivars 'Dayu', 'Daeyu' and 'Anyu' showed lower linolenic acid composition compared to the average value of linoleic acid in perilla germplasms collected from Russia. Cluster analysis based on the fatty acid composition of the 45 perilla accessions segregated into three groups. Group Ⅰ characterized as higher palmitic, stearic and oleic acid compositions compared to other groups. Group Ⅱ which contained 12 accessions had high total oil and linoleic acid composition. Group Ⅲ characterized as a higher linolenic acid composition compared to other groups (p < 0.001). Oleic acid showed a significant negative correlation (r = -0.825) with linolenic acid. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the first two principal components together explained 74.4% total variation. Conclusion : Our results indicated that accessions IT235818, IT235820, IT226739 which exhibited high linolenic acid composition could be useful to develop new functional vegetable oil materials.

Background : Perilla (Perilla frutescens) seed oil is known to contain high omega-3 fatty acid than other plant oils. This study was aimed to investigate the fatty acid composition in seeds of 255 perilla accessions from South Korea and recommend the potential genetic resources rel ated to their fatty acid composition. Method and Results : Total oil was extracted by soxhlet extraction apparatus and the fatty acid compositions were analyzed by gas chromatography (GCMS QP2010 ULTRA, SHIMADZU, JP). Total oil contents ranged from 22.41 and 47.62% with an average content of 34.20%. Palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid contributed 4.46 to 7.67%, 1.64 to 4.11%, 9.15 to 26.39%, 11.89 to 28.76%, and 50.24 to 64.16% to the total oil content, respectively. Seeds from Jeollabuk-do showed the highest average total oil content (41.14%) compared to other regions (p < 0.05), while the linolenic acid composition was the highest in the samples from Chungcheongnam-do (59.48%) (p < 0.05). The cluster analysis segregated the perilla seed accessions into two major clusters. ANOVA revealed that there was a significant difference between group Ⅰ and group Ⅱ (p < 0.05). Group Ⅰ (86 accessions) characterized as higher palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linolenic acid compositions than group Ⅱ (169 accessions). The highest content of linolenic acid were recorded in accessions K126190, K135903, and IT283646 from group Ⅰ, and accessions IT108680, IT208894, and IT111050 from group Ⅱ had high total oil content. Linoleic acid content showed a strong negative correlation with palmitic acid (r = -0.726*) and oleic acid (r = -0.678*) content. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the first two principal components together explained 68.75% total variation. Conclusion : Our results showed that accessions K126190, K135903, IT283646 which exhibited high linolenic acid composition and accessions IT108680, IT208894, IT111050 which exhibited high total oil composition, could be useful to develop new functional oil materials.

Background : Perilla leaves (Perilla frutescens) are known to possess antioxidant activity and have long been used to treat a variety of health related issues. The present study was conduct ed to compare the antioxidant activity among perilla accessions collected from Russia. Method and Results : The leaves of a total of 46 accessions of perilla were collected from Russia. Crude extracts were obtained from 2 g of oven-dried perilla leaves using ASE-350 extractor. Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method and antioxidant activities were estimated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (A BTS) radical scavenging activities, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and reducing power (RP). TPC was ranged from 88.70 to 148.85 ㎍ gallic acid equivalent (GAE) /㎎ dried extract (DE). DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and RP were ranged from 59.49 to 94.80 ㎍ ascorbic acid equivalent (ASCE) /㎎ DE, 73.01 to 190.59 ㎍ ASCE /㎎ DE, 98.73 to 326.39 ㎍ ASCE /㎎ DE, 82.58 to 264.88 ㎍ ASCE /㎎ DE, respectively. Cluster analysis based on antioxidant assay results of 46 perilla accessions divided into three major groups. Group Ⅰ (9 accessions) characterized as higher antioxidant activity accessions than other group (p < 0.001). The correlations between antioxidant assays were strong and positive (r ≧ 0.78). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the first two principal components together explained 92.96 % total variation. Conclusion : Among the perilla accessions collected from Russia, group accessions clustered in group Ⅱ showed high antioxidant activity. Our results indicated that accessions IT274300, IT226732 and IT274293 could be used as a source of valuable natural antioxidant materials.

Background : The objective of this study was to determine the antioxidant activities of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seed extracts using various solvents. Method and Results : The safflower seed extracts was obtained using methanol (50, 75, 100%), ethanol (50, 75, 100%) and water. Total phenolic content (TPC) w as determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method and antioxidant activities w ere estimated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activities, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and reducing power (RP). Average TPC of safflower seed extracts were 72.03 ㎍·GAE·㎎-1 DE in methanol, 50.16 ㎍·GAE·㎎-1 DE in ethanol, and 28.47 ㎍·GAE·㎎-1 DE in water. TPC were significantly different (p < 0.05) between the solvents. DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and RP a average activities of methanol extracts showed the highest antioxidant activity, with value of 62.95 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, 123.48 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, 171.68 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, and 76.07 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, respectively. Values of Ethanol extracts showed DPPH 32.26 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, ABTS 81.02 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, FRAP 159.24 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, and RP 34.83 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE. There was no significant difference between extracts of ethanol and methanol in FRAP value. The 75% ethanol extracts showed higher antioxidant activity than 50% and 100% ethanol extracts (p < 0.05). The 75% ethanol extracts had TPC 68.98 ㎍·GAE·eq/㎎ DE, DPPH 70.07 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, ABTS 166.59 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, FRAP 208.78 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE, and RP 82.16 ㎍·ASC·eq/㎎ DE. Conclusion : Although ethanol extracts had lower antioxidant activity compared to methanol, it was suggested to be more suitable for further studies as it is less toxic and a recommended food grade solvent. It is estimated that the bioactive substance is extracted extensively from 75% ethanol with high antioxidant activity.

Background: To obtain useful safflower resources for breeding and research of functional materials, the present study was conducted to determine fatty acid compositions and antioxidant activities of 281 safflower accessions collected from East Asia including South Korea. Methods and Results: Lipid contents and fatty acids compositions were evaluated using soxhlet extraction and gas chromatography, respectively. A antioxidant activities were analyzed using a spectrophotometer. The evaluation range of safflower accessions showed very wide variation. In terms of lipid contents, the China accessions were higher than the collection from other regions, whereas antioxidant activities did not differ among regions. The result of the principal component analysis showed that the first and second principal component cumulatively explained 90.6% of the total variation. In clustering the safflower accessions, the tree showed four major clades. Group II (16 accessions) was high in lipid content, oleic acid and linoleic acid, whereas group III (50 accessions) exhibited higher antioxidant activities than other groups. Conclusions: It was recommended that the China collections be utilized as a useful resource for research on functional oil materials. These results provided valuable information for safflower breeders and researchers of functional food.