Ursolic acid is a triterpenoid compound present in many plants. This study examined the antimicrobial activity of ursolic acid against mutans streptococci (MS) isolated from the Korean population. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and time kill curves of MS. The cytotoxicity of ursolic acid against KB cells was tested using an MTT assay. The MIC90 values of ursolic acid for Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus isolated from the Korean population were 2 μg/ml and 4 μg/ml, respectively. Ursolic acid had a bactericidal effect on S. mutans ATCC 25175 T and S. sobrinus ATCC 33478 T at > 2 × MIC (4 μg/ml) and 4 × MIC (8 μg/ml), respectively. Ursolic acid had no cytotoxic effect on KB cells at concentrations at which it exerted antimicrobial effects. The results suggest that ursolic acid can be used in the development of oral hygiene products for the prevention of dental caries.

An analysis of RAPD-PCR (random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction) was performed with three Angelica species (A. gigas Nakai, A. sinensis (Olive.) Diels and A. acutiloba Kitag) in an effort to distinguish between members of these three species. Two arbitrary primers (OPC02, OPD11) out of80 primers tested, produced 17 species-specific fragments among the three species. Eight fragments were specific for A. sinensis, four fragments specific for A. gigas, five specific for A. acutiloba. When primers OPC02 and OPD11 were used in the polymerase chain reaction, RAPD-PCR fragments that were specific for each of the three species were generated simultaneously. Primer OPC02 produced eight species-specific fragments: four were specific for A. sinensis, one for A. gigas, and three for A. acutiloba. Primer OPD11 produced nine speciesspecific fragments: four for A. sinensis, three for A. gigas, and two for A. acutiloba. The RAPD-PCR markers that were generated with these two primers should rapidly identify members of the three Angelica species. The consistency of the identifications made with these species-specific RAPD-PCR markers was demonstrated by the observation that each respective marker was generated from three accessions of each species, all with different origins. We also performed the RAPD-PCR analysis with the dried Angelica root samples that randomly collected from marketed and from the OPC02 primer, obtained a A. gigasspecific band and the band were cloned and sequenced.

Broadening the genetic base of Platycodon grandiflorum DC. cultivar to sustain improvement requires assessment of genetic diversity available in P. grandiflorum DC.. The objective of this study was to analyze the genetic variation, genetic relationship among 48 samples collected from East-Asian Area by means of RAPD-PCR (random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction) markers. From the 18 primers tested, produced total 211 bands with an average of 11.7 bands per primer and obtained 103 polymorphic band with an average of 5.7 bands per primer,s revealed relatively high percentage of polymorphic bands (48.8%). The genetic similarities calculated from RAPD data varied from 0.688 to 0.994 and were clustered to six major groups on a criterion of 0.78 similarity coefficient. The present study has revealed the significant genetic similarity among the samples tested. The analysis of genetic relationships in P. grandiflorum using RAPD-PCR banding data can be useful for the breed improvement.