Background : Perilla frutescens L. is valuable as a medicinal plant as well as a natural medicine and functional food. Limonene perilla collected from various places showed 60% limonene compounds. However biological activity of these accession has not been reported before. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the biological activity of limonene perilla. Methods and Results : Fractional solvent extracts were obtained by using organic solvents such as n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-BuOH, and aqueous solvent from different parts of limonene perilla extracted initially in 70% EtOH. We investigated the effects of limonene perilla on total phenol and flavonoid contents, FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power), total saponin contents and tyrosinase inhibition activity. Leaves of limonene perilla produced the highest total phenolic contents (29.88 mg·CAE/g), flavonoid (8.39 mg·QE/g) and saponin contents (47.77 mg·GIE/g) than stems and roots of limonene perilla. FRAP of leaves was 823.00±3.58 μM·FeSO4·E/mg. Tyrosinase inhibition activity rate was 40.31% in 70% ethanol extracts from leaves of limonene perilla. Conclusion : This results suggest that leaf of limonene perilla fractions has significant antioxidant activity. Also, limonene perilla could be used as a functional biomaterial in developing cosmetics and functional foods.

Background : Ginseng, one of most famous traditional oriental medicines, has been known for a number of pharmacological properties including anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, anti-fatigue, anti-stress, anti-oxidative, and anti-aging effects. 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol (PPD), a intestinal metabolite of ginsenosides, is one of the active ingredients in ginseng. In this study, we investigated the synergistic anticancer effect of 20(S)-PPD and temozolomide (TMZ) and the mechanism of 20(S)-PPD on glioblastoma cells. Methods and Results : We examined cell viability and the morphological changes of C6 cells after treatment of 20(S)-PPD and TMZ. 20(S)-PPD showed a potent antiproliferative activity against C6 cells by triggering apoptosis. 20(S)-PPD-induced apoptosis was characterized by a dose-dependent mitochondrial damage. 20(S)-PPD and TMZ had a synergistic effect in increasing mitochondrial damage via caspase 3 activation. Conclusion : These results revealed an unexpected mechanism of 20(S)-PPD and TMZ, triggering a mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in C6 cells. Our findings encourage further studies of 20(S)-PPD as a promising chemopreventive agent against glioblastoma.

The aim of this study was to evaluate 30 phenolic compounds in adzuki bean germplasm. Adzuki 21653 had the highest content of total phenolics compounds (6597~;~mug~;g-1 ) while 104372 had the lowest concentration. The average total phenolic content of Japanese (2432~;~mug~;g-1 ) adzuki beans was higher than that of Korean (2256~;~mug~;g-1 ) adzuki beans. The average total phenolic contents were 2507~;~mug~;g-1 in small sized adzuki beans from Japan and 2459~;~mug~;g-1 in those from Korea. In large sized adzuki beans, the average total phenolic contents were 1315~;~mug~;g-1 in Japanese seeds and 1232~;~mug~;g-1 in Korean seeds. The average total phenolic contents in medium seeds were 2369~;~mug~;g-1 in Japanese adzuki beans and 1397~;~mug~;g-1 in Korean ones. In small seeds, the total phenolic contents of adzuki beans varied from 524~;~mug~;g-1 to 6597~;~mug~;g-1 in Japanese ones and from 375~;~mug~;g-1 to 6569~;~mug~;g-1 in Korean ones. Japanese and Korean adzuki beans were divided into landraces and wild adzuki beans. In this study, the wild adzuki beans showed higher contents of total phenolics than the native varieties. Specifically, the wild adzuki beans from Korea had the highest concentration of phenolics (3403~;~mug~;g-1 ). All adzuki bean germplasms were measured for their color and were classified into four groups accordingly: A; L < 30, +a, +b; B; L < 30, +a, -b, C; L > 50, +a, +b, D; L > 50, +a, -b. Especially, group B had the highest concentration of total phenolic compounds (2827~;~mug~;g-1 ), whereas group C had the lowest concentration (1882~;~mug~;g-1 ).