국내 산림치유명상연구에 있어 산림명상에 적용할 수 있는 기법과 효과에 대한 연구들은 많이 진행되어 왔지만 산림명상이 이루어지는 공간에 대한 연구는 거의 이루어지지 않았다. 그럼에도 불구하고 명상공간은 단순한 장소적 개념이 아니라 산림의 ‘치유’기능을 담당하고 있는 산림환경요소 즉, 치유인자를 담고 있는 곳으로 치유메커니즘을 밝히는 중요한 단서가 될 수 있다. 이에 본 연구는 치유의 숲 산림명상공간이 명상에 적합한 공간인지 알아보고자 델파이 전문가 설문조사(Delphi Expert Survey Method)로 명상공간의 속성항목을 선정 한 후, IPA기법(Importance Performance Analysis)을 활용하여 치유의 숲 산림명상 공간 이용자의 만족도를 설문 조사하였다. 설문은 국립산림치유원과 산음 치유의 숲, 경기도 잣향기 푸른숲에서 산림명상공간을 이용한 일반성인 315명을 대상으로 2022년 8월부터 11월까지 진행하였다. IPA분석 결과 산림명상공간의 만족도 평균은 5점 리커트 척도에 4.33점(국립산림치유원 4.33점, 산음 치유의 숲 4.34점, 잣향기 푸른숲 4.37점)으로 높게 나타나 세 곳 치유의 숲 명상공간은 산림명상에 적합하게 조성되어 있다고 판단된다. 세 숲 모두 ‘자연의 소리’에 대한 만족도가 매우 높게 나타났다. 반면 세 숲 모두 ‘고요함’의 만족도가 상대적으로 낮게 나타나 우선적으로 해결해야 할 문제로 나타났다. 또 개방형설문 결과 자연의 소리, 경관, 공기, 숲 공간, 향기 등 명상공간의 자연요소가 시설과 같은 인공요소보다 명상 만족도에 긍정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 산림명상의 만족도를 높이기 위해 명상 공간 주변에 물소리 새소리 등의 소리자원을 확보하는 것이 중요하고, 방문객과의 조우를 피하는 독립된 공간에 ‘명상 숲’을 따로 조성하여 산림치유명상 프로그램 참여자만 입장하는 방법 등을 고려해 볼 필요가 있다.

Hunter's color value “a” in dried-persimmon of table and full ripe fruit was higher than that in unripe fruit. In case of soluble solid content, full ripe fruit was 50o Brix, the highest degree, while unripe fruit was 40o Brix, the lowest degree. PPO activation of unripe fruit was 4.7, which was higher than table-ripe fruit (0.7) and full ripe (1.0). Polyphenol oxidase activation remained even while drying, but there was no difference in PPO activation degree as drying period increased. Total phenol content of unripe fruit was 101.4, which was higher than table-ripe fruit (57.5) and full ripe fruit (67.4). Total phenol content level increased as drying period increased, which was based on fresh weight. Hardness of unripe and table ripe fruit continued to decrease until three weeks during softening. After that, hardness was high and it started drying. However, in full ripe fruit, hardness increased after two weeks and softening was fast during the drying period, and its weight reduction rate was lower than that of unripe and table ripe fruit.

Peach seeds contain a large amount of phenolic components and exhibit excellent physiological effects in various diseases. We examined the antioxidant effects of stone and seed of three peach cultivars (Miwhang, MH; Kanoiwa hakuto, KH; and Cheonhong, CH) by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, ferric reducing activity of plasma (FRAP) assay, and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) reduction. The results showed that the stone extracts of CH had higher levels of total phenols and flavonoids than those of the other cultivars do, and the stone extracts of KH and CH have the potential to reduce DPPH, FRAP, and CUPRAC activities. In addition, we found that KH, MH, and CH stone extracts decreased nitric oxide generation in RAW 264.7 and BV2 cells. The total phenol and flavonoid contents had no significant correlation with anti-oxidant activities. On the other hand, the anti-inflammatory activity had a low linear correlation with anti-oxidant activities and total phenol and flavonoid contents. The present results suggest that the correlation between antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of stone and seed, and the appropriate combination of the stone and seed extracts could be used as an anti-inflammatory treatment and prevention material, respectively.

In this study, we aimed to increase the utilization of non-commercializable peach fruits collected during harvesting and distribution and to promote the transition of a high value-added industry. After producing pastes from the flesh of different peach varieties, we used these pastes as ingredients in the production of Kochujang. We then performed a comparative analysis on the quality characteristics of the peach-added Kochujang and commercially available Kochujang products. Peach-added Kochujang exhibited a lower pH and reduced sugar, salinity, reducing sugar, ash, and calorie content than those of commercially available Kochujang products. However, the Kochujang had slightly higher pH and moisture content than commercially available products due to high organic acid and moisture contents of peach flesh. In terms of content of inorganic elements, commercial Kochujang products exhibited higher sodium and magnesium content, whereas peach-added Kochujang had higher potassium content. In particular, the lower sodium and higher potassium content of peach-added Kochujang indicates that this product could be used as a functional food to prevent various diseases caused by excessive sodium intake among Koreans. After comparing the products in terms of phenol and flavonoid content, we concluded that ethanol extracts of peach-added Kochujang showed higher phenol content than those of the commercially available Kochujang products. In contrast, the distilled water extracts of peach Kochujang showed higher DPPH free radical scavenging activity than that of commercially available Kochujang products.

This study was performed to investigate the correlation between anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in ripe and unripe fruits of three peach cultivars: Miwhang (MH), Kanoiwa hakuto (KH) and Cheonhong (CH). The unripe fruits had higher levels of total phenols and flavonoids contents than those in the ripe fruits of all the three cultivars. The unripe fruits of CH showed the highest levels of total phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activities among the fruit samples analyzed. Nitric oxide inhibition values in RAW 264.7 cells for the unripe fruits of MH and KH were 30 and 29%, respectively. However, the inhibition was not observed in unripe CH and the ripe fruits of either cultivar. Total phenols and flavonoids contents showed high linear correlations with the anti-oxidant activities whereas the anti-inflammatory activity had low linear correlations with them.