Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), commonly known as Holy Basil is a revered herb with a rich history in traditional medicine systems, particularly in Southeast Asia. For its medicinal properties, Tulsi has been regarded as an “Elixir of Life” and has been used to treat various ailments. However, the comprehensive investigation of Tulsi extracts and their potential pharmacological benefits, specifically in relation to antioxidant activity remains limited. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of Tulsi leaf and stem extract using various screening methods. We investigate the antioxidant activity exhibited by the extract using three different methods involved the utilization of the total polyphenol content assay, the ferric reducing power assay and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-14 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays. The results revealed that the Tulsi leaf extract (TLE) exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity when compared to the Tulsi stem extract (TSE) in all the performed assays. The higher content of phenolics in TLE may have contributed to its superior antioxidant activity. The HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) analysis of TLE revealed the presence of eugenol, active compound for several therapeutic properties. These findings provide an understanding of the bioactive compounds present in Tulsi extracts and their potential antioxidant benefits.

This study was aimed to isolate bacterial inoculants producing chitinase and evaluate their application effects on corn silage. Four corn silages were collected from four beef cattle farms to serve as the sources of bacterial inoculants. All isolates were tested against Fusarium graminearum head blight fungus MHGNU F132 to confirm their antifungal effects. The enzyme activities (carboxylesterase and chitinase) were also measured to isolate the bacterial inoculant. Based on the activities of anti-head blight fungus, carboxylesterase, and chitinase, L. buchneri L11-1 and L. paracasei L9-3 were subjected to silage production. Corn forage (cv. Gwangpyeongok) was ensiled into a 10 L mini silo (5 kg) in quadruplication for 90 days. A 2 × 2 factorial design consists of F. graminearum contamination at 1.0104 cfu/g (UCT (no contamination) vs. CT (contamination)) and inoculant application at 2.1 × 105 cfu/g (CON (no inoculant) vs. INO (inoculant)) used in this study. After 90 days of ensiling, the contents of CP, NDF, and ADF increased (p<0.05) by F. graminearum contamination, while IVDMD, acetate, and aerobic stability decreased (p<0.05). Meanwhile, aerobic stability decreased (p<0.05) by inoculant application. There were interaction effects (p<0.05) on IVNDFD, NH3-N, LAB, and yeast, which were highest in UCT-INO, UCT-CON, CT-INO, and CT-CON & INO, respectively. In conclusion, this study found that mold contamination could negatively impact silage quality, but isolated inoculants had limited effects on IVNDFD and yeast.

The study was conducted to gather basic information on the occurrence of phytophagous nematodes for the establishment of nematode management strategy in major highland crop production such as chinese cabbage, carrot and potato. Soil samples were collected from five areas in 48 fields in the highland and sub-highland (425m to 1136m asl) areas in 2006. Majority (88%) of the soil samples contained the root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne hapla. The average density of the root-knot nematodes in chinese cabbage, carrot and potato fields were 8.3, 18.0 and 25.9 nematodes/100g soil, respectively. Helicotylenchus sp., Pratylenchus sp. and Dorylaimida sp. were also detected but in low densities.Root-knot nematode damage was not detected in potato growth and harvest at 0, 2, 12, 23 nematodes/100g soil densities.

Background : Some of invasive plants, which were introduced from foreign countries, have caused problems in Korea. Invasion of these invasive plants in the ecosystem threatens the habitat of endemic species, reducing biodiversity, and causing a disturbance in the ecological system. Hypochaeris radicata L. (Asteraceae), the most invasive plants in Korea, particularly in Jeju Island, invade farmland, and autochthonous forest, establishing monocultures and modifying the ecosystem structure. This invasive species has become a serious environmental problem because they displace the indigenous plant species. This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidantive effects of ethanolic extracts from different parts (root, stem, seed and leaf) of the invasive exotic species Hypochaeris radicata L. Methods and Results : The aim of present study was to estimate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents and to investigate in vitro antioxidant potential of ethanolic leaf, root, seed, and stem extracts of the Hypochaeris radicata. Antioxidant activity was assessed by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay, reducing power activity, [2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)] ABTS+ assay and ferrous ion chelating activity. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also determined and expressed in gallic acid and quercetin equivalent respectively. The results of the study indicate that the ethanolic extracts of the leaf, root, seed, and stem of H. radicata posses significant scavenging activity against DPPH (21.25% for leaf, 34.98% for root, 60.76% for seed and 45.25% for stem at 250 μg/ml each) and ABTS+ radical scavenging activity (14.85% for leaf, 17.40% for root, 35.91% for seed and 24.70% for stem at 250 μg/ml each), reducing power activity (0.178 absorbance at 300 μg/ml for leaf, 0.211 absorbance at 300 μg/ml for root, 0.447 absorbance at 300 μg/ml for seed, 0.276 absorbance at 300 μg/ml for stem). The free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities may be attributed to the presence of adequate phenolic (gallic acid content is 361.92.98 μg/g in leaf, 356.59μg/g in root, 719.72 μg/g in seed and 512.08 μg/g stem) and flavonoid compounds (219.52 μg/g in leaf, 75.67μg/g in root, 281.39 μg/g in seed and 215.66 μg/g stem). This study revealed that the ethanolic extracts of both leaf, root, seed and stem of H. radicata has demonstrated significant antioxidant activity. Conclusion : In conclusion, the present study has demonstrated that Hypochaeris radicata seed ethanol extracts are rich in phenolics and have a strong antioxidant activity and a radical-scavenging action in all of the tested methods. This suggests that Hypochaeris radicata is a good source of natural antioxidants.

Background : This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of water chestnut (Trapa japonica Flerow) extract. Methods and Results : The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of 100% methanol extract of water chestnut were investigated. The methanol extract was evaluated for its total phenolic and flavonoid content, DPPH•(1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) free-radical scavenging activity,reducing power, andeffect on nitric oxide (NO) production and cell viability using real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The total phenolic content was 438.31 ㎍ allic acid equivalent (GAE)/㎎ extract and the total flavonoid content was 61.40 ㎍ quercetin equivalent (QE)/㎎ extract. In addition, results revealed the extract possessed antioxidant activity (DPPH• free-radical scavenging activity) with IC50 value of 5.28 ㎍㎖ The reducing power of the extract was assayed spectro photometrically and showed Abs of 0.71 at 100 ㎍㎖ Furthermore, extracts of water chestnut exhibited no cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, the NO assay revealed that LPS-induced NO production was significantly inhibited following treatment with water chestnut extracts. The expression of pro-inflammatory proteins such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. The water chestnut extract also decreased tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) release. Conclusion : Therefore, the present findings provide scientific evidence for the nutritional potential, chemical composition, and biological activities of Trapa japonica Flerow anddemonstrate its potential use as a functional food forapplication in the pharmaceutical industry

Purpose Rhei Rhizoma (RR) is one of the herbal medicines traditionally used to treat diverse inflammatory diseases. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Rhei Rhizoma on experimental reflux esophagitis (RE) in rats. Methods The antioxidant activity of RR in vitro was measured in terms of radical scavenging capacity such as DPPH and ABTS. RE was produced by ligating both the pylorus and the transitional junction between the forestomach and the corpus. Rhei Rhizoma (125 and 250 mg/kg) were administered every day for 7 days, and its effect was estimated on comparison with RE control and normal rats. Results RR scavenged DPPH and ABTS effectively and IC50ofDPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity of RR were 4.8 μg/ml and 15.75 μg/ml. The administration of RR decreased the elevated serum ROS in RE control rats. The RE control rats exhibited the down-regulation of antioxidant-related proteins such as Nrf2 and HO-1expression levels in the esophagitis; however, the level in the RR-treated RE rats was significantly higher than that in the RE control rats. Moreover, RE control rats exhibited the up-regulation of the protein expression related to oxidative stress at the esophagitis, but RR administration significantly reduced the expression of inflammatory proteins through the MAPK-independent signaling pathways. The expression of inflammatory mediators and cytokines by NF-κB activation was modulated through blocking the degradation of IκBα. In addition, the oral administration of RR regulated the gastric mucosal damage in RE rats. Conclusion The administration of Rhei Rhizoma effectively ameliorates the inflammatory damage of esophageal mucosa through radical scavenging activity and the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

A new kidney bean cultivar, “Noghyeob 1” was developed at the Yeongnam Agricultural Research Institute (YARI) in 2005. “Noghyeob 1” was selected from a cross between KLG50074 and KLG50063. It has determinate growth habit, white flower, green pod color, oval shape of crossed section of pod at the harvesting time for edible pod, white seed coat and middle seed size (21.1 grams per 100 seeds). The average yield of edible pod of “Noghyeob 1” was 24.25 M/T per hectare in the yield trials which were carried out at the green house in spring and autumn in 2005. It was 7 percent higher than that of the check cultivar “Kangnangkong 1”.