Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Trautv., also known as porcelain berry, has been used for many years as herbal folk medicine to treat liver diseases. This study was conducted to assess the influence of various factors on the rooting of hardwood stem cuttings of this plant species, collected from Jeju Island (Korea). Three experiments were conducted: (1) Stems of three diameters (≤ 4.5, > 4.5 – < 6.5, or ≥ 6.5 mm), (2) four types of rooting media [rockwool cubes, perlite, peat moss + perlite (3:1, v/v), or vermiculite] and (3) indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at four treatment concentrations (0, 100, 200, or 400 mg·L-1). For the IBA concentration experiments, cuttings of the various diameters were inserted to a depth of 2 cm in a commercial propagation medium in 72-cell plug trays. The planted stem cuttings were initially placed on a fog bench for 16 days at 95% ± 5% relative humidity at a temperature of 25°C ± 3°C under 95% shade. The stem cuttings were then transferred to a greenhouse bench under ambient light and fed a nutrient solution on a daily basis for 2 weeks. Among the tested stem diameters, cuttings with a stem diameter ≥ 6.5 mm produced the largest stem diameter (2.6 mm) of new shoot, but without root growth. Initial stem diameter significantly affected the length of the new shoot, and the longest shoot length (67.8 mm) was observed in cuttings with an initial stem diameter of ≥ 6.5 mm. Cuttings inserted in vermiculite produced the largest diameter of new shoot (2.4 mm), whereas cuttings grown in rockwool cubes produced the shortest, stem diameter of new shoot growth (1.9 mm). No significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed in the length of new shoot growth among the various rooting media and IBA concentrations. Furthermore, all tested IBA concentrations failed to induce rooting. Collectively, these results suggest that porcelain berry cuttings with an initial diameter of ≥ 6.5 mm have higher survival and bud break, but they did not produce rooting. Further studies are needed to optimize the protocol for the rooting of hardwood stem cuttings of A. brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Trautv.

Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, a porcelain berry that is a kind of Korean domestic wild berry (Viticeae), has been known to be resistant to diseases and insects. A total of 2,622 unigenes containing 912 contigs and 1,710 singletons were obtained by sequencing 5,839 expressed sequence tag (EST) clones derived from the cDNA library of wild grape, A. brevipedunculata. In the gene ontology analysis, 1,175 genes related to biological process, 1,516 genes related to molecular function, and 1,413 ones related to cell components were annotated. Among the genes showing molecular function, 17 clones were classified into defense-related genes, and 102 were known to be related with responses to stress in plants. Domains, such as leucine-rich repeat, Serine/threonine protein kinase-related, WD40 repeat, EF-hand calcium-binding, pentatricopeptide repeat, and pathogenesis-related transcriptional factor were highly expressed. Genes encoding defense related proteins, such as chitinase, catalase, protein-serine/threonine kinases, were also clustered into an abundant group in cDNAs from A. brevipedunculata. Approximately, 80 simple sequence repeats with 2~5 nucleotides were detected in the cDNAs of A. brevipedunculata. These data could provide useful information for the genetic analysis of wild grapevines and in programs for breeding grape cultivars.

본 연구에서는 개머루덩굴 95% 에탄올추출물의 항산화 효과를 조사하였다. Pyrogallol의 억제율을 100%로 기준하였을 때, DPPH 라디칼을 50% 억제시키는데 필요한 개머루덩굴 추출물의 농도는 0.42 mg/mL이었다. 총항산화 활성은 ABTS 라디칼에 대한 항산화능으로 측정하였다. 개머루덩굴 추출물 0.1 및 1 mg/mL의 총항산화능은 각각 0.65 및 3.71 mM Trolox와 동등한 수준이었다. 개머루덩굴 추출물 5 및 100 μg/mL의 peroxyl radical 소거능은 각각 22.75 및 131.25 μM gallic acid와 동등한 수준이었다. 개머루덩굴 추출물 0.1 및 1 mg/mL의 superoxide 소거능은 각각 27.7 및 56.0%이었다. 개머루덩굴 추출물 0.5 및 2 mg/mL의 총페놀 함량은 각각 0.55 및 2.06 mM gallic acid와 동등한 수준이었다. 또한, HepG2 세포주를 이용한 세포배양에서 개머루덩굴 추출물 0.1 mg/mL 농도의 첨가는 0.2 및 0.5 mM tert-butyl hydroperoxide로 유도된 세포독성을 각각 36.2 및 23.3% 감소시켰다. 따라서, 본 연구 결과들은 개머루덩굴 추출물의 강력한 항산화 효과와 세포독성 억제 효과를 나타내며, 이러한 효능은 적어도 자유라디칼의 산화 억제와 높은 총페놀 함량에 기인하는 것으로 사료된다.

본 연구는 천연 식품보존료 개발의 일환으로 한약 재료로 이용되고 있는 개머루덩굴을 에탄올로 추출하여 식품부패 및 병원성 미생물에 대한 항균활성을 조사하였다. 개머루덩굴 에탄올 추출물은 식품부패 및 병원성 미생물에 대해 농도 의존적으로 항균효과를 보였으며, 그 중에서 Escherichia coli O157:H7 균에 대해 가장 높은 항균효과를 보였다. 또 개머루덩굴 에탄올 추출물이 식중독 유발세균의 성장에 미치는 효과를 검정하기 위해 Salmonella typhimurium, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7 균들의 배양액에 개머루덩굴 에탄올 추출물의 농도를 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000 mg/L 각 농도별로 첨가하여 생육을 조사한 결과 250 mg/L까지는 대조군과 별 차이를 보이지 않았으나 500 mg/L 이상에서는 유의적인(p<0.05) 감소를 관찰할 수 있었다. 본 연구결과는 개머루덩굴 에탄올 추출물이 식중독을 유발시키는 세균에 대하여 우수한 항균작용을 나타내고 있으며, 따라서 개머루덩굴이 효과적인 천연보존료로서 이용될 수 있음을 시사하고 있다.