This study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant activities and the contents of antioxidant compounds in extracts derived from 23 medicinal crops. Dried plant materials were extracted by 80% methanol and the extracts were used to experiment. The levels of total phenolic compounds were much higher in Oenothera biennis, Houttuynia cordata, Cedrela sinensis, Rhus javanica, Artemisia annua, Reynoutria sachalinensis, and Dendropanax morbifera compared with other crops. On the other hand, the total phenolic compound levels in Carthamus tinctorius, Polygonum multiflorus, Ginko biloba, Solanum nigrum, and Saposhnikovia divaricata were relatively low. The total flavonoid contents were highest in H. cordata, followed by D. morbifera, A. annua, A. continentalis and O. biennis. DPPH activity was significantly higher in A. annua, R. javanica, C. sinensis, D. morbifera and O. biennis, and ABTS activity was significantly higher in R. javanica, C. sinensis, O. biennis, R. sachalinensis, A. annua, and D. morbifera than other plants. These results suggest that O. biennis, A. annua, R. javanica, D. morbifera, and R. sachalinensis can be utilized as food additives and natural antioxidants due to their strong antioxidant activity.

Damages of medicinal crops by thrips and identification of thrips species were investigated on major medicinal crops, Platycodon grandiflorum, Schizandra chinensis, Codonopsis lanceolata, Lycium chinense, Bupleurum falcatum, Ledebouriella seseloides, Angelica gigas, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Liriope platyphylla, Atractyloides sp., in Suwon, Eumseong, Jecheon, Pyeongchang, Chyungyang 2012. Thrips and their damages were found at all of the medicinal crops investigated, mostly occurring at early growing stages of each medicinal crop and causing apical meristem region withered, thereby inhibiting the growth of plants. As a result, Frankliniella intonsa, Thrips tabaci, and Megalurothrips distalis have been identified as dominant species on medicinal crops in open field, whereas Frankliniella occidentalis was restricted to Lycium chinense in which protected cultivation. Occurrence of thrips species on medicinal crops seems to be affected by host specificity and environmental factors such as cultivation types.

Background: Cnidium officinale Makino and Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. are important medicinal crops in Korea. However, there is insufficient information on the identification of thrips, which attack these plants. Until now, one species of thrips has been recorded as a main pest. Methods and Results: To identify the thrips emerging in C. officinale Makino and L. chuanxiong Hort., these plants were independently cultivated in two local areas. Thirty individuals of each plant species were selected randomly and surveyed for the presence of thrips. After confirming the existence of thrips, 100 thrips individuals were collected from each crop using the beating method. To identify thrips species, we performed PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-based analysis using ITS2 primer sets. Six thrips species were identified: western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), flower thrips (F. intonsa), onion thrips (Thrips tabaci), chrysanthemum thrips (T. nigropilosus), chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis), and grass thrips (Anaphothrips obscurus). The proportion of these species differed between the host plant species. Conclusions: Six thrips species were major pests of two medicinal crops. Integrated pest management is required to control these thrips species, and will enhance the yield and quality of C. officinale and L. chuanxiong.

Background : This study was conducted to investigate the production competitiveness of medicinal crop. The results of this study were intended to be used as basic data for establishing the direction of R&D needed for domestic medicinal crop farming system. Methods and Results : For data analysis, frequency, percentage and average and Chi square (× 2) value were used. The survey showed that the cultivated crops of the respondents were medicinal crop. Firstly, there was a significant difference in farming disability by farming career. The 'cultivation method (60%, 42.1%)' was high in farming preparer and beginner (≤ 3 years), but the disability in 'cultivation method' decreased as the farming career was longer. Respondents who had more than 10 years of farming career complained of 'climate problem (24.0%)' followed by 'cultivation method (20.0%)' and 'pest control (20.0%)'. There was also a significant difference in the farming disability by medicinal crops farming career. The 'cultivation method (50.0%)' was the highest of the farmers who had 1 year of medicinal crops farming career, however the respondents with more than 4-ears of career complained of 'climate problems (27.3%)' and 'pest control (23.6%)', but 'cultivation method' was low as 18.2%. Secondly, there was a difference in sales disability by farming career, and cross-sectional analysis was statistically significant at × 2 = 41.320. The respondents who were preparer for farming had the biggest sales disability at 'shortage of market (44.4%)', and the rates decreased gradually as the farming career increased. Respondents more than 10-ears had the biggest sales disability as ‘uncertain market price (50.0%)’, and 'shortage of market' was low as 12.5%. Cross-sectional analysis of sales disability by medicinal crops farming career showed that × 2 was 49.705, which was statistically significant. Farmers with no career in cultivating medicinal crops had the biggest sales disability at 'shortage of market (40.0%)' and farmers with more than 4 years of career complained of 'uncertain market price (42.2%)'. Lastly, there was a statistically significant difference in cultivation performance by medicinal crops farming career. The respondents with a career of less than 1 year had the highest proportion at 'medium (48.5%)', but those with more than 4-ears of career had the highest rate of 'creation of profit (43.1%)'. Conclusion : As farming career and medicinal crops farming career increased, environmental factors such as climate and pest problems affected in cultivation stage significantly, further uncertain market price gave a large factor in sales stage.

Background : It is necessary to develop a diagnostic tool for the precision agriculture according to the change of agriculture environment. In particular, medicinal crops are often cultivated in poor areas such as mountains and valleys, and are susceptible to abnormal climates. Therefore, there is a need for a method that can diagnose the growth easily and with time. We conducted a study to investigate the possibility of remote sensing for 10 species of medicinal crops using unmanned aerial vehicles and multispectral images. Methods and Results : This study was conducted in 0 - 4 times continuously cultivated field with 10 species of medicinal crops (Angelica gigas, A. koreana, A. tenuissiman, A. dahurica, A. acutiloba, A. polymorpha, Ledebouriella seseloides, Lithospermum erythrorhizon, Rhemannia glutinosa). Growth characteristics such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width, stem diamanter and number of stems were investigated between July 10 and July 16. The reflectance map of red (660 ㎚) and NIR (790 ㎚) was obtained using a UAV equipped with a multi-spectral sensor and NDVI [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index] was obtained with a Pix4D mapper. As the number of times of continuos cultivation increased, the growth and NDVI tend to decreased. 6 species of Angelica genus were positively correlated with growth characteristics such as plant height, leaf length, leaf width, and stem diameter and NDVI. Otherwise, there was no significant relationship between growth characteristics and NDVI in Ledebouriella seseloides, Lithospermum erythrorhizon, and Rhemannia glutinosa. This is because the difference in the growth according to time of continuos cultivation was not significant and the canopy structure tended to overlap with the upper and lower leaves. Conclusion : NDVI is widely used as a useful tool for evaluating the canopy productivity and is highly correlated with the above-ground growth characteristics of 6 species of Angelica spp. It is necessary to develop the growth index suitable for the each species and to enhance the validity of growth index by examining the correlation under various cultivation conditions.

Background : Recently there has been an increasing demand for well-being and health food products. Foreign special and medicinal crops which were not cultivated in Korea before are widely introduced and cultivated in Korea. Therefore, in order to provide the basic information necessary for stable cultivation of the introduced crops, we conducted a survey on the actual condition of cultivation of farms and sought to suggest future work. Methods and Results : The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Rural Development Administration and local rural organizations in the year 2015 based on cultivation area, number of farms, and cultivation scale. In thes case of Lepdium meyenii and Asimina triloba, we surveyed the status of management technology by stage of cultivation through the field case study of farms. As a result, 14 crops were cultivated in 1,015 farms in 329.9 ha area including, Allium hookeri, Amaranthus blitum, Annona muricata, Asimina triloba, Chenopodium quinoa, Curcuma longa, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Gynura procumbens, Lepdium meyenii, Moringa oleifera, Ocimum americanum, Psidium guajava, Silybum marianum, and Stachys japonica. The cultivation scale decreased in the order of C. longa, G. uralensis, A. hookeri, P. guajava, L. meyenii, M. oleifera, and A. triloba. Generally, L. meyenii seeds were sown generally in September and the roots were harvested from mid April to early May in the following year after wintering. A. triloba was cultivated using emerged seedlings or grafted seedlings. The emerged seedlings were more 5 years, and the grafted seedlings were more 4 years so that the fruit can be harvested. Conclusion : In order to stabilize the cultivation of special and medicinal crops introduced from foreign countries, it should be safe and economical in terms of cultivation environment based on domestic cultivation adaptability test, and the use of products and sales channels should be established first. Also, national support and countermeasures for benefit sharing under the Nagoya protocol are needed.

Background : The development of an antioxidant to prevent disease by ROS-induced oxidative stress is necessary. This study investigated the changes of antioxidant capacities of two medicinal crops extracts by lactic acid fermentation. Methods and Results : The changes of free-radical scavenging activity of medicinal crops extracts by lactic acid fermentation were evaluated by using DPPH free-radical scavenging assay and ABTS free-radical scavenging assay. The DPPH free-radical scavenging activity of extracts or lactic acid fermented extracts were estimated as followed. samples were thoroughly mixed with 1 ㎖ ethanol solution of 0.1 mM DPPH. After stand for 30 min in the dark, the absorbance was measured at 570 ㎚ by using a UV Spectrophotometer. ABTS scavenging activity of extracts or lactic acid fermented extracts were estimated as followed. The working solution was prepared by mixing 1 ㎖ of ABTS solution with 88 ㎖ of 50% ethanol. A total of 25 ㎕ of samples were mixed with 225 ㎕ of ABTS working solution and allowed to stand for 10 min. The absorbance was read at 732 ㎚ in a UV spectrophotometer. The data were showed that lactic acid fermented extracts were higher antioxidant ability than the extracts. Conclusion : This study was showed that the antioxidant capacities of two medicinal crops extracts were improved by lactic acid fermentation.

Background: Cyanazine is used as a pre-emergent herbicide once during the growing season to control weeds of many upland crops worldwide. This study aimed to establish a method to determined cyanazine residue levels in major medicinal crops by using high performance liquid chromatography-UV detection/mass spectometry (HPLC-UVD/MS). Methods and Results: Cyanazine residue was extracted with acetone from the raw products of four representative medicinal plants - Scutellaria baicalensis, Paeonia lactiflora, Platycodon grandiflorum and Angelica gigas. The extract was diluted with a large volume of saline water and directly partitioned into dichloromethane to remove polar co-extractives in the aqueous phase. It was then purifined using optimized Florisil column chromatography. HPLC analysis conducted using an octadecylsilyl column allowed the successful separation of cyanazine from co-extractives of the samples, and the amount was sensitively quantified by ultraviolet absorption at 225 ㎚ with no interference. The accuracy and precision of the proposed method were validated by conducting recovery experiments on each medicinal crop sample fortified with cyanazine at two concentration levels per crop in triplicate. Conclusions: The mean recoveries ranged from 91.2% to 105.3% for the four representative medicinal crops. The coefficients of variation were less than 10%, irrespective of the sample types and fortification levels. The limit of quantification of cyanazine was 0.02 ㎎/㎏ as verified by the recovery experiment. A confirmatory method was performed by liquid chromatography/MS using selected-ion monitoring technique to clearly identify the suspected residue.

The contents of index components in 5 medicinal crops cultivated at different heights in Andong area. Thecontents of allantoin in Dioscorea batatas Decne and catalpol in Rehmannia glutinosa Liboschitz were not differentby cultivation heights (100~200m). But the contents of index components in Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica acutilobaKitagawa were higher in samples cultivated at elevated heights. At 700m of heights, the contents of formononetin andastragaloside I in Astragalus membranaceus were 1.20 and 201.2㎍/g, respectively. The contents of decursin and nodakeninin Angelica acutiloba Kitagawa were 68.3 and 4.20㎎/g, respectively. Thus Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica acutilobaKitagawa are recommended to be cultivated in higher altitude.

Damages of medicinal crops by thrips and identification of thrips species were investigated by periodic surveys on major medicinal crops, Platycodon grandiflorum, Schizandra chinensis, Codonopsis lanceolata, Lycium chinense, Bupleurum falcatum, Ledebouriella seseloides, Angelica gigas, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Liriope platyphylla, Atractyloides sp., once or twice a month in Suwon, Eumseong, Jecheon, Pyeongchang, Chyungyang from May to October in 2012. Thrips and their damages were found at all of the medicinal crops investigated, mostly occurring at early growing stages of each medicinal crop and causing apical meristem region withered, thereby inhibiting the growth of plants. For species identification of thrips collected from each medicinal crops, DNA from each individual was extracted and ITS2 and COI regions were amplified by PCR. As a result, Frankliniella intonsa, Thrips tabaci, and Megalurothrips distalis have been identified as dominant species on medicinal crops in open field, whereas Frankliniella occidentalis was restricted to Lycium chinense in which protected cultivation. This study suggests that the occurrence of thrips species on medicinal crops seems to be affected by host specificity and environmental factors such as cultivation types.

의성지역의 약용작물 생산현황(生産現況) 및 경영분석(經營分析)을 위하여 약용작물 재배 농가 147호를 대상으로 재배실태와 작물별 소득(所得)을 조사(調査)한 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 특화계수(特化計數)가 1이상인 작물은 작약(21.59), 산수유(14.82), 시호(7.90), 지모(6.41), 지황(3.96), 두충(3.44), 목단(2.28), 백지(1.51)순으로 나타났다. 2. 조사농가의 평균 토지이용면적(土地利用面積)은 1.92ha이었는데, 그중 밭이 1.35ha. 논은 0.56ha이었다. 농지분포(農地分布)는 농가당 평균 3.1곳에 10.2필지로 구성되어 있으며, 약용작물부문에 년간 노동투하(勞動投下)는 31.1%를 차지하였다. 3. 조사대상 지역에 재배되고 있는 약용작물은 36개 작물로 농가당 평균 2.4작물이었다. 대표적인 작물은 작약이었는데, 조사농가 147호 가운데 85농가가 참여하여 30.72ha를 재배하고 있었다. 4. 약용작물 재배실태를 보면, 작약, 시호, 택사, 길경, 황기, 감국 등은 재배면적이 줄어드는 추세(趨勢)이고 홍화는 새로운 소득작물(所得作物)로 재배되고 있으며, 더덕, 지모, 지황, 원황정, 백출 등은 재배 면적이 늘어났다. 5. 36개 약용작물중 10a당 평균소득이 높은 작물은 홍화(2,775천원), 원황정 (2,706천원), 일천궁(2,573천원) 등의 순이었으나 재배농가에서는 농가여건에 부응하면서 위험부담이 적고 가격안정(價格安定)이 기대되는 작물을 선택하여 농가 수준에서 부가가치(附加漂値)를 최대한 증대(增大)시켜야 할 것으로 생각되었다.

참당귀(當歸), 황기, 천궁(川芎) 등 지하부(地下部)를 이용하는 약용작물을 대상으로 관행 인력수확방법(人力收穫方法)을 성력기계화수확기술(省力機械化收穫技術)로 개선코자 기계수확 효율을 비교 검토 하였던 바 그 결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다. 1. 성력효율(省力效率)은 인력수확(人力收穫)에 비하여 참당귀(當歸)의 경우 포크레인 수확(收穫) 61% , 다목적근(多目的根) 수확기(收穫機) 이용시 71% 절감(節減)되었으며, 황기에 있어서는 포크레인 수확(收穫) 70%, 다목적근(多目的根) 수확기(收穫機)에서 76% 작업시간(作業時間)이 절감(節減)되었다. 천궁(川芎)의 경우는 경운기 부착진동 굴취기(掘取機) 및 다목적근(多目的根) 수확기(收穫機) 적용시 작업소요시간(作業所要時間)을 각각 68% 줄일 수 있었다. 2. 손실율은 참당귀(當歸)와 황기의 경우 포크레인 수확시(收穫時) 각각 5%, 0.6%를 보였으며 천궁(川芎)에서는 다목적근(多目的根) 수확기(收穫機) 이용에서 1.5%로 낮았다. 3. 상품수량은 기계수확시 관행 인력수확에 비하여 포크레인을 적용할 경우 참당귀(當歸)나 황기에서 약간 낮았으며, 천궁(天芎)에서 다목적근(多目的 根) 수확기(收穫機) 적용시에도 다소 감소되는 경향이었다. 4. 기계 수확 효율로 보아 적절한 수확기종은 참당귀(當歸) 황기의 경우는 포크레인이었고, 천궁(天弓)에서는 다목적근(多目的根) 수확기(收穫機)가 유망시 되었다.

This study was carried out to investigate about cultivation and export of major medicinal crops in Korea. The results obtained were summarized as follows'Planted area, harvested area and pro-duction were increase very much, but yield was not increased almost to 1993 from 1988. In spiteof, cultivation area was increased, export was decreased to 1993 from 1988. In cultivation area, major medicinal crops were Angelica gigas, Platycodon grandiflorum, Astragalus membranaceus, Paeonia lactiflora and Codonopsis lanceolata in 1993. In amount of export, major medicinal cropswere Ginkgo biloba, Bupleurum falcatum, Cornus officinalis, Asarum sieboldii in 1993.