Steaming is a method that has traditionally been used for medicinal plant extraction. This study investigated nitrite oxide production, ferrous ion chelating activity, α-glucosidase, xanthine oxidase, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities of ethanol, acetone and hot-water extracts of Codonopsis lanceolata prepared by steaming seven times. MTT assay showed that each extract was non-toxic up to a concentration of 700 μg/mL confirming that there was no cytotoxicity in all extracts. The α-glucosidase, xanthine oxidase, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities exhibited by the hot-water extract obtained from steaming seven times were higher (83.1%) than the other extracts. Higher production of nitrite oxide and better ferrous chelating activity was recorded with hot-water extract compared to ethanol and acetone extracts. These results indicated that more steaming of Codonopsis lanceolata extracts would be required to validate the possibility of developing antioxidants. Also, further study is needed to determine if the components present in the tested extracts might be useful in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease. These results showed that hot-water extracts may be useful for their antioxidant and the production inhibitory activity of nitrite oxide. It will be helpful in the investigation of the constituent analysis of the steam-processed product of Codonopsis lanceolata.

Fumigant and contact toxicities of 11 Myrtaceae plant essential oils and their constituents against adult male and female Blattella germanica were evaluated. Of 11 Myrtaceae plant essential oils, Eucalyptus polybractea, E. smithii, E. radiata, E. dives, E. globulus, and Melaleuca uncinata, showed 100% fumigant toxicity against adult male German cockroaches at a concentration of 7.5 mg/liter air concentration. In contact toxicity tests, E. polybractea, E. smithii, E. radiata, E. dives, E. globulus, M. dissitiflora, and M. uncinata produced strong insecticidal activity against adult male and female German cockroaches. Of the essential oil constituents, terpinolene, α-terpinene, and terpinen-4-ol demonstrated strong fumigant toxicity against adult male and female B. germanica. Eugenol, isoeugenol, methyl eugenol, and terpinen-4-ol showed strong contact toxicity against adult male B. germanica. The toxicity of the constituent blends identified from M. dissitiflora essential oils indicated that terpinen-4-ol were major contributor to the fumigant activity or contact toxicity of the artificial blend. Only isoeugenol exhibited inhibition activity against male acetylcholinesterase. IC50values of isoeugenol were 0.22 mg/mL against male acetylcholinesterase.

Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is one of the important modes of action available for the control of insects. An assessment was made of the electric eel AChE inhibitory activity of 55 endophytic fungi isolated from the leaves of Huperzia serrata collected in Eunshi, Hubei Province, China. Of 55 mycelial extracts and 55 ethyl acetate-soluble fractions from liquid culture of the fungi, the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of strain ES056 exhibited strong AChE inhibitory activity (88%) at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Based on morphological characteristics and nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS sequence analysis, this fungus showed greatest similarity to members of the order Eurotiales and was shown to be most closely related to members of the Aspergillus aculeatus group. It was designated Aspergillus sp. MY056. This strain merits further study as a potential anti-AChE product.

본 연구에서는 국내에서 시판되고 있는 4종류의 차 즉, 녹차, 보이차, 우롱차 및 홍차 열수추출물의 페놀성 화합물, 항산화 및 퇴행성 뇌신경질환 저해활성에 대하여 조사하였다. 시판 차 열수추출물의 총 페놀성 화합물 함량은 이었으며, 녹차, 보이차, 우롱차 및 홍차 열수추출물의 총 플라보놀 함량은 각각 350.96, 254.17, 334.48 및 240.23 mg/100 g이었다. 녹차, 보이차, 우롱차 및 홍차 열수추출물의 총 카테킨 함량은 각각