Chelidonium majus, from Papaveraceae family, is a rich source of different antioxidants with a range of medicinal activities including antispasmodic and diuretic properties. In this study, antioxidant potential of extracts from leaves during different phenological stages was measured by ferric-reducing power (FRAP) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. Factors affecting antioxidant activity, i.e., total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanin and carotenoids, were then investigated. Soluble sugar and total protein contents of samples were also determined. According to the results, maximum DPPH radical scavenging activity was 408/88 ± 24/83 g/g DW at growing stage, and the FRAP value reached maximum during fruiting stage (1.75 ± 0.04 mg/g FW). The leaves of flowering stage contained the most content of total phenol (17.8 ± 1.59 mg/g DW), flavonoid (69.7 ± 0.86 mg/g DW), anthocyanin (0.233 ± mg/g DW) and soluble sugar (0.338 ± 0.009 mg/g DW). However, the highest value for carotenoid (2.083 mg/g DW) and protein (0.27 ± 0.034 mg/g DW) was found at the vegetative stage.

This study was conducted to investigate thallium (Tl) adsorption in different soils, including acidic Jeonju (JJ), neutral Iksan (IS), and alkaline Danyang (DY) soils treated with various single counter metal ions and to examine the competitive adsorption of Tl with other metals, including cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn), in multicomponent systems. Thallium buffering capacity of the soils was ordered as IS > DY > JJ soil in the single-component systems, whereas it was DY > IS > JJ soil in the multicomponent systems. In the competitive systems of Tl with different single counter metals, the Tl adsorption capacity of the soils ranged from 20.33 to 88.38 and Tl bonding energy values ranged from 0.369 to 0.731. Thallium adsorption capacity and bonding energy were negatively correlated. Selectivity sequences of metals in multicomponent systems were Pb > Tl > Cu > Ni > Zn > Cd in the JJ soil, Pb > Cu > Tl > Zn > Cd > Ni in the IS soil, and Pb > Cu > Tl ≥ Zn > Cd > Ni in the DY soil. The metal buffering capacity in the JJ, IS, and DY soils varied from 293.2 to 1125.2. The values were ordered as Tl ≫ Pb ≥ Zn ≥ Ni > Cu ≥ Cd in the JJ soil, Pb > Cu > Tl ≫ Ni > Zn ≥ Cd in the IS soil, and Pb > Cu ≫ Tl > Ni > Cd ≥ Zn in the DY soil.

Prolonged water stress adversely affects many aspects of plant physiology, resulting in severe damage to growth and productivity. In response to this and other environmental stresses, plants have evolved complex physiological and biochemical adaptations. To boost existing plant defense mechanisms, this study quantified the negative effects of waterlogging stress and how it may be mitigated by the addition of a natural protective agent. Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) were grown in commercially available microbe-free soil and subjected to waterlogging stress for 2 weeks. Waterlogging significantly reduced all growth-related variables: shoot length, fresh and dry biomass, chlorophyll content in stressed versus unstressed plants. Waterlogging stress generated reactive oxygen species that heavily damaged plant tissues, causing electrolyte leakage and eliciting an antioxidative response. Specifically, stress-response phytohormone content altered, with a reduction in abscisic acid (ABA) and an increase in jasmonic acid (JA). Furthermore, antioxidants such as malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and peroxidase (POD) were significantly enhanced in waterlogged plants versus non-waterlogged plants. Supplementation of exogenous ascorbic acid (ASC) at 3, 5, and 7 mM revealed that the lowest concentration further reduced ABA and increased JA, enhancing water evaporation rates to raise water-stress tolerance. Moreover, 3 mM ASC also led to lower MDA, CAT, SOD, PPO, POD, and ascorbate peroxidase concentrations in waterlogged plants than in waterlogged plant not treated with ASC. Thus, ASC at a concentration of 3 mM was the most successful in relieving effects of waterlogging stress on plants.

Twenty-eight metabolites were extracted from nine Brassicaceae of Korean origin (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, pak choi, radish sprouts, and red cabbage) and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography. Principal components analysis (PCA), orthogonal projection to latent structure-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), Pearson’s correlation analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), and batch learning self-organizing map analysis (BL-SOM) were used to visualize metabolite pattern differences among Brassicaceae samples. The PCA score plots from the metabolic data sets provided a clear distinction between Brassica species and radish sprouts (genus Raphanus L.). Additionally, B. oleracea L. varieties were differentiated from B. rapa L. varieties by PCA and OPLS-DA score plots. HCA and BL-SOM of these metabolites clustered metabolites that are metabolically related. This study demonstrates that plants’ characterization by multivariate statistical analysis using metabolic profiling allows distinguishing their phenotypes and identifying desired characteristics.

Baechu and radish are the major by-products generated from kimchi factories. Because vegetable and fruit by-products have abundant functional ingredients, the availability of them as a source of bioactive compounds is gaining attention. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using kimchi by-products as sources of functional ingredients. For this purpose, 13 by-product samples were collected from different kimchi factories and analyzed for their sugar contents, total dietary fiber (TDF), antioxidant capacity, water holding capacity (WHC), viscosity, and specific gravity. The dietary fiber contents in kimchi by-product cabbage powder and radish powder were 27.37–49.54 and 30.19–62.81 %, respectively. TDF, WHC, and antioxidant capacities of kimchi by-products were equally as high as those of other by-products that are reused in industry. These results suggested that kimchi by-products have the potential as a new agro-industrial by-product that could be recycled as valuable sources of dietary fibers.

MauG is a unique c-type diheme oxygenase. One heme of MauG is five-coordinate and solvent accessible with His53 as axial ligand, while the other heme of MauG is six-coordinate with His205 and Tyr294. MauG catalyzes posttranslational modification including oxygen insertion, cross-linkage of two tryptophan and oxidation of quinol to quinone of precursor methylamine dehydrogenase (preMADH) to form mature tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ) which is one of protein-derived cofactors. Long-range remote catalysis of substrate is possible without direct contact between hemes of MauG and its substrate, preMADH. Although catalytic properties and mechanisms of MauG have been well studied, temperature dependence of MauG has never been reported yet. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform thermodynamic analysis of MauG. ΔH° of 87.6 ± 6.7 kJ mol⁻¹ and ΔS° of 232 ± 15.6 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ were directly measured for oxidized MauG in this study. Those results provide fundamental information on controlling electron transfer rates for biosynthesis of TTQ in MADH and are used as a good thermodynamic example study for other diheme systems.

Succinoglycan is an industrially important exopolysaccharide (EPS) that is produced by certain bacteria. There are several procedures to extract this EPS, though the efficiency of all the available procedures is questionable and any improvement in the extraction efficient can greatly benefit the industry. Here we emphasize on optimization and development of new modus operandi to efficiently extract succinoglycan from liquid bacterial culture. Also, we studied the effect of different extraction methods on production, rheological and structural properties of succinoglycan. Eighteen different chemical and physical methods were tested for succinoglycan extraction from Rhizobium radiobacter CAS isolates with the principle of extracting EPS by precipitating it, where only eleven methods could precipitate the succinoglycan. Comparing the extraction yield of all methods, biopolymer extracted by acetone (3014 mg/L) was maximum followed by cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium-bromide (CTAB 2939 mg/L) and vacuum evaporation (2804 mg/L) methods. Upon comparison of rheological property of recovered succinoglycan, it was found that at shear rate 50 s⁻¹ EPS recovered using acetone and CTAB methods tends to make the solution highly viscous with a viscosity of 150 and 146 mPa s, respectively. In agreement with these results, power law equation showed that EPS extracted by acetone and CTAB had high consistency index (k) and low flow behavior index (η). The current results showed that the physicochemical methods for EPS extraction significantly affect the structural composition of, though succinoglycan extracted using acetone and CTAB showed minimum structural abrasion.

Edible roses have been identified as a potential source of antioxidant compounds promoting human health. In order to assess this potential, nine cultivars of edible roses harvested in Jincheon, Chungbuk, were examined in this study. Extracts of flower petals of edible roses were prepared, and the constituent antioxidant compounds and their antioxidant activity were analyzed. Total anthocyanin concentrations and total flavonoid concentrations were significantly higher in the Mister Lincoln cultivar than those in others. Total phenolic compounds and total antioxidant activity in the cultivars Mister Lincoln and Orange Meillandina were significantly higher than those in other cultivars (p < 0.05). Total anthocyanin content was highly correlated with flavonoid content (R = 0.927), and the relationship between total phenolics and DPPH radical scavenging activity was also strongly correlated (R = 0.915). Overall, antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activity of edible roses were found to be greater than those of fruits and leafy vegetables. Thus, edible roses are a natural source of antioxidant compounds, and they are expected to have great potential for application in the production of functional foods and in the cosmetic industry.

Only a few have evaluated the mitigation of greenhouse emissions and profit analysis along with soil carbon sequestration for corn cultivation. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the carbon sequestration and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions as well as their profit analysis with different composts mixed with biochar during corn cultivation. This experimental data provided the second year of corn cultivation. The soil type used was clay loam. The application amounts of synthetic fertilizer and biochar were 220–30–155 kg ha⁻¹ (N–P–K) as the recommended amount after soil analysis and 2600 kg ha⁻¹ based on 1.3% of soil bulk density. For the biannual experimental results, it appeared that carbon sequestration in cow manure cooperated with biochar was highest at 2.3 tons ha⁻¹ and recovered from 67.3 to 78.5% with biochar application. Furthermore, mitigation of CO₂-eq. emission as greenhouse gases was estimated to be at 7.3–8.4 MT ha⁻¹, and its profit was evaluated from $7.2 to 8.4 as lowest, from $57.2 to 66.6 as medium and from $139.7 to 162.7 as highest per hectare regardless of organic compost types used. For agricultural practice in Korea, it is evaluated that the market price of CO₂ in corn field cooperated with 2600 kg ha⁻¹ of biochar application ranged from $57.2 to 162.7 per hectare in Korean Climate Exchange. For corn biomass, the treatment with biochar application did not significantly decrease compared with the only organic compost application. Based on these experimental results, it might be applied for carbon trading with clean development mechanism for agricultural practices.

Human consumption of plant functional foods has been rapidly increasing owing to the health benefits they provide. In particular, in Korea, the plant Orostachys japonica has attracted attention for its anticancer and other effects. Of the 12 established Orostachys species, only three (viz., O. iwarenge, O. malacophyllus, and O. japonica) have been allowed for use as foods in Korea. In this study, 12 species-specific primer sets based on single nucleotide polymorphisms of five chloroplast genes and one nuclear gene were developed to discriminate Orostachys species through quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis with SYBR Green staining. The efficiencies of the designed primer pairs in amplifying the target species ranged from 80 to 110%, with strong correlation coefficients (R² > 0.99), whereas no clear correlation coefficient was evident for the non-target species. In order to verify the specificity of the 12 developed Orostachys-specific primers, binary mixtures of the DNAs (tenfold serially diluted samples) from the target species and each of the other non-target species were generated for qPCR analysis, with results suggesting that the primers could clearly discriminate at least 0.1% of O. japonica DNA (10 pg) in the mixtures. With regard to the feasibility of the developed qPCR system for detecting Orostachys species in O. japonica food products, O. japonica DNA was detected in all eight commercial products tested, with low Ct values (< 20), whereas none of the other Orostachys species DNAs were detected, confirming that the tested foods contained only O. japonica. Therefore, developed primers and qPCR conditions would be useful for verifying the authenticity of commercial O. japonica food products.