Jae Kyung Yang

Light-susceptibility of camptothecin production fromin vitro cultures ofCamptotheca acuminata Decne

Production of camptothecin (CPT) from callus cultures ofCamptotheca acuminata Decne was affected by light and culture conditions. Among the culture media tested, modified B5 medium containing 3% (w/v) sucrose, 2 mg/L 2,4-D, 2 times of MS medium vitamins, 500 mg/L casein hydrolysate, 250 mg/L myo-inositol, 0.05% (w/v) activated charcoal, and 0.15% (w/v) gelite was used for callus induction. The highest cell growth and CPT production were obtained in dark and green light condition, respectively. Photoperiod has no effect on cell growth and CPT production. Both cell growth and CPT production were also influenced by combination ratio of red and blue light. Cell growth and CPT production were the highest in the ratio of red and blue light 90∶10.

Optimization of Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis of Waste Paper Using Response Surface Methodology

ABSTRACT Waste paper stands for the major biodegradable organic fraction of most of municipal solid waste. The potential of waste paper for glucose production was investigated in this current work. The pretreatment was accomplished by first subjecting waste paper to disintegration time (30 s), followed by ink removal of disintegrated waste paper using an deinking agent. Concentrated acid hydrolysis of waste paper with sulfuric acid was optimized to maximize glucose conversion. The concentrated acid hydrolysis conditions for waste paper (disintegrated time: 30 s, deinking agent loading : 15 ㎖) were optimized by using central composite design and response surface methodology. The optimization process employed a central composite design, where the investigated variables were acid concentration (60∼80%), loading sulfuric acid (1∼5 ㎖) and reaction time (1∼5 h). All the tested variables were identified to have significant effects (p < 0.05) on glucose conversion. The optimum concentrated acid hydrolysis conditions were acid concentration of 70.8%, loading sulfuric acid of 3.2 ㎖ and a reaction time of 3.6 h. This research of concentrated acid hydrolysis was a promising method to improve glucose conversion for waste paper. Keywords : waste paper, pretreatment, acid hydrolysis, central composite design,response surface methodology

Potassium chloride elicits enhancement of bilobalide and Ginkgolides production by Ginkgo biloba cell cultures

This study investigated the ability of potassium chloride (KCl) to elicit the production of bilobalide (BB), ginkgolide A (GA) and ginkgolide B (GB) by Ginkgo biloba cell suspension cultures. The salt stress by KCl treatments increased production of BB, GA and GB in both suspended cells and cultured medium. Especially, treatment of KCl 800 mM of highest concentration was stimulated emission into cultured medium BB, GA and GB compounds accumulated in cells. Although KCl 800 mM severely inhibited cells growth, the maximum content of GA and GB in cells was obtained in the treatment of KCl 800 mM, which was 1.9 and 4.0 times higher than the control. These results thus suggest that salt stress can afford enhanced production of secondary metabolites by plant cell cultures.

Selection of high berberine yielding phellodendron insulare nak. lines and the antimicrobial activity of their extracts

High berberine yielding Phellodendron insulare Nak. lines were selected by aggregate cloning method and the antimicrobial activity of their extracts was assessed. The berberine producing cork tree lines were selected by adopting a colorimetric method. In all 300 high berberine producing lines were selected with a colorimetric reagent containing 5M HCl and H2O2 and established from dissociated cell aggregates. The crude extracts from these lines showed antibacterial activities against tested Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimulium, and Listeria monocytogenes. The cork tree extracts were found to be inhibitory to these test organisms. Further the antimicrobial activity of plant extracts was on par with the berberine isolated from the extracts from native cork trees. These results have potential for developing alternative plant products as antimicrobial substances for application in agriculture and food industry.