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The purpose of this study is to analyze the trend of insect medicinal materials related to brain diseases in the patent. An electronic search for patents was conducted using the WIPSON database. Korea, China, Japan, USA, EU, and PCT patents, which were registered by October 4, 2019, were selected. A total of 59 patents were included in this study. Patents filed in China, Korea, Japan were 62.7%, 35.6%, and 1.7%, respectively. There was no patent filed in the USA and EU. In China, the most application was conducted after 2007. Korea had many patent applications that were submitted by research institutes and universities, but China had a high proportion of individual applicants. In IPC analysis, 86.4% of IPC were A61K, and 13.6% of IPC were A23L. Scolopendra, Scorpio, and Batryticatus Bombyx were used at high frequency for the patent. To sufficient information for utilizing patent technologies, more studies providing analyzed patent data are needed.

We evaluated the effect of Byeol-Gab Extract (BGE) on testicular injury in the mouse after radiation exposure. BGE (50 mg/kg) was administrated to male C57BL/6 mice by P.O for ten days before radiation exposure, and histological parameters were assessed at 6 h and 35 days post 5 Gy irradiation. The BGE attenuated radiation-induced apoptosis in germ cells after 6 h after irradiation. BGE protected testicular morphological changes, such as changes in seminiferous epithelial height after radiation exposure. BGE treatment significantly increased testis weight compared with irradiation controls at 35 days. The present study suggests that BGE attenuates radiation-induced testicular injury via an anti-apoptotic effect and recovery of spermatogenesis.

The purpose of this investigation is to analyze for the Korean patent application trends of health functional foods based on the medicinal plant resources. An electronic search for health functional foods was conducted in WIPSON DB (https://www.wipson.com). Korean patents that were registered between January 1, 2008, and October 14, 2019, were selected in the present study. The principal applicants and organizations, target diseases and their technologies, the number of a valid patent, Korean, scientific, and medicinal names of medicinal plants and their classified patents were provided. A total of 1,404 patents were included in this study. The health functional food patents using medicinal plants applied to the disease content includes metabolic (477 cases, 34.0%), immune (143 cases, 10.2%), cutaneous (122 cases, 8.7%), neurodegenerative (97 cases, 6.9%), and musculoskeletal diseases (81 cases, 5.8%). The most patent applications in this study belonged to the Korea Food Research Institute (124 cases). The frequently intended medicinal plant families for the patent of health functional foods belonged to Asteraceae (33 species), followed by Fabaceae (15 species), Apiaceae (13 species), Rosaceae (12 species), Lamiaceae (10 species), Araliaceae (10 species). Panax ginseng C.A.Mey. (Ginseng Radix) was the most used for various diseases (12/18 classified patents). The patent information is useful for inventing new patent of health functional foods using medicinal plant resources. Moreover, these data should be connected in various research fields such as economic botany, herbal medicine, alternative, and complementary medicine.

Medicinal minerals are single or a mixture of more than one mineral or rock/fossil, which are used to treat disease. A mineral is a naturally occurring homogeneous solid with definite chemical composition and a highly ordered atomic arrangement. It is usually formed by inorganic processes. For the standardization of medicinal mineral, systematic classification, like vegetable and animal medicines, is essential. In this study, mineralogical classification was performed according to chemical, physical, and crystallographic properties for the standardization of 25 medicinal minerals. These mineralogy base data are needed to present quantitative criteria for the standardization of medicinal mineral. In addition, it is essential to study the risk assessment according to the form of heavy metals contained in medicinal minerals and the stability evaluation of medicinal minerals.

Ganoderma (靈芝, Yeong-ji), the fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum or G. sinense, is used to treat insomnia, excessive dreaming, palpitation, forgetfulness, and lung deficiency-induced cough. The therapeutic efficacy of Ganoderma has historically been overstated and mythicized due to its scarcity, rarity, and high price. Therefore, this study was performed to investigate the changes in recognition of Ganoderma by screening the associated studies. The morphologies of two locally circulated species were compared through macroscopic observation. The mystification and exaggeration of the efficacy of Ganoderma in published literature could be attributed to its scarcity since the Jin (秦) and Han (漢) dynasties to the early Myeong (明) dynasty. However, the compendium of materia medica (本草綱目, Bonchogangmok) expressed doubts about the overstated efficacy of Ganoderma. In the Myeong (明) and Cheong (淸) dynasties, and the Joseon (朝鮮) dynasty, Ganoderma was scarcely used to compose herbal formulae. Recently, Jeok-ji (赤芝), which is popularly cultivated and circulated in Eastern Asia, was recognized as the fruiting body of G. lingzhi, a newly identified species genetically distant from G. lucidum. Further investigation of the Ganoderma grown in Korea would be necessary to understand the differences between the species of Ganoderma.

Gilgyeong (桔梗), a root of Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A.DC. (Campanulaceae), has been named as “Go-gilgyeong (苦桔梗)” in the traditional herbal literature owing to its bitter taste. The bitter Go-gilgyeong is considered to be of higher value in the herbal markets, and its commercial-grade is assessed according to its wildness and growth year. Jeni (薺苨), a root of Adenophora remotiflora (Siebold & Zucc.) Miq. (Campanulaceae), has also been named as “Cheom-gilgyeong (甛桔梗)” in the herbal literature, and is misunderstood as another name of Gilgyeong commercially. In the present study, we investigated the origin of Go-gilgyeong and Cheon-gilgyeong in the herbal literature and markets, and compared their therapeutic effects and morphological features. It was concluded that the terms Go-gilgyeong and Cheom-gilgyeong were used to distinguish the genuine Gilgyeong from its counterfeit. Go-gilgyeong was named after the bitter taste of Gilgyeong, while Cheom-gilgyeong was named after the sweet taste of Jeni, not as a commercial name of Gilgyeong. The bitterness, wildness, and growth year of P. grandiflorus roots could not guarantee the quality of Gilgyeong. Sore throat associated with severe heat syndrome (熱毒) can be treated by Jeni, while that associated with lesser heat can be treated by Gilgyeong. Gilgyeong and Jeni, although belonging to the same family, were morphologically distinguishable by their shapes, including the cross striations on the epidermis and the cambium and interstice on transversely sectioned surfaces. These results provide critical evidence for the clinical use of Gilgyeong and also indicate that Gilgyeong should be separated from Jeni.

Sedum aizoon and S. kamtschaticum have been widely used as useful herbal medical plants, but the relatives have a taxonomic controversy due to their ambiguous morphological boundaries. Thus, at the genetic level, to clarify the taxonomic relationship between the two, we identified the chloroplast DNA haplotypes of 128 individuals from 6 populations in the Korean peninsula. Analyses were based on sequence data from the trnLUAA-trnFGAA, psaI-accD, petN-psbM, and rpl32-trnLUAG regions. The S. aizoon has a total of two haplotypes, while the S. kamtschaticum has a total of five haplotypes. At the species level, S. kamtschaticum harbored relatively higher genetic variation. TCS analysis largely revealed two lineages formed according to each species. However, S. kamtschaticum's haplotype K1 of the Mt. Jiri population was included in S. aizoon lineage. The haplotype K1 was discussed in two aspects: morphological and genetic criteria in the statistical parsimony network. In this regard, we conclude that S. aizoon specialized for the local environment (Mt. Jiri) was convergent with the morphology of the S. kamtschaticum by chance.

Herbal medicines have been traditionally used a lot in Northeast Asia, e.g., South and North Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan. In particular, various rosaceous plants are widely used for medicinal purposes among countries. However, the original rosaceous species, which are registered in pharmacopoeia standards, are sometimes different and confuse. In this study, herbal medicines in the pharmacopoeia were analyzed for Rosaceae taxa in order to compare the identity and different taxonomic opinions for each country. The scientific names of herbal medicines were analyzed origins from pharmacopoeias of Republic and Democratic People's Republic of Korea, People's Republic of China, Japan, Taiwan, and their local floras. Besides, we provide the figures of major medicinal items and voucher specimens by using KIOM and MFDS database. The analyzed rosaceous herbal medicines in pharmacopoeias were all 26 items; the highest percentage, genus Prunus (36%) and fruits (36%) among the registered genera and medicinal parts, respectively. Six items were in all five country's pharmacopoeia. Ten items were in more than two countries' pharmacopoeia. Our research provides valuable, necessary information, e.g., corrected scientific names of original species, taxonomic reviews, figures of medicine, and voucher specimens. These results will help in the understanding of the authentic rosaceous plants among the five countries' pharmacopoeias.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a system that can be used by clinicians practicing Korean medicine (KM) to record necessary elements of case reports in a scientific manner. Methods: A common KM case report template and web-based system were developed through a KM chart-item review. The case entry structure of this system was established according to the CARE guidelines developed by the EQUATOR Network. The system structure was confirmed after 5 KM clinicians validated its usability. Results: A total of 835 items from 39 charts used in KM hospitals and clinics were analyzed. Among the KM-specific components, the item for a pattern identification (PI) diagnosis was made according to a chart frequency analysis, and the treatment item was selected according to herbal medicine and acupuncture reporting guidelines. The case data were recorded in the following order: patient demographic information, disease history, symptom changes including PI, treatment according to the timeline, and final treatment evaluation. This web-based KM case reporting system is available at https://www.kmpedia.kr. Conclusion: This case reporting system is expected to contribute to the present literature on KM-based clinical data. The analysis of this data will, in turn, lead to valid scientific evidence to support the practice of KM in the future.