Sea anemone venoms comprise multifarious peptides modulating biological targets such as ion channels or receptors. The sequence of a new Kunitz-type peptide, HCRG21, belonging to the Heteractis crispa RG (HCRG) peptide subfamily was deduced on the basis of the gene sequence obtained from the Heteractis crispa cDNA. HCRG21 shares high structural homology with Kunitz-type peptides APHC1-APHC3 fro...

BACKGROUND Nowadays herbal products used in traditional medicine are sold in processed forms and thus morphological authentication is almost impossible. With herbal industry rapidly growing size, consumer safety becomes an important issue that requires special attention. Identification of herbal species in the products is therefore needed. METHODS Sequences from the selected regions (matK, rb...

Nepeta cataria Linn (Family Labiatae), commonly known as catnip, is a herbaceous plant and is a native of southeast Europe, Orient, Southwest Asia and Western temperate Himalayas. Leaves and flowering tops, which contain tannin and volatile oil are aromatic, carminative, tonic, diaphoretic, refrigerant, emmenagogue, antiseptic, stimulant and useful in infantile colic and hysteria. Leaves are de...

Background and Objective: Physical activity has long been associated with mental health. Nepeta menthoides is a native Iranian herb recently acknowledged for its anti-depressant properties. This study attempted to determine and compare the effects of swimming exercise and Nepeta menthoides on reserpine-induced depression in rats.Materials and Methods: Male rats (n=80) were assigned to 8 g...

The genus Perilla, known as an oil crop or a Chinese medicine, vegetable crop, is widely cultivated in East Asia. It occurs in two distinct varieties, var. frutescens and var. crispa, and their genetic relationship is still obscure. To understand the genetic diversity and relationships of the cultivated and weedy types of Perilla crops in Korea, Japan and China, we evaluated the genetic variati...

Sea anemones are a rich source of Kunitz-type polypeptides that possess not only protease inhibitor activity, but also Kv channels toxicity, analgesic, antihistamine, and anti-inflammatory activities. Two Kunitz-type inhibitors belonging to a new Heteractis crispa RG (HCRG) polypeptide subfamily have been isolated from the sea anemone Heteractis crispa. The amino acid sequences of HCRG1 and HCR...

The leaves of Perilla frutescens var. crispa (Lamiaceae)-known as 'Jureum-soyeop' or 'Cha-jo-ki' in Korean, 'ZI SU YE' in Chinese, and 'Shiso' in Japan-has been used as a medicinal herb. Recent gamma irradiated mutation breeding on P. frutescens var. crispa in our research group resulted in the development of a new perilla cultivar, P. frutescens var. crispa (cv. Antisperill; PFCA), which has a...

A comprehensive study on essential oils extracted from different Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi subsp. glandulosa (Req.) Ball samples from Tarquinia (Italy) is reported. In this study, the 24-h steam distillation procedure for essential oil preparation, in terms of different harvesting and extraction times, was applied. The Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis showed that C. nepet...

Pinnate compound leaves have laminae called leaflets distributed at intervals along an axis, the rachis, whereas simple leaves have a single lamina. In simple- and compound-leaved species, the PHANTASTICA (PHAN) gene is required for lamina formation. Antirrhinum majus mutants lacking a functional gene develop abaxialized, bladeless adult leaves. Transgenic downregulation of PHAN in the compound...