Root bark of mulberry (Morus alba L.) has been used in herbal medicine as anti-phlogistic, liver protective, kidney protective, hypotensive, diuretic, anti-cough and analgesic agent. However, the anti-cancer activity and the potential anti-cancer mechanisms of mulberry root bark have not been elucidated. We performed in vitro study to investigate whether mulberry root bark extract (MRBE) shows anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity.

Recently, Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai (A. distichum) has been reported to exert the inhibitory effect on angiotensin converting enzyme. However, no specific pharmacological effects from A. distichum have been described. We performed in vitro study to evaluate anti-cancer properties of A. distichum and then elucidate the potential mechanisms.

Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai is a Korean endemic plant of the Oleaceae family that contains acteoside, a glycosylated caffeic acid, with neuroprotective, anti‑inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Previous studies, involving Accelerated Chromatographic Isolation, a high‑performance liquid chromatography‑photodiode array detector and a liquid chromatograph‑mass selective detector, isolated and identified acteoside in A. distichum (AAD) and documented its antioxidant and anti‑inflammatory activities. The aim of the present study was to determine whether AAD could protect from DNA damage by reducing oxidative stress. AAD treatment protected plasmid DNA against damage to DNA double‑strands induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased the levels of phosphorylated p53 and γ‑H2AX in ROS‑treated NIH 3T3 cells. These findings suggested that AAD could reduce ROS‑mediated cellular damage and may represent an effective, natural antioxidant with the ability to protect genetic material.

Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai is the only species in Abeliophyllum genus, which is Korean endemic. Ok Hwang 1ho, the first official cultivar of A. distichum., displays that colour of corolla is light yellow (8D and 9D). Here, we completed chloroplast genome of A. distichum cultivar Ok Hwang 1ho to understand genetic diversity of A. distichum cultivar. Its length is 156,008 bp long and has four subregions: 86,773 bp of large single copy (LSC) and 17,827 bp of small single copy (SSC) regions are separated by 25,704 bp of inverted repeat (IR) regions including 133 genes (88 protein-coding genes, eight rRNAs, and 37 tRNAs). The overall GC contents of this chloroplast genome are 37.8% and in the LSC, SSC, and IR regions are 35.8%, 31.9%, and 43.2%, respectively. Ninety-three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 56 insertion and deletions (INDELs) are identified against previous A. distichum chloroplast genome. Phylogenetic trees show that A. distichum is clustered with two Forsythia species and many cultivars of Olea europaea subspecies present shorter branches than that of A. distichum. Our chloroplast genome will be a fundamental data to understand morphological diversity of A. distuichum.