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Obesity, characterized by the accumulation of excess adipocytes, is a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Medicinal plants, including Hibiscus sabdariffa, have been traditionally employed to prevent or treat conditions such as obesity and inflammation due to their safety profile and minimal side effects during long-term use. However, the anti-obesity potential of Hibiscus syriacus, a taxonomically distinct species within the same genus, remains unexplored. In this study, we screened 181 varieties of H. syriacus buds for anti-obesity effects and identified the water extract of the ‘Pyeonghwa’ bud (HPWE) as a potent inhibitor of adipogenesis. Using 3T3-L1 murine pre-adipocyte cells, we demonstrated that HPWE significantly reduced lipid accumulation without inducing cytotoxicity. Mechanistically, HPWE downregulated the expression of key adipogenic signaling proteins and transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPα), which serve as molecular markers of adipogenesis. Additionally, in vivo experiments employing a high-fat-diet-induced obesity mouse model using C57BL/6 species confirmed the anti-obesity effects of HPWE. Collectively, these findings suggest that HPWE represents a promising candidate for the prevention of obesity.

Wild-simulated ginseng (WSG, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is grown in mountainous forests, without the chemical treatment or installation of artificial facilities. This study aimed to investigate monthly changes in growth characteristics and ginsenoside contents in WSG to suggest the optimal harvest time. Four-year-old WSG were collected in the same area every month, and their growth characteristics and ginsenoside contents were measured. The growth characteristics of aerial and root parts were measured from May to July and from March to December, respectively. For the aerial part, most growth characteristics of WSG decreased over time, except for stem length. For the root part, rhizome length increased over time except for September, while the root diameter and weight of root part were mostly consistent. The root length increased by September, while the number of rootlets was the highest at May. At July, the total ginsenoside content of WSG was significantly the highest, while the total ginsenoside content at October was the lowest. This result was believed to be due to the F2, Rd, and Rg1 contents of the aerial part, rather than the root part. Also, based on these growths and the ginsenoside contents of WSG, the optimal harvest time for WSG is considered to be late spring–summer (May–July) when the aerial part can be identified.

The Hibiscus genus of the Malvaceae family is widely distributed and has diverse applications. Hibiscus sinosyriacus is a valuable ornamental tree, but it has not been extensively researched. This study aimed to complete the chloroplast genome of H. sinosyriacus and elucidate its evolutionary relationship with closely related species and genera. The complete chloroplast genome of H. sinosyriacus was found to be 160,892 bp in length, with annotations identifying 130 genes, including 85 coding genes, 37 tRNAs, and 8 rRNAs. Interspecific variations in the Hibiscus spp. were explored, and H. sinosyriacus has species-specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms in four genes. Genome structure analysis and visualization revealed that in the Abelmoschus genus, parts of the large single-copy region, including rps19, rpl22, and rps3, have been incorporated into the inverted repeat region, leading to a duplication and an increase in the number of genes. Furthermore, within the Malvales order, the infA gene remains in some genera. Phylogenetic analysis using the whole genome and coding sequences established the phylogenetic position of H. sinosyriacus. This research has further advanced the understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of Hibiscus spp. and related genera, and the results of the structural and variation studies will be helpful for future research.

As the national flower of Korea, the Hibiscus syriacus L. (Rose of Sharon) is symbolic in its abundance and is a prominent feature of Korean culture. H. syriacus has played an important role in Korea, not only as an ornamental plant but also as an essential ingredient in folk remedies through its various parts. This study aimed to characterize the nutritional and biochemical composition of each plant unit of H. syriacus “Wonhwa.” The units are namely: the petals, leaves, roots, and sprouts from its seeds. According to the results each unit produced, the sprouts had the highest content of amino acids and fatty acids which adhere to the requirements of nutritionally excellent food ingredients. The petals produced high quantities of glucose, sucrose, and fumaric acid, with the highest antioxidant activity among the four units. The main bioactive compounds detected in H. syriacus extracts in the four units were o‐coumaric acid, p‐coumaric acid, schaftoside, isoschaftoside, apigenin‐6‐C‐glucoside‐7‐o‐glucoside, and kaempferol‐3‐O‐galactoside‐7‐O‐rhamnoside. Overall, the highest number of bioactive compounds, 2 phenolic acids and 22 flavonoids, were identified in the petals. These results suggest the possibility of excellent pharmacological activity in the petals. This study was carried out with the intention of identifying benefits for human consumption of H. syriacus in terms of their individual units, as well as to detect other functional attributes of the components. To conclude, the results generated in this study strongly suggest the possibility of excellent pharmacological activity and nutritional advantages of not only the petals but across each division of the H. syriacus plant.

Urban environments pose challenges for pollinators due to habitat loss and limited floral resources. However, green infrastructure, particularly street and ornamental trees, can play a critical role in supporting urban pollinator communities. In this study, we evaluated nectar volume, sugar content, and amino acid composition across eight urban tree species commonly planted in South Korea. Using standardized productivity metrics at the flower, tree, and hectare scales, we compared their nutritional contributions. Our results revealed substantial interspecific differences in nectar quantity and composition. Tilia amurensis, Heptacodium miconioides, Aesculus turbinata, and Wisteria floribunda exhibited high nectar yields or amino acid productivity, whereas species such as Cornus kousa, though lower in nutritional yield, may offer complementary value due to their distinct flowering periods or other phenological traits. These findings underscore the importance of selecting tree species not only for aesthetic value but also for ecological function, providing an evidence-based approach to pollinator-friendly urban biodiversity planning and landscape management.

Hibiscus trionum L. is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Malvaceae family. It is native to Central Africa, however, is now naturalized in Europe and Asia including Korea. Here, we report the complete chloroplast genome assembly of H. trionum. The complete chloroplast genome comprises 160,530 bp and is divided into four typical regions: a large single-copy region of 89,272 bp, a pair of inverse repeats of 26,152 bp each, and a small single-copy region of 18,954 bp. A total of 131 genes were identified in this chloroplast, of which 86 were protein-coding, 37 were tRNA, and 8 were rRNA genes. The results of this study will serve as a key reference for further research on Hibiscus speciation.

The amount of irrigation and fertilization should be considered first for the production and standardization of high-quality H. syriacus L. seedlings using container seedlings. This study was conducted to investigate the optimal conditions suitable for container cultivation of hibiscus by analyzing growth and physiological responses according to the control of irrigation and fertilization. Therefore, in this study, H. syriacus L. for. Haeoreum (3-year-old hardwood cutting propagation), a fast-growing, was transplanted into a 40 L container. The irrigation amount per container was adjusted (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 ton/yr/tree), and the amount of fertilizer applied (0, 69.0, 138.0 and 207.0 g/yr/tree). The growth rate according to the irrigation-fertilization treatment was higher in the 0.3 ton-138.0 g/yr/tree irrigation-fertilization treatment (p < 0.001). Total biomass yield and seedling quality index (SQI) were highest in the 0.3 ton-138.0 g/yr/tree irrigation-fertilization treatment (p < 0.001). The higher the fertilization concentration, the faster the flowering and the longer the flowering. The photosynthetic capacity of H. syriacus L. was reduced in bare root seedling cultivation and container-non-fertilized treatment. The chlorophyll fluorescence response was also affected by bare root cultivation and containerized seedling cultivation fertilization. Nutrient vector diagnosis showed “nutritional suitability” in the 0.3 ton-138.0 g/yr/tree treatment. Overall, containerized seedling cultivation was superior in growth, photosynthetic performance, photochemical efficiency, and nutrient storage capacity compared to bare root cultivation. These results be expected to contribute not only to the industrial production of excellent container seedlings of H. syriacus L. but also to the production of other woody plants.

This study aimed to investigate the correlation among the contents of marker compounds, growth characteristics, and environmental factors of Schisandra chinensis fruits across South Korea. The fruits were collected from 36 cultivation sites in 28 regions across the country. We investigated nine growth characteristics, twelve soil physicochemical properties, eight meteorological data, and three marker compounds in this study. We optimized and validated an optimized method for quantifying marker compounds using UPLC and performed correlation analysis among the contents of marker compounds, growth characteristics, and environmental factors. The UPLC-UV method for analyzing marker compounds was validated by measuring linearity, LOD, LOQ, precision, and accuracy. The marker compounds were negatively correlated with the fruit size and sugar contents, and growth characteristics were negatively correlated with some physicochemical properties of the soil. The results of this study can be used as basic data for the standard cultural practices and quality control of S. chinensis fruits.

Angelica gigas Nakai is an important medicinal plant. Several environmental factors such as altitude, physiognomy, and atmospheric temperature can affect the cultivation of A. gigas . Therefore, climate change is likely to influence the growth of A. gigas and the synthesis of its active ingredients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different carbon dioxide concentrations and temperatures according to Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, SSP5-8.5) on the growth, physiological activities, and antioxidant activities of A. gigas . The photosynthesis rate of A. gigas under SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 conditions showed a steady reduction. Chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid content decreased with the prolongation of the growing season under climate change conditions. Chlorophyll a fluorescence showed significantly higher RC/CSo, RC/ABS, PI abs , SFI abs in higher CO 2 concentration and temperature conditions. Only the total dry weight of A. gigas for each climate change scenario was significantly different, while the other growth characteristics were not significantly different because of high inter-individual variation. The antioxidant activities of A. gigas (DPPH, ABTS, and NO scavenging activities) under each of the different conditions showed no significant differences. The reducing power was significantly increased in SSP5-8.5 compared to SSP1-2.6. The differences in phenolic contents of both aerial parts and root parts were not statistically significant, while the flavonoid content of aerial parts increased depending on the temperature and CO 2 concentration. These results indicated that climate change can affect the growth, physiological activities, and antioxidant activities of A. gigas Nakai. Our findings underline the need to develop strategies to overcome the adverse aspects of climate change.

Hibiscus syriacus L. (Rose of Sharon), is the national flower of Korea. H. syriacus has both ornamental and medicinal value, and many cultivars have been exploited for its development. Cytogenomic information is crucial for elucidating chromosomal composition, ploidy, and specific sequence distribution. In this study, chromosome constitution, genome size, and ploidy were analyzed in ten Hibiscus sp. cultivars with different breeding histories using triple-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and flow cytometry. Prelabeled oligonucleotide probes (PLOPs) of three universal tandem repeats (5S rDNA, 45S rDNA, and telomeric DNA) were used for FISH. The chromosome length ranged from 1.20 to 4.84 μm, and the chromosome number varied from 2 n  = 84 to 2 n  = 172 with the basic chromosome number x  = 21. Based on chromosome number, FISH signals, and genome size, three cultivars were identified as euploids of tetraploid and hexaploid euploids, and the remaining seven cultivars as aneuploids of tetraploid, hexaploid, and octoploid euploids. The number of 5S rDNA signals was two, three, and four for tetraploid, hexaploid, and octoploid, respectively. Whereas 45S rDNA signals varied from two to five pairs among the cultivars. Genome size (2C) ranged from 4.35 to 4.80 pg in tetraploids, 6.35 to 6.78 pg in hexaploids, and 8.20 to 8.94 pg in octoploids, which corresponded to the ploidy identification using FISH chromosome composition. FISH using PLOPs demonstrated that the nuclear DNA content increased proportionally with the ploidy level, indicating that the chromosome composition and genome size were consistent. The findings will be useful for future genomic research on Hibiscus species breeding and development strategies.