The relationship between adolescents' academic stress, impulsivity, anxiety, and skin picking behavior.

BACKGROUND: Skin picking behavior involves an individual picking or biting their skin repeatedly. Although this behavior commonly occurs at a young age, little research has addressed its harmful effects among the Korean population. Therefore, we examined the characteristics of South Korean adolescents who reported skin picking behavior. METHOD: South Korean students aged 12-16 years participated (N=410, females=52.2%). They completed questionnaires that addressed skin picking behavior, academic stress, impulsivity, and anxiety. The survey was conducted in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do from February-March 2016. RESULTS: Among participants, 66.8% reported that they had picked their skin and 15.4% did so currently. Skin picking was positively correlated with academic stress, impulsivity, and anxiety. Students who picked their skin more often displayed more anxiety, academic stress, and impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should address skin picking adolescents' characteristics, especially regarding anxiety and academic stress. Educational programs should be implemented to help adolescents decrease their anxiety and academic stress and prevent the worsening of skin picking behavior.

Composition of volatile compounds and in vitro antimicrobial activity of nine Mentha spp.

BACKGROUND: Mentha plants containing over 25 species are aromatic perennial herbs. These species have been interested and widely used because of various clinical findings. Many volatile compounds facilitate environmental interactions such as protecting themselves from pathogens, parasites, and herbivores. Therefore, this study assessed comparison of volatile composition and antimicrobial activity from nine Mentha species. The composition of volatiles was investigated from the aerial parts of nine different Mentha species using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In addition, screened antimicrobial activities against six food borne pathogenic bacteria using extracts obtained these plants. RESULTS: 77 volatile compounds were identified in total and it included 13 monoterpenoids, 19 sesquiterpenoids, and others. In particular, monoterpenoids such as eucalyptol (9.35-62.16 %), (±)camphorquinone (1.50-51.61 %), and menthol (0.83-36.91 %) were mostly detected as major constituents in Mentha species. The ethanol extract of nine Mentha species showed higher activity compared to other solvent extracts (methanol, hexane, di ethyl ether). Among these nine Mentha species chocomint showed higher inhibition activity against all bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that monoterpenoids are mainly rich in Mentha plants. Moreover, most of extracts obtained from Mentha showed strong antimicrobial activity against bacteria. Of these, chocomint indicates the highest inhibition activity.

Yeast Extract and Silver Nitrate Induce the Expression of Phenylpropanoid Biosynthetic Genes and Induce the Accumulation of Rosmarinic Acid in Agastache rugosa Cell Culture.

The present study aimed to investigate the role of yeast extract and silver nitrate on the enhancement of phenylpropanoid pathway genes and accumulation of rosmarinic acid in Agastache rugosa cell cultures. The treatment of cell cultures with yeast extract (500 mg/L) and silver nitrate (30 mg/L) for varying times enhanced the expression of genes in the phenylpropanoid pathway and the production of rosmarinic acid. The results indicated that the expression of RAS and HPPR was proportional to the amount of yeast extract and silver nitrate. The transcript levels of HPPR under yeast extract treatment were 1.84-, 1.97-, and 2.86-fold higher than the control treatments after 3, 6, and 12 h, respectively, whereas PAL expression under silver nitrate treatment was 52.31-fold higher than in the non-treated controls after 24 h of elicitation. The concentration of rosmarinic acid was directly proportional to the concentration of the applied elicitors. Yeast extract supplementation documented the highest amount of rosmarinic acid at 4.98 mg/g, whereas silver nitrate addition resulted in a comparatively lower amount of rosmarinic acid at 0.65 mg/g. In conclusion, addition of yeast extract to the cell cultures enhanced the accumulation of rosmarinic acid, which was evidenced by the expression levels of the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway genes in A. rugosa.

Characterization of cDNA encoding resveratrol synthase and accumulation of resveratrol in tartary buckwheat.

Resveratrol synthase (RS) is the key enzyme for biosynthesis of resveratrol which come from coumaroyl-coenzyme A (CoA) and malonyl-CoA. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of a RS gene and accumulation of resveratrol in tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum). FtRS was composed of 1173 bp open reading frame and 390 amino acid residues and had a theoretical molecular weight and isoelectric point value of 43.70 kDa and 6.24, respectively. The FtRS expression levels were examined in sprouts and different organs of two tartary buckwheat cultivars, Hokkai T8 (T8) and Hokkai T10 (T10). FtRS transcript levels and resveratrol contents were higher under the dark condition compared with light condition. The expression levels of different organs of T10 was not observed significant variations compared to different organs of T8. Interestingly, resveratrol was detected in the sprouts developmental stages, but no resveratrol could not detect in any other organs of both T8 and T10. Therefore, we suggest that the resveratrol content in tartary buckwheat sprouts may be attributed mainly to the dark condition. The characterization of FtRS will be helpful for better understanding of the resveratrol biosynthesis in tartary buckwheat.