: This study was conducted to identify the effect of shading and pinching on growth and acanthoside-D content of Acanthopanax divaricatus var. albeofructus and A. koreanum Nakai. Different pinching heights showed no significant differences in terms of plant growth and acanthoside-D content but higher values showed that pinching A. divaricatus at 60 ㎝ and A. koreanum at 30 ㎝ favored good growth and higher fresh weight in the shoots. The content of acanthoside-D was not significantly affected by pinching heights. Also, no significant difference in acanthoside-D content was found between the lower and upper part of plant in the first year. However it was much higher in the lower part than the upper part in the second year, which indicated that the content of acanthoside-D was comparatively high in the lower part where lignification is much advanced. Shading showed benefits in terms of growth of A. divaricatus while only 50%-shading was favorable for A. koreanum to achieve superior growth. Overall, results indicated that shading had favorably affected the growth of the 2 Acanthopanax species while no-shading is better if we opt to achieve higher acathoside D content.

− High-performance liquid chromatography was performed in order to analyze the changes in the flavonoid content (rutin, hyperin, afzelin, quercetin, and kaempferol) of Acanthopanax divaricatus and A. koreanum, in response to different cultivation methods (pinching height, planting time, and top dressing). The total flavonoid content of A. divaricatus and A. koreanum ranged from 0.201 to 0.690 mg/g with different pinching heights, 0.143 to 1.001 mg/g for different planting times, and 0.156 to 1.074 mg/g depending on the rate of fertilizer application. In both A. divaricatus and A. koreanum, the total flavonoid content in the upper section of the plant was greater than that in the lower section. These results demonstrate which cultivation methods maximize the flavonoid content of A. divaricatus and A. koreanum, and thus help to optimize flavonoid yields to improve production for nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical applications.

: This study was conducted to enhance the propagation of Acanthopanax divaricatus and Acanthopanax koreanum through different cutting practices. For propagation by cuttings, scions were taken on September 1. This already has hard skin and showed much higher values in terms of root length, root number, rooting ratio and root weight than those taken on June 30 and August 1. Regardless of cutting date, 50% shading resulted to the highest root length, root number, root ratio and root weight. Meanwhile, 95% shading significantly reduced these parameters compared with no shading. These results suggest that over-shading may inhibit root growth. Two growth regulators, IBA (concentration of 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 ppm) and Rootone-F (0.4%) were also tested of its effect to the cuttings. Rootone-F was found to be more effective than IBA. Cutting treated with Rootone-F had slightly higher root length and root number. A. koreanum which grows well in hot climatic condition showed better rooting ability than A. divaricatus.

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