Prebiotic oligosaccharides, with a degree of polymerization (DP) of mostly less than 10, exhibit diverse biological activities that contribute to human health. Currently available prebiotics are mostly derived from disaccharides and simple polysaccharides found in plants. Subtle differences in the structures of oligosaccharides can cause significant differences in their prebiotic proper-ties. Therefore, alternative substances supplying polysaccharides that have more diverse and complex structures are necessary for the development of novel oligosaccharides that have actions not present in existing prebiotics. In this review, we show that structural polysaccharides found in plant cell walls, such as xylans and pectins, are particularly potential resources supplying broadly diverse polysaccharides to produce new prebiotics.

Several Artemisia species are used as herbal medicines including the dried aerial parts of Artemisia capillaris, which are used as Artemisiae Capillaris Herba (known as “Injinho” in Korean medicinal terminology and “Yin Chen Hao” in Chinese). In this study, we developed tools for distinguishing between A. capillaris and 11 other Artemisia species that grow and/or are cultured in China, Japan, and Korea. Based on partial nucleotide sequences in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) that differ between the species, we designed primers to amplify a DNA marker for A. capillaris. In addition, to detect other Artemisia species that are contaminants of A. capillaris, we designed primers to amplify DNA markers of A. japonica, A. annua, A. apiacea, and A. anomala. Moreover, based on random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, we confirmed that primers developed in a previous study could be used to identify Artemisia species that are sources of Artemisiae Argyi Folium and Artemisiae Iwayomogii Herba. By using these primers, we found that multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was a reliable tool to distinguish between A. capillaris and other Artemisia species and to identify other Artemisia species as contaminants of A. capillaris in a single PCR.

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Ethylene might be one of the factors regulating the expression of CesA genes in flax seedlings.