• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.199-210
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mulberry juice and cake powder on blood glucose and lipid status along with intestinal disaccharidase and erythrocyte antioxidative enzyme system in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Sprague-Dawley male rats weighing $100{\pm}10g$ were randomly assigned to one normal group, and eight STZ-induced diabetic groups: control diet group without mulberry juice and cake powders (DM-C), three mulberry juice powder groups (0.5%: DM-0.5J, 1%: DM-1J, 2%: DM-2J) and low mulberry cake powder groups (0.25%: DM-0.25C, 0.5%: DM-0.5C, 1%: DM-1 C, 2%: DM-2C). After three-week feeding of each experimental diet, diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of 50 mg/kg body weight of STZ in sodium citrate buffer (pH 4.3) via tail vein of eight DM groups. Rats were sacrificed at the 9th day of diabetic states. Level of blood glucose was 505 mg/dl in DM-C group but it was 28% and 39% lower in mulberry juice and cake powder fed groups, respectively, than the DM-C group. Activities of maltase, sucrase and lactase in proximal part of small intestine were significantly lower in the mulberry juice and cake powder groups by $42{\sim}47%$ than those of DM-C group. Erythrocytic superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities were significantly reduced by STZ but increased close to normal levels along with less accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Serum levels of triglyceride and total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol by STZ-DM were reduced and increased respectively, to the norma] levels by the mulberry juice and cake powder. Except the levels of TBARS, the effects on the other measurements by the various dietary levels of mulberry juice and cake powder were almost same and the effect of the cake powder was most significant at the lowest level. These results indicate that mulberry juice and cake powders have consityerable hypoglycemic effect and strengthening antioxidant defense systems at the low levels in diabetic state and may be able to reduce diabetic complications.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.116-121
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• 2001

To observe the stimulating effects of low dose ${\gamma}$ - radiation on the dormancy breaking and physiological activity, potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Dejima) were irradiated at the dose of $0.5{\sim}30$ Gy. Low dose ${\gamma}$ - radiation exhibited promoting effects on the sprouting rate within the range of optimum dose of 1 Gy and 2 Gy and on the sprout length within the range of optimum dose of 2 Gy and 4 Gy. Regardless of storage duration and irradiation doses, the number of sprouts was enhanced. The number of sprouts, which were reserved for 15 days after production (DAP), were significantly increased under 4, 8 and 16 Gy irradiation. The growth of 45 DAP sprouts was extremely stimulated under 4 Gy irradiation accompanying the increase of peroxidase activity in the plantlet. In this study, it was also suggested that the activities of antioxidative enzymes of potato plantlets were not related to the irradiation dose during the plantlet development with the exception of decrease in catalase activity.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 1996

The hypothesis that calcium provoke $O_2^-$ formation by Kupffer cells and may contribute to carbon tetrachloride $(CCl_4)$ induced liver injury was studied in SD rats. In $CCl_4-treated$ animals, hepatic malonaldehyde (nmole/gm liver) and plasma ALT (IU/ml) levels elevated significantly from $119.63{\pm}13.00$ to $268.97{\pm}14.82$ and from $17.3{\pm}0.18$ to $806.08{\pm}37.63$, respectively, compared to those in controls. Activation of Kupffer cells with high dose of retinol (250,000 IU/kg/day, po, for 7 day) significantly enhanced ALT levels, while inactivation of Kupffer cells with gadolinium chloride (7.5 mg/kg/day, ip, for 2 day) attenuated the increase of serum ALT level following $CCl_4$ treatment. Diltiazem (10 mg/kg/day, ip for 2 day) given in combination with retinol led to a marked decrease in ALT levels compare to the level in rats treated only with retinol against $CCl_4$ treatment. In order to determine any alterations in cytochrome P450 activities, the P450 content and the CYP2E1 activity were measured and all $CCl_4-treated$ rats showed significantly lower levels compared to those in controls and vehicle-treated animals. There were significant increases in glutathione peroxidase in all $CCl_4-treated$ rats except diltiazem treated groups. No difference was found among untreated and vehicle-treated rats. It is concluded that Kupffer cells contribute to $CCl_4-induced$ liver injury and that calcium antagonist attenuated the increased $CCl_4-induced$ liver injury due to activation of Kupffer cells.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.299-305
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• 2007

Oxidative stress is a major damaging factor for plants exposed to environmental stresses. Previously, we have generated transgenic potato (cv. Superior) plants expressing both CuZnSOD and APX genes in chloroplast under the control of an oxidative stress-inducible SWPA2 promoter (referred to as SSA plants) and selected the transgenic potato plant lines with tolerance against methyl viologen (MV)-mediated oxidative stress. When leaf discs of SSA plants were subjected to $3{\mu}M$ methyl viologen (MV), they showed approximately 40% less damage than non-transgenic (NT) plants. SSA plantlets were treated with $0.3{\mu}M$ MV stress, SSA plants also exhibited reduced damage in root growth. When 350 MV was sprayed onto the whole plants, SSA plants showed a significant reduction in visible damage, which was approximately 75% less damage than leaves of NT plants. These plants will be used for further analysis of tolerance to environmental stresses, such as high temperature and salt stress. These results suggest that transgenic potato (cv. Superior) plants would be a useful plant crop for commercial cultivation under unfavorable growth conditions.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 1996

This study was conducted to investigate the protox activity, the PPIX accumulation and the activity of antioxidative enzymes of the oxyfluorfen-tolerant and -susceptible rice cultivars by oxyfluorfen and oxytluorfen-similar herbicides treatment. When treated with acifluorfen, bifenox or oxadiazon, the oxyfluorfen-tolerant rice cultivars showed less decreased in fresh weight than the susceptible rice cultivars. The inhibition of protox activity was in the order of acifluorfen > oxyfluorfen > bifenox > oxadiazon, and the PPIX accumulation was in the sequence of oxadiazon > acifluorfen > oxyfluorfen > bifenox. The inhibition of protox activity and the PPIX accumulation by the herbicide was greater in the susceptible rice cultivars than in the tolerant rice cultivars. The effect inhibiting the decrease of chlorophyll content resulting from the treatment of GC, tetrapyrrole biosynthesis inhibitor, was in the order of oxyfluorfen > acifluorfen > bifenox > oxadiazon, and the tolerant rice cultivar had more than the susceptible rice cultivar. In the treatment of DPE and oxadiazon, the activities of MDAR, POX and GR was higher in the tolerant rice cultivar than in the susceptible rice cultivar, and in the case of POX isozyme the activities of main D and E bands increased in the tolerant rice cultivars at tested herbicides but they didn't in the susceptible rice cultivar.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.1057-1063
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• 2013

Citri Pericarpium is one of the most commonly used traditional herbal medicines in Korea, China, and Japan. Its extracts have many properties including the treatment of indigestion and inflammatory respiratory syndromes such as bronchitis and asthma. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of anti-cancer activity and molecular targets are not fully understood. In this work, we investigated the anti-proliferative activity of Citri Pericapium (EMCP) methanol extract on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the association of these effects with apoptotic cell death using U937 human leukemia cells in vitro. EMCP treatment decreased cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner following an increase of the sub-G1 phase, the down-regulation of Bax proteins, the activation of caspases, the degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase proteins (PARP), and the induction of ROS generation. However, the quenching of ROS generation by N-acetyl-L-cysteine administration, a scavenger of ROS, reversed the EMCP-induced apoptosis effects. In addition, heme oxygenase-1 expression also recovered by inhibiting the nuclear translocation of phosphorylated NF-E2-related factor 2. Taken together, our data indicate that ROS are involved as key mediators in the early molecular events in the EMCP-induced apoptotic pathway.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1557-1562
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• 2005

A mechanism of hair cell damage caused by noise and ototoxic agents is mediated through generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). It is known that most of animals have defense systems to protect against ROS, and the cochlea of inner ear in animals also has ROS defense systems including several antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione (GSH), which efficiently detoxifying ROS generated under normal condition. Steamed roots of Rehmannia glutinosa have been traditionally used in Oriental medicine for the treatment of auditory disease such as tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss as well as inflammatory diseases, hectic fever, night sweat, and headache. In the present study, we showed that the ethanol extract from steamed roots of R. giutinosa (ESRG) increased the antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, GPX, and GR activities and GSH level in HEI-OC1 auditory cells. This extract itself did not show any significant cytotoxicity up to $50{\mu}g/ml$. Our results further support the view that ESRG is promising sources of potential antioxidants. Future studies will be aimed at investigating the effects of ESRG on the regulation of cellular mechanisms and isolating and identifying the substances responsible for the regulation of antioxidant enzyme system from the plant extracts.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.399-403
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• 2003

In order to understand the protection effects of antioxidant enzymes against oxidative stress caused by various environmental stresses, transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv, Xanthi) plants expressing both copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in chloroplasts (referred to as CA plants) were subjected to highlight (1,100$\mu$mol m$^{-2}$ sec$^{-1}$) and chilling at 4$^{\circ}C$. The protection effects of CA plants using leaf discs were compared with those of transgenic plants expressing either CuZnSOD or APX in chloroplasts (SOD plants or APX plants, respectively) and non-transgenic (NT) plants. CA plants showed about 15％ protection in the photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) of photosystem II relative to NT plants 1 hr after treatment of both highlight and chilling, whereas they showed about 23％ protection in the redox state of P700 in photosystem I at 3 hr after treatment. SOD plants or APX plants showed an intermediate protection effect between CA plants and NT plants. These results demonstrated that the coexpression of CuZnSOD and APX in chloroplasts importantly involves in the protection effects against oxidative stress caused by various environmental stresses.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.370-381
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• 2018

Background: To enhance the taste and physiological characteristics of Lycii fructus (Gugija) extracts, we investigated the changes in the physiological characteristics of Gugija extracts caused by adding white ginseng (WG) and red ginseng (RG) Methods and Results: Gugija extracts, including 10G10, 10GW-G8 : 2, -G6 : 4, -G4 : 6, -G2 : 8, and -G0 (mixtures made by replacing 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% of Gugija with WG), as well as 10G10, 10GR-G8 : 2, -G6 : 4, -G4 : 6, -G2 : 8, and -G0 (mixture made by replacing 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% of Gugija with RG) were extracted with water at 10 times the respective mixture's volume. The antioxidant activities of Gugija extracts were investigated by assessing their 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) activity, nitrite scavenging activity, and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity. As the amount of WG added increased, the DPPH, and, ABTS radical scavenging activity, and FRAP activity of the Gugija extract decreased. The half maximal inhibitory concentration ($IC_{50}$) value of 10G10, 10GW-G6 : 4, 10GR-G6 : 4, and 10GR-G0 for DPPH radical scavenging activity were $25.50{\pm}1.04$, $52.06{\pm}1.46$, $16.87{\pm}1.24$, and $9.50{\pm}0.16{\mu}{\ell}/m{\ell}$, respectively. On the other hand, the physiological activity of Gugija extract increased with the addition of increasing amounts of RG. However, ACE inhibitory activity was the highest ($50.25{\pm}2.58%$) in the Gugija 10-fold extract without any added RG. Conclusions: From the above results, we suggest that adding RG to Gugija extracts increase their antioxidant, FRAP, and nitrite scavenging activities.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2005

This study was conducted to compare the physiological and biochemical responses of P. orientalis and L. tulipifera in response to ozone. One-year-old seedlings of P. orientalis and L. tulipifera were exposed to 100 ppb ozone concentration for 2, 4, or 8 hr/day for 1 week. Photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and ozone uptake rate were measured daily, and chlorophyll fluorescence, carboxylation efficiency, chlorophyll content, and SOD activity were measured after 1 week. In P. orientalis, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were not decreased in the 2h/day ozone treatment, but the L. tulipifera response was more sensitive even in the 2h/day ozone treatment. Increased treatment time decreased photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. Chlorophyll fluorescence was not significantly different among treatment times. However, carboxylation efficiency decreased with increased treatment time, and L. tulipifera was more sensitive than P. orientalis. Chlorophyll content did not differ with species or treatment time. SOD activity response was greater in L. tulipifera than in P. orientalis, increasing to $131\%$ of pretreatment observations. Therefore it was concluded that L. tulipifera was more responsive and had lower ozone tolerance than P. orientalis.