• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.103-112
• /
• 2010

Objective : The aim of this study was to determine whether methanol extract of Do-Ki-Tang (DKT) inhibit free radical generation and production of nitrite an index of NO, $PGE_2$, iNOS, COX-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6 and MCP-1 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Methods : Cytotoxic activity of extract on RAW 264.7 cells was measured using 5-(3-caroboxymeth-oxyphenyl)-2H-tetra-zolium inner salt (MTS) assay. The expression level of inflammatory response-related proteins was confirmed by western blot. The production of proinflammatory cytokines was measured by ELISA. Results : Our results indicated that DKT scavenged DPPH radical and nitric oxide in vitro. Moreover, DKT significantly inhibited the LPS-induced NO, $PGE_2$ production and iNOS, COX-2 expression accompanied by an attenuation of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6 and MCP-1 formation in macrophages. Furthermore, DKT treatment also blocked LPS-induced intracellular ROS production and the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ and MAPKs. Conclusion : Our data suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of DKT is mediated through down-modulation of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines by blocking the signaling pathways of NF-${\kappa}B$ and MAPKs. These inhibitory effects by DKT represent a potential therapeutic approach to the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.684-692
• /
• 2016

Acute respiratory virus infectious diseases are a growing health problem, particularly among children and the elderly. Much effort has been made to develop probiotics that prevent influenza virus infections by enhancing innate immunity in the respiratory tract until vaccines are available. Lactobacillus plantarum GB-LP2, isolated from a traditional Korean fermented vegetable, has exhibited preventive effects on influenza virus infection in mice. To identify the molecular basis of this strain, we conducted a whole-genome assembly study. The single circular DNA chromosome of 3,284,304 bp was completely assembled and 3,250 protein-encoding genes were predicted. Evolutionarily accelerated genes related to the phenotypic trait of anti-infective activities for influenza virus were identified. These genes encode three integral membrane proteins, a teichoic acid export ATP-binding protein and a glucosamine - fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase involved in host innate immunity, the nonspecific DNA-binding protein Dps, which protects bacteria from oxidative damage, and the response regulator of the three-component quorum-sensing regulatory system, which is related to the capacity of adhesion to the surface of the respiratory tract and competition with pathogens. This is the first study to identify the genetic backgrounds of the antiviral activity in L. plantarum strains. These findings provide insight into the anti-infective activities of L. plantarum and the development of preventive probiotics.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.41-45
• /
• 2008

Algal fucoidan is a marine polysaccharide containing sulfur with a wide variety of biological activities including anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects. Although antioxidants can inhibit inflammatory signals through inhibiting activator protein-1 and/or nuclear factor-kappaB activation, it is obscure whether fucoidan directly scavenges oxy-radicals or indirectly regulates oxidant production and/or antioxidant defense system. The antioxidant activities of fucoidan against peroxyl radicals, peroxynitrites and hydroxyl radicals were determined by the total oxy-radical scavenging capacity (TOSC) assay. The specific TOSC values of fucoidan against peroxyl radicals, peroxynitrites or hydroxyl radicals were $282{\pm}60$, $43{\pm}1$ or $40{\pm}1\;TOSC/mg/mL$, respectively. These specific TOSC values against peroxyl radicals, peroxynitrites or hydroxyl radicals are 23, 12, or 13% of the specific TOSC values of glutathione, a positive control, respectively. These results suggest that fucoidan has direct oxy-radical scavenging capacity, which may be related with anti-inflammatory effect of fucoidan.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.313-323
• /
• 2015

Lipid peroxidation means the oxidative degradation of lipids. The process from the cell membrane lipids in an organism is generated by free radicals, and result in cell damage. Phlorotannins, well-known marine brown algal polyphenols, have been utilized in functional food supplements as well as in medicine supplements to serve a variety of purposes. In this study, we assessed the potential anti-lipid peroxidation activity of phlorofucofuroeckol-A (PFF-A), one of the phlorotannins, isolated from Ecklonia cava by centrifugal partition chromatography in 2,2-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-stimulated Vero cells and zebrafish system. PFF-A showed the strongest scavenging activity against alkyl radicals of all other reactive oxygen species (ROS) and exhibited a strong protective effect against ROS and a significantly strong inhibited of malondialdehyde in AAPH-stimulated Vero cells. The apoptotic bodies and pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3, which were induced by AAPH, were strongly inhibited by PFF-A in a dose-dependent manner and expression of Bcl-xL, an anti-apoptotic protein, was induced. In the AAPH-stimulated zebrafish model, additionally PFF-A significantly inhibited ROS and cell death, as well as exhibited a strong protective effect against lipid peroxidation. Therefore, these results suggest that PFF-A has excellent protective effects against ROS and lipid peroxidation induced by AAPH in both an in vitro Vero cell model and an in vivo zebrafish model.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.853-859
• /
• 2009

Nardostachys chinensis has been used widely as a traditional medicine for the treatment of diverse diseases. The dried plant was extracted with 85% methanol extract (NC). We investigated the antioxidant properties of NC on the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, superoxide anion and nitric oxide radical scavenging capacity under in vitro assays. NC showed potent antioxidant activity, compared to ascorbic acid. In macrophages, nitric oxide is released as an inflammatory mediator and has been proposed to be an important modulator of many pathophysiological conditions in inflammation. In the present study, it was also investigated that the inhibition effects on NO and the mechanism of down-regulation of immune response by NC in IFN-IFN-$\gamma$/LPS-stimulated mouse (C57BL/6) peritoneal macrophages. Extracts of NC suppressed NO production and the expression of iNOS and COX-2. The present results indicate that NC has an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and therefore may be beneficial in diseases which related to oxidative stress-mediated chronic inflammatory disorders.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.581-588
• /
• 2016

Lonchocarpine is a phenylpropanoid compound isolated from Abrus precatorius that has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and antiepileptic activities. In the present study, we investigated the antioxidant effects of lonchocarpine in brain glial cells and analyzed its molecular mechanisms. We found that lonchocarpine suppressed reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell death in hydrogen peroxide-treated primary astrocytes. In addition, lonchocarpine increased the expression of anti-oxidant enzymes, such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), which are all under the control of Nrf2/antioxidant response element (ARE) signaling. Further, mechanistic studies showed that lonchocarpine increases the nuclear translocation and DNA binding of Nrf2 to ARE as well as ARE-mediated transcriptional activities. Moreover, lonchocarpine increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and three types of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). By treating astrocytes with each signaling pathway-specific inhibitor, AMPK, c-jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK), and p38 MAPK were identified to be involved in lonchocarpine-induced HO-1 expression and ARE-mediated transcriptional activities. Therefore, lonchocarpine may be a potential therapeutic agent for neurode-generative diseases that are associated with oxidative stress.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.145-150
• /
• 2016

Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud., a flowering plant, has been widely cultivated in Asian countries including Korea. It has been reported that B. nivea exhibits health beneficial effects for the prevention of inflammation, oxidative stress, and virus-related diseases. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effect of B. nivea on adipocyte differentiation and angiogenesis. DPPH radical scavenging activities of 70% ethanol extract of B. nivea (EBN) and water extract of B. nivea (WBN) were $90.8{\pm}1.1%$ and $20{\pm}6.9%$, respectively. EBN was also effective in the reduction of adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells. We next examined the transcriptional activity of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ($PPAR-{\gamma}$), a pivotal target for anti-obesity. We found that treatment with rosiglitazone induced the transactivation of $PPAR-{\gamma}$. Under the same condition, $800{\mu}g/mL$ EBN reduced the transactivation of $PPAR-{\gamma}$ in rosiglitazone-induced cells. These results demonstrate that EBN-inhibited adipocyte differentiation was accompanied by $PPAR-{\gamma}$ inhibition. The study also tested whether EBN exhibits an anti-angiogenic effect by inhibiting tube formation in HUVECs. We found that EBN effectively inhibits tube formation, suggesting that EBN exhibited an anti-angiogenic effect. Taken together, B. nivea can be used as a functional food for the prevention of obesity and angiogenesis-related diseases including cancer.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.423-429
• /
• 2013

Luteolin is a flavonoid found in abundance in celery, green pepper, and dandelions. Previous studies have shown that luteolin is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative agent. In this study, the anti-inflammatory capacity of luteolin and one of its glycosidic forms, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, were compared and their molecular mechanisms of action were analyzed. In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW 264.7 cells, luteolin more potently inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 as well as the expression of their corresponding enzymes (inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) than luteolin-7-O-glucoside. The molecular mechanisms underlying these effects were investigated to determine whether the inflammatory response was related to the transcription factors, nuclear factor (NF)-${\kappa}B$ and activator protein (AP)-1, or their upstream signaling molecules, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). Luteolin attenuated the activation of both transcription factors, NF-${\kappa}B$ and AP-1, while luteolin-7-O-glucoside only impeded NF-${\kappa}B$ activation. However, both flavonoids inhibited Akt phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner. Consequently, luteolin more potently ameliorated LPS-induced inflammation than luteolin-7-O-glucoside, which might be attributed to the differentially activated NF-${\kappa}B$/AP-1/PI3K-Akt pathway in RAW 264.7 cells.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.130-135
• /
• 2014

To develop a natural antioxidant and anti-hemolytic agents, we investigated the effects of ethanol extracts of Rubus coreanus Miquel (crude extracts). Crude extract was extracted with ethanol. Antioxidant activity of crude extracts was evaluated by employing two different assays, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and super oxide dismutase(SOD)-like activity. Also, anti-hemolytic activity of crude extract was determined using $H_2O_2$-induced hemolysis in normal rat red blood cells (RBC) or plasma. The extracts obtained from crude extract dose-dependently increased the scavenging activity on DPPH-induced radicals and SOD-like activity. RBC oxidative hemolysis induced by $H_2O_2$ was significantly suppressed by the extracts of Rubus coreanus Miquel in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that crude extracts may have value as the potential antioxidant and anti-hemolytic medicinal plant.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.111-114
• /
• 2009

The six phenolic-compound (ascorbic acid, maltol, esculetin,p-coumaric acid, cinnamic acid, and quercetin) contents of Panax ginseng c.A. Meyer were determined in this study. The results showed that the ascorbic acid, cinnamic acid, and esculetin contents of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer are higher than those of the other ingredients. Among these compounds, ascorbic acid and cinnamic acid significantly inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide production in the RAW 264.7 cells. Cinnamic acid also effectively inhibited the oxidative damages in the human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Although this study examined the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities using only one kind of cells, its results suggest that cinnarnic acid potently contributes to the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer.