• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.493-497
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• 2012

The objective of this study was carried out in order to evaluate the antioxidative activities of n-hexane fractions from medicinal herbs. Certain parts from 6 species of edible and medicinal herbs were extracted with methanol. Radical scavenging activity of the n-hexane fractions against DPPH and ABTS radicals were observed to be high in Psoralea corylifolia, and Scutellsria barbata; it also significantly increased (p<0.05). For a comparison of the effect of various concentration of fractions, as the concentration of treatment increased, the antioxidative effects on radical scavenging activity also oncreased; yet it was not significant. The antioxidative effect of medicinal plants was dependent on the concentration but was not significant. Therefore, these results indicate that edible wild plants, such as Psoralea corylifolia, and Scutellsria barbata may be useful as potential antioxidant sources for improving the human antioxidant defense system against disease.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.48
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• pp.13-23
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• 2003

The trace mineral, selenium (Se), is an essential nutrient of fundamental importance to human health. It is also very toxic and can cause Se poisoning (selenosis) in human and animals when its intake exceeds a suitable amount. Se functions within mammalian systems primarily in the form of solenoprotein. About 35 selenoproteins have been identified, though many have not yet been fully elucidated. Selenoproteins contain Se as selenocyseine (Sec) and perform variety of structural and enzymic roles; the enzymic roles are best-known as the antioxidants for hydrogen peroxides and lipid peroxides, and the catalysts for production of activity thyroid hormone. Glutathione peroxidases ($\textrm{GP}_X$) among the selenoproteins prevent the generation of free radicals and decrease the risk of oxidative damage to tissues, as does thioredoxin reductase (TR). TR also provides reducing power for several biochemical processes. Selenoproteins P and W are involved with oxidant defense in plasma and muscle, respectively, A selenoprotein is also required for sperm motility and may reduce the risk of miscarriage. Some epidemiological studies have revealed an inverse correlation between Se status and cardiovascular disease, and there is considerable evidence 1mm population com-parison data and animal studies that Se is anticarcinogenic. It is also suggested that Se should be needed for the proper functioning of the immune system, and appear to be a key nutrient in counteracting the development of virulence and inhibiting HIV progression to AIDS. As research continues, the role of selenium in the etiology of chronic diseases like appropriate medical nutrition therapy can be delivered and its effectiveness assessed. Se status in individuals is affected by diet and the availability of the Se. The Se content of plants is affected by the content and availability of the element in the soil in which they are grown, and so greatly varies from country to country, while the Se composition of meat reflects the feeding patterns of livestock. This paper provides an overview on Se as an essential trace mineral for human.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.152-159
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• 2011

The effects of simulated acid rain (SAR) on fatty acid composition and biochemical defense responses of plant was investigated. Garden balsam (Impatiens balsamina L.) was exposed to four pH levels (5.6, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0) of SAR and placed in the growth chambers for 2 weeks. SAR drastically inhibited chlorophyll content of garden balsam. The level of $H_2O_2$ was significantly increased by SAR. As pH levels decreased from 5.6 to 2.0, the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids of garden balsam was increased. Changes of three major polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) of garden balsam leaves were observed. All of the polyamine contents were increased with SAR. Catalase activities of the plant affected by SAR were increased as the pH decreased. The results indicate that the application of SAR generates oxidative stresses from the garden balsam and retards the plant growth significantly. A biochemical protect mechanism might be activated to neutralize the oxidative stresses generated through SAR.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.341-344
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• 2005

The expression of the glutathione S-transferase (GST), whose induction accounts for antioxidant defense system, is regulated by activation of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein ${\beta}$ ($C/EBP{\beta}$), Sick house syndrome (SHS) presents healthy damage owing to the indoor environment of a building. Toluene has been implicated in one of the important causes of SHS. The present study investigated the effects of toluene treatment on the induction of GSTA2 gene and its mechanism. H411E cells treated with toluene, and GSTA2 expression was determined by immunoblot analysis. The translocation of $C/EBP{\beta}$ was assessed by immunocytochemical assays. $C/EBP{\beta}$ DNA binding activity was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. The role of the C/EBP binding site in the induction of the GSTA2 gene was assessed by luciferase reporter-gene activity. Toluene induced GSTA2 protein expression. In toluene-treated cells, $C/EBP{\beta}$ translocated to the nucleus and bound to the consensus sequence of C/EBP (TTGCGCAA). Toluene treatment increased luciferase reporter-gene activity in cells transfected with the C/EBP-containing regulatory region of the GSTA2 gene. Oxidative stress is believed to play an important role in the induction of GSTA2 gene by toluene This study shows that toluene-induced GSTA2 gene expression is dependent upon nuclear translocation and binding of $C/EBP{\beta}$ to the C/EBP response element in the GSTA2 gene promoter.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.212-218
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• 2005

Hepatoprotective effects of the extract of Kochiae fructus (KF), a traditional oriental medicinal plant, were evaluated against carbon tetrachloride($CCl_4$)-induced liver damage in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control, $CCl_4,\;CCl_4$ plus methanol extract of KF (KFM-$CCl_4$), and $CCl_4$ plus butanol extract of KF (KFB-$CCl_4$) groups. KFM and KFB were orally administered once a day (200 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days. A mixture of 0.2 mL/100 g body weight of $CCl_4$ in olive oil was injected at 30 minutes after the final administration of KFM and KFB. The KFB pretreatment resulted in a significant decrease in the serum transaminase and lactic dehydrogenase levels in the $CCl_4$-treated rats. The $CCl_4$ treatment significantly lowered the activities of glutathione, glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). However, pretreatment with KFM and KFB resulted in a significant increase in the glutathione, GR and GST levels. KFB increased the activities of SOD, catalase and GSH-Px, but KFM did not alter them. Pretreatment with KFM and KFB resulted in a significant decrease in the production of aminopyrine N-demethylase in the $CCl_4$-treated rats. KF extract would appear to contribute to alleviate the adveISe effect of $CCl_4$ treatment by enhancing the hepatic antioxidant defense system.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.213-222
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• 2010

Within their natural habitat, crops are often subjected to drought and heat stress, which suppress crop growth and decrease crop production. Causing overaccumulation of glycinebetaine (GB) has been used to enhance the crop yield under stress. Here, we investigated the response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) photosynthesis to drought, heat stress and their combination with a transgenic wheat line (T6) overaccumulating GB and its wild-type (WT) Shi4185. Drought stress (DS) was imposed by controlling irrigation until the relative water content (RWC) of the flag leaves decreased to between 78 and 82%. Heat stress (HS) was applied by exposing wheat plants to $40^{\circ}C$ for 4 h. A combination of drought and heat stress was applied by subjecting the drought-stressed plants to a heat stress as above. The results indicated that all stresses decreased photosynthesis, but the combination of drought and heat stress exacerbated the negative effects on photosynthesis more than exposure to drought or heat stress alone. Drought stress decreased the transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (Gs) and intercellular $CO_2$ concentration (Ci), while heat stress increased all of these; the deprivation of water was greater under drought stress than heat stress, but heat stress decreased the antioxidant enzyme activity to a greater extent. Overaccumulated GB could alleviate the decrease of photosynthesis caused by all stresses tested. These suggest that GB induces an increase of osmotic adjustments for drought tolerance, while its improvement of the antioxidative defense system including antioxidative enzymes and antioxidants may be more important for heat tolerance.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2006

Copper,zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) plays a key role to the first antioxidant defense system against oxidative stress in diverse aerobic organisms. Due to the housekeeping action of Cu,Zn-SOD, it was reported that the structure and function have been conserved during evolution. In this study Cu,Zn-SOD from cloudy catshark Scyliorhinus torazame was subjected to phylogenetic analyses to know its evolutionary relationship in the vertebrate lineage. Molecular phylogenetic trees inferred by NJ, MP, ML and/or Bayesian analyses showed two shark species, Prionace glauca and S. torazame grouped together with high statistical supports. In general, they placed at the separated position from bony vertebrates. Thereafter, bony vertebrates composed of teleosts and birds/mammals (amniotes) formed a monophyletic group. Each teleost and amniote clade was also supported by relatively high statistical values. These phylogenetic relationships are well congruent with the phylogenetic hypothesis of the ancestral position of cartilaginous fishes to bony vertebrates.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.301-309
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• 2016

Due to undesirable hazardous interactions with biological systems, this investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effect of chronic exposure to silver on certain biochemical and some oxidative stress parameters with histopathological examination of brain, as well as the possible protective role of selenium and/or vitamin E as nutritional supplements. Thirty six male rats were divided into six groups of six each: the first group used as a control group. Group II given both vitamin E (400 mg/kg) of diet and selenium (Se) (1 mg/L) in their drinking water. Group III given silver as silver nitrate ($AgNO_3$) (20 mg/L). Group IV given vitamin E and $AgNO_3$. Group V given both $AgNO_3$ and selenium. Group VI given $AgNO_3$, vitamin E and Se. The animals were in the same exposure conditions for 3 months. According to the results which have been obtained; there was an increase in serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), lipase activities and cholesterol level, a decrease in serum total protein, calcium and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in Ag-intoxicated rats. Moreover, the findings showed that $Ag^+$ ions affected antioxidant defense system by decreasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and increasing vitamin E concentration with a high level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in brain tissue. The histological examination also exhibited some nervous tissue alterations including hemorrhage and cytoplasm vacuolization. However, the co-administration of selenium and/or vitamin E ameliorated the biochemical parameters and restored the histological alterations. In conclusion, this study indicated that silver could cause harmful effects in animal body and these effects can be more toxic in high concentrations or prolonged time exposure to this metal. However, selenium and vitamin E act as powerful antioxidants which may exercise adverse effect against the toxicity of this metal.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7603-7609
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• 2014

Glutathione is a thiol compound that plays an important role in the antioxidant defense system of the cell and its deficiency leads to an increased susceptibility to oxidative stress and, thus, progression of many disease states including head and neck cancer. In the present study, alterations of glutathione levels were investigated in study cohort of 500 samples (cohort 1 containing 200 head and neck cancer blood samples along with 200 healthy controls and cohort II with 50 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissue samples along with 50 control tissues) by high performance liquid chromatography. The results indicated that mean blood glutathione levels were significantly reduced in head and neck cancer patients (p<0.001) compared to respective controls. In contrast, the levels of glutathione total (p<0.05) and glutathione reduced (p<0.05) were significantly elevated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissues compared to the adjacent cancer-free control tissues. In addition to this, pearson correlation performed to correlate different tissue glutathione levels (GSH) with clinical/pathological parameters demonstrated a significant negative correlation between pT-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.263^{**}$; p<0.01), C-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.335^{**}$; p<0.01), grade and GSH ($r=-0.329^{**}$; p<0.01) and grade versus redox index ($r=-0.213^{**}$; p<0.01) in HNSCC tissues. Our study suggests that dysregulation of glutathione levels in head and neck cancer has the potential to predict metastasis, and may serve as a prognostic marker.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.37-41
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• 2011

This study investigated the antioxidative action of Corni Fructus aqueous extract on kidneys of diabetic mice. The electron donating abilities of Corni Fructus aqueous extract and its antioxidant activities (XO, SOD, CAT, GST, eNOS) in kidneys of C57BL/6 or db/db mice were evaluated. For in vivo study, seven week-old male mice were divided into normal control group (NC, C57BL/6 mice), diabetic control group (DC, db/db mice) and Corni Fructus (500 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks) treated diabetic group (DCF, db/db mice). The electron donating abilities of Corni Fructus aqueous extract exhibited 7%, 24.4%, and 42.7% at concentrations of 100, 500, and $1000\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The activity of XO in the DCF group was significantly lower than the DC group by 35% (p < 0.05). The SOD activity was significantly higher in the DCF group than the DC group by 26% (p < 0.05). The activities of CAT and GST were lowered in the DCF group than the DC group by 26% (p < 0.05) and 7.6%, respectively. The mRNA expression of eNOS in kidneys was lower in the DCF group than the DC group by 24%. These results indicate that Corni Fructus reduced oxidation stress as evidenced by the restoration of the enzymatic antioxidative defense system in renal tissues of db/db mice. It is suggested that these antioxidative actions of Corni Fructus on renal tissues in db/db mice could contribute to its renoprotective effects on diabetic nephropathy.