• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.521-528
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• 2023

Objective: This study investigated the effects of surgical castration on behavior, physiological and inflammatory indicators, and leukocyte cytokine mRNA levels in Korean cattle bull calves. Methods: Nineteen Korean cattle bull calves (average body weight, 254.5 kg; average age, 8.2 months) were divided into two treatment groups: control (n = 9) and castration (n = 10). Surgical castration was performed using Newberry knives and a Henderson castrating tool. Blood was obtained just before castration (0 h) and at 0.5 h, 6 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, and 14 d after castration. Plasma cortisol (PC), saliva cortisol (SC), plasma substance P, and plasma haptoglobin concentrations, and the leucocyte mRNA levels of the interleukin-1-alpha (IL1A), interleukin-1-beta (IL1B), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN), and interleukin-6 (IL6) genes were analyzed. Results: Castration decreased (p<0.01) the average daily gain and gain/feed ratio. Castration reduced the time spent eating (p<0.001) and the eating frequency (p<0.01) and increased (p<0.001) the lying frequency. Castration temporarily increased (p<0.05) circulating PC and SC concentrations at 0.5 h after castration. Castration temporarily increased (p<0.05) plasma substance P concentrations at 1 d after castration. Castration increased (p<0.05) plasma haptoglobin concentrations at 1 and 3 d after castration. Castration increased (p<0.05) leukocyte mRNA levels of the IL1A, IL1B, IL1RN, and IL6 genes at 6 h after castration. Conclusion: Castration temporarily induced stress and expression of leucocyte inflammatory cytokine genes in Korean cattle bull calves.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2023

Houttuynia cordata belongs to the Saururacease family and its leaves, stems, and roots have been used as oriental medicines to treat pneumonia, acute or chronic bronchitis, enteritis, and abscesses and to remove extravasated blood. Recently, the antioxidant, anti-inflammation, antibacterial, and anti-proliferation activities and protection abilities of H. cordata against liver and neuron cell damage have been reported. In this study, ethanol extract and its solvent fractions (fractions of hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water residue) were prepared, and their antithrombosis, antidiabetes, antioxidant, and hemolysis activities were evaluated. The ethyl-acetate fraction of H. cordata (EF-HC) showed the highest polyphenol and flavonoids contents among the fractions and exhibited strong antithrombosis and antioxidant activities. The EF-HC at 5 mg/ml showed 2.09-folds of thrombin time, 2.19-folds of prothrombin time, and 1.69-folds of activated partial thromboplastin time compared to the their solvent control and 30.9, 19.9, and 49.6 ㎍/ml of RC₅₀ against DPPH, ABTS, and nitrite radicals, respectively. Furthermore, the EF-HC did not show any hemolytic activity up to 1 mg/ml, whereas the hexane fraction of H. cordata showed 55% hemolysis at 1 mg/ml. This is the first report of the antithrombosis activity of H. cordata. Our results suggest that quercitirin, hyperoside, orientin, and isoquercitrin in EF-HC are related to its antithrombosis and antioxidant activities and that the EF-HC could be developed as a promising antithrombosis agent.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.152-171
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• 2022

Objectives : This study was designed to investigate the effects of Sunbanghwalmyung-eum gamibang on Monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis rats. Methods : Forty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into 5 groups of 8 rats each. Osteoarthritis (OA) was induced by injecting MIA (2 mg/50 µl) into the joint cavity of the left knee of SD rats belonging to the experimental group, and normal saline was injected into the joint cavity of the left knee instead of MIA in the normal group. To the normal group and the controlled group (OA group), 2 ml of distilled water was orally administered. To the positive control group (Indomethacin group), indomethacin 2 ml at a concentration of 2 mg/kg, to the low concentration group of SHG (Low group), 2 ml of SHG at a concentration of 2 mg/kg, and to the high concentration group of SHG (High group), 2 ml of SHG at a concentration of 4 mg/kg ml was orally administered. The drug was administered for a total of 4 weeks, and histological changes were analyzed by Hematoxylin-Eosin staining and Safranin-O staining. In addition, inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, and MMP-13, TIMP-1, and GAGs were immunohistochemically analyzed. Finally, hematological examination, blood biochemical examination, and liver and kidney biopsy were performed. Results : SHG groups (Low and High) inhibited the matrix destruction and damage of the knee joint cartilage in SD rat model, and significantly prevented the reduction in cartilage thickness. In SHG groups, the expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and MMP-13 were significantly decreased, and the expressions of TIMP-1, GAGs were significantly increased compared with OA group. The safety indicators had no significant differences among five groups. Conclusions : These results show that SHG has cartilage protection capacity, anti-inflammatory effect.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.89-98
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of processed sulfur with red ginseng on streptozotocin(STZ) induced diabetic rats for expansion of processed sulfur internal application. Methods : We prepared red ginseng with non processed sulfur extracts(GS), red ginseng with processed sulfur I extracts(GPS I) and red ginseng with processed sulfur II extracts(GPS II). In the present study, we examined about contents of crdue saponin, antioxidant activity, $\alpha$-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and effects of STZ induced diabetic rats. Results : Contents of crude saponin increased by processed sulfur, and GPS II was shown highest contents in crude saponin and sulfur compared with another groups. Electron donating ability of GPS II was shown highest activity compared with GS and GPS I, SOD-like activity showed same tendency as electron donating ability at 1 $mg/m\ell$ concentration. Inhibitory activity of $\alpha$-glucosidase was approximately same level in acarbose and GPS II. Blood glucose level of GPS II group was decreased 18.34% compared with DC(diabetes control) group and maintained stability range in glucose level. but GS and GPS I showed high level compared to GPS II. Serum triglycerides concentration also showed lowest level in GPS II. The activity of ALT, AST and ALP was shown high level in diabetic induced groups, and lowest level in GPS II. Creatinine was shown non-significantly difference in each groups and GPS II was shown lowest level in BUN. Conclusions : These results suggested that processed sulfur with red ginseng have improvement effects on diabetes and internal application of processed sulfur with red ginseng have no specific toxicity in liver and kidney.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2023

Background: The existing research results on the combined toxicity of these pollutants using mammals, such as rodents, are insufficient, especially in relation to changes in the immune system. Objectives: This study aims at evaluating the cellular immune response to PE-MPs solely or when combined with Pb, which possess excellent adsorption capacity with PE-MPs and is commonly co-exposed in our daily lives. Methods: The study investigated the cellular immune function of 9-week ICR mice with 28 days exposure to PE-MPs (2 mg/mouse/day) and Pb (0.1 mM in distilled water) individually and in combination. PE-MPs were administered via gastric intubation while the lead intake was conducted via the oral drinking water route. Cellular immunity was evaluated by analyzing the production for T_H1 cytokines namely, TNF-α and IFN-𝛾 and T_H2 cytokines, IL-4 and IL-6 in culture supernatants from polyclonally activated splenic mononuclear cells ex vivo. Results: Both the PE-MPs only and the PE-MPs+Pb exposure group revealed an increased T_H1 response with elevated TNF-α and IFN-𝛾 levels and downregulated T_H2 response with low IL-4, and IL-6 production levels compared to the control group. Furthermore, an increased IFN-𝛾/IL-4 ratio was found in the PE-MPs only and PE-MPs+Pb exposure groups, which indicated the skewedness to T_H1 response. Meanwhile, reduced blood hemoglobin levels and increased levels of IL-4, the dominant T_H2 cytokine in the Pb-only exposure group, were observed. Conclusions: Our current findings on the predominance of T_H1 immune response in the PE-MPs and PE-MPs+Pb groups suggest that PE-MPs could be responsible for the predominant induction of the cellular immune changes. This finding could be used as an important landmark in research related to T_H1 predominance, such as autoimmune diseases. It suggests that additional research on immune modulation using longer exposure durations or the same exposure route is required to elucidate stronger findings.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2023

Purpose: In the past, detection of metabolic abnormalities in plasma amino acid (PAA) and urine organic acid (UOA) has been widely used to diagnose clinical mitochondrial diseases, such as mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). In this study, the diagnostic values of PAA and UOA were reviewed, and their effectiveness in the diagnosis of MELAS was examined retrospectively. Methods: Blood and urine samples at the time of diagnosis were collected from all clinically diagnosed MELAS patients (n=31), and PAA and UOA tests were performed. All samples were collected in a fasting state to minimize artifacts in the results. The difference in the ratio of abnormal metabolites of PAA and UOA at initial diagnosis was statistically compared between the MELAS with genetic confirmation (n=19, m.3243A>G mutation) and MELAS without genetic confirmation (n=12) groups. The MELAS without genetic confirmation group was used as control. Results: Comparison of PAA and UOA between the two groups revealed that no abnormal metabolites showed characteristic differences between gene-confirmed MELAS patients with and those without genetic confirmation. Conclusions: Abnormal values of metabolites in PAA or UOA might be useful as a screening test but are not sufficient to diagnose MELAS patients.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.1336-1349
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to screen differentially expressed miRNAs in sows at early pregnancy by high-throughput sequencing and explore its mechanism of action on embryo implantation. Methods: The blood serum of pregnant and non-pregnant Landrace×Yorkshire sows were collected 14 days after artificial insemination, and exosomal miRNAs were purified for high throughput miRNA sequencing. The expression patterns of 10 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The qRT-PCR quantified the abundance of serum exosomal miR-192 in pregnant and control sows, and the diagnostic power was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The target genes of DE miRNAs were predicted with bioinformatics software, and the functional and pathway enrichment analysis was performed on gene ontology and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes terms. Furthermore, a luciferase reporter system was used to identify the target relation between miR-192 and integrin alpha 4 (ITGA4), a gene influencing embryo implantation in pigs. Finally, the expression levels of miRNAs and the target gene ITGA4 were analyzed by qRT-PCR, and western blot, with the proliferation of BeWo cells detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Results: A total of 221 known miRNAs were detected in the libraries of the pregnant and non-pregnant sows, of which 55 were up-regulated and 67 were down-regulated in the pregnant individuals compared with the non-pregnant controls. From these, the expression patterns of 10 DE miRNAs were validated. The qRT-PCR analysis further confirmed a significantly higher expression of miR-192 in the serum exosomes extracted from pregnant sows, when compared to controls. The ROC analysis revealed that miR-192 provided excellent diagnostic accuracy for pregnancy (area under the ROC curve [AUC]=0.843; p>0.001). The dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-192 directly targeted ITGA4. The protein expression of ITGA4 was reduced in cells that overexpressed miR-192. Overexpression of miR-192 resulted in the decreased proliferation of BeWo cells and regulated the expression of cell cycle-related genes. Conclusion: Serum exosomal miR-192 could serve as a potential biomarker for early pregnancy in pigs. miR-192 targeted ITGA4 gene directly, and miR-192 can regulate cellular proliferation.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Objectives We aimed to find out the improvement effect of Baekhogainsam-tang (Baihu Jia Renshen-tang, BIT) on metabolic syndrome and alteration of microbiota and gene expression. Methods We used male C57BI/6 mice and randomly assigned them into three groups. Normal control group was fed 10% kcal% fat diet, high-fat diet (HFD) group was fed 45% kcal% fat diet and 10% fructose water. BIT group was fed same diet as HFD group and treated by BIT for once daily, 6 days per week, total 8 weeks. We measured their body weight and food intake every week and performed oral glucose tolerance test 1 week before the end of the study. Then we collected the blood sample to measure triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin, and hemoglobin A1c. We harvested tissue of liver, muscle, fat, and large intestine for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and histopathological examination. Fresh fecal samples were collected from each animal to verify alterations of gut microbiota and we used RNA from liver tissue for microarray analysis. Results The body weight and fat weight of BIT group were reduced compared to HFD group. The qPCR markers usually up-regulated in metabolic syndrome were decreased in BIT group. Bacteroides were higher in BIT group than other groups. There were also differences in gene expressions between two groups such as Cyp3a11 and Scd1. Conclusions We could find out BIT can ameliorate metabolic syndrome and suggest its effect is related to gut microbiota composition and gene expression pattern.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.670-681
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress is caused by reactive oxygen species and free radicals that accelerate inflammatory responses and exacerbate fatigue. Tormentic acid (TA) has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, the aim of present study is to determine the fatigue-regulatory effects of TA in H₂O₂-stimulated myoblast cell line, C2C12 cells and treadmill stress test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST) animal models. MATERIALS/METHODS: In the in vitro study, C2C12 cells were pretreated with TA before stimulation with H₂O₂. Then, malondialdehyde (MDA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) activity, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glycogen, and cell viability were analyzed. In the in vivo study, the ICR male mice were administered TA or distilled water orally daily for 28 days. FST and TST were then performed on the last day. In addition, biochemical analysis of the serum, muscle, and liver was performed. RESULTS: TA dose-dependently alleviated the levels of MDA, LDH, CK activity, TNF-α, and IL-6 in H₂O₂-stimulated C2C12 cells without affecting the cytotoxicity. TA increased the SOD and CAT activities and the glycogen levels in H₂O₂-stimulated C2C12 cells. In TST and FST animal models, TA decreased the FST immobility time significantly while increasing the TST exhaustion time without weight fluctuations. The in vivo studies showed that the levels of SOD, CAT, citrate synthase, glycogen, and free fatty acid were increased by TA administration, whereas TA significantly reduced the levels of glucose, MDA, LDH, lactate, CK, inflammatory cytokines, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, blood urea nitrogen, and cortisol compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: TA improves fatigue by modulating oxidative stress and energy metabolism in C2C12 cells and animal models. Therefore, we suggest that TA can be a powerful substance in healthy functional foods and therapeutics to improve fatigue.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.157-165
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• 2007

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of fructose(F) or sucrose(S) and guar gum intake on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in 15-week-old male Goto-Kakizaki(GK) rats. Fifty rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups which were different in carbohydrate(25% of carbohydrate) and fiber(5% w/w) sources. The carbohydrate(CHO) sources of each group were comstarch(control group, 100% of CHO), fructose with cellulose(F), fructose with guar gum(FG), sucrose with cellulose(S), and sucrose with guar gum(SG). Each group was fed exterimental diet for 4 weeks. We measured food intake, body weight gain, adipose tissues weight and organs weight. We conducted oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT) and measured plasma insulin concentration to examine carbohydrate metabolism. To evaluate lipid metabolism, we measured the lipid profile of plasma, liver and feces. Food intake and weight gain of FG or SG groups tended to be less than those of F or S groups. Perirenal and epididymal fat pad weights of SG group were significantly lower than those of S group and those of FG group tended to be lower than those of F group. In OGTT, blood glucose values of F or S groups were significantly higher than those of C group, and FG or SG groups tended to be lower than those of F or S groups during the experimental time. The area under the curve(AUC) of C group was significantly highest among the groups, AUC and plasma insulin concentration of FG or SG groups tended to be lower than those of F or S groups. Plasma and hepatic triglyceride (TG) of FG and SG groups were significantly lower than those of F and S groups, plasma and hepatic total lipid(TL) and total cholesterol(TC) of FG and SG groups tended to be lower than those of F and S groups. Fecal TL, TG and TC of FG or SG groups tended to be higher than those of F and S groups. In conclusion, intake of guar gum should improve carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in partial substitution of fructose or sucrose for cornstarch in GK rats.