• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.939-946
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• 2004

The relationships between subjective symptoms of toluene exposed workers and concentration of their urinary excretion of hippuric acid were investigated. The exposed groups of 146 workers exposed to toluene and the control groups of 47 workers have never been exposed to toluene in Ulsan area were selected and studied. Hippuric acid was measured by HPLC, and counts of blood cells and liver function test were also performed. The mean value of urinary hippuric acid concentration of the control group was 0.322($\pm$0.267) g/L, while that of the exposed group was 1.260($\pm$0.395) g/L. As the concentration of hippuric acid had statistical proximity in $0.1\%$ level, WBC, GOT, and GPT didn't have any proximity(P>0.05). The exposed group showed lower level of leucocyte counts 6522.40(1710.3) than the control group 6891.50(1483.7). The exposed group showed higher level of GOT(25.75), GPT(27.09) than GOT(23.75), GPT(25.21) of the control group. Dried skin was the highest complained symptom of toluene exposed workers, the second strained eye, the third poor auditory function, and the fourth was headache.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.75-84
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• 2020

We evaluated the effect of anti-obesitic activity of MYE (mulberry leaf + Yacon tuber) extracted from Morus alba as muberry leaf and Smallanthus sonchifolia as yacon. 1%, 3%, or 5% of MYE were treated to Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to a high-fat diet. MYE treated rats were suppressed weight during four weeks, and they lost weight significantly after six weeks. Common blood chemistry panels related to liver function revealed significant improvement in the MYE-treated groups. The expression of leptin as indicators for obesity was decreased in perirenal fat. Such results indicate that MYE could be a promising candidate for the improvement of obesity. In addition, MYE effected on deceased glucose metabolism, reducing the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) and glucokinase related to glycogen synthesis. The fatty liver was observed in high-fat diet-treated rats, resulting from increased number of adipose cells and Ito cells. However, this pathologic change was significantly improved by administration of MYE. MYE have significant effects on antioxdative function and glycometabolism against high fat diet. Thereby, it seems that MYE prevent fatty liver by high-fat diet. Thus it is suggested that MYE would be worth being developed as an biofunctional food to prevent undesirable effects caused by obesity.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2020

Objectives : Angelicae gigas, A. sinensis and A. acutiloba are three types of plants used as Angelicae Radix (Dang-Gui). Many doctors of Korean medicine want to know the difference in clinical use of these three species. This study aimed to compare the hemoglobin-related activity of the extracts of Angelicae gigas, A. sinensis and A. acutiloba roots by measuring the intensity of binding oxygen to hemoglobin using Raman spectroscopy. Methods : Hemoglobin activity was measured by chemical analysis and Raman spectroscopy to compare the pharmaceutical efficacy of three Angelica root extracts. The oxygenated hemoglobin intensity, blood decursinol and acetylcholinestrase(AChE) concentration in mice were measured. In addition, the effects of three Angelica root extracts on oxygenated hemoglobin intensity, decursinol and AChE concentration in red blood cells (RBC) from human were also investigated. Results : The contents of decursin, decursinol and decursinol angelate, which affected physiological activity and RBC properties, were higher in the extract of A. gigas root than in those of A. sinensis and A. acutiloba roots. Moreover, oxygenated hemoglobin intensity in the A. gigas extract was higher than that of other two species in the blood of mice and human RBCs. Also, the blood decursinol and AChE concentrations of A. gigas root extract were higher than that of A. sinensis and A. acutiloba roots. Conclusions : These results suggest that A. gigas is more effective in treating disease related oxygen deficiency in RBC deformation under oxidative stress.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.238-246
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• 2020

Background: Dietary fat has been suggested to be the cause of various health issues. Obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and kidney disease are known to be associated with a high-fat diet (HFD). Obesity and associated conditions, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), are currently a worldwide health problem. Few prospective pharmaceutical therapies that directly target NAFLD are available at present. A Traditional Chinese Medicine, ginseng-plus-Bai-Hu-Tang (GBHT), is widely used by diabetic patients to control glucose level or thirst. However, whether it has therapeutic effects on fat-induced hepatic steatosis and metabolic syndrome remains unclear. Methods: This study was conducted to examine the therapeutic effect of GBHT on fat-induced obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance in mice. Results: GBHT protected mice against HFD-induced body weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia compared with mice that were not treated. GBHT inhibited the expansion of adipose tissue and adipocyte hypertrophy. No ectopic fat deposition was found in the livers of HFD mice treated with GBHT. In addition, glucose intolerance and insulin sensitivity in HFD mice was also improved by GBHT. Conclusion: GBHT prevents changes in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in a HFD mouse model. Our findings provide evidence for the traditional use of GBHT as therapy for the management of metabolic syndrome.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2017

Ethyl formate, a volatile solvent, has insecticidal and fungicidal properties and is suggested as a potential fumigant for stored crop and fruit. Its primary contact route is through the respiratory tract; however, reliable repeated toxicological studies focusing on the inhalation route have not been published to date. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the safety of a 90-day repeated inhalation exposure in rats. Forty male and 40 female rats were exposed to ethyl formate vapor via inhalation at concentrations of 0, 66, 330, and 1,320 ppm for 6 hr/day, 5 days a week for 13 weeks. Clinical signs, body weights, food consumption, urinalysis, hematologic parameters, serum chemistry measurements, organ weights, necropsy, and histopathological findings were compared between the control and ethyl formate-exposed groups. Locomotor activity decreased during exposure and recovered afterward in male and female rats exposed to 1,320 ppm ethyl formate. Body weight and food consumption continuously decreased in both sexes exposed to 1,320 ppm ethyl formate from week 1 or 3 compared with the control values. The increases in adrenal weight and decreases in thymus weight were noted in both sexes exposed to ethyl formate at 1,320 ppm. Degeneration, squamous metaplasia of olfactory epithelium in the nasopharyngeal tissue, or both were noted in the male and female rats at 1,320 ppm and female rats at 330 ppm ethyl formate. Taken together, our results indicate that ethyl formate-induced changes were not observed in male and female rats at 330 and 66 ppm, respectively. This indicates that exposure to ethyl formate at concentrations below 66 ppm for 90 days is relatively safe in rats. This is the first report of a full-scale repeated inhalation toxicity assessment in rats and could contribute to controlling occupational environmental hazards related to ethyl formate.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.137-150
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• 2019

This study aimed to provide consumer perception and evaluation of natural Cynanchi Atrium Fermented Original Cosmetics for Skin Whitening that can improve skin by using oriental medicinal ingredients. The product was applied three times a day for two weeks by a total of 60 users who agreed to participate in a clinical trial assessing the usability and skin sensitivity to extracts that had already completed component safety testing. This study subjects reported which images were most reminiscent of Korea. They preferred products that bore Korean images because they felt trust and recognized that the quality of the cosmetics was excellent. The responses also showed that many consumers were willing to buy a product, even though it was luxurious, elegant, and expensive. The cognitive evaluation of Original Cosmetics was high and showed that the quality was likely to be good. The usability and CMF(Color, Material, Finishing) evaluation of Original Cosmetics showed good product the product is long-lasting and tightened and moisturized skin naturally. They are think about that this product it has moisturizing effects and good application for use, so it is light and soft to use. And had a whitening effect. It was intended to assist in the development of products that meet consumers' desires and expectations for safe, healthy, and beautiful skin by developing a skin whitening Original Cosmetics prototype that can inhibit the production of melanin and tyrosinase activity safely and effectively.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.266-276
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• 2002

A red ginseng acidic polysaccharide(RGAP) with immunomodulating antitumor activities was isolated from Korean red ginseng, The molecular weight of RGAP was estimated to be 12-450 kDa by gel filtration chromatography, RGAP was found to increase survival rate and to inhibit of tumor growth significantly in a dose dependent manner in mice transplanted with tumor cells. RGAP significantly promoted nitric oxide(NO) production from peritoneal macrophages bothin vivo and in vitro. Western blot analysis exhibited a newly synthesized inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) protein band in the RGAP treated group. It seems likely that immunomodulating antitumor activities of RGAP are mainly mediated by NO production of macrophage. RGAP was further purified by ultrafiltration and anion exchange chromatography on DEAE-sepharose, followed by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300 to give an active fraction(GFP) with stronger NO production in murine macrophages. GFP increased survival rate ten times compared to RGAP in male ICR mice transplanted with sarcoma 180 and also showed more potent tumoricidal activities of natural killer cells than RGAP. Sugar $composition(mol\%)$ of GFP was found to be arabinose:rhamnose:xylose:galacturonic acid:mannose:galactose:glucose(10:9:1:25:8:20:27) by GC/MS. The results suggest that clinical trials of RGAP in immunotherapy against cancer are highly feasible.

• CELLMED
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.2.1-2.8
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• 2021

The clinical condition Amnesia causes difficulty in learning new information and the inability to recall past events. It is primarily concerned with recent memory loss. Majoon-e-Nisyan (MJN) is a polyherbal Unani formulation, present in a semi-solid form. It is widely used potent drug of the Unani System of Medicine (USM) for treating Nisyan (amnesia). In the present study polyherbal Unani formulation, MJN has been studied for its quality control and acute toxicity. Standardization (quality control) of drugs deals with drug identity, drug quality and purity determination. Standardization of MJN had been done as per the Unani pharmacopoeial parameters approved by World Health Organization (WHO) - Pharmacognostical parameters, Physico-chemical parameters, high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), microbial load, aflatoxin, and heavy metals. Solvents and chemicals used in the study were of analytical grade and used instrument were calibrated. By conducting an acute oral toxicity study in rats, the safety of MJN was assessed. The limit test method of OECD guideline 425 was followed in the study. Results of standardization and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for preparation of MJN may serve as the standard reference in the future. The data generated in the study for the quality control of MJN proved the quality of formulation and shows that MJN is not toxic in rats following acute dosing up to 2000 mg/kg bw. The data obtained in the paper for MJN may be used as a standard guideline for preparation of the formulation which can save time, cost, and resources for future research endeavours.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.609-624
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• 2022

Tenebrio molitor larvae, as known as edible insects, has advantages of being rich in protein, and has been recognized as a suitable alternate protein source for broiler and pig feed. Moreover, given their ability to biodegrade polystyrene, a major pollutant, Tenebrio molitor larvae has been proposed as an innovative solution to environmental problems. In the present study, we investigated the toxicity of Tenebrio molitor larvae powder (TMlp) ingested with expanded-polystyrene (W/ eps) through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The objective of this study was to determine whether TMlp W/ eps can be applied as livestock alternative protein source. For in vitro experiments, cytotoxicity test was performed to investigate the effects of TMlp-extract on the viability of estrogen-dependent MCF-7 cells. The possibility of estrogen response was investigated in two groups: Expanded-polystyrene-fed (W/ eps) TMlp group and without expanded-polystyrene-fed (W/o eps) TMlp group. For in vivo experiments, The male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided based on the dosage of TMlp administered and oral administration was performed to every day for 5 weeks. A toxicological assessments were performed, which included clinical signs, food consumption, body and organ weights, hematology, serum chemistry, and hematoxylin and eosin staining of liver and kidney. There were no specific adverse effect of TMlp W/ eps-related findings under the experimental conditions of this study, but further studies on both sexes and animal species differences should be investigated. In conclusion, TMlp W/ eps was considered non-toxic and observed to be applicable as an alternative protein source for livestock feed.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.601-608
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• 2022

Background: Various treatments are used to relieve menopausal symptoms for women. However, herbal substances are frequently used as complementary and alternative therapies as other treatments can increase ovarian and breast cancer risk. While the herbal substances' therapeutic effect is essential, the safety of their use is considered more important. This study aims to confirm the safety of red ginseng and herb extract complex (RHC), which are used to relieve menopausal symptoms. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study recruited and divided 120 women experiencing menopausal symptoms into the RHC and placebo groups (60 women per group). Subjects were administered with 2 g RHC or placebo daily for 12 wk. Adverse reactions, female hormonal changes, and uterine thickness were observed and recorded on wk 0, 6, and 12. Hematologic and blood chemistry tests were also conducted. Results: The reactions of the subjects who received RHC or placebo at least once were analyzed. A total of six adverse reactions occurred in the RHC group, while nine occurred in the placebo group; common reactions observed in both groups were genital, subcutaneous tissue, and vascular disorders. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the administration groups (p = 0.5695), and no severe adverse reactions occurred in both groups.