• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.1648-1657
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• 2014

In this study, the hepatic lipid-lowering effects and related mechanism of action of sujeonggwa were examined in hypercholesterolemia-induced apoprotein E knockout (apo E ko) mice. Sujeonggwa drink was prepared with cinnamon, ginger, and sugar by modifying the traditional recipe of sujeonggwa. Sugar was partially substituted with either stevia or short chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS) in order to reduce the calorie content of sujeonggwa, which was measured by descriptive analysis. Apo E ko mice (n=42) were induced to have hypercholesterolemia (plasma total cholesterol concentration >1,000 mg/dL) by administration of a high cholesterol diet for 4 weeks, followed by division into six groups. Experimental groups were orally administered water as a vehicle (normal group), sugar solution (control group), commercially available 'V' sujeonggwa drink (positive control group), or three different types of sujeonggwa drinks (S-sugar, S-stevia, and S-scFOS group) for 6 weeks while high cholesterol diet was provided to all animals. Compared to the control group, concentrations of hepatic triglycerides, total cholesterol, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and reactive oxygen species in S-sugar, S-stevia, S-scFOS were significantly reduced (P<0.05), indicating that sujeonggwa had inhibitory effects on hepatic lipid accumulation. Protein expression levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and its transcription factor, sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1 responsible for triglyceride synthesis, as well as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) and its transcription factor, SREBP-2 responsible for cholesterol synthesis, were also reduced in S-sugar, S-stevia, and S-scFOS groups (P<0.05). These benefits of sujeonggwa were even greater in S-stevia and S-scFOS compared to S-sugar. The beneficial effects of S-stevia on regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism were slightly greater than those of S-scFOS although the differences were not significant. In conclusion, sujeonggwa drinks, especially functional sujeonggwa drinks in which sugar was partially substituted with stevia or scFOS, inhibited hepatic lipid accumulation via suppressing FAS and HMGCR protein expression through down-regulation of SREBP-1 and 2.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.993-999
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• 2015

The beetle Popillia flavosellata has been no reported its functional effects. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of P. flavosellata ethanol extract (PFE) on RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for the induction of inflammation. First, we examined the cytotoxicity of PFE in the RAW 264.7 cells at a concentration of 2,000 μg/ml or less. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of PFE, we investigated the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, and proinflammatory enzymes, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, we examined whether PFE inhibited the translocation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65 into the nucleus in the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. We found that the protein levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were decreased in the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells after the treatment with PFE in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, we confirmed that PFE inhibited the translocation of NF-κB p65 into the nucleus, as well as the protein expression levels of iNOS and COX-2. Accordingly, we propose that PFE exerts an anti-inflammatory effect through the down-regulation of NF-κB p65, TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, and COX-2 via the toll like receptor (TLR)-4 inflammatory signaling pathway.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.31 no.6 s.89
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• pp.589-600
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• 2001

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) has the local tissue regulating actions. In bone, IGF-I increases the replication of osteoblastic lineage, probably preosteoblasts, and enhances osteoblastic collagen synthesis and matrix composition rates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the local regulatory effect of IGF-I on periodontium totally, both in an autocrine and paracrine manner. To examine the effect of IGF-I directly on osteoblast (OB) of test rats, and indirectlv on OB via periodontal ligament fibroblast (PDLF), and the effect of gingival fibroblast (GF) on OB via cellular paracrine manner for the understanding of humoral action of adjacent tissue, GF and PDLF were obtained from male Sprague-Dawley rats of six to eight weeks of age. OB was obtained iron frontal and parietal calvarial bone of Sprague-Dawley 21day-old-fetus. After each tell was Incubated 24 hours, for collecting conditioned medium, different concentrations of IGF-I (1,10,100 ng/ml,1ml/well) was adding in the GF, PDLF cells, and the supernatant from these cultures was put into the primary OB culture with $1{\times}10^4$cell/ml/well. The experimental group was divided into six groups control OB, IGF-I treated OB, OB culture with conditioned medium from PDLF, OB culture with conditioned medium from IGF-I treated PDLF, OB culture with conditioned medium from GF, OB culture with conditioned medium from IGF-I treated GF. After final IGF-I treatment, OB was Incubated for 24 hours, and alkaline phosphatase activity assay, BMP expression, cell proliferation measurement using MTT assay, total protein measurement, Collagen synthesis assay using western blot, and examination of bone nodule synthesis were done. Alkaline phosphatase expressions were increased in the group of PDLF-IGF-I supernatant treatment. Direct IGF-I treatment with concentrations of 100ng/m1 showed increased viable tell number measured by MTT assay. And IGF-I treatment did not increase total protein amount. The entire experimental group showed BMP2, 4 expression in western blot, and there was no significant difference between control and experimental groups. These results suggested that supernatant from PDLF effects on increasing cellular activities of OB regardless of IGF-I, and at high concentration, IGF-I increases OB tell proliferation.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.575-589
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• 2009

Groundwater has been extracted for irrigation in Sacheon-Hadong area, which is close to the South Sea. We analyzed chemical components of groundwater to examine the effects of seawater intrusion and agricultural activities in the study area. Most groundwater samples displayed the Na/Cl concentration ratios similar to that of seawater (0.55) with an increasing tendency of electrical conductivity ($227-7,910\;{\mu}S/cm$) towards the coast. In addition, statistical interpretation of the cumulative frequency curves of Cl and $HCO_3$ showed that 30.1% of the groundwater samples were highly affected by seawater intrusion. Groundwaters in the study area mostly belonged to the Ca-Cl and Na-Cl type, demonstrating that they were highly influenced by seawater intrusion and cation exchange. The result of oxygen-hydrogen isotope analysis demonstrated slightly higher $\delta^{18}O$ ((-8.53)-(-6.13)‰) and ${\delta}D$ ((-58.7)-(-43.7)‰) comparing to mean oxygen-hydrogen isotope ratios in Korea. As a result of nitrogen isotope analysis, the $\delta^{15}N-NO_3$ values ((-0.5)-(19.1)‰) indicate two major sources of nitrate pollution (organic nitrogen in soil and animal and human wastes) and mixed source of the two. However, denitrification may partly contribute as a source of nitrogen. According to factor analysis, four factors were identified among which factor 1 with an eigenvalue of 6.21 reflected the influence of seawater intrusion. Cluster analysis indicated the classification of groundwater into fresh, saline, and mixed ones.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.414-431
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• 2016

There are numerous closed and abandoned mines in Korea, from which diverse heavy metals (e.g., As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) are released into the surrounding soil, groundwater, surface water, and crops, potentially resulting in detrimental effects on the health of nearby residents. Therefore, we performed human risk assessments of two abandoned metal mines, Yanggok (YG) and Samsanjeil (SJ). The exposure parameters used in this assessment were specific to residents near mines and the included exposure pathways were relevant to areas around metal mines. The computed total excess carcinogenic risks for both areas exceeded the acceptable carcinogenic risk ($1{\times}10^{-6}$), indicating that these areas are likely unsafe due to a carcinogenic hazard. In contrast, the non-carcinogenic risks of the two areas differed among the studied receptors. The hazard indices were higher than the unit risk (=1.0) for male and female adults in YG and male adults in SJ, suggesting that there are non-carcinogenic risks for these groups in the study areas. However, the hazard indices for children in YG and female adults and children in SJ were lower than the unit risk. Consumption of groundwater and crops grown in the area were identified as major exposure pathways for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic hazards in both areas. Finally, the dominant metals contributing to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were As and As, Cu, and Pb, respectively. In addition, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of YG were evaluated to be 10 and 4 times higher than those of SJ, respectively, resulted from the relatively higher exposure concentration of As in groundwater within SJ area. Because of lacking of several exposure parameters, some of average daily dose (ADD) could not be computed in this study. Furthermore, it is likely that the ADDs of crop-intake pathway included some errors because they were calculated using soil exposure concentrations and bioconcentration factor (BCF) rather than using crop exposure concentrations.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.7
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• pp.779-788
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• 2005

Purpose : Echinacea, a traditional plant medicine has been used as immune-stimulant. Recent studies have revealed that extract of Echinacea has immunostimulatory effects on human blood mononuclear cells. This study was designed for the purpose of screening the genes associated with immunologic effects of Echinacea on monocytes and dendritic cells using a cDNA microarray chip. Methods : $CD14^+$ monocyte cells were cultured for one day with Echinacea extract(final concentration : $50{\mu}g/mL$) in experiment 1, but were cultured without Echinacea in experiment 2. The gene expression of these cultured monocytes was analyzed using the cDNA microarray chip. Dendritic cells produced from $CD14^+$ monocyte were cultured for five days with GM-CSF and IL-4, and then cultured for one day with Echinacea in experiment 3, but were done without Echinacea in experiment 4. Results : In experiments 1 and 2, there were 17 significantly expressed genes with average expression ratios above 2.5, including interferon gamma-inducible protein 30(IFI 30), CDC(cell-division-cylcle)-like kinase 2(CLK 2), syndecan binding protein(syntenin), superoxide dismutase 2, etc. In experiments 3 and 4, there were 24 gene, with significantly expressed genes were 24 genes, which were insulin-like growth factor 2(somatomedin A), methyl-CpG binding domain protein 3, IFI 30, small inducible cytokine subfamily A, member 22, etc. The genes encoding CD44, IFI 30, mannose receptor C type 1(MRC 1), chemokine receptor 7(CCR 7), CLK 2, syntenin and cytochrome C oxidase subunit VIII were significantly expressed in both monocytes and dendritic cells cultured with Echinacea. Conclusion : This study employed a cDNA microarray chip to elicit the immune-associated gene profile; the expression was enhanced by Echinacea in CD14+ monocytes and dendritic cells. Thus we laid the basis for the quantitative and functional analysis of genes induced by Echinacea in monocytes and monocyte-derived dendritic cells.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.947-956
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• 2009

Residual petroleum hydrocarbons after an oil spill may accumulate in the marine benthic ecosystem due to their high hydrophobicity. A lot of monitoring data are required for the estimation of ecosystem exposure to residual petrochemicals in an ecological risk assessment in the affected region. To save time and cost, the environmental exposure to them in the affected ecosystem can also be assessed using a simple food-web bioaccumulation model. In this study, we evaluated residual concentrations of four selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene) in a hypothetic benthic ecosystem composed of six species under two exposure scenarios. Body-residue concentration ranged 5~250 mg/kg body depending on trophic positions in an extreme scenario in which the aqueous concentrations of PAHs were assumed to be one-tenth of their aqueous solubility. In addition, bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were evaluated for model species. The logarithm of bioconcentration factor (log BCF) linearly increased with increasing the logarithm of 1-octanol-water partition coefficient (log $K_{OW}$) until log $K_{OW}$ of 7.0, followed by a gradual decrease with further increase in log $K_{OW}$ without metabolic degradation. Biomagnification became significant when log $K_{OW}$ of a pollutant exceeded 5.0 in the model ecosystem, indicating that investigation of food-web structure should be critical to predict biomagnifications in the affected ecosystem because log $K_{OW}$ values of many petrochemicals are higher than 5.0. Although further research is required for better site-specific evaluation of exposure, the model simulation can be used to estimate the level of the ecosystem exposure to residual oil contaminants at the screening level.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.232-240
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• 2009

The aim of this study was to determine the processing and reduction factors for ginseng and its commodities during ginseng processing to obtain information of pesticide residue in ginseng. For this study, azoxystrobin was used in two field containing 6 years old ginseng plants. Ginsengs were harvested and processed to obtain different commodities (Dried ginseng, red ginseng and ginseng water and alcohol extracts, red ginseng water and alcohol extracts) for pesticide analysis. The amount of residue levels from wonju and icheon for fresh ginseng were 0.05, $0.03\;mg\;kg^{-1}$ dried ginseng were 0.12, $0.14\;mg\;kg^{-1}$, red ginseng were both $0.05\;mg\;kg^{-1}$, ginseng alcohol extract were 0.28, $0.33\;mg\;kg^{-1}$, ginseng water extract were 0.22, $0.16\;mg\;kg^{-1}$, red ginseng alcohol extract were 0.31, $0.20\;mg\;kg^{-1}$ and red ginseng water extract were 0.09, $0.11\;mg\;kg^{-1}$ respectively. These data were under MRLs notified by KFDA. The processing factors for ginseng products were 3.25, 1.34, 7.84, 4.63, 6.15 and 2.56 respectively. The reduction factors for ginseng products were 1.19, 0.51, 3.41, 1.91, 2.74 and 1.00 respectively. These data showed increment during processing which could be due to concentration but considering water contents, residue levels were similar or decreased than the initial residue level during processing.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.452-463
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• 2020

Purpose: Aster tataricus (AT) is one of the Asteraceae perennial herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. The herb contains various bioactive substances, such as flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and phenolic compounds in the roots, and exhibits a range of effects including anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. This study compared the immunomodulatory effects of ethanol and water extracts of whole AT, except the roots, and analyzed the molecular mechanisms for the regulatory effects on cytokine secretion from THP-1 cells. Methods: The effects of AT extract on the cell viability and proliferation of THP-1 cells were analyzed using the Cell Counting Kit-8 method. The concentrations of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the cell culture supernatant of the AT-treated THP-1 cells were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The protein levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (IκBα), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation in the cell lysates were determined by western blotting. Results: The water extract and the ethanol extract of AT did not affect the cell viability, and increased the proliferation of THP-1 cells significantly compared to the vehicle. The water extract increased the secretion of IL-1β from THP-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner, but the ethanol extract had no effect. The expression of COX-2 and iNOS protein and the phosphorylation of MAPK and Akt were induced in AT-treated cells. In addition, IκBα was degraded by AT in a concentration-dependent manner. IL-1β secretion by AT was reduced by extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitors, while TNF-α secretion was decreased by inhibitors of ERK, p38 MAPK, and JNK. Interestingly, the p38 MAPK inhibitor increased the production of IL-1β by AT further. Conclusion: The water extract of the above-ground parts of AT contains immunomodulatory bioactive substances that stimulate immune cells through the MAPK signaling pathway.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1-14
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• 2007

Backgrounds : Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) is known as the chronic inflammatory diseasethat induces persistent inflammation in the joint cavity. The destruction of cartilage occurs as the result of bones destoyed by pannus, several influential cytokines induced by the synovial capsulitis, varieties of proteinases, $O_2$ radicals, and the secondary degenerative changes of articular cartilage. The type 2 collagen-induced arthritis model is used in recent experimental research on rheumatoid arthritis. Cervus elaphus sibiricus (Nockyong) has the effect of relieving pain by nourishing the muscles, joints, and bones. It is also known to be efficacious in promoting and enhancing the immune system. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture to inhibit the generation of proinflammatory enzyme on type 2 collagen-induced arthritis. I investigated the inhibition of mRNA transcription of MIF(macrophage migration inhibitory factor), $TNF-{\alpha}$(Tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$) and MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9) of Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture using an in vitro test. Also investigated was the inhibition of differentiation of Th 1 cells and activation of cytokines(MIF, $TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-6, MMP-9), which are known to cause initial RA ,and are also related to the morphology of the synovial membranes of the joint capsule, by an in vivo test, using CIA(collagen induced arthritis) model mice. Materials & methods : The laboratory animals used in this experiment were 4 week-old DBA female mice, weighing approximately 20 grams, and adjusted to the laboratory environment. The experiment was divided into the normal group(NOR)-no treated group, control group(CON)-CIA induced group, and sample group(SAM)-Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture treated group. RA was induced in the mice via injection of $50{\mu}{\ell}$ C II mixed CFA. The Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture solution was applied on $GB_{35}$(陽陵泉) for 26 days from the 3rd day of RA inducement. The concentration of the solution was determined via a MTT assay. To research the effect on the expression of MIF, $TNF-{\alpha}$ and MMP-9 mRNA, RT-PCR was performed on synovial membrane cells from the knee joint of CIA mice. C II induced RA knee joint's histo-chemical synovial membrane was observed using a specimen model via the Hematoxilin and Eosin dying technique. Results : The expression of mRNA of RA-related cytokines such as MIF, $TNF-{\alpha}$, and MMP-9 dosedependently decreased in the cell from the synovial membranes of the joint, which is treated with Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture solution. In mice treated with Cervus elaphus sibiricusherbal acupuncture, the damage of synovial membranes of the joint was lessened, and differentiation of Th 1 cells was suppressed. The activation of RA-related cytokines such as MIF was suppressed, and the generation of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and MMP-9 showed a statistically significant decreas. Conclusions : It is speculated that Cervus elaphus sibiricus herbal acupuncture has the therapeutic effect of palliating the damage of the tissue impaired by RA by inhibition of the initial RA progression and by regulating excessive differentiation of Th 1 cell as it suppresses the generation of RA-related cytokines during the highest stage of RA by acting on pro-inflammatory enzymes.