• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.101-114
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• 2008

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of Hwagae-san extract(HGSE) on the peritoneal macrophage. Methods : To evaluate anti-inflammatory effects of HGSE, We measured cytokines(interleukin-6; IL-6, interleukin-12; IL-12, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$; TNF-${\alpha}$) and nitric oxide(NO) production in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced macrophages. Furthermore, We examined molecular mechanism using western blot and also LPS-induced endotoxin shock. Results : 1. HGSE did not have any cytotoxic effect in the peritoneal macrophages. 2. HGSE reduced LPS-induced IL-6, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-12 and NO production in peritoneal macrophages. 3. HGSE inhibited the activation of extracelluar signal-regulated kinase(ERK), C-Jun NH2-terminal kinase(JNK) but not of p38, degradation of IkB-${\alpha}$ in the LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophages. 4. HGSE inhibited the production of TNF-$\alpha$, IL-6 and IL-12 in serum after LPS injection. Conclusion : These results suggest that HGSE may inhibit the production of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, and IL-12 through inhibition of ERK and JNK activation, and that HGSE may be beneficial for inflammatory diseases.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.1061-1066
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• 2003

The fruit of Actinidia polygama (AP) has long been used as a folk medicine in Korea for treating pain, rheumatic arthritis and inflammation. The present investigation was carried out to determine the in vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of AP using several animal models of inflammation. The 70% ethanol extract of the fruit of AP significantly inhibited acetic acidinduced, vascular permeability in a dose dependent manner (23%, 38%, and 41 % inhibition at doses of 200 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg, respectively). This effect was maintained in AP water-soluble fraction (APW). The APW fraction also showed significant inhibitory activity against the rat paw edema induced by a single treatment of carrageenan. In vitro experiments were performed to demonstrate the inhibitory activities of APW (100 $\mu$ g/ml) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) production. The results showed that APW dose-dependently suppressed LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages without a notable cytotoxic effect and also decreased inducible NO synthase (iNOS) protein expression. APW also showed a significant inhibitory effect in LPS-induced $PGE_2$ production and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.163-173
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• 2008

Objectives : Imyosan (IMS), a drug preparation comprised of Phellodendri Cortex (PC) and Atractylodis Rhizoma (AR), is commonly used as a traditional herbal medicine in Korea and China for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. However, little is known about the effect of IMS and its component herbs on inflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 cells. Therefore, in this study, methanol extracts of IMS and its component herbs were examined to determine if they inhibited inflammatory effects in RAW 264.7 cells. Methods : Cytotoxic activity of IJHT and its components on RAW 264.7 cells was using 5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2H-tetrazolium inner salt (MTS) assay. The nitric oxide (NO) production was measured by Griess reagent system. And proinflammatory cytokines were measured by ELISA kit. The levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression were detected by western blot. Results : Methanol extract of IMS and its component herbs were significantly reduced iNOS and COX-2 expression as well as NO, PGE2, $IL-1{\beta}$ and IL-6 production in RAW 264.7 cells. Conclusions : The results of this study indicated that the anti-inflammatory effect of Imyosan extract is more potent than that of extracts of its component herbs in macrophages.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.1327-1333
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• 2006

Many traditional herbal remedies exhibit several beneficial effects including anti-inflammation. Panax notoginseng Buck F.H. Chen. is used as a therapeutic agent to stop haemorrhages and a tonic to promote health in Korean and Chinese medicine. The pharrnacokinetic profiles of the main P. notoginseng are still not accurately investigated. The exact mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of P. notoginseng, however, has not been determined. In the present study, we examined the effect of P. notoginseng on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene expression in RAW264.7 macrophages. The results indicated that P. notoginseng concentration-dependently inhibited LPS-induced NO production. Furthermore, P. notoginseng inhibited the expression of LPS-induced iNOS and COX-2 proteins without an appreciable cytotoxic effect on RAW264.7 cells. Berberine also inhibited LPS-induced iNOS protein as potently as P. notoginseng. This was consistent with the findings that P. notoginseng and also berberine inhibited prostaglandin E2 synthesis induced by LPS.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.7-20
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• 2006

The major event in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is the death of many cells related to host immune response. The demise of these cells is normally explained by cell suicide mechanism, apoptosis. Interestingly, the decrease in the number of immune cells, such as non-CD4+ cells as well as CD4+ T cells, in HIV infection usually occurs in uninfected bystander cells, not in directly infected cells. It has, therefore, been suggested that several soluble factors, including viral protein R (Vpr), are released from the infected cells and induce the death of bystander cells. Some studies show that Vpr interacts directly with adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) to induce mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP). The MMP results in release of some apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome-c (cyt-c) and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). Vpr also has indirect effect on mitochondria through enhancing the level of caspase-9 transcription and suppressing nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$). The involvement of p53 in Vpr-induced apoptosis remains to be studied. On the other hand, low level of Vpr expression has anti-apoptotic effect, whereas it's high level of expression induces apoptosis. Extracellular Vpr also exhibits cytotoxicity to uninfected bystander cells through apoptotic or necrotic mechanism. The facts that Vpr has cytotoxic effect on both infected cells and bystander cells, and that it exhibits both proand anti-apoptotic activity may explain its role in viral survival and disease progression.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.507-511
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• 1999

The pharmacological effects of hydrocooked extracts of crucian carp have been investigated. All of the hydrocooked extracts showed the contractile effect on the isolated rat duodenum and decreased to a certain extent the normal blood pressure in anesthetized rat. The hydrocooked extracts also exhibited a dose-dependent relaxation on the isolated rat aorta precontracted with 50 mM KCl. All of these except for RM 60 fraction haying cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell showed neither antibacterial activity nor antitumor activity. In addition, we found that although body weight gain in the hydrocooked extracts treated group were all reduced significantly compared to control group, there were no significant changes in the hematological parameters, except that the levels of high-density lipoprotein was significantly increased. These results suggest that the hydrocooked extracts of crucian carp may contain a variety of bioactive materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.322-328
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• 2000

This study was performed to determine the antimutagenic and cytotoxic effect of the Phellinus linteus methanol extract on Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100 and human cancer cell lines. In the Ames test, methanol extract of P. linteus alone did not exhibit any mutagenicity but showed substantial inhibitory effects against mutation induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine(MNNG), 4-nitroquinoline-nitroquinoline-1-oxide(4NQO), 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrdo[4,3-blindol(Trp-P-1) and benzo(α)pyrene(B(α)P). The methanol extracts of P. linteus(200㎍/plate) showed approximately 78.3%, 78.7% and 88.1% inhibitory effect on the mutagenesis induced by 4NQO, Trp-P-1 and B(α)P. The anticancer effects of P. linteus extract against human breast adenocarcinoma(MCF7), human lung carcinoma (A549), human fibrosarcoma (HT1080), human hepatocelular carcinoma (Hep3B) and human epitheloid carcinoma (HeLa) were investigated. The treatment of 1mg/mL P. linteus extracts had the highest cytotoxicity against MCF7 (92.0%), followed by Hep3B (84.9%), A549 (84.2%) and HT1080 (82.9%). In contrast 1mg/mL treatment of P. linteus extracts had only 10∼40% cytotoxicity on normal human liver cell (WRL68).

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 2022

Lysosome organelle extract (LOE) was derived from egg whites. The lysosome is an intracellular organelle that contains several hydrolysis enzymes. Previous studies have reported that LOE performs important functions, such as melanin de-colorization and anti-melanin production in B16F10 melanoma cells. However, its principal molecular and cellular mechanisms have not been elucidated till date. In non-cytotoxic conditions, LOE significantly inhibited α-MSH induced melanin synthesis of murine B16F10 cells. The anti-melanogenic activity of LOE was mediated by suppressing the mRNA expression of tyrosinase enzyme, tyrosinase related protein-1/2 (TRP-1/2), and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) genes. By performing western blot analysis, we found that LOE significantly attenuated melanogenesis. In this case, LOE helped in increasing extracellular receptor kinase (ERK) phosphorylation in α-MSH induced B16F10 cells. Furthermore, MITF is found to be a key regulatory transcription factor in melanin synthesis; it was down-regulated by LOE through ERK phosphorylation. In this experiment, PD98059 (MEK inhibitor) was used to check whether LOE directly regulated the activity of ERK. Although LOE exerted inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis, we could not observe this effect in PD98059-treated α-MSH induced B16F10. These results strongly indicate that LOE is related to ERK activation and MITF degradation in anti-skin pigmentation. Hence, LOE should be utilized as a whitening agent of skin in the near future.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.649-655
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• 2021

Nanotechnology is widely considered a major technology of the twenty-first century. Nanoparticles (NPs) has been shown to pass through reproductively significant biological barriers such as the blood-testicle and placental barriers. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of silver Nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) on sperm-egg interaction and spermatozoa quality parameters in quail spermatozoa. Semen was suspended in Ringer solution containing Ag-NPs levels at 5.5 × 106 sperm/ml (0, 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 ppm). The results indicated that when sperm were counted at 0.1 ppm, the number of holes formed on the inner perivitelline layer was significantly increased compared to the control. The 10 ppm group had a significant reduction in sperm viability. At 0.1 and 1 ppm, the membrane integrity was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). All treatments (except 0.01 ppm Ag-NPs) had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the percentage of spermatozoa with an intact acrosome when compared to the control group. At 0.1, 1, and 10 ppm Ag-NPs, morphological defects in the acrosome were observed. As a result, Ag-NPs is likely capable of destroying the acrosome membrane. This research indicates that Ag-NPs may be cytotoxic to spermatozoa by impairing sperm functionality and increasing sperm mortality.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2002

This study was carried out to investigate antimutagenic and cytotoxic effects of Korean traditional Mackjang added with sea tangle powder. The content percentage of most of minerals among general composition increased by adding sea tangle powder. By the Ames test, the antimutagenic effect of ethanol extract of Korean traditional Mackjang added with 5% sea tangle powder was strongest exceeding the control, 10%, and 15% sea tangle additions. The ethanol extract (400$\mu$g/plate) of Mackjang added with 5% sea tang1e powder in the S. typhimurium TA 100 strain showed inhibition rate of 95.0% against the mutagenesis induced by MNNG. The inhibition rate of ethanol extract (400$\mu$g/plate) of Mackjang added with 5% sea tang1e powder in the S. typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains was 81.4% and 88.8%, respectively, against the mutagenesis induced by 4NQO. Under the same conditions, the suppression against B($\alpha$)P and Trp-P-1 in the TA98 and TA100 strains were 85.3% and 91.0%, and 96.5% and 96.5%, respectively. For the anticancer effects, an investigation was done on the cytotoxicity of Mackjang added with 5% sea tangle powder on the cell lines with human lung carcinoma (A549), human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), and human gastric carcinoma (KATOIII). The cytotoxicities were inhibited with increasing the extract concentration. The treatment of 1.0 mg/mL Mackjang added with 5% sea tang1e powder showed relatively strong cytotoxicity of 61.2%, 61.8% and 66.8% against A549, KATOIII, and HepG2, respectively.