• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.1-9
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• 2011

Objectives: We performed this study to compare the antidiabetic effects of Coptidis Rhizoma (CR) and its major component berberine with gliclazide. Materials and Methods: Diabetic rats induced by injection of streptozotocin (STZ) 55mg/kg were treated with CR 100, 200, 400mg/kg and berberine 100mg/kg. After rats were treated for 5 days, serum glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, BUN, creatinine and antioxidant levels were determined. Results: The cytotoxic effects of CR (0.1, 0.01, and 0.001mg/mL), berberine and gliclazide ($0.1{\mu}M$, $1{\mu}M$, and $10{\mu}M$) were tested in rat insulinoma (RIN) cells induced with 5mM STZ. The levels of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, BUN and creatinine of CR and berberine treated groups were reduced as much as that of gliclazide group in comparison to control groups, whereas total antioxidant levels increased. In vitro experiments showed that CR and berberine have a cytoprotective effect on RIN cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.108-113
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• 2012

Protopine is an isoquinoline alkaloid contained in plants in northeast Asia. In this study, we investigated whether protopine derived from Hypecoum erectum L could suppress lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in murine macrophages (Raw 264.7 cells). Protopine was found to reduce nitric oxide (NO), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) production by LPS-stimulated Raw 264.7 cells, without a cytotoxic effect. Pre-treatment of Raw 264.7 cells with protopine reduced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These inhibitory effects were caused by blocking phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases) and also blocking activation of a nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-${\kappa}B$).

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2012

Our previous study demonstrated that CopA3, a disulfide dimer of the coprisin peptide analogue (LLCIALRKK), has antibacterial activity. In this study, we assessed whether CopA3 caused cellular toxicity in various mammalian cell lines. CopA3 selectively caused a marked decrease in cell viability in Jurkat T, U937, and AML-2 cells (human leukemia cells), but was not cytotoxic to Caki or Hela cells. Fragmentation of DNA, a marker of apoptosis, was also confirmed in the leukemia cell lines, but not in the other cells. CopA3-induced apoptosis in leukemia cells was mediated by apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), indicating induction of a caspase-independent signaling pathway.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.121-126
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• 2015

Here we report a new chemical inhibitor against HIV-1 with a novel structure and mode of action. The inhibitor, designated as A1836, inhibited HIV-1 replication and virus production with a 50% inhibitory concentration ($IC_{50}$) of $2.0{\mu}M$ in an MT-4 cell-based and cytopathic protection antiviral assay, while its 50% cytotoxic concentration ($CC_{50}$) was much higher than $50{\mu}M$. Examination of the effect of A1836 on in vitro HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) and integrase showed that neither were molecular targets of A1836. The characterization and re-infection assay of the HIV-1 virions generated in the presence of A1836 showed that the synthesis of early RT products in the cells infected with the virions was inhibited dose-dependently, due in part to abnormal protein formation within the virions, thus resulting in an impaired infectivity. These results suggest that A1836 might be a novel candidate for the development of a new type of HIV-1 inhibitor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1993-2005
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• 2019

Thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD) is characterized by higher biogas production rates as a result of assumedly faster microbial metabolic conversion rates compared to mesophilic AD. It was hypothesized that the thermophilic microbiome with its lower diversity than the mesophilic one is more susceptible to disturbances introduced by alterations in the operating factors, as an example, the supply of nitrogen-rich feedstock such as poultry manure (PM). Laboratory scaled TAD experiments using cattle slurry and increasing amounts of PM were carried out to investigate the (in-) stability of the process performance caused by the accumulation of ammonium and ammonia with special emphasis on the microbial community structure and its dynamic variation. The results revealed that the moderate PM addition, i.e., 25% (vol/vol based on volatile substances) PM, resulted in a reorganization of the microbial community structure which was still working sufficiently. With 50% PM application, the microbial community was further stepwise re-organized and was able to compensate for the high cytotoxic ammonia contents only for a short time resulting in consequent process disturbance and final process failure. This study demonstrated the ability of the acclimated thermophilic microbial community to tolerate a certain amount of nitrogen-rich substrate.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2009

The mushroom Cordyceps militaris has been used for a long time in eastern Asia as a nutraceutical and in traditional Chinese medicine as a treatment for cancer patients. In the present study, a cytotoxic antifungal protease was purified from the dried fruiting bodies of C. militaris using anion-exchange chromatography on a DEAE-Sepharose column. Electrophoretic analyses indicated that this protein, designated C. militaris protein(CMP), has a molecular mass of 12 kDa and a pI of 5.1. The optimum conditions for protease activity were a temperature of $37^{\circ}C$ and pH of $7.0{\sim}9.0$. The enzyme activity was specifically inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. Amino acid composition of intact CMP and amino acid sequences of three major peptides from a tryptic digest of CMP were determined. CMP exerted strong antifungal effect against the growth of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum, and exhibited cytotoxicity against human breast and bladder cancer cells. These results indicate that C. militaris represents a source of a novel protein that might be applied in diverse biological and medicinal applications.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.175-179
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• 2014

Ti and Ti alloys have been extensively used in the medical and dental fields because of their good corrosion resistance, high strength to density ratio and especially, their low elastic modulus compared to other metallic materials. Recent trends in biomaterials research have focused on development of metallic alloys with elastic modulus similar to natural bone, however, many candidate materials also contain toxic elements that would be biologically harmful. In this study, new Ti based alloys which do not contain the toxic metallic components were developed using a theoretical method (DV-$X{\alpha}$). In addition, alloys were developed with improved mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Ternary Ti-Ag-Zr alloys consisting of biocompatible alloying elements were produced to investigate the alloying effect on microstructure, corrosion resistance, mechanical properties and biocompatibility. The effects of various contents of Zr on the mechanical properties and biocompatibility were compared. The alloys exhibited higher strength and corrosion resistance than pure Ti, had antibacterial properties, and were not observed to be cytotoxic. Of the designed alloys' mechanical properties and biocompatibility, the Ti-3Ag-0.5Zr alloy had the best results.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.135-153
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• 2005

Herbal mixture water extract of (Phellodendron amurense, Scuellaria baiklensis, Spphora flavescens, Lithospermum erythrorhizon, Mellaphis chinesis, Alumite, Zanthoxylum schinifolium, Glycyrrhiza uralensis), which exhibit several beneficial effects including acne and skin diseases, was tested for anti-microbial activity and anti-inflammation effects. The herbal mixture extract showed antimicrobial activity against Stapylococcus epidermis, Propionibacterium acne, and Malassezia furfur. The growth of Stapylococcus epidermis, Propionibacterium acne, and Malassezia furfur was inhibited allergy and LPS induced cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2)gene expression in RAW24.7macrophage. The results indicated th ear swelling and histamine release induced by compound 48/80 were dose-dependently reduced, ranging 11-38% and 11-56%, respectively. Furthermore the extract inhibited the expression of LPS-induced COX-2 proteins and mRNAs without an appreciable cytotoxic effects on RAW264.7 cells. The cytotoxicity of the extract using M7T assay showed the cytotoxicity of 7 and 18% against L929 cell line. Based on these results, it is concluded that the herbal mixture water extract can be applied to the acne and skin diseases therapy.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.154-171
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• 2005

Herbal mixture water extract of (Rheum coreanum Scutellaria baikalensis, Phellodendron amurese), which exhibit several beneficial effects including acne and skin diseases, was tested for anti-microbial activity and anti-inflammation effects. The herbal mixture extract showed antimicrobial activity against Stapylococcus epidermis and Propionbacterium acne. The growth of Stapylococcus epidermis and Propionibacterium acne was inhibited completely by addition of 1.0% of the extract. Also in the present study we examined the mixture extract on compound 48/80 induced allergy and LPS induced cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) gene expression in RAW264.7 macrophage. The results indicated the ear swelling and histamine release induced by compound 48/80 were dose-dependently reduced, ranging 18-36% and 10-61%, respectively. Furthermore the extract inhibited the expression of LPS-induced COX-2 proteins and mRNAs without an appreciable cytotoxic effects on RAW264.1 cells. The cytotoxicity of the extract using MTT assay showed the cytotoxicity of 6% and 13% against L929 cell line. Based on these results, it is concluded that the herbal mixture water extract can be applied to this acne and skin diseases therapy.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.329-334
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• 2007

The potential antioxidant and anticancer activities of Hexane, EtOAc (Ethyl acetate), BuOH (n-Buthanol) and water fractions from methanolic (MeOH) extract of Picrasma quassioides (D. Don) Benn. were evaluated in vitro. Tested fractions showed strong antioxidant activity, especially EtOAc fraction had the highest activity ($IC_{50}\;=\;114.01\;{\mu}g/mL$), containing high total phenolics and total flavonoids contents, showed $67.59\;Tan\;{\mu}g/mg$ and $64.95\;Que\;{\mu}g/mg$ respectively. Anticancer activity of these fractions was tested by MTT assay on HT-29 (the human colon carcinoma cells) cell line. BuOH fraction not only showed very high anticancer activity, but also had no cytotoxic effect on 293 (the human normal kidney cells) cell line. Considering these results, we used BuOH fraction of MeOH crude extract from P. quassioides (D.Don) Benn. to do assessment of apoptosis by flow cytometry and the mRNA expression levels of widely established apoptotic-related genes on HT-29 cell line. All the experiments showed that BuOH fraction can induce apoptosis on HT-29 cell line strongly. Taken together, methanolic extract of P. quassioides has potential for antioxidant and anticancer activities products.