• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.256-264
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• 2006

Salicornia herbacea L. (Chenopodiaceae) has been used as a seasoned vegetable by living in coastal areas. S. herbacea (SH) has been demonstrated to stimulate cytokine production, nitric oxide release, and to show anti-oxidative effect. In a series of investigations to develop potential anti-diabetic and/or anti-hyperlipidemic agents from Korean indigenous plants, 50% ethanol extract of Salicornia herbacea was found to prevent the onset of the hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia induced by high fat diet in ICR mice. At 6 week old, the ICR mice were randomly divided into five groups; two control and three treatment groups. The control mice were to receive either a regular diet (RD) or high-fat diet (HFD), and the treatment groups were fed a high fat diet with either 350 mg/kg, 700 mg/kg of SH (SH350 and SH700) or 250 mg/kg of met-formin (MT250) for a 10-week period. SH not only reduced body weight but also corrected associated hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in a dose dependent manner. SH exerted beneficial effects on the plasma glucose and lipid homeostasis possibly ascribed to its specific effects on lipogenesis related genes (SREBP1a, FAS, GAPT), and PEPCK, glucose 6-phosphatase gene expressions in liver. Ethanol extract of S. herbacea has potential as a preventive agent for type 2 diabetes (and possibly hyperlipidemia) and deserves future clinical trial.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.441-448
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• 2014

We examined the effects of dietary nutrient content, feeding period, and feed allowance on compensatory growth, food use, chemical composition, and serum chemistry of juvenile olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. We placed 720 juvenile fish into 24 400-L flow-through round tanks (30 fish per tank).A $2{\time}2{\time}2$ factorial design (diet: control (C) and high protein and lipid (HPL) ${\time}$ feeding period: 8 and 6 weeks ${\time}$ feed allowance: 100% and 90% of satiation) was applied. Fish were hand-fed twice daily, based on the designated feeding schedule. Weight gain and food consumption were affected by both the feeding period and feed allowance, but not by diet. The food efficiency ratio was not affected by diet, feeding period, or feed allowance, but the protein efficiency ratio and protein retention were affected by diet and feeding period, respectively. We found that the full compensatory growth of fish was not achieved at a restricted feeding allowance.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.116-124
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• 2003

Isolation and cloning of seven-band grouper (Epinephelus septemfasciatus) growth hormone cDNA from pituitary gland revealed an open reading frame of 612 bp coding for a pre-growth hormone of 204 amino acids with a 17 amino acid putative signal peptide. Deduced amino acid sequence showed that there was one possible N-glycosylation site at $Asn^{l84}$ and four cysteine residues $(Cys^{52},\;Cys^{160},\;Cys^{177},\;Cys^{185})$ on t e same positions as in some other species where they were involved in the stabilization of the tertiary structure. The seven-band grouper growth hormone (sbgGH) presented a $99.5\%$ amino acid sequence identity with the growth hormone of Epinephelus coioides and contained the conserved hormone domain region. Comparison of growth hormone sequences from evolutionarily diverse species revealed 25 amino acid residues conserved in jawless fishes to modern mammals. It also revealed an evolutionary trend to retain the same polypeptide sequence even in the distantly related animals while allowing alterations to occur in polypeptides of the closely related species. In order to create a recombinant system to produce high levels of the growth hormone, it was expressed in Escherichia coli (BL21) cells. The gel analysis revealed theoretically expected molecular weights for both mature and pre-sbgGHs.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.130-134
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• 2003

Proinflammatory effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) have been assessed by analysing the induction of two inflammatory genes, $interleukin-1\beta$ $(IL-1\beta)$ and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) macrophage cells. Production of a metabolite of arachidonic acid by COX-2, prostaglandin $E_2\;(PGE_2)$, was also analysed in macrophage cells after LPS stimulation. Northern blot analysis revealed that LPS $(5{\mu}g/mL)$ significantly upregulated $IL-1\beta$ (54 times) and COX-2 (40.7 times) gene expression in macrophage cells after 4 h stimulation. According to RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) analysis, $IL-1\beta$ gene induction in LPS stimulated macrophage cells was started within 1h and significantly increased thereafter until 4h. Meanwhile, COX-2 gene induction by LPS was delayed in comparison with $IL-1\beta$ gene induction as a faint band was observed after 4h stimulation in head kidney macrophage cells. LPS also significantly increased $PGE_2$ production in head kidney leucocytes, presumably via activating COX-2 expression that metabolites arachidonic acid to $PGE_2$. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that LPS could induce two main inflammatory and immune related genes, $IL-1\beta$ and COX-2, and increase $PGE_2$ production in trout head kidney macrophage cells, representing a strong inflammatory activity.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.435-441
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• 2011

The feeding habits of yellow goosefish Lophius litulon and John Dory Zeus faber were studied by analyzing the stomach contents of specimens collected in the South Sea of Korea. In total, 132 hauls were taken during six experimental trawl survey (Tamgu 1) cruises conducted on a seasonal basis (March 2005-October 2007). The main prey items of the two species were similar. Fishes and crustaceans were the most important prey, with neither species showing ontogenetic changes in preferred species. Specifically, Pennahia argentata was the preferred prey item of L. litulon, whereas Trichiurus lepturus and Engraulis japonicus were preferred by Z. faber. Larger Z. faber (>24 cm) preferred bigger prey such as T. lepturus and Larimichthys polyactis, while smaller Z. faber preferred E. japonicus and Acropoma japonicum.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.251-256
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• 2011

We screened for antibacterial substances against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Methanolic extract of Eisenia bicyclis exhibited anti-MRSA activity according to a disk diffusion assay. To identify the active compound(s), the methanolic extract was further fractionated using hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. The ethyl acetate-soluble fraction showed both the greatest anti-MRSA activity and the highest polyphenol content. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the ethyl acetate fraction ranged from 32 to 64 ${\mu}g$ per mL against methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and MRSA strains. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that both the methanolic extract and the ethyl acetate soluble fraction contained sizeable quantities of dieckol, which is a known anti-MRSA compound. Thus, these data strongly suggest that the anti-MRSA activity of E. bicyclis may be mediated by phlorotannins such as dieckol.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.243-249
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• 2011

Carotenoids were found in high levels in both muscle and tunic samples, with the highest and lowest values observed in March and January, respectively. The average values in muscle (GM) and tunic (GT) harvested in Geoje were 49.1 mg/100g and 56.7 mg/100g, respectively, whereas those in muscle (TM) and tunic (TT) harvested in Tongyeong were 42.0 mg/100g and 50.2 mg/100g, respectively. The total phenol contents of the tunic were not significantly different (P < 0.05) between sampling area and month. We investigated the antioxidative activities of the carotenoids against linoleic acid peroxidation [1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)] and hydroxyl radicals as well as their reducing power. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was 7.6-13.5% in GM, which is relatively weak, whereas it was 21.1-29.9% in GT, 9.6-12.4% in TM and 19.3-24.1% in TT. In comparison to ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, the carotenoids were found to have strong inhibitory effects against linoleic acid peroxidation, and exhibited strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activities and reducing power at 120 ${\mu}g/mL$ of each sample.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제10권3호
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• pp.127-132
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• 2007

The anti-inflammatory activities of dichloromethane, ethanol, and boiling water extracts of the brown seaweeds Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey) Suringar and Laminaria japonica Areschoug were examined. Ethanol extracts (0.4 mg/ear) of U. pinnatifida inhibited inflammatory symptoms in mouse ear edema by 95.3%, and dichloromethane extract inhibited erythema by 65.5%. Dichloromethane and ethanol extracts (4 g/kg bw) of L. japonica demonstrated potent antipyretic activity. Activities of the seaweed extracts were similar to those of the commonly used drugs indomethacin and acetyl salicylic acid. No acute toxicity was observed after p.o. administration of each extract (5 g/kg bw). These results were in agreement with the claims of the health care industry and indigenous medicine that the above seaweeds can be used as an effective remedy for inflammation-related symptoms.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.244-253
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• 2010

The quality of marine sediments from the industrialized coastal areas of Korea (Ulsan Bay, Masan Bay, and artificial Lake Shihwa) was investigated using a bacterial bioluminescence toxicity test. Sediment toxicity results were compared with the levels of chemical contamination (trace metals, organic wastewater markers, acid volatile sulfides, total organic carbon). Effective concentration 50% (EC50) of sediments ranged from 0.014 to 1.126 mg/mL, which is comparable to or lower than values in contaminated lakes, rivers, and marine sediments of other countries. Sediment reference index (SRI) ranged from 13 to 1044, based on the EC50 of the negative control sample. Mean average SRI values in Masan Bay and Lake Shihwa were approximately 8 and 9 times as high as that in Ulsan Bay, indicating higher sediment toxicity and greater contamination in the two former regions. Sediment toxicity were strongly associated with the concentrations of some chemicals, suggesting that this test may be useful for determining potential chemical contamination in sediments.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.175-183
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• 2004

The dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamiyavanichii Balech, a producer of toxins causing paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), has recently been considered as one of main organisms responsible for toxication of shellfish in Japan. In this study, A. tamiyavanichii was subjected to a molecular phylogenetic analysis inferred from 28S rDNA D1-D2 sequences and a species-specific LSU rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide DNA probe was designed to identify A. tamiyavanichii using the whole cell-FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization). The sequences of the 28S rDNA D1-D2 region of A. tamiyavanichii showed no difference from A. cohorticular AF1746l4 (present name A. tamiyavanichii) and formed a distinct clade from the 'tamarensis species complex'. The probe, TAMID2, reacted specifically with A. tamiyavanichii cultured cells, without any cross-reaction with other species belonging to the same genus, including A. tamarense, A. catenella, A. affine, A. fraterculus, A. insuetum and A. pseudogonyaulax. In a test of cross-reactivity with a field sample, TAMID2 reacted consistently with only A. tamiyavanichii, indicating that the present protocol involving the TAMID2 probe might be useful for detecting toxic A. tamiyavanichii in a simple and rapid manner.