• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.137-146
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• 2012

This study investigated whether ferulic acid modulates the heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and HO-2 expression in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced brain injury. Rats (Sprague-Dawley, male) were treated with vehicle or ferulic acid (100 mg/kg, i.v.) before MCAO, and cerebral cortex tissues were collected 24 h after MCAO. This study clearly confirmed the protective effects of ferulic acid during MCAO-induced damage using hematoxylin and eosin staining. MCAO induces nuclear chromatin condensations and necrotic changes with scalloped shrunken form. However, ferulic acid prevented MCAO-induced histopathological changes. HO-1 and HO-2 expression levels were measured using reverse-transcription PCR and Western blot analyses. HO-1 levels were decreased in vehicle-treated animals after MCAO, whereas this decrease in HO-1 levels was attenuated by ferulic acid treatment. However, the level of HO-2 was consistently maintained in the cerebral cortex of vehicle- and ferulic acid-treated animals after MCAO. These results demonstrated that ferulic acid regulates HO-1 expression in ischemic brain injury, while ferulic acid do not modulate HO-2 expression in MACO. In conclusion, these findings suggest that ferulic acid exerts a neuroprotective effect by preventing the MCAO-induced decrease of HO-1 expression.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.1002-1008
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• 2003

Ferulic acid (3-methoxy, 4-hydroxy cinnamic acid) is a flavoid component possessing antioxidant property. The compound is currently under development as a new drug candidate for the treatment of the dementia. The objective of this preformulation study was to determine the physicochemical properties of ferulic acid. The n-octanol to water partition coefficients of ferulic acid were 0.375 and 0.489 at the pHs of 3 and 10, respectively. Accelerated stability study for ferulic acid indicated that the t 90 value for the drug was estimated to be 459 days at $25^{\circ}C$. Ferulic acid was also found to be unstable under the relative humidity of more than 76%, probably because of the hygroscopic nature of the drug. In order to study compatibility of ferulic acid with typical excipients, potential change in differential scanning calorimetry spectrum was studied in 1: 1 binary mixtures of ferulic acid and typical pharmaceutical excipients (e.g., Aerosil, Avicel, CMC, Eudragit, lactose, PEG, PVP, starch and talc). Avicel, CMC, PVP and starch were found to be incompatible with ferulic acid, indicating the addition of these excipients may complicate the manufacturing of the formulation for the drug. Particle size distribution of ferulic acid powder was in the size range of 10-190 $\mu$m with the mean particle size of 61 $\mu$m. The flowability of ferulic acid was apparently inadequate, indicating the granulation may be necessary for the processing of the drug to solid dosage forms. Two polymorphic forms were obtained by recrystallization from various solvents used in formulation. New polymorphic form of ferulic acid, Form II, was obtained by recrystallization from 1,4-dioxane. The equilibrium solubility for Form I was approximately twice of that for Form II. The dissolution rate of Form II was higher than that of Form I in the early phase (<6 min). Therefore, these physicochemical information has to be taken in the consideration for the formulation of ferulic acid.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.727-731
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• 2009

Effects of various plasticizers (1.5%) such as glycerol, sorbitol, fructose, sucrose, and polypropylene glycol, and ferulic acid on the physical properties of Gelidium corneum (GC) film were examined. GC films containing plasticizer and ferulic acid were prepared by incorporating various amounts (10, 30, 50, 70, 100 mg/100 mL) of ferulic acid into the film. Water vapor permeability (WVP) of the GC film varied depending on the type of plasticizer, and among them the film containing sucrose had the lowest WVP. Tensile strength (TS) and % elongation (%E) of the film were in the range of $1.29{\sim}11.29$ MPa and $5.55{\sim}36.44$ %, respectively, and the WVP values were of $1.30{\sim}1.60\;ng\;m/m^{2}sPa$. In addition, the GC films were prepared using ferulic acid as a cross-linking agent. WVP of the film decreased with the addition of ferulic acid, and the film containing 30 mg ferulic acid had the lowest WVP value. TS value of the GC film containing 10 mg of ferulic acid was significantly higher than that of the control. However, further increase of ferulic acid concentration decreased the TS value. Therefore, 10 mg of ferulic acid was determined to be the optimal concentration for the film.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.457-461
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• 2006

It is demonstrated that phenolic compound has cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. Recently, ferulic acid is involved in anticancer activity by showing the decrease of cell viability in cancer cells. But, the anticancer mechanism of ferulic acid is left unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the anticancer activity of ferulic acid on NIH3T3 fibroblasts and human skin melanoma cells (SK-MEL-3). The anticancer activity was measured by determining the cytotoxicy of ferulic acid on these cells. The cytotoxicity was measured by cell viability via XTT assay in these cells. In this study, ferulic acid decreased cell viability according to the dose-dependent manners after human skin melanoma cells were treated with various concentrations of ferulic acid for 48 hours. especially, ferulic acid remarkably decreased cell viability at a concentration of $120{\mu}M$ compared with control in human skin melanoma cells. While, ferulic acid did not show the significant decrease of cell viability at concentrations of $30{\sim}120{\mu}M$ in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. These results suggest that ferulic acid showed anticancer activity in cancer cells such as human skin melanoma cells by the decrease of cell viability significantly.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.476-481
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• 2002

The Physical and sensory characteristics of muffins prepared with flavonoids such as ferulic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid were evaluated for the development of functional foods using these flavonoids. The solubilities of ferulic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid were over 1% in water and the solutions showed a good thermal stability. However, 1% ferulic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid solution showed a color change during heating. The volume and maximum height of the control muffin were the greatest among the muffin groups. The volume of the muffins decreased with the increase of flavonoid concentration. The volumes of muffins with p-hydroxybenzoic acid were smaller than those of muffins with ferulic acid. The L, a and b values on crust and crumb of the muffin groups were not significantly different. The chemical flavor, bitterness and after taste of the muffins prepared with ferulic acid were stronger than those of the control muffins. Savory flavor and sweetness of the muffins with ferulic acid were weaker than those of the control muffins. The muffins with p-hydroxybenzoic acid were not significantly different from the control muffins in the appearance, flavor, taste, texture and overall acceptability. These results demonstrated that p-hydroxybenzoic acid may be useful as an additive to muffin.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2013

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is one of the major extracellular matrix components in skin. The HA content is reported to decline with age, which may contribute to decrease in skin moisture, wrinkle formation and the decrease in elasticity of the skin. Among the family of HA synthase genes (HAS-1, 2, 3) identified so far, HAS-2 plays crucial roles in the regulation of HA synthesis in human skin fibroblasts. In this study, we elucidated the effects of ferulic acid isolated from Cnidium officinale on HA production. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR showed that ferulic acid increased mRNA level of HAS-2 gene and ELISA assay also revealed that ferulic acid increased HA production in human skin fibroblasts. Our study suggests that ferulic acid might prevent age-dependent skin deteriorations such as wrinkles, dryness and elasticity decrease, all of which could be ascribed to the reduction of the HA content in human skin.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.239-246
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• 2019

In this study, an evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect of ferulic acid isolated from Tetragonia tetragonioides in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) simulated RAW 264.7 cells was made. The chemical structure of the active compound was elucidated by $^1H$-NMR, $^{13}C$-NMR, and FAB-MS, and was confirmed to be ferulic acid. Ferulic acid was purified via open column chromatography with Sephadex LH-20 and MCI gel CHP-20. To test the anti-inflammatory effect of ferulic acid, LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were treated in subsequent experiments with different concentrations of ferulic acid (5, 10, and $25{\mu}g/mL$) and the levels of inflammatory cytokines and enzymes were also measured by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Cell viability was above 95% at acid concentrations ranging from $5-25{\mu}g/mL$. The results showed that 30% of the production of nitric oxide and 66% of prostaglandin $E_2$ were inhibited by $25{\mu}g/mL$ of ferulic acid, it also inhibited the protein expression of both inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 by 70%. Additionally, it inhibited the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, interleukin-6, and interleukin-$1{\beta}$ by 40, 75, and 77%, respectively. According to these results, the anti-inflammatory activity of ferulic acid was demonstrated via his implication in the inhibition of the expression and secretion of inflammatory substances in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Therefore, we concluded that ferulic acid can be used as a functional additive having anti-inflammatory activity.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.218-225
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• 2006

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized by radiation-induced polymerization (RIP), where the ferulic acid was used as a template molecule, 4-vinylpyridine as a monomer and ethylene glycoldimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a cross-linking monomer. The MIP was packed in a glass column using a slurry method for use in medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC). The MPLC column was tested for separation and purification of ferulic acid from the rice oil. When repeated three times, the MPLC separation/purification yielded the ferulic acid with the purity higher than ~99%. The chemiluminescence of the luminal (5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phtalazinedione) measured on a potato disc slide (5.0 mm thick) was enhanced in the presence of ferulic acid, while, without the ferulic acid, the chemiluminescence of luminol on the potato slice disc was not observed, which suggests the ferulic acid obtained from the rice oil can be useful for immunoassay.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.1403-1408
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• 2000

The methanol soluble fraction of the hot water extracts from Hovenia dulcis Thunb showed antioxidative and antimicrobial activity. The methanol fraction was successively purified with solvent fractionation, silica gel adsorption column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and octadecylsilane column chromatography. The purified active substances were isolated by high performance liquid chromatography. The isolated substances were identified as 3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (vanillic acid) and 3-methoxy- 4-hydroxycinnamic acid (ferulic acid) by LC-MS and GC-MS. Vanillic acid and ferulic acid showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and yeast. The DPPH-radical scavenging activity of ferulic acid appeared more active than that of vanillic acid. DPPH-radical scavenging concentration of ferulic acid and vanillic acid were $14\;{\mu}g/mL\;(SC_{50})$, $100\;{\mu}g/mL\;(SC_{10})$, respectively.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.73-77
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• 2015

As an approach to search for chemopreventive agents, we tested p-coumaric acid, 3-methoxy-p-coumaric acid (ferulic acid), and 3,5-dimethoxy-p-coumaric acid (sinapic acid) in B16/F10 melanoma cells. Intracellular melanin contents were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay and cytotoxicity of the compounds were examined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. p-Coumaric acid showed inhibitory effect on melanogenesis, but ferulic acid increased melanin content, and sinapic acid had almost no effect on melanogenesis. Treatment with ferulic acid resulted in a 2 to 3 fold elevation in the production of melanin. Correlatively, cell viability decreased in a dose-dependent manner when treated with ferulic acid. However, ferulic acid did not affect the LDH release from the cells. Treatment with sinapic acid resulted in a 50~60% elevation in the release of LDH when treated with a $200{\mu}g/mL$ concentration and showed neither cytostasis nor increase of melanin synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, p-coumaric acid inhibits melanogenesis, ferulic acid induces melanogenesis, and sinapic acid exerts cytotoxic effects in B16/F10 murine melanoma cells. The results indicate that the addition of methoxy groups to p-coumaric acid shows the melanogenic or cytotoxic effects in melanoma cells compared to the original compound. Therefore, this study suggests the possibility that methoxylated p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid can be used as a chemopreventive agent.