• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.3310-3316
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• 2011

Hematoxylin is the main component of Hematoxylon campechianum which has been utilized in the southern provinces of Korea as a folk remedy for diabetic complications. In the present study, to investigate the hypoglycemic mechanism of hematoxylin, the 2-deoxyglucose uptake and phospholipid metabolism were examined in sciatic nerves from three groups of rats : normal control, diabetic control, diabetic hematoxylin-treated group. Hematoxylin significantly reduced blood glucose levels in diabetic control rats. On a wet weight basis, the nerves from diabetic rats showed a 20% decrease in total phospholipid from that of controls and a relative decrease in phosphatidylinositide. Hematoxylin treatment increased the incorporation rate of 2-[3H] myo-inositol into total phosphoinositids in diabetic rat. The effectiveness were more potent in higher dose hematoxylin-treated rats than lower dose hematoxylin-treated rats. These results suggest that hematoxylin increases glucose transport and lipid metabolism by partially normalizing concerned with myo-inositol metabolism in diabetic rat. Therefore we propose that hematoxylin can be a promising candidate for diabetes medication.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.130-136
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• 2007

Artemisia capillaris THUNB is a perennial herb that belongs to the family Compositae spp and the most common plant among the various herbal folk remedies used in treatment of abdominal pain, hepatitis, chronic liver disease, jaundice and coughing in Korea. In this study, antimicrobial effects of Artemisia capillaris extracts on the food poisoning bacteria were investigated for further clinical application, which is an alternative for the use of antibiotics and their unexpected resistance. Artemisia capillaris extract using ethyl acetate showed the highest antimicrobial effects on S. enteritidis, E. coli O157 : H7, L. monocytogenes and S. aureus. The chloroform extract showed strong effects on all kinds of bacteria; whereas ethanol and methanol extracts showed weaker effects. Finally, ether and water extracts showed the weakest effects under the same conditions. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ethyl acetate extract was 1 mg/mL for E. coli O157 : H7 and L. monocytogenes, and 2 mg/mL for S. enteritidis and S. aureus. The inhibitory effects on all the bacteria continued for 12 hours after incubation using 20 mg/mL and 30 mg/mL of ethyl acetate extract. The inhibitory effects continued maximally for 72 hours. The results of these studies indicate Artemisia capillaris extract exhibited excellent antimicrobial and inhibitory effects on the food poisoning pathogenic bacteria; S. enteritidis, E. coli O157 : H7, L. monocytogenes and S. aureus.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.367-371
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• 2007

Artemisia capillaris THUNB is a perennial herb that belongs to the family Compositae spp and the most common plant among the various herbal folk remedies used in treatment of abdominal pain, hepatitis, chronic liver disease, jaundice and coughing in Korea. This experiment was conducted to investigate cytotoxic effects of Artemisia capillaris extracts on the Hepa-1c1c7 and Sarcoma 180 cancer cells on in vitro experimental tests. On in vitro tests using MTT assay and SRB assay, the extracts showed prominent cytotoxic effects on the two kinds of cancer cell lines, respectively. Antihumor effects appeared in the concentration of over $250{\mu}g/mL$ of both ethanol and ethyl acetate extract, over $500{\mu}g/mL$ of methanol extract, over $5000{\mu}g/mL$ in water extract and over 50% cytotoxicity on the Hepa-1c1c7 and Sarcoma 180. The results suggest that Artemisia capillaris extracts have prominent cyotoxic effects on the cancer cell lines Hepa-1c1c7 and Sarcoma 180.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.235-239
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• 2006

Angelicae Koreanae Radix has been used for controlling inflammatory respiratory diseases in folk medicine and their components, imperatorin, marmesinin and oxypeucedanin were reported to have diverse biological effects. In this study, we investigated whether imperatorin, marmesinin and oxypeucedanin affect adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-induced mucin secretion from cultured airway epithelial cells. Confluent primary hamster tracheal surface epithelial(HTSE) cells were metabolically radiolabeled using $^3H$-glucosamine for 24 h and chased for 30 min in the presence of varying concentrations of each agent to assess the effects on $^3H$-mucin secretion. The results were as follows: 1) imperatorin significantly inhibited ATP-induced mucin secretion; 2) However, marmesinin and oxypeucedanin did not affect ATP-induced mucin secretion, significantly. We conclude that imperatorin might inhibit ATP-induced mucin secretion by directly acting on airway mucin-secreting cells. Therefore, imperatorin should further be investigated for the possible use as mucoregulators in the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.91-101
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the compliance and need for diet therapy among diabetics and their caregivers. A total of 625 respondents participated in this survey. Appropriate management for long-term blood glucose control and difficult-to-manage cases appeared to be diet therapy, physical activity, medical treatment and folk remedies, in that order. The most important educational avenues for diet therapy were books, magazines and TV, Most respondents were educated in diet therapy within a year after diagnosis and had practiced diet therapy for over four years. The most common diet therapy Practices were food selection and Quantity control. Of the specific problems in practicing diet therapy, time and labor, taste, and meal planning appeared to be equally difficult factors. The prevailing diet therapy skills were controlling food amounts at breakfast and supper, and selecting food for lunch and refreshments. Respondents practicing both skills were about 20% of the participants; this shows the need to improve the current situation. The nutrients most frequently considered in diet therapy practice were simple sugars (sugar and sweet goods) , total fats and cholesterol. Since the perception of the role of dietary fiber among respondents was very low, nutrition education about the importance of dietary fiber and food sources of dietary fiber was needed. Diabetics seemed to be concerned about diabetic menus. Three difficult problems in planning diabetic menus were daily menu planning, patient's preferences, and the calculation of calories. As a means of nutrition counseling, they preferred interviews. The higher the educational status and the lower the age, the higher the preference was for internet or PC counseling. Therefore, it is necessary to develop nutrition educational programs so that diabetics can obtain practical knowledge of diet therapy. Furthermore, it is also necessary to develop additional means of informing diabetics about menu planning, while still considering Korean dietary behavior.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.512-520
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• 2005

Phytoestrogens, especially Yak-kong or soybean-derived isoflavones have been traditionally used as a supplement of estrogen for preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis in oriental folk medicine. In a previous study, we demonstrated that as Yak-kong and soybean increased MG-63 human osteoblastic cell proliferation, the expression of estrogen receptor $\alpha\;and\;beta\;(ER\;\alpha:\;ER\;\beta$) both were increased. However, the increased level of ER $\alpha$ is much higher than that of ER$\beta$. To determine whether the altered level of ER $\alpha$ expression affects Yak-kong or soybean induced MG-63 cell proliferation, we established cell lines stably expressing either ER $\alpha$ or antisense ER $\alpha$ RNAs. Increased expression of ER a in MG- 63 cells (ER $\alpha$-MG63) enhanced Yak-kong or soybean induced proliferation which paralleled with the enhanced expression of IGF-I. Inhibition of ER $\alpha$ expression by antisense $ER\;\alpha\;RNAs\;(As-ER\;\alpha-MG63$) caused these cells to insensitize Yak- kong or soybean induced proliferation and IGF-I expression. Furthermore, the comparable effects between Yak-kong and the combined treatment of genistein and daidzein at $0.5\;{\times}\;10^{-8}M$, which is a concentration of these two isoflavones similar to Yak-kong at 0.001 mg/ml, on cell proliferation and IGF-I expression in $ER\;\alpha-MG63\;or\;As-ER\;\alpha-MG63$ cells demonstrate that ER $\alpha$ plays an important, active role in MG-63 cell proliferation induced by phytoestrogens, especially Yak-kong or soybean derived isoflavones.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2015

Cornus walteri Wanger has been used in folk medicine in Korea. Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has been known as a major cause of photo damage in skin. In the present study, research on how to cure damaged cells by UVB was conducted using an extract of Cornus walteri Wanger leaves (CWE), which was treated with an enzyme. CWE was applied to human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) affected by UVB. UVB-irradiated HS68 cells showed increased caspase-3 activity, phosphorylation of p53, ${\gamma}H2AX$, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) formation, and DNA fragmentation compared with non-irradiated cells. However, all these effects were inhibited by treatment with CWE for 12 h after UVB irradiation. Furthermore, CWE has proved not to cause primary skin irritation through the human patch test. Collectively, these results suggest that CWE could be a new potential candidate as photoprotective agent against UVB-induced cellular damage in HDFs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.2919-2923
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• 2017

Objective: Anthocyanins belong to a class of flavonoids, exhibiting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions have been reported to have anti-cancer effects. Here, we investigated whether anthocyanins can inhibit cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis in human lung cancer A549 cells, which are critically involved in cancer metastasis. Methods: We used anthocyanins from fruits of Vitis coignetiae Pulliat (AIMs) which has been used in Korean folk medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancers. We have performed cell proliferation assays, cell invasion assay, gelatin zymography, wound healing assay and western blotting to examine whether anthocyanins can inhibit cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis in A549 cells. Result: AIMs did not inhibit cancer cell proliferation on A549 cells. Also, AIMs suppressed cancer migration, and invasion by supressing MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression. The Immuno-blotting results also revealed that AIMs suppressed the proteins involved in cancer proliferation (COX-2, C-myc, cyclin D1), migration and invasion (MMP-2, MMP-9), anti-apoptosis (XIAP, and c-IAP2), adhesion and angiogenesis (ICAM-1, VEGF). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the anthocyanins isolated from fruits of Vitis coignetiae Pulliat inhibit cancer proliferation, cancer migration, and invasion that is involve in cancer-metastasis. This study provides evidence that AIMs might have anti-cancer effects on human lung cancer.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.16-27
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• 2019

Generative and vegetative parts of the cactuses have had a long-lasting position in folk medicine and their effects could partly be confirmed in scientific experiments. Nowadays, the cactus, fruits, and cladodes are the focus of many studies because of their desirable properties. Therefore, the summarized reports of valuable properties of medicinal plants may be a good way to familiarize researches with a new source of drugs with lower side effects and higher efficacy. Opuntia dillenii, a well-known member of the Cactaceae family, is used as a medicinal plant in various countries and grows in the desert, semi-desert, tropical and sub-tropical areas. It shows diverse pharmacological activities such as: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, hypotensive etc. OD fruit also possesses valuable constitutes for instance: betalains, ascorbic acid, total phenol, protein as well as essential elements which suggest the significant potential of this plant as a complementary therapy against several pathological conditions. This review describes experimental evidence about pharmacological and therapeutic potential of OD in order to give the basis of its application in the prevention and treatment of some chronic diseases. More studies on OD can help better understanding of its pharmacological mechanism of action to explain its traditional uses and to identify its potential new therapeutic applications.

• CELLMED
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.20.1-20.5
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• 2018

Cancer is considered one of the deadly diseases in the world. According to WHO cancer now causes more deaths than all coronary heart disease. The incidence and mortality of the worldwide major cancers are now available in the GLOBOCAN series of the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The transition of global demographic and epidemiologic shows that burden of cancer will increase particularly in low and middle income countries, with over 20 million new cancer cases expected annually as early as 2025. Medicinal plants made known to be prospective and useful job for the treatment of several diseases and disorders from prehistoric days to nowadays. One of the commonly used plants, which have supporting evidences from the recent scientific data for the different types of cancers, is Carica papaya. Papaya (Carica papaya) is widely used as folk caloric herbal medicine, being a powerhouse of nutrients and accessible throughout the year. It is a rich source of three powerful antioxidants, the minerals, vitamins and contains high content of fibre. Carica papaya has provided many remedies for various diseases from ancient days to nowadays, and is regarded as a Nutraceutical. Because of this comprehensive medicinal value of Carica papaya, we are trying here to convey the reports studied especially for the anticancer activities of the age-old fruit, which will help researchers to pull in concert data and may be a "lead" for the one of the dangerous disease in the world.