• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.56-61
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• 2013

Bryonia alba L. belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and grows in Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Russia, Ukraina and Armenia. The root of Bryonia alba has been used for neuropsychical diseases, psychosis, hysteria, paralysis, epilepsy, vertigo, headache, migrain, melancholia, forgetfulness, sadness, absent mindedness, delirium, cardiovascular disease, ischemia, gastrointestinal diseases, gastric ulcer and respiratory diseases. The root of Bryonia alba contains an oxidized tetra cyclic triterpens, cucurbitaceous, polyunsaturated hydrocarbons, phospholipids, phosphatidylcholines, ethereal oils, fatty acids, a great amount of amino acids, alcohol soluble enzymes, sugar, carotene, vitamin C and E. Bryonia alba increases coronary blood-flow and the amplitude of cardiac contractions. Bryonia alba has an antistressor action and increases the working capacity. Bryonia alba activates connective tissue cells. Bryonia alba markedly increases the oxygen consumption by young and senescent rat brain, liver as well as heart mitochondrial fraction as Korean Ginseng. Bryonia alba decreases lipid peroxidation after immobilization stress. In conclusion, Bryonia alba like Ginseng used in traditional medicine came from ancient time has a good perspective administration as prophylactic and medical remedy, as remedy of lot of diseases in modern medicine.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.333-338
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• 2000

We have examined whether bile acids can affect the electrical and mechanical activities of circular smooth muscle of canine colon and ileum, using isometric tension measurement or patch clamp technique. It was found that a dilution of canine bile $(0.03{\sim}2%\;by\;volume)$ enhanced or inhibited the amplitude of spontaneous contractions. An individual component of bile, deoxycholic acid (DCA) enhanced the frequency and amplitude of the spontaneous contractile activity at $10^{-6}\;M,$ while DCA at $10^{-4}\;M$ inhibited the contraction. Similarly, the response to cholic acid was excitatory at $10^{-5}\;M$ and inhibitory at $3{\times}10^{-4}\;M.$ Taurocholic acid at $10^{-4}\;M$ enhanced the amplitude of muscle contraction. Electrically, canine bile at 1% reversibly depolarized the colonic myocytes under current clamp mode. Bile acids also elicited non-selective cation currents under voltage clamp studies, where $K^+$ currents were blocked and the $Cl^-$ gradient was adjusted so that $E_{Cl}^-$ was equal to -70 mV, a holding potential. The non-selective cation current might explain the depolarization caused by bile acids in intact muscles. Furthermore, the bile acid regulation of electrical and mechanical activities of intestinal smooth muscle may explain some of the pathophysiological conditions accompanying defects in bile reabsorption.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.184-193
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• 2000

To evaluate GC-rhEPO, human erythropoietin produced by recombinant DNA technique, its general pharmacological properties were investigated in experimental animals administering intravenously and in vitro test system. GC-rhEPO at doses of 70,700 and 7,000 IU/kg body weight had no influence on general behavior, spontaneous motor activity, thiopental-inducted sleeping time, writhing syndrome induced by acetic acid, strychnine-induced convulsions, charchoal meal propulsion in mice, and body temperature, gastric juice secretion, urine and electrolyte excretion in rats. In anesthetized rabbits, GC-rhEPO (70, 700 and 7,000 lU/kg, i.v.) did not alter respiratory rate, blood pressure, heat rate. In in vitro experiments, GC-rhEPO did not affect the contractions of the isolated ileum of guinea pigs and the muscle twitchs of isolated neuromuscular junction of the rats. In addition, GC-rhEPO did not affect the blood coagulation time and ADP-induced platelet aggregation in plasma of rabbits. Taken together, these results indicate that GC-rhEPO does not induce any adverse effects in the experimental animals.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.412-418
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• 1997

General pharmacological properties of AG 60 (mixture of acriflavine and guanosine (1:1, w/w)), which has anticancer effect, following intramuscular administration were examined in terms of effects on central nervous system, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system and autonomic nervous system in mice, rats, guinea-pigs and rabbits. AG 60 at the dose of 15 mgtg had no influences on pentobarbital sleeping time, spontaneous motor activity, chemoshock produced by pentylenetetrazole solution, writhing syndromes induced by 0.8% acetic acid solution, and motor coordination of mice. However, AG 60 at the dose of 7.5 and 15 mg/kg caused significant decrease of normal body temperature 1 and/or 2 h after the administration. No influence on body temperature was observed at 3.75 mg/kg in mice. Gastric secretion of rat and intestinal motility of mice were not influenced by the dose of 15 mg/kg. In terms of autonomic nervous system, AG 60 did not show direct effect and inhibitory or augmentative action of histamine- or acetylcholine-induced contractions at the concentration of 5 mg/L in the isolated ileum of guinea-pig. The administration of 15 mg/kg of AG 60 did not affect mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate in rat. AG 60 (15 mg/kg) given to anesthetized rabbits showed no effect on respiratory rate.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.347-360
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• 1994

The general and some pharmacological actions of DWP 301 were investigated in animals and the following results were obtained. In central nervous system, DWP 301 had no effects on the pentobarbital induced anaesthesia, rotarod test, traction test, analgesic action, anticonvulsant action in mice and body temperature in rat. But DWP 301 showed a little decrease of locomotor activity at a dose of 3,000 mg/kg. From these results, DWP 301 was considered to have little pharmacological effect on the central nervous system. Furthermore, DWP 301 had no influences on the normal blood pressure and heart rate. DWP 301 showed no effect on the isolated guinea pig ileum, trachea, right atrium, and nonpregnant rat uterus. But, in the isolated guinea pig vas deference, DWP 301 had showed inhibitory effect on the contractions produced by norepinephrine. DWP 301 showed rise of gastric juice pH and decrease of urine volume. Also, DWP 301 had no effect on the gastrointestinal motility and blood aggregation. From these results, it is concluded that the general pharmacological effect of DWP 301 are similar to or weaker than M and AGA.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.211-219
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• 2000

The therapeutic effect of AS2-006A, a derivative of asiaticoside, has been studied and is being developed as a new wound-healing agent. In the present study, the general pharmacological effects on 1) central nervous system, 2) autonomic nervous system, 3) respiratory system, 4) gastrointestinal system. 5) cardiovascular system. and 6) urinary system were assessed in experimental animals and in in vitro models. 1. In vivo animal study: External applications of the 1 % gel ointment of AS2-006A to rats at the doses of 200. 600 or 2000 mg/kg body weight showed no observable pharmacological effects. The effects on the central nervous system were assessed by observation of behavior, hexobarbital-induced sleeping time, pentetrazole-induced convulsion assay, body temperature measurements, and observations on spontaneous activity and catalepsy. The gel ointment exhibited no effects on the cardiovascular system (i.e. blood pressure and heart rate), renal physiology (i.e. urine volume and electrolytes excretion) and gas-trointestinal physiology (i.e. intestinal charcoal propulsion and gastric mucosal irritation). 2. In vitro experiments: The effects of AS2-006A on the physiology of smooth and cardiac muscles were assessed. Muscle contractions were isotonically and isometrically measured in organ chambers using a physiograph. Cumulative additions of AS2-006A (10$^{-9}$ -10$^{-5}$ M) induced no changes in the tension of isolated guinea pig ileum and tracheal muscles. AS2-006A only slightly increased contractility of rat atrial and papillary muscles at 10$^{-2}$ M, which was not statistically different from control. These data showed that the gel ointment of AS2-006A could be externally applied as a wound-healing agent with no potential side effects.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.267-272
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• 2011

A number of studies have demonstrated that 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) can induce muscle contraction or relaxation response and enhance secretion in the gastrointestinal tract via a multiplicity of 5-HT receptor subtypes. In the present study, we investigated the pharmacological characterization of the 5-HT-induced contractile response in longitudinal smooth muscle isolated from the feline ileum. Addition of 5-HT into muscle chambers enhanced the basal tone and spontaneous activity in a concentration-dependent manner. The neurotoxin tetrodotoxin did not alter the 5-HT-induced contraction of the longitudinal muscles. Neither atropine nor guanethidine affected the contraction. The 5-HT agonists, 5-methylserotonin hydrochloride and mosapride, also evoked concentration-dependent contractions. The 5-HT-induced contraction was enhanced by the $5HT_2$ receptor antagonist ketanserin and the $5-HT_3$ receptor antagonist ondansetron but was inhibited by the 5-$HT_1$ receptor antagonist methysergide and 5-$HT_4$ receptor antagonist GR113808. These results indicate that 5-$HT_1$ and 5-$HT_4$ receptors may mediate the contraction of the 5-HT-induced response and 5-$HT_2$ and 5-$HT_3$ receptors may mediate 5-HT-induced relaxation in feline ileal longitudinal smooth muscles.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 1990

It has been reported that bombesin induces contraction of the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, the present investigation was undertaken to see an influence of bombesin on electrical activity of the gastric smooth muscle, since electrical activity is associated with contractile activity in the smooth muscle of the stomach. Smooth muscle strips $(5\;{\times}\;1.5\;cm)$ that included the corpus and antrum were prepared from the ventral and dorsal portion of the feline stomach along the greater curvature. Circular muscle strips $(1\;{\times}\;0.3\;cm)$ of the corpus were also obtained. Electrical activity of the corpus and antrum of the muscle strip was monophasically recorded by using Ag-AgCl capillary electrodes placed on the circular muscle layer. Contractile activity of the circular muscle strip was also recorded. The recordings were performed in Krebs-Ringer solution that was continuously aerated with $O_{2}$ containing 5% $Co_{2}$, and kept at $36^{\circ}C$. Dose-related responses of electrical activity and contractility to bombesin was studied after frequency of slow waves and contraction of each strip reached to a steady state. An action of $D-leu^{13}-{\psi}\;(CH_{2}NH)-D-leu^{14}-bombesin,\;D-pro^{2}-D-trp^{7,9}-substance\;P$, tetrodotoxin, hexamethonium, atropine, phentolamine or propranolol on the effect of bombesin was also observed. 1) Bombesin increased frequency of slow waves and contractions dose-dependently at concentrations from $10^{-9}\;M\;to\;3\;{\times}\;10^{-8}\;M$. 2) The bombesin analogue at a concentration of $3\;{\times}\;10^{-7}\;M$ antagonized the effect of bombesin on frequency of slow waves. 3) The effect of bombesin on frequency of slow waves was inhibited by tetrodotoxin $(10^{-6}\;M)$ and hexamethonium $(10^{-3}\;M)$ but unaffected by atropine $(10^{-6}\;M)$, phentolamine $(10^{-5}\;M)$ and propranolol $(10^{-5}\;M)$. 4) The effect of bombesin on frequency of slow waves was blocked by the substance P analogue at a concentration of $10^{-5}\;M$. 5) Substance P at a concentration of $10^{-5}\;M$ failed to change frequency of slow waves. It is concluded from the above results that bombesin increases the frequency of slow waves as well as contractions of the smooth muscle strip from the feline stomach, and the effect of bombesin might be mediated by non-cholinergic or non-adrenergic mechanism at neuromuscular junction. However, enteric nerves that have substance P as a neurotransmitter do not appear to participate in the action of bombesin on frequency of slow waves.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.39-43
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• 2008

A hiccup is caused by involuntary, intermittent, and spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. It starts with a sudden inspiration and ends with an abrupt closure of the glottis. Even though a hiccup is thought to develop through the hiccup reflex arc, its exact pathophysiology is still unclear. The etiologies include gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory abnormalities, psychogenic factors, toxic-metabolic disorders, central nervous system dysfunctions and irritation of the vagus and phrenic nerves. Most benign hiccups can be controlled by traditional empirical therapy such as breath holding and swallowing water. However, though rare, a persistent hiccup longer than 48 hours can lead to significant adverse effects including malnutrition, dehydration, insomnia, electrolyte imbalance, and cardiac arrhythmia. An intractable hiccup can sometimes even cause death. We herein describe a patient with non-small cell lung cancer who was severely distressed by a persistent hiccup.