• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.664-676
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• 2006

Objective : Although chronic non-bacterial prostatitis is a common disease, it is very difficult to treat effectively. Lygodium japonicum has been traditionally used in treatment of urinary tract inflammation and voiding disturbance. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects and action mechanism of Lygodium japonicum in the rat model of non-bacterial prostatitis induced by castration and testosterone treatment. Methods : Five-month-old rats were treated with 17$\beta$-estradiol after castration for induction of experimental non-bacterial prostatitis, which is similar to human chronic prostatitis in histopathological profiles. Lygodium japonicum and testosterone were administered as an experimental specimen and a positive control. respectively. The prostates were evaluated by histopathological parameters including the epithelial score and epithelio-stromal ratio for glandular damage. PCNA labeling index for cyto-proliferation and a TUNEL(deoxyuridine triphosphate biotin nick end-labeling) assay for cell apoptosis. Results : While prostates of control rats revealed severe acinar gland atrophy and stromal proliferation, the rats treated with Lygodium japonicum showed a diminished range of tissue damage. Epithelial score was improved in the Lygodium japonicum group over that of the control (P<0.05). The epithelio-stromal ratio was lower in the Lygodiutn japonicum group when compared to that of the control (P<0.05). Although there was no difference in PCNA and TUNEL positive cells of the glandular epithelia. we found an decreased number of PCNA positive cell and concurrent increase of TUNEL positive cells in the stroma of Lygodium japonicum treated rats (P<0.01). Conclusions : These findings suggest that Lygodium japonicum may protect the glandular epithelial cells and also inhibit stromal proliferation in association with suppression of cyto-proliferation and stimulation of apoptosis. We concluded that Lygodium japonicum could be a useful remedy agents for treating chronic non-bacterial prostatitis.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.969-979
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• 2003

Gamisoamsan is a prescription originated in Soamsan which is known as an anti-cancer remedy in the traditional Korean Medicine. To enhance the synergic effects of anti-cancer activity of Soamsan, this study reconstituted the original components of Soamsan with a slight modification and produced a novel herbal remedy, namely Gamisoamsan. To investigate the effects of Gamisoamsan on anti-cancer reaction, I studied the effects of Gamisoamsan on angiogenesis via chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, corneal neovascularization assay and the effects on expression of growth factor which are VEGF, TGF-β, bFGF and IMUP-1. Anti-cancer effects of Gamisoamsan was also abserved through hematological parameters, tumor volume and survival rate in mice. Gamisoamsan inhibited embryonic angiogenesis of blood vessels in CAM assay and inhibited neovascularization of ral cornea. Gamisoamsan reduced cell proliferation in HT1080 cells and IC50 was 2.18 ㎎/㎖ Gamisoamsan reduced the expression of VEGF, TGF-β, bFGF and IMUP-1 which was known as vascular growth factor and this effects of Gamisoamsan was predominant than VP-16. The treatment of Gamisoamsan decreased the CT-26 cell inoculated-tumor volume in mice colon adenocarcinoma and increased mice survival which was inoculated CT-26 cells. The results of the present study suggest that Gamisoamsan extracts has a potential anti-tumor activity and may be an useful remedy to prevent and/or treat cancer.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.32-41
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• 1999

Ozonization for rearing seawater in land-based culture system has recently been utilized for disinfection of pathogenic microorganisms and improvement of water quality. This study was conducted to examine the effects of total residual oxidants (TRO) in ozone-treated seawater on survival, blood parameters, osmolality and oxygen consumption, and gill tissue of the flounder. Paralichthys olivaceus. Experiments were carried out with the starved flounder of 12~19 cm in total length at $20^{\circ}C$. The 48-hr and 96-hr $LC_{50}$ for the flounder amounts to 26.4 ppb and 22.3 ppb, respectively. With increase of TRO concentration from 24 to 39 ppb, the values of hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, red blood cell count and osmolality of the flounder with respect to exposure time were significantly elevated, however, the oxygen consumption rates decreased. In the case of the fish exposed to 13 ppb for 96 hrs, blood glucose increased with an elapse of exposure time, while survival rate was 100%. Death apparently resulted by massive destruction of gill lamellar epithelium, severe osmotic imbalance and the lack of oxygen uptake. The results of this experiment indicated that to protect aquaculture organisms, the ozone-treated seawater should not contain any residual oxidants, and that relatively long-term exposure to TRO of low concentration can impact on survival and physiological conditions of the flounder.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.156-160
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• 2016

Background: Workers in pesticide manufacturing industries are constantly exposed to pesticides. Genetic biomonitoring provides an early identification of potential cancer and genetic diseases in exposed populations. The objectives of this biomonitoring study were to assess DNA damage through comet assay in blood samples collected from industry workers and compare these results with those of classical analytical techniques used for complete blood count analysis. Methods: Samples from controls (n = 20) and exposed workers (n = 38) from an industrial area in Multan, Pakistan, were subjected to various tests. Malathion residues in blood samples were measured by gas chromatography. Results: The exposed workers who were employed in the pesticide manufacturing industry for a longer period (i.e., 13-25 years) had significantly higher DNA tail length ($7.04{\mu}m$) than the controls ($0.94{\mu}m$). Workers in the exposed group also had higher white blood cell and red blood cell counts, and lower levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), MCH concentration, and mean corpuscular volume in comparison with normal levels for these parameters. Malathion was not detected in the control group. However, in the exposed group, 72% of whole blood samples had malathion with a mean value of 0.14 mg/L (range 0.01-0.31 mg/L). Conclusion: We found a strong correlation ($R^2=0.91$) between DNA damage in terms of tail length and malathion concentration in blood. Intensive efforts and trainings are thus required to build awareness about safety practices and to change industrial workers' attitude to prevent harmful environmental and anthropogenic effects.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.629-635
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• 2018

In this study, the safety aspect of Maesil-cheongs with reduced amygdalin levels was investigated in terms of toxicokinetics and repeated oral toxicity. Plasma or UVC treatment was utilized to obtain Maesil-cheongs with reduced amygdalin levels. The toxicokinetic study demonstrated that the oral absorption of amygdalin decreased remarkably after a single-dose oral administration of both plasma- and UVC-treated Maesil-cheongs. The fourteen-day repeated oral toxicity study revealed that plasma- or UVC-treated Maesil-cheongs did not cause changes in body weight, food intake, water consumption, and absolute and relative organ weights. No significant effects on hematological and serum biochemical parameters were found. Histopathological examination showed no abnormality or toxicological change. These findings suggest that plasma- and UVC-treated Maesil-cheongs have no toxicity potential, and these processes will be useful to obtain products with safe, reduced amygdalin levels.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.225-232
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• 2019

Thymus vulgaris L. is widely used as an ingredient in cooking and in herbal medicine. However, there is little information about its toxicity. The present study was performed to evaluate the acute and repeated 28-day oral dose toxicity of thyme essential oil in rats. For the acute toxicity test, two groups of three rats were used. The rats received a single dose of essential oil: 300 or 2,000 mg/kg of body weight (bw). The rats were observed individually during the first four hours, and then daily until day 14. For the toxicity test with repeated doses, four groups of 10 rats were used. Doses of 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day were tested for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, blood was collected and the animals were sacrificed. Histopathological examination showed that in the lungs of rats given the 2,000 mg/kg bw dose, polymorph nuclear infiltrates, hemosiderin macrophages, and interstitial space thickening were present. In the repeated dose study, all rats survived the 28-day treatment period and apparently showed no signs of toxicity. The hematological and biochemical parameters were not altered. The histopathological study of the organs showed severe changes in the lung, with the dose of 500 mg/kg/day; in the other organs, no alterations were observed or the changes were slight. The body weight was only altered in male rats given the 500 mg/kg dose. The relative weight of the organs did not show any significant changes. Our studies revealed that the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris has moderate oral toxicity according to the results of the acute test, whereas the results of the 28-day oral toxicity test suggest that the no-observed-adverse effect level (NOAEL) is greater than 250 mg/kg/day.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.347-353
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• 2022

In this study, the effect of a synbiotic mixture of probiotics and 3% inulin on the growth, non-specific immune response, and mortality due to disease resistance of Paralichthys olivaceus was investigated. The results revealed that an 8-week diet of synbiotic-added feed, had no significant effect on the growth of P. olivaceus, Analysis of the hematological parameters revealed that there was a significant difference in the content of AST, total protein, and cholesterol among the groups, whereas there was no significant difference in the ALT and glucose contents. Further, there was no significant difference in the lysozyme activity of the synbiotic and control group after 8 weeks' feeding. In addition, when the symbiotic mixture was used rather than probiotics alone, the NBT activity of the synbiotic group increased compared to that of the control group. Moreover, when only probiotics were used, the cytokine expression in the spleen of the samples was significantly lower than that in the control group, whereas the expression was significantly higher in the spleen of the synbiotics group. However, there was no significant difference in the cytokine expression in the liver, intestine, and kidney of the three groups. Lastly, after injection for 2 weeks, the mortality rates of the control group towards Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus parauberis, and Streptococcus iniae were 95, 85 and 85%, respectively; those of the probiotics group were 85, 80, and 80%, respectively; and those of the synbiotics group were 80, 80, and 85%, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.651-659
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• 2022

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different water temperatures (8, 11, 14 and 17℃) on growth, survival and hematological parameters of juvenile chum salmon(Oncorhynchus keta) for eight weeks. At the end of the experiment, at 14℃, the final body weights of the O. keta group were the highest compared to the other groups. Also, the O. keta showed a higher tendency in the 14℃ group than the 8, 11, and 17℃ groups in terms of growth performances, including specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency (FE), weight gain (WG), and condition factor (CF). The survival rate (SR) was 100% at 8 and 11℃ groups, 96% at 14℃ group and 98% at 17℃ group. In the plasma components, the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was significantly decreased at 17℃ group, whereas there was no significant change in the albumin (ALB), total protein (TP), sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺) and chloride (Cl^-) levels. Among the whole-body composition of salmon, moisture, crude protein, and ash were not significantly affected by water temperature. However, crude lipid in the 8℃ group was significantly higher than in other water temperature groups. The results of this study demonstrated that the optimal temperature to stable growth performance for juvenile O. keta was 14℃.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.191-195
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• 2014

Essential oils extracted or purified from various plants have shown various beneficial effects. Seed parts of Schizandra chinensis Baillon (Schisandrae Semen) have been used as a traditional medicine for thousands of years in parts of Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan. However, the pharmacological mechanisms of essential oils purified from S. fructus (S. chinensis Baillon) remain largely unresolved. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of Schisandrae Semen essential oil (SSeo) by a single- dose toxicity study in mice. SSeo was orally administered at a dose of 5,000 mg/kg in ICR mice. All animals were sacrificed after 14 days of treatment. After a single administration, mortality, clinical signs, body weight changes, and gross pathological findings were observed for 14 days. We also measured parameters of organ weight, clinical chemistry, and hematology. No toxicological change related to the test substance or mortality was observed after administration of a single oral dose of SSeo. There were no adverse effects on clinical signs, body weight, or organ weight and no gross pathological findings in any treatment group. The clinical chemistry and hematological parameters were within the normal ranges except total bilirubin. Therefore, the approximate lethal dose for oral administration of SSeo in mice was considered to be over 5,000 mg/kg. The results on the single-dose toxicity of SSeo indicate that it is not possible to reach oral dose levels related to death or dose levels with any harmful side effects.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.442-450
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• 2011

Numerous studies have suggested that dietary flavonoids contribute to prevent cardiovascular disease. Onion contains many functional phytochemicals such as quercetin. The aim of this study was to examine whether onion peel extracts supplementation affect blood lipid profiles and blood coagulation in animal model. Total 48 Sprague-Dawley male rats at 5 weeks old were divided into 6 groups with different diets(C: control, HF: high fat diet, HFOE 0.01%: high fat+onion peel extract 0.01% diet, HFOE 0.02%, HFOE 0.05%, HFOE 0.1%) for 8 weeks. Onion peel extract supplementation significantly decreased serum levels of LDL-cholesterol and increased HDL-cholesterol, while total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not affected. Hematological parameters(hematocrit, white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet count) and blood coagulation parameters(prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, and fibrinogen) were not significantly different among 6 groups. However, activated partial thromboplastin time of HFOE 0.05% group was significantly longer than that of HF group. These results indicate that onion peel extract supplementation displays hypocholestrolemic effects but does not seem to have anti-coagulation effects in high fat fed SD rats.