• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1260-1265
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• 2001

This study was performed to investigate the protective effects of Hovenia dulcis Thunb on hepatotoxicity in carbon tetrachloride-intoxicated rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (220~240 g) were used as experimental groups, which were divided into 7 groups; Control group, $CCl_4$-treated group, hexane fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, ethylacetate fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, butanol fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, $H_2O$ fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group. After 6 days, the activities of aminotransferase, contents of cholesterol, TG and hepatic lipid peroxide content in chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group were significantly decreased (p<0.05) compared to the only $CCl_4$-treated group. The content of glutathione and activities of GST in chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group were also significantly increased (p<0.05) compared to the only $CCl_4$-treated group. In addition, activities of SOD, catalase and GSH-Px in chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group were significantly decreased (p<0.05) compared to the only $CCl_4$-treated group. These results indicated that the chloroform fraction of Hovenia dulcis Thunb methanol extract showed hepatoprotective effect in carbon tetrachloride-intoxicated rats.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.154-161
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• 2008

Phellinus linteus (PL) has been known to exhibit potent biological activity. The present study was designed to investigate lipase-inhibitory and anti-oxidative activity of the methanol extract and the powder of PL fruiting body. The methanol extract of PL appeared to have the inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase with an $IC_{50}$ value of $36.3\;{\mu}g/mL$, and the scavenging activity of DPPH radical with an $IC_{50}$ value of $20.1\;{\mu}g/mL$, which was similar to that of vitamin C ($IC_{50}\;18.3\;{\mu}g/mL$). To investigate the lipase-inhibitory and anti-oxidative effect of PL on animal, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with high-fat diet supplemented with either 2% or 5% PL powder for 8 weeks. Total food intake was significantly increased, but body weight was not changed by PL powder supplementation. However, fecal fat excretion of the experimental groups fed with the PL powder were higher than that of the control group. PL powder showed a decrease in the plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and the hepatic total cholesterol levels. The anti-oxidative enzyme activities were also affected by PL supplementation. Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the plasma and liver were significantly increased by 98% and 46% in the 2% PL group, and 99% and 32% in the 5% PL group, respectively. Total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity was not affected by PL supplementation. DNA damage was measured by the comet assay in the lymphocytes collected after 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks of feeding PL supplemented diet. Lymphocyte DNA damage was decreased in the PL supplemented group. Furthermore, PL feeding enhanced the resistance to lymphocyte DNA damage caused by an oxidant challenge with $H_2O_2$.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 2009

The objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of aqueous extracts from Tremella fuciformis Berk(Tf AE) against stress during long-term and short-term in ICR mice. All the animals were randomly divided into two groups which had been bred for 5 months that were treated by immobilization stress for 8 weeks (total 7 months breeding, equivalent to human beings aged 20) with or without Tf AE, and one out of two groups was continuously bred until they become 18 months old (equivalent to human beings aged 60) without Tf AE. Afterwards, the changes of serum and hepatic metabolites were investigated on the basis of the index of stress-related in vivo oxidative damage. As a result, it was found that stress increases serum triglyceride (TG) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and decreases serum HDL-cholesterol in the long-term (total 18 months breeding) and short-term (total 7 months breeding). In addition, stress concerned the decrease of total antioxidant status (TAS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) as well as the increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver. On the other hand, Tf AE-fed groups reversed all these biochemical indices. These results suggest that stress in one's youth causes negative results in TG, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, AST, TAS, SOD and MDA measured in one's senescent. The administration of Tf AE in the stressed mice decreases serum TG and AST that are increased by stress, and exerts influence on the increase of serum HDL-cholesterol. Also Tf AE recovered the values of liver TAS, SOD and MDA in the stressed mice. In conclusion, Tf AE represented protective effect in the stressed mice to some degree.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2012

This research was performed to investigate the effect of aged Deodeok (Codonopsis lanceolata) water extracts on the levels of lipids in the serum of rats fed a high-fat diet for 10 weeks. Experimental groups were divided into basal diet only (BDG), high fat diet control (HFDCG), high-fat diet and 10% aged deodeok extract powder (HF10S), and high-fat diet and 20% aged deodeok extract powder (HF20S) groups. The levels of hematological variables were not significantly different among the four groups. Compared with the control group's serum total cholesterol level of $339.38{\pm}4.06mg/dL$, the levels of the HF10S and HF20S groups were significantly lowered to $225.38{\pm}5.44$ and $215.02{\pm}4.77mg/dL$, respectively. Compared with the control group's LDL-cholesterol leve of $64.91{\pm}3.67mg/dL$, the LDL-cholesterol levels of the HF10S and HF20S groups were significantly lowered to $54.16{\pm}3.46$ and $46.14{\pm}1.79mg/dL$, respectively. Also, compared to the control group's serum triglyceride level of $103.07{\pm}13.2mg/dL$, the level of the HF20S group was significantly lowered to $48.25{\pm}11.52mg/dL$. These results suggested that dietary supplementation of aged deodeok extract does not have any adverse effect on the hematological variables, while improving the lipid content and reducing hepatic damage of the high-fat fed rats.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.14-30
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• 1998

Manganese is an essential element in the body. It is mainly deposited in the liver and to a lesser degree in the basal ganglia of the brain and eliminated through the bile duct. Rapid turnover of managanese in the body makes it difficult to evaluate the manganese exposure in workers, esecially in those with irregular or intermittent exposure, like welders. Therefore, conventional biomarkers, including blood and urine manganese can provide only a limited information about the long-tern or cumulative exposure to manganese. Introduction of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) made a progress in the assessment of manganese exposure in the medical conditions related to manganese accumulation, e. g. hepatic failure and long-term total parenteral nutrition. Manganese shortens spin-lattice(T1) relaxation time on MRI due to its paramagnetic property, resulting in high signal intensity (HSI) on T1-weighted image(T1W1) of MRI. Manganese deposition in the brain, therefore, can be visualizedas an HSI in the globus pallidus, the substantia nigra, the putamen and the pituitary. clinical and epidemiologic studies regarding the MRI findings in the cases of occupational and non-occupational manganese exposure were reviewed. relationships between HSI on T1W1 of MRI and age, gender, occupational manganese exposure, and neurological dysfunction were analysed. Relationships betwen biological exposure indices and HSI on MRE werealso reviewed. Literatures were reviewed to establish the relationships between HSI, Manganese deposition in the brain, pathologic findings, and neurological dysfunction. HSI on T1W1 of MRI reflects regional manganese deposition in the brain. This relationship enables an estimation of regional manganese deposition in the brain by analysing MR signal intensity. Manganese deposition in the brain can induce a neuronal loss in the basal ganglia but functional abnormality is supposed to be related to the cumulative exposure of manganese in the brain, use of brain MRI for the assessment of exposure in a group of workers seems to be hardly rationalized, while ti can be a useful adjunct for the evaluation of manganese exposure int he cases with suspected manganese-related health problems.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 2007.12a
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• pp.57-58
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• 2007

Purpose: Ginseng is a well-known medical plant used in traditional Oriental medicine. Korean red ginseng (KRG) has been known to have potent biological activities such as radical scavenging, vasodilating, anti-tumor and anti-diabetic activities. However, the mechanism of the beneficial effects of KRG on diabetes is yet to be elucidated. The present study was designed to investigate the anti-diabetic effect and mechanism of KRG extract in C57BL/KsJ db/db mice. Methods: The db/db mice were randomly divided into six groups: diabetic control group (DC), red ginseng extract low dose group (RGL, 100 mg/kg), red ginseng extract high dose group (RGH, 200 mg/kg), metformin group (MET, 300 mg/kg), glipizide group (GPZ, 15 mg/kg) and pioglitazone group (PIO, 30 mg/kg), and treated with drugs once per day for 10 weeks. During the experiment, body weight and blood glucose levels were measured once every week. At the end of treatment, we measured Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood glucose, insulin, triglyceride (TG), adiponectin, leptin, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA). Morphological analyses of liver, pancreas and white adipose tissue were done by histological observation through hematoxylin-eosin staining. Pancreatic islet insulin and glucagon levels were detected by double-immunofluorescence staining. To elucidate an action of mechanism of KRG, DNA microarray analyses were performed, and western blot and RT-PCR were conducted for validation. Results: Compared to the DC group mice, body weight gain of PIO treated group mice showed 15.2% increase, but the other group mice did not showed significant differences. Compared to the DC group, fasting blood glucose levels were decreased by 19.8% in RGL, 18.3% in RGH, 67.7% in MET, 52.3% in GPZ, 56.9% in PIO-treated group. With decreased plasma glucose levels, the insulin resistance index of the RGL-treated group was reduced by 27.7% compared to the DC group. Insulin resistance values for positive drugs were all markedly decreased by 80.8%, 41.1% and 68.9%, compared to that of DC group. HbA1c levels in RGL, RGH, MET, GPZ and PIO-treated groups were also decreased by 11.0%, 6.4%, 18.9%, 16.1% and 27.9% compared to that of DC group, and these figure revealed a similar trend shown in plasma glucose levels. Plasma TG and NEFA levels were decreased by 18.8% and 16.8%, respectively, and plasma adiponectin and leptin levels were increased by 20.6% and 12.1%, respectively, in the RGL-treated group compared to those in DC group. Histological analysis of the liver of mice treated with KRG revealed a significantly decreased number of lipid droplets compared to the DC group. The control mice exhibited definitive loss and degeneration of islet, whereas mice treated with KRG preserved islet architecture. Compared to the DC group mice, KRG resulted in significant reduction of adipocytes. From the pancreatic islet double-immunofluorescence staining, we observed KRG has increased insulin production, but decreased glucagon production. KRG treatment resulted in stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in the db/db mice liver. To elucidate mechanism of action of KRG extract, microarray analysis was conducted in the liver tissue of mice treated with KRG extract, and results suggest that red ginseng affects on hepatic expression of genes responsible for glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and fatty acid oxidation. In summary, multiple administration of KRG showed the hypoglycemic activity and improved glucose tolerance. In addition, KRG increased glucose utilization and improved insulin sensitivity through inhibition of lipogenesis and activation of fatty acid $\beta$-oxidation in the liver tissue. In view of our present data, we may suggest that KRG could provide a solid basis for the development of new anti-diabetic drug.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.634-642
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• 2006

This study was performed to investigate the effects of lotus root ethanol extinct (LRE) on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase activity in vitro, and lipid metabolism in the serum and liver of rate fed normal or high cholesterol diet in vivo. LRE (200 mg/kg/day and 400 mg/kg/day) was administered only to rats with fed high cholesterol diet for 6 week. We divided into 6 groups: normal diet group (NC), high cholesterol diet group (1% cholesterol and 0.25% sodium cholate)(HC), LRE 200 mg/kg treated group (NC-LREL), LRE 400 mg/kg teated group (NC-LREH), high cholesterol diet and LRE 200 mg/kg treated group (HC-LREL), and high cholesterol diet and LRE 400 mg/kg teated group (HC-LREH). LRE significantly inhibited the HMG-CoA reductase activity in a concentration-dependent manner in vitro. The body weight gain and liver weight of the high cholesterol diet group were higher than the normal diet group whereas the groups administered LRE were gradually decreased. The high cholesterol diet group increased serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, free cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels, and decreased atherogenic index, HDL-cholesterol and phospholipid levels as compared with the normal diet group. LRE administrated groups were increased in serum HDL-C/T-C, HDL-cholesterol and phospholipid levels, and decreased serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, free cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol levels as compared with the high cholesterol diet group. These effect of LRE within the high cholesterol diet groups were concentration-dependent manners. There were no differences in the levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, phopholipid, HDL-cholesterol and free cholesterol between normal diet groups. The hepatic LRE administrated groups than in the high cholesterol diet group. Teken together, it is suggested that LRE exerts hypocholesterolemic effect by reducing serum cholesterol concentration in rats with high cholesterol diet-induced hypercholesterolemia.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.158-164
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• 1993

Background: Recently, lung abscess tends to be increased in patients with underlying disease, most of whom are unsuitable for surgery when medical treatment fails. The patients with giant lung abscesses do not frequently respond to antibiotics and often have life-threatening complications. Therefore, more intensive cares are required in these patients. We studied the results and effects of percutaneous catheter drainage in these patients. Method: We performed fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous pigtail catheter (8.3 F) drainage by Seldinger technique in 9 cases of lung abscess (in 7 cases, intractable to medical treatment for an average of 8.4 days and in 2 cases, catheter drainage immediately performed due to a large cavity that was initially 10 cm in diameter). We compared 10 cases of lung abscess as control group which had receieved conventional medical treatment alone. Results: Seven of the 9 patients in study group of percutaneous drainage and 7 of the 10 patients in control group of medical treatment alone clinically improved in the average of 1.8 and 8.7 days, respectively. The mean duration of drainage was 13.2 days. There were 3 cases of death from massive hemoptysis, asphyxia of pus, and sepsis in control group, as compared with 2 cases of death from hepatic encephalopathy and sepsis in study group. The malfunctions of catheter occurred in these 2 cases, obstruction and dislodgement. But there were no significant pleuropulmonary complications of percutaneous drainage. Conclusion: Percutaneous drainage is effective and relatively safe in the management of lung abscesses refractory to medical therapy or giant lung abscesses.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1406-1413
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• 2007

This study was performed to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of Pimpinella brachycarpa(PBE) on chronically ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity in rat liver. Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 90-130 g were divided into 5 groups; normal group(NOR), ethanol(35%, 10 ml/kg) treated group(CON), PBE 200 mg/kg treated group(P1), PBE 200 mg/kg and ethanol treated group(P2), and PBE 400 mg/kg and ethanol treated group(P3). PBE was also fractionated by the following solvent: n-hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and n-butanol. The antioxidative capacity of the n-hexane fraction was the highest among fractions and was similar to that of butylated hydroxytoluene(BHT). The body weight gain and feed intake of the rats were decreased by ethanol administration, but were gradually increased to the similar levels of the NOR group by administering PBE. The AST activity in serum elevated by ethanol was significantly decreased by administering the high dosage of PBE, but exerted no significant change on serum ALT activity. It was also observed that the hepatic activities of xanthine oxide(XO), catalase and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) increased by ethanol were markedly decreased in the combined ethanol and PBE administered groups(P2 and P3), but not in the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD) as compared with the CON group. The glutathione(GSH) contents were decreased by ethanol adminstration, however, increased after administering PBE. These results suggest that ethanol extract of Pimpinella brachycarpa has a possible positive effect on the liver function in hepatotoxicity-induced rats by ethanol administration.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1274-1280
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• 2011

The concentration of cordycepin produced by crossbred Cordyceps militaris JLM 0636 (CM${\alpha}$) was 7.42 mg/g dry weight, which was 7-fold higher than that of C. militaris (CM). However, cordycepin was not detected in Paecilomyces japonica (PJ). The improvement effects of CM${\alpha}$, CM and PJ on orotic acid (OA)-induced fatty liver in male Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated. Rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=6) based on five dietary categories: normal (N), OA control (C), OA plus 3% (w/w) PJ (PJ), OA plus 3% CM (CM), and OA plus 3% CM${\alpha}$ (CM${\alpha}$). OA treatment induced the retardation of body weight gain and enlargement of the liver. The concentration of hepatic triglyceride was markedly increased by OA-feeding, whereas this rise was significantly reduced by simultaneous feeding of OA, PJ, CM, and CM${\alpha}$, and this phenomenon was more pronounced by cordycepin-enriched CM${\alpha}$. The contents of total lipid, triglyceride, and free fatty acid in the serum were significantly or slightly lower in the OA control group than those of the N group, but there were no significant differences among the OA treatment groups. The hepatocytes in the OA-induced fatty liver contained numerous large lipid droplets, but PJ, CM, and CM${\alpha}$ feeding prevented the OA-induced lipid droplet accumulation in the hepatocytes. This effect was more pronounced in cordycepin-enriched CM${\alpha}$ than in PJ or CM in OA treatment rats. Accordingly, cordycepin-enriched CM${\alpha}$ could be an ideal candidate material as a dietary supplement in healthy functional foods to improve the effects of fatty liver.