• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1047-1053
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• 2010

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary Korean red pine bark extract as an antibiotic replacement on cecum microflora, immune functions, blood lipids, carcass characteristics, and growth performance in broiler chickens. There were four treatment groups: a control group, an antibiotic group, and two treatment groups receiving 65 and 80 ppm Korean red pine bark extract. Growth performance, carcass weight, dressing percentage, and breast and thigh muscle weight of the broiler chickens fed 80 ppm of red pine bark extract was higher than the broilers of the control group and the antibiotic group. Abdominal fat was lower in both groups of broiler chickens fed red pine bark extract, but the growth of immune organs such as the thymus, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius was significantly higher in the group that received a diet supplemented with 80 ppm red pine bark extract than in the control group and antibiotic group. Concentrations of triacylglyceride and total cholesterol were significantly lower in both groups that received red pine bark extract when compared to the control group and the antibiotic group. The concentration of serum IgG was significantly higher in the 80 ppm red pine bark extract group than in the control group and the antibiotic group. The numbers of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the cecum digesta were significantly increased, while the numbers of Escherichia coli and Salmonella were significantly reduced in the group that received 80 ppm red pine bark extract when compared to the control group and the antibiotic group. These results suggest that the a diet with 80 ppm Korean red pine bark extract as a replacement for antibiotics improve the cecum microflora, immune functions, blood lipids, carcass characteristics and growth performance of broiler chickens.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.76-86
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• 2010

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary Korean red pine bark extract as an antibiotic replacements on cholesterol, fatty acids and the shelf-life of chicken meat. To accomplish this, chickens were fed the optimal level of red pine bark extract that was found to replace antibiotics in the diet of broilers. A total of 180 male broilers(Ross strain 308) were divided into three treated groups, T1(control group), T2(8 ppm of avilamycin) and T3(65 ppm of red pine bark extract per kg diet). The lipid content was reduced by 24.67% and 20.49% in T3 group, while the cholesterol level also decreased significantly in the T3 group by 20.49% and 20.55% when compared to the T1 and T2 groups, respectively. In addition, the saturated fatty acid level was lower in the T3 group than in the T1 and T2 groups, while the unsaturated fatty acid level of the T3 group was significantly higher than those of the other groups. The TBARS value of chicken thigh muscle containing its skin on the 7th day of low temperature storage was significantly lower by 23.86% and 21.17% in the T3 group than in the T1 and T2 groups, respectively. Evaluation of the color of the meat revealed that the $L^*$value (lightness) and $b^*$value(yellowness) were higher in the T3 group than in the T1 and the T2 groups, but that the pH was significantly lower in the T3. Based on the results of this study, the addition of 65 ppm red pine bark extract to the diet of broilers should improve their meat quality with respect to the lipid contents and shelf-life when compared to the addition of antibiotics.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.679-687
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• 2018

Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) is one of the major Pinus species in Korea. Red pine bark is removed prior to the chipping process in the wood industry and discarded as waste. However, red pine bark contains a considerable amount of naturally occurring phenolics, including flavonoids, and therefore may have a variety of biological effects. In this study, we investigated if Korean red pine bark extract (KRPBE) could protect neuronal PC-12 cells from oxidative stress and inhibit cholinesterase activity. Analysis of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography results revealed four phenolics in KRPBE: vanillin, protocatechuic acid, catechin, and taxifolin. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of KRPBE were 397.9 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight (DW) and 248.7 mg catechin equivalents/g DW, respectively. The antioxidant capacities of KRPBE measured using ABTS, DPPH, and ORAC assays were 697.3, 521.8, and 2,627.7 mg vitamin C equivalents/g DW, respectively. KRPBE and its identified phenolics protected against $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, which degrade the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to terminate neurotransmission in synaptic clefts, were inhibited by treatment with KRPBE and its identified phenolics. Taken together, these results suggest that KRPBE and its constituent antioxidative phenolics are potent neuroprotective agents that can maintain cell viability under oxidative stress and inhibit cholinesterase activity.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.498-508
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• 2019

This study was carried out to investigate the potential of Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) inner bark extracts as an antidiabetic agent. The ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the bark extracts was chromatographed on a Sephadex LH-20 column to yield five compounds, which structures were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy. The isolated compounds were (+)-catehin, (-)-epicatechin, taxifolin, taxifolin-3'-O-${\beta}$-D-(+)-glucose and $\tilde{n}$-courmaric acid. The antidiabetic activity of the different fractions, including the crude extracts and isolated compounds, was evaluated by ${\beta}$-cells insulin secretion and glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells. The insulin secretion was 128% for taxifolin at $25{\mu}g/mL$. However, the other samples had no effect on this test. For the glucose uptake activity assay, $1{\mu}M$ insulin and 2 mM metformin were used as controls. Both the crude extract and taxifolin showed relatively low activity values, but the other samples yielded glucose uptake values over 260%. ${\rho}$-courmaric acid showed the highest uptake (270%). The results confirmed that Korean red pine extracts may be used as a hypoglycemic agent.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.359-364
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• 2007

Pine bark extract is well-known as a very powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic material. French maritime pine bark extract ($Pycnogenol^{(R)}$) of Horphag Research has monopolized the world market over 30 years. Korean red pine bark extract ($Pinexol^{(R)}$) was first manufactured by the patent technology of NutraPharm in Korea in 2006. Feasibility of topical gel and patch formulations of Pinexol was systematically investigated by evaluating the skin absorption of catechin as a reference compound. In vitro hairless mouse skin absorption of catechin from gel formulation was higher than that from patches. However, significant amount of catechin was also deposited inside the skin from patch formulations, which were dependent on the types of pressure sensitive adhesives. Thus, it seems to be feasible to control the topical delivery of Pinexol by using both gel and patch formulations, and be necessary to conduct further systematic investigation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1154-1167
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the anti-amnesic effect of Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) bark extract (KRPBE) against amyloid beta_1-42 (Aβ_1-42)-induced neurotoxicity. We found that treatment with KRPBE improved the behavioral function in Aβ-induced mice, and also boosted the antioxidant system in mice by decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) content, increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, and reducing glutathione (GSH) levels. In addition, KRPBE improved the cholinergic system by suppressing reduced acetylcholine (ACh) content while also activating acetylcholinesterase (AChE), regulating the expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95), and synaptophysin. KRPBE also showed an ameliorating effect on cerebral mitochondrial deficit by regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ATP levels. Moreover, KRPBE modulated the expression levels of neurotoxicity indicators Aβ and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, p-IκB-α, and IL-1β. Furthermore, we found that KRPBE improved the expression levels of neuronal apoptosis-related markers BAX and BCl-2 and increased the expression levels of BDNF and p-CREB. Therefore, this study suggests that KRPBE treatment has an anti-amnestic effect by modulating cholinergic system dysfunction and neuroinflammation in Aβ_1-42-induced cognitive impairment in mice.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.660-667
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• 2017

PineXol, extracted from Korean red pine bark, has beneficial effects, such as antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antilipogenic activities in vitro. We tested the hypothesis that PineXol supplementation could have anti-obesity effects on mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Four-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were fed normal chow (18% kcal from fat) or a HFD (60% kcal from fat). HFD-fed animals were also subjected to PineXol treatment at a dose of 10 or 50 mg/kg body weight (BW) (PX10 or PX50, respectively) body weight. The body weight and body fat mass in the PX50 group were statistically lower than those in the HFD group (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). The concentration of hepatic triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were reduced in the PX50 group compared with the HFD group (p < 0.01). Acetyl CoA carboxylase (p < 0.01), elongase of very long chain fatty acids 6 (p < 0.01), stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 (p < 0.05), microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (p < 0.01), and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (p < 0.05) were significantly decreased in the PX50 group compared with that in the HFD group. In white adipose tissue, CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein alpha (p < 0.05), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (p < 0.001), and perilipin (p < 0.01) were decreased in the PX50 group compared with those in the HFD group. Therefore, the current study implies the potential of PineXol for the prevention and/or amelioration of obesity, in part by inhibition of both hepatic lipid synthesis and adipogenesis in white adipose tissue.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1925-1931
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• 2017

Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) bark extract, PineXol (PX), was investigated for its potential antioxidant and anti-inflammation effects in vitro. It was hypothesized that PX treatment ($25-150{\mu}g/ml$) would reduce the lipid synthesis in HepG2 hepatocytes as well as lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Hepatocytes' intracellular triglycerides and cholesterol were decreased in the PX $150{\mu}g/ml$ treatment group compared with the control (p < 0.05). Consequently, de novo lipogenic proteins (acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, elongase of very long chain fatty acids 6, glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 1, and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1) were significantly decreased in hepatocytes by PX $150{\mu}g/ml$ treatment compared with the control (p < 0.05). In differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes, the lipid accumulation was significantly attenuated by all PX treatments (p < 0.01). Regulators of adipogenesis, including CCAAT-enhancer-binding proteins alpha, peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor gamma, and perilipin, were decreased in PX $100{\mu}g/ml$ treatment compared with the control (p < 0.05). In conclusion, PX might have anti-obesity effects by blocking hepatic lipogenesis and by inhibiting adipogenesis in adipocytes.