• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.210-222
• /
• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a complex pathological condition that lacks a cure. Certain Chinese medicines, such as melittin, a major component in bee venom, have shown efficacy in treating CRF patients. On the other hand, the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of melittin are unclear. MATERIALS/METHODS: A 5/6 nephrectomy model (5/6 Nx) of renal failure was established on rats for in vivo assays, and mouse podocyte clone 5 (MPC5) mouse podocyte cells were treated with angiotensin II (AngII) to establish an in vitro podocyte damage model. The 24-h urine protein, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen levels were evaluated after one, 2, and 4 weeks. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, Masson staining, and periodic acid-Schiff staining were used to examine the pathological changes in kidney tissues. A cell counting kit 8 assay was used to assess the cell viability. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to assess the mRNA and protein levels in the cells, respectively. RESULTS: In the rat 5/6 Nx, melittin reduced the 24-h urinary protein excretion and the serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels. Furthermore, the renal pathology was improved in the melittin-treated 5/6 Nx rats. Melittin promoted podocin, nephrin, Beclin 1, and the LC3II/LC3I ratio and inhibited phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/mTOR in 5/6 Nx-induced rats and AngII-induced MPC5 mouse podocyte cells. Moreover, inhibiting autophagy with 3-MA weakened the effects of melittin on podocin, nephrin, and the LC3II/LC3I ratio in podocytes. CONCLUSION: Melittin may offer protection against kidney injury, probably by regulating podocyte autophagy. These results provide the theoretical basis for applying melittin in CRF therapy.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.33 no.7
• /
• pp.501-509
• /
• 2024

Prunus mume is a culturally significant fruit tree in East Asia that is widely used in traditional foods and medicines. The present study investigated the effects of sunlight exposure and leaf position on the photosynthetic efficiency of P. mume using SPAD values. The study was conducted at Cheongju National University of Education, Korea, under contrasting conditions between sunny (Site A) and shaded (Site B) areas on P. mume trees. Over three days, under varied weather, photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and SPAD measurements were collected using a SPAD-502 plus chlorophyll meter and a smartphone PPFD meter application. The SPAD values of the 60 leaves were measured in triplicate for each tree. The results indicated that trees in sunny locations consistently exhibited higher SPAD values than those in shaded areas, implying greater photosynthetic efficiency. Moreover, leaves positioned higher in the canopy showed increased photosynthetic efficiency under different light conditions, underscoring the significance of leaf placement and light environment in photosynthetic optimization. Despite the daily sunlight variability, these factors maintained a consistent influence on SPAD values. This study concludes that optimal leaf positioning, influenced by direct sunlight exposure, significantly enhances photosynthetic efficiency in P. mume. These findings highlight the potential of integrating smart farming techniques, especially open-field smart farming technology, to improve photosynthesis and, consequently, crop yield and efficiency. The findings also highlight the need for further exploration of environmental factors affecting photosynthesis for agricultural advancement.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.479-489
• /
• 1998

This work was done for 9 patients having experience of a herb medical treatment after being diagnosed as CVA during a year from January, 1996 to December, 1996 by using an ethnographic research method. The summarized results of this research are following. Ⅰ. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ILLNESS First, the falling-ill phase is the time that they have the first stroke of paralysis and the decision pattern of medical institution' comes out. The emotional experience in the period is something like 'flustration', 'anxiety', 'despair', and 'expectation'. Second, the active-treatment phase is the time that the patients as well as their family or care giver not only show the positive attitude and actively participate in the illness treatment but also show a lot of interest in medical institutions and activities of health recovery. There is a primary factor of the continuation of treatment as an experience of treatment and being crushed and sensitivity as an experience of the illness. Third, the rehabilitation phase is the time that the patients or their family become tired and insensitive to the treatment and recuperation, and then reduce the treatment activity. There is a primary influence factor of the discontinuance of treatment as an experience of treatment and physical experience and emotional experience as an experience of the illness. The physical experience is divided into 'personal-hygiene care', and 'the sphere of activity' The emotional experiences are 'blaming someone', 'contempt' and 'despair' as a negative experience and 'hope' as a positive experience. Ⅱ. COPING STRATEGY There are a physical coping, an emotional and mental coping, a social coping, and a spiritual coping as a coping strategy used for the patients to overcome their illness and adjust themselves to their altered life. First, the physical coping comes out as 8 categories, 'using an auxiliary tool', 'doing exercise', 'protecting', 'improving their diet', 'taking care of something', 'using subsidiary medicines', 'trying a folk remedy', and 'having interest in their health'. Second, for the emotional and mental coping, there are 'accepting' and 'trying' as a positive coping and a failure of control as a negative coping. Third, the social coping is appeared as 'being supported'. Fourth, the spiritual coping is recognized as' recourse to God' and 'preparation of death'. After all, the elderly CVA patients in an agricultural area choose the act of treatment based on the traditional belief and the relationship with a caretaker. A personal health can be maintained by taking care of themselves and controling their mind, and the overcome of the illness is decided on the basis of traditional concepts and cultural principles in which the patients as well as the family, neigbors and take carers should work out together and cooperate with each other in order to achieve that.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.229-238
• /
• 2023

Bentonite is a type of rock that has been used as a traditional mineral medicine. It has a variety of pharmacological activities, and is used in traditional Korean medicine to treat jaundice, diarrhea, and hemostasis. In modern medicine, it is used as a raw material and additive for medicines such as antacids, gastrointestinal protective agents, and laxatives. Bentonite produced in Korea was produced through diagenesis or hydrothermal alteration of tertiary volcanic debris distributed in the Pohang and Gyeongju areas. It is mainly used for industrial purposes such as papermaking, paint, civil engineering, casting, and animal feed. Recently, technology is being developed to use it in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. In this study, the geochemical characteristics of bentonite were identified by analyzing the main components and trace elements of 40 and 21 types of bentonite produced in the Gampo Gyeongju and Yeonil Pohang area. Also it were classifed by formation envrionment of bentonite deposits in the Gampo and Yeonil. As a result of the study, bentonite from the reserch area may be cased by argillic alteraton that alkali elements are removed form basaltic rocks by hydrothermal fluids and AI-CCPI alteration indices wrere also indentified argillic alteraton. It was found that there is a correlation between the behavior characteristics of heavy metal elements (P b, Cr, As) and the hydrothermal alteration of bentonite in the reserch area.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.78-88
• /
• 2017

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis; therefore, it has become an important target in cancer therapy. Novel anticancer pharmaceutical products that have relatively few side effects or are non-cytotoxic must be developed, and such products may be obtained from traditional herbal medicines. Coptis chinensis Franch. is an herb used in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and diabetes. However, potential antiangiogenic effects of C. chinensis water extract (CCFWE) have not yet been studied. The purpose of this study was to determine the antiangiogenic effect of CCFWE in order to evaluate its potential for an anticancer drug. We found that the treatment with CCFWE inhibited the major steps of the angiogenesis process, such as the endothelial cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and capillary-like tube formation in response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and also resulted in the growth inhibition of new blood vessels in an ex vivo rat aortic ring assay. We also observed that CCFWE treatment arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, preventing the G0/G1 to S phase cell cycle progression in response to VEGF. In addition, the treatment reduced the VEGF-induced activation of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9. Taken together, these findings indicate that CCFWE should be considered a potential anticancer therapy against pathological conditions where angiogenesis is stimulated during tumor development.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.537-542
• /
• 2002

To screening of antimicrobial activity, 95% ethanol and hot water extracts of roots, fruits, leaves, radix and stems of 50 species of traditional herbal medicines were examined. For their growth inhibitory effects on two food-born microorganisms, S. aureus and E. coli O157:H7, by the paper disc diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) test. Moutan radicis Cortex and Achyranthis Radix showed the highest inhibitory activities on both S. aureus and E. coli O157:H7. The Inhibition zones of Moutan radicis Cortex on S. aureus and E. coii O157:H7 were 22 mm and 24 mm respectively, and the corresponding inhibition zone of Achyranthis Radix were 23 mm and 22 mm. The MIC or Achyranthis Radix on S. aureus was 156.25 $\mu$g/mL, and the MIC or Achyranthis Radix and Moutan radicis Cortexas on E. coli O157:H7 were 625 $\mu$g/mL and 312.5 $\mu$g/mL, respectively. Their antimicrobial activities in ethanolic extracts were significantly higher than in hot water extracts. In the various solvent fractions prepared from ethanol extract, the ethyl acetate fraction of Achyranthis Radix and the CHCl$_3$ fraction of Moutan radicis Cortexas showed strongest activity.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.39-49
• /
• 2014

This report is about a case of an ataxia patient with sensory loss diagnosed with thalamic Infarction. The patient had symtoms of gait disturbances and dysmetria. We used Korean medicine treatment modalities including acupunture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion and herb medicines. The improvement of ataxia was evaluated by International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale and Balance master^Ⓡ system. After treatment, decreased scores of International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale and change of the trace of Balance master^Ⓡ system showed that symtoms of ataxia were improved. Sensory deficits and other conditions were also getting better. This report suggests that Korean medicine could have a therapeutic effect for Thalamic ataxia.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.348-354
• /
• 2020

Oryeong-san (ORS) is a traditional Korean herbal medicine widely used for renal associated diseases, composed of five medicine herbs; Atractylodes japonica Koidzumi, Cinnamomum cassia Presl, Polyporus umbellatus Fries, Poria cocos Wolf and Alisma orientale Juzepzuk. We studied to improve the convenience of intake and portability by developing modernized dosage forms, and examined the effect on anti-inflammation of ORS. In order to develop the tablet formulation of ORS (ORS-F), the tablets were evaluated on the basis of physical characteristics include diameter, thickness, weight variation, hardness, friability and disintegration. To analyze the marker components of ORS-F, eight index markers from five herbal medicines were chosen. And the method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detector method was established for the simultaneous analysis. The biological activities were examined the effect of ORS-F on pro-inflammation mediated by LPS-stimulation. The production of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokines were determined by reacting cultured medium with griess reagent and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) were investigated by Western blot and RT-PCR. The anti-oxidant activities of OJS-F increased markedly, in a dose-dependent manner. and, The total phenolic compound and flavonoids contents of OJS-F were 10.20±0.09 ㎍/㎎ and 12.86±0.86 ㎍/㎎. OJS-F which is LPS has diminished in the LPS-induced release of inflammatory mediators (NO, iNOS, COX2 and PGE2) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β) from the RAW264.7 macrophages. Therefore, the developed formulation for tablet of ORS-F provide efficiency and usability, and indicated effect of anti-inflammation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.151-163
• /
• 2019

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of herbal medicine for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in cases and to find the general tendency of herbal medicine treatment and to establish the primary treatment direction of Atopic dermatitis. Methods : In the domestic databases, Oriental medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System(OASIS), Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal(KTKP), National Discovery for Science Leader(NDSL), Research Information Sharing Service(RISS), we selected among the papers published in the last 20 years using search terms related to "Atopic dermatitis & Cases". Reports based on Sasang constitutional medicine and Six meridian pattern identification were excluded and a total of 21 papers were finally selected. Results : 113 herbal medicines were retrieved from 21 papers. The most commonly used herbs are Scutellariae Radix(黃芩), Rehmanniae Radix(地黃), and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma(甘草). Atractylodis Rhizoma(蒼朮), Akebiae Caulis(木通), Smilacis Rhizoma(土茯?), Paeoniae Radix(芍藥) used mostly when Oozing exists, Trichosanthis Radix (瓜蔞), Asparagi Radix(天門冬), Persicae Semen(桃仁), Carthami Flos(紅花) used mostly when Dryness, Lichenification, and Pigmentation exist. The average score of SCORAD index was improved after Herbal medicine treatment. Conclusion : Through this study, we could find out the tendency of herbal medicine to treat Atopic dermatitis along with Symptoms.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.1075-1083
• /
• 2018

Objective: Facial nerve palsy is caused by damage to the seventh cranial nerve. It is the main symptom of facial muscle paralysis on the affected side. If the patient cannot receive proper treatment, severe permanent impairments, both physical and mental, may result, so this disease must be treated appropriately. In this study, a patient with facial nerve palsy was admitted to a Korean medicine hospital for treatment. This case study reports on the patient's progress and the effects of the treatment. Methods: We treated the patient with herbal medicines, acupuncture, herbal acupuncture therapy, and physical therapy. The House-Brackmann Grading System and a weighted regional grading system were used to assess symptom changes. Results: The patient with facial nerve palsy was hospitalized for 50 days and recovered from symptoms without significant problems in the face or to motor function. Conclusion: This case report demonstrates the possibility of treating facial nerve palsy using Korean medicine.