• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2001

Azelastine, a phthalazinone derivative, is an antiallergic agent which demonstrates histamine $H_1-receptor$ antagonist activity and also inhibits histamine release from mast cells following antigen and non-antigen stimuli. Thus, azelastine may be useful in the management of both asthma and allergic disorders. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two azelastine hydrochloride tablets, $Azeptin^{TM}$ (Bu Kwang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) and $Azela^{TM}$ (Kyung Dong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Eighteen normal male volunteers, $22.44{\pm}2.01$ years in age and $61.99{\pm}6.18\;kg$ in body weight, were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After two tablets containing 1 mg of azelastine hydrochloride per tablet were orally administered, blood was taken at predetermined time intervals and the concentrations of azelastine in serum were determined using HPLC with fluorescence detector. Pharmacokinetic parameters such as $AUC_t$, $C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were calculated and ANOVA test was utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters. The results showed that the differences in $AUC_t$, $C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ between two tablets were -6.45%, -2.60% and -7.14%, respectively, when calculated against the $Azeptin^{TM}$ tablet. The powers $(1-{\beta})$ for $AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$ were 96.65% and 88.47%, respectively. Minimum detectable differences $({\Delta})$ at ${\alpha}=0.05$ and $1-{\beta}=0.8$ were less than 20% (e.g., 14.40% and 17.65% for $AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$, respectively). The 90% confidence intervals were within ${\pm}20%$ (e.g., $-14.87{\sim}1.97$ and $-12.92{\sim}7.72$ for $AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$, respectively). Two parameters met the criteria of KFDA for bioequivalence, indicating that $Azela^{TM]$ tablet is bioequivalent to $Azeptin^{TM}$ tablet.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2006

The ethanol extracts of Puerariae Radix inhibited cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity in bone marrow derived mast cells (BMMC). COX-2 is responsible for the production of large amounts of proinflammatory prostaglandins (PGs) at the inflammatory site. We have investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of ethyl acetate fraction from $70\%$ ethanol extract of Puerariae Radix (EPR), and attempted acetic acid induced writhing to verify the analgesic effect. Inflammation was induced by interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), $inteferon-\gamma$ $(IFN-\gamma)$ and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). EPR showed strong inhibitory efficacy against cytokine-induced proteoglycan degradation, prostaglandin $E_2\;(PGE_2)$ production, nitric oxide (NO) production, and matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) expression in mouse macrophage and rabbit articular chondrocyte. In the writhing test, EPR $(200\~400\;mg/kg)$ exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of writhing. The results indicate that EPR have anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, and could be a good herbal medicine candidate for treating of osteoarthritis (OA).

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 1989

In an attempt to investigate the effect of Hymenolepis dana infection on immunological responses to sRBC in ICR strain of mice, cellular and humoral immune responses were chronologically monitored after sensitization with sRBC. Mice weighing about 20 g were allocated into artificial and natural infection groups. The shell-free eggs of H. dana were inoculated into mice on the day 0 (initial) and day 10 in the former group, and praziquantel (25 mg/kg/day) was administered for 3 days to the one half of the mice at the 15th day after the first inoculation and to all of the mice in natural infection group. In artificial infection group, the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to sRBC was considerably decreased on the day 10 after the first inoculation, and then elevated gradually to normal. Eosinophils in the peripheral blood increased slightly. The hemagglutinin (HA) and hemolysin (HE) titers during the early stage were shown to be more or less higher than those of control. Thereafter, the titers were returned to normal, followed by a transient decrease on the day 15 post-infection. The sRBC rosette and antibody-treated rosette-forming capacities on the day 15 post.infection were temporarily lowered but became higher thereafter. The mucosal mast cells (MMC) in the small intestine were gradually increased to make a peak on the day 10 post-infection and then maintained more or less at lower level. After praziquantel treatment, the DTH and the number of eosinophils were decreased slightly and the MMC number and sRBC rosette-forming capacity were considerably decreased. The titers of HA and HE and antibody-treated rosette-forming capacity, however, were elevated in general. In natural infection group, the DTH, the number of eosinophils, and MMC which were elevated due to H. dana infection were gradually returned to normal after prasiquantel treatment. The titers of HA and HE which were decreased by parasite infection were increased to normal after the treatment. However, the capacities of sRBC rosette or antibody-treated rosette formation were maintained at low levels in spite of the treatment. These results revealed that the immune responses to sRBC were significantly activated during H. dana infection, although they were transiently decreased during the days 10~15 post-infection.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.11
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• pp.1612-1620
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• 2015

Inflammation is a complex process involving a variety of immune cells, which defend the body from harmful stimuli. However, pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators can also exacerbate diseases such as cancer. Onion peel contains several phenolic compounds, including quercetin at an amount 20 times greater in peel than edible flesh. Therefore, in this study, the anti-inflammatory effects of onion peel ethanol extract (OPEE) were investigated lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response. In our results, NO production decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Secretion of IL-6, $TNF-{\alpha}$, and $IL-1{\beta}$ was suppressed by 44%, 53%, and 60% respectively, at $100{\mu}g/mL$. Moreover, OPEE also suppressed expression of COX-2, iNOS, $NF-{\kappa}B$, and MAPKs in a dose-dependent manner. Formation of mice ear edema was reduced at the highest dose tested compared to the control, and reduction of ear thickness was observed in the histological analysis as well. In the acute toxicity test, no morality was observed in mice administered 5,000 mg/kg body weight of OPEE over a 2-week observation period. These results suggest that OPEE may have significant effects on inflammatory factors and be a potential anti-inflammatory material.