• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.8
• /
• pp.1367-1375
• /
• 2018

Silver nanoparticles have been widely applied for biomedical areas owing to their potent antiviral and antibacterial activities. Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using biomacromolecules is more efficient, environment-friendly, and cost-saving compared with the traditional approach. In this paper, a novel approach was developed to establish a reaction system with $Ag^+-BH4^--sericin$ to synthesize silver nanoparticles conjugated to sericin (AgNPs-Sericin). Sericin could be as a good dispersant and stabilizing agent, which is able to modify nanoscaled AgNPs, the average diameter of which was only $3.78{\pm}1.14nm$ prepared in a 0.3 mg/ml sericin solution. The characterizations of the AgNPs-Sericin were determined by FTIR, thermogravimetry, and XRD analyses. The results showed that the synthesized AgNPs conjugated with sericin as organic phase. Via SAED and XRD analysis, we showed that these AgNPs formed polycrystalline powder with a face-centered cubic structure of bulk metals. Moreover, we investigated the antiviral and antibacterial activities of AgNPs-Sericin, and the results showed that AgNPs-Sericin exhibited potent anti-HIV-1 activity against CCR5-tropic and CXCR4-tropic strains, but no significant cytotoxicity was found toward human genital epithelial cells compared with free silver ions, which are accepted as a commonly used potent antimicrobial agent. Moreover, its antibacterial activity was determined via flow cytometry. The results showed that AgNPs-Sericin could suppress gram-negative (E. coli) and gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria, but more was potent for the gram-negative one. We concluded that our AgNPs-Sericin could be a potential candidate as a microbicide or antimicrobial agent to prevent sexually transmitted infections.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.524-530
• /
• 2017

Background: Panax ginseng is a physiologically active plant widely used in traditional medicine that is characterized by the presence of ginsenosides. Rb1, a major ginsenoside, is used as the starting material for producing ginsenoside derivatives with enhanced pharmaceutical potentials through chemical, enzymatic, or microbial transformation. Methods: To investigate the bioconversion of ginsenoside Rb1, we prepared kimchi originated bacterial strains Leuconostoc mensenteroides WiKim19, Pediococcus pentosaceus WiKim20, Lactobacillus brevis WiKim47, Leuconostoc lactis WiKim48, and Lactobacillus sakei WiKim49 and analyzed bioconversion products using LC-MS/MS mass spectrometer. Results: L. mesenteroides WiKim19 and Pediococcus pentosaceus WiKim20 converted ginsenoside Rb1 into the ginsenoside Rg3 approximately five times more than Lactobacillus brevis WiKim47, Leuconostoc lactis WiKim48, and Lactobacillus sakei WiKim49. L mesenteroides WIKim19 showed positive correlation with b-glucosidase activity and higher transformation ability of ginsenoside Rb1 into Rg3 than the other strains whereas, P. pentosaceus WiKim20 showed an elevated production of Rb3 even with lack of b-glucosidase activity but have the highest acidity among the five lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Conclusion: Ginsenoside Rg5 concentration of five LABs have ranged from ${\sim}2.6{\mu}g/mL$ to $6.5{\mu}g/mL$ and increased in accordance with the incubation periods. Our results indicate that the enzymatic activity along with acidic condition contribute to the production of minor ginsenoside from lactic acid bacteria.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.696-706
• /
• 2020

Cordyceps has been used in traditional Chinese medicine more than 2000 year ago. In this study, the new Cordyceps militaris was founded and isolated from O-dae mountain in Korea, and was identified its genetic characteristics. The newly isolation strain HB8 was most closet to Cordyceps militaris W141449 (99.82%), Cordyceps militaris JLCY-LI819 (99.82%) and Cordyceps militaris 4642 (99.81%), respectively. the genotypic result was show that train HB8 was belonging to the Cordyceps militaris genus, therefore, Cordycep militaris HB8 proposed with accession number MT835161. This study we find the optimal condition for production of cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris HB8 was 8 mg/g (200 g of pupa, 1 g of KH₂PO₄, 0.5 g of K₂HPO₄, 20 g of glucose, 1 g of MgSO₄, 0.05 g of vitamin B1, and 1 mg of NAA per liter; light condition 300-700 Lux and day/night was 14 h/10 h) and the optimum condition for the production of adenosine was 2.6 mg/g (15 g of skim milk powder, 1 g of KH₂PO₄, 0.5 g of K₂HPO₄, 20 g of glucose, 1 g of MgSO₄, 0.05 g of vitamin B1, and 1 mg of NAA per liter; light condition 300-700 Lux and day/night was 14 h/10 h).

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.37-43
• /
• 2007

Electrical acupuncture has been shown to induce hypoglycemic effect in streptozotocin diabetic rats. The Zusanli acupoints have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve symptoms of diabetes mellitus. But, the effects of electrical acupuncture stimulation of different frequencies are still unclear. We designed an experiment to investigate the effect of electrical acupuncture of high (100 Hz) and low (2 Hz) frequencies on Zusanli acupoint for 15 minutes in streptozotocin diabetic rats. They were divided into 4 groups, high frequency electrical acupuncture (HFEA group, n=5), low frequency electrical acupuncture (LFEA group, n=5), without any treatment (control group, n=5) and normal group (n=5). After 2 weeks of treatment, the HFEA and LFEA groups had a significantly decreased glucose concentration in serum in comparison to the control group. Additionally, the HFEA group had a significantly decreased glucose concentration in serum compared with the LFEA group. Both the HFEA and LFEA groups had a significantly decreased Immunoglobulin G concentration in serum compared with control group. The LFEA and control groups had a significantly increased cholesterol concentration in serum compared with the normal group, but the HFEA did not have a significantly increased cholesterol concentration. Thus we suggest that electrical acupuncture stimulation at the Zusanli acupoints is effective on hypoglycemic effect and immune function. Overall, the therapeutic effects of electrical acupuncture at 100 Hz was better than effects at 2 Hz.

• Journal of IKEEE
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.293-301
• /
• 2020

Consultation with the patient and doctor is very important in the examination. However, if the consultation cannot be done directly, such as corona virus, it is difficult for the doctor to determine the patient's condition more accurately. Recently, an image counseling system has been developed based on the Internet, but in the case of heart disease, remote medical counseling cannot be performed because it is not possible to stethoscope the heart sounds remotely. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to develop an interactive mobile robot capable of remote medical consultation, and a doctor and a patient should be able to set a planting sound during consultation and transmit it in real time. In this paper, we developed a robot that can remotely control a medical counseling robot to move to a hospital room where patients are hospitalized, and to consult a patient in the room remotely from a doctor's office. A remote medical imaging stethoscope system for real-time heart sound transmission is presented. The proposed system is a kind of P2P communication that transmits video information, audio information, and control signal independently through webRTC platform, so that there is no data loss. Consults and sees doctors in real time and finds it more effective than traditional methods for patient security. The system implemented in this paper will be able to perform remote medical care in the place where the spread of diseases between humans like the recent corona 19 as well as the remote medical care of heart disease patients in the future.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.343-351
• /
• 2018

Background: Red ginseng is a popularly used traditional medicine with antiaging effects in Asian countries. The present study aimed to explore the changes in protein expression underlying the mechanisms of life span extension and antiaging caused by red ginseng extract (RGE) in Drosophila melanogaster. Methods: A proteomic approach of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was used to identify the differential abundance of possible target proteins of RGE in D. melanogaster. The reliability of the 2-DE results was confirmed via Western blotting to measure the expression levels of selected proteins. Proteins altered at the expression level after RGE treatment (1 mg/mL) were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry and by searching against the National Center for Biotechnology nonredundant and Uniprot protein databases. The differentially expressed proteins were analyzed using bioinformatics methods. Results: The average survival life span of D. melanogaster was significantly extended by 12.60% with RGE treatment (1 mg/mL) compared to untreated flies. This followed increased superoxide dismutase level and decreased methane dicarboxylic aldehyde content. Based on the searching strategy, 23 differentially expressed proteins were identified (16 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated) in the RGE-treated D. melanogaster. Transduction pathways were identified using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, and included the hippo and oxidative phosphorylation pathways that play important roles in life span extension and antiaging process of D. melanogaster. Conclusion: Treatment with RGE in D. melanogaster demonstrated that mechanisms of life span extension and antiaging are regulated by multiple factors and complicated signal pathways.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.188-193
• /
• 2005

As the modern medicine develops, the physique and average life span are increasing. In proportion to that, modern diseases of adult people such as cancer, obesity, arteriosclerosis, cardiac disorder become great social issues. In the meantime, as the development of a new diet brings a new attention, the study is designed to examine the availability of functional food by adding Korean traditional food, soybean Dasik, mulberry leaf. For this study, mulberry leaf was added 0, 5, 10, and $15\%$ respectively to soybean Dasik in proportion to the total weight of soybean power. These are compared with the soybean Dasik itself in relation to the nutritional composition, sensory evaluation, and mechanical characteristics. The results of the research were as follows. Nutritional composition showed that mulberry leaf soybean Dasik increased Na, Ca, K, crude fiber, and ash. As for the result of sensory evaluation of mulberry leaf soybean Dasik, the followings were turned out to be good : color - $10\%$, mulberry leaf smell - $5\%,\;10\%,\;15\%$, bitterness - $5\%,\;10\%$, softness and moistness - $0\%,\;5\%,\;10\%$, and sweetness and overall quality - all the added food group. As the test results of mechanical characteristics, mulberry leaf soybean Dasik showed statistically significant difference only in the hardness, especially high on $5\%,\;10\%,\;and\;15\%$. There were no significant differences in other characteristics. In color, mulberry leaf soybean Dasik showed that L, a and b values decreased as the percentage of addition of mulberry leaf went up. Therefore, the appropriate amount of addition for the production of mulberry leaf soybean Dasik was $5\~10\%$ mulberry leaf in proportion to the weight of soybean power.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.450-457
• /
• 2015

Medicinal mushrooms have been used worldwide to treat cancer and modulate the immune system. Over the last several years, there has been increasing interest in isolating bioactive compounds from medicinal mushrooms and evaluating their health beneficial effects. Fomes fomentarius is used in traditional oriental medicine and is known to possess antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, and antitumor effects. In the present study, we isolated fomentariol from Fomes fomentarius and investigated its anti-inflammatory effect in murine macrophages (RAW264.7 cells) stimulated with lipopolysaccharides. Fomentariol inhibited the production of nitric oxide and intracellular reactive oxygen species triggered by lipopolysaccharides. Interestingly, fomentariol differentially regulated cytokine production triggered by lipopolysaccharides. Fomentariol effectively suppressed the production of interleukin-$1{\beta}$ and interleukin-6 but not tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$. The inhibitory effect of fomentariol against nitric oxide, interleukin-$1{\beta}$, and interleukin-6 production was possibly mediated by downregulation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway. Taken together, our results suggest that fomentariol differentially modulated inflammatory responses triggered by lipopolysaccharides in macrophages and is one of the bioactive compounds that mediate the physiological effects of Fomes fomentarius.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.67-73
• /
• 2008

Interests in natural products have been gradually increasing as well-being era has arrived. Panax ginseng was chosen since it represents Korean traditional medicine as its effect on many age-related symptoms. Panax ginseng absolute essential oil was prepared and analyzed for its main components. Ginseng absolute oil was extracted from Panax ginseng using organic solvent of hexane and ethanol with the yield of 0.146%. The oil was analyzed by GC-MS and main components are sesquiterpenes such as neoclovene, panasinsene, and calarene and more than 110 components were identified from it. The oil was tested for antibacterial activity against general bacteria(E. Coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa), yeast, acne germ(Propionibacterium acne) and dandruff germ(Pityrosporum ovale). Panox ginseng absolute essential oil showed the prominent antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acnes ACCC 6919.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.169-180
• /
• 2003

Biodiversity is defined as totality of genetic, species, and ecosystem variability. It provides natural sources of crop improvement, traditional medicine and biotechnology. In 1993, the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) became a legally binding framework for conserving and utilizing global biological diversity. It recognizes national sovereign rights over all genetic resources, such as the need to compensate developing countries for the resources they have provided to the industrialized world. The CBD grants access to those resources in exchange for compensation as well as technology transfer, so that the access to genetic resources would be made under prior informed consent(PIC) and mutually agreed terms(MAT). On the other hand, the developed countries argued that unfettered exchange of genetic resources was essential for scientific research and development, and that technology using genetic resources should be protected. There are many countries today, developing legal frameworks concerned with access to their local genetic resources and benefit sharing. In this study, we analyzed the international trends for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of genetic resources, and suggested how to cope actively with the situation.