• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.176-181
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• 2020

Two new compounds, 3-methyl-but-2-en-1-yl-1-O-β-xylopyranosyl-(1"→2')-O-β-glucopyranoside (1) and 1-O-β-glucopyranosyl-6-hydroxy-2-methyl-hep-2-enoic acid (2), along with sixteen known terpenoids were isolated from the peels of Citrus unshiu Markov. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive NMR analyses (¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, DEPT, COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) and high-resolution mass spectrometry. In addition, all isolates (1 - 18) were tested their effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells. Limonin (15) showed to inhibit LPS-induced NO production in a concentration-dependent manner without cytotoxicity.

• 한국한의학연구원논문집
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.13-22
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• 2006

Background and Aims: Herbal drugs and traditional medicines have lately attracted considerable attention by global pharmaceutical corporations because the conventional chemical drugs didn't work well for many chronic diseases or intractable diseases. The government of Korea is also supporting to develop the new drug which is high value added product, and the natural medicine including herbal medicine(or Traditional Korean Medicine) have a significant presence in this field. non-clinical pharmacology/toxicology study and clinical trial are the two major criteria which estimate efficacy and safety for registration of new drugs. All of the pharmaceutical companies producing herbal medicine and the academic and the academic world of Tradition Korean Medicine have the will to develop new herbal drugs, but there are obstacles that they have neither experience nor guideline about clinical trial. Therefore for developing new herbal drugs, it is necessary to research the present conditions and comprehensive systems about clinical trial in Northeast Asian countries China, Taiwan and Japan because they have the common background with Korea in traditional medicine fields. Methods : The present state of clinical trial for herbal medicine in Korea was investigated. And then, those in China, Taiwan, Japan was also investigated. Results and conclusions : There are significant differences among 4 Southeast Asian countries Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan each in present condition, purpose, involved comprehensive system including legislation, and actual operation of clinical trial for traditional medicine.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.306-309
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• 2017

Microbial transformation of $({\pm})$-6-(1,1-dimethylallyl)naringenin (6-DMAN, 1) and $({\pm})$-5-(O-prenyl) naringenin-4',7-diacetate (5-O-PN, 2) was performed by using fungi. Scale-up fermentation studies with Mucor hiemalis, Cunninghamella elegans var. elegans, and Penicillium chrysogenum led to the isolation of five microbial metabolites. Chemical structures of the metabolites were determined by spectral analyses as $({\pm})$-8-prenylnaringenin (3), (2S)-5,4'-dihydroxy-7,8-[(R)-2-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-2,3-dihydrofurano]flavanone (4), $({\pm})$-5-(O-prenyl)naringenin-4'-acetate (5), $({\pm})$-naringenin-4'-acetate (6), and $({\pm})$-naringenin (7), of which 5 was identified as a new compound.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.93-104
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• 2022

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious threat to the global healthcare system. Ineffective and resistance to antibiotic treatments have increased morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. New and effective antibiotics are needed to combat against bacterial resistance. Endophytic fungi are crucial reservoirs of novel bioactive metabolites. In particular, the secondary metabolites show promising therapeutic potential, notably, antibacterial. This review discussed the emerging potential of endophytic fungi as anti-MRSA agents. The ecological sources of endophytic fungi were discussed with the synthesis of bioactive metabolites. The mode of antibacterial actions was elucidated to give a better understanding of the mechanisms involved. This review may serve as an important reference for future discovery and developments of anti-MRSA agents from endophytic fungi.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.90-96
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• 2020

Artemisia capillaris Thunb. (Compositae) is a traditional medicinal plant with various pharmacological activities. To elucidate new anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory constituents, the aerial parts of A. capillaries were investigated to afford a new compound, (6E,8E)-6-methylundeca-6,8-diene-2,5,10-trione (17) together with 19 known compounds (1 - 16, 18 - 20). The structures of these compounds were determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses including 1D, 2D NMR, HREIMS, and optical rotation [α]_D. The absolute configuration of compound 2 was determined to be S form for the first time. All isolates (1 - 20) were tested their inhibitory effects on interleukin 2 (IL-2) expression in T cells and NO production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW246.7. Among them, compounds 10, 11, 19, and 20 reduced IL-2 expression in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, compound 10 also inhibited NO production with an IC₅₀ value of 37.3 ± 0.4 μM.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.227-231
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• 2014

Cimicifuga heracleifolia extract (CHE) was investigated for its effects on the release of nitric oxide (NO) and at the level of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression in mouse macrophages. We found that C. heracleifolia elicited a dose-dependent increase in NO production and the level of iNOS mRNA. Since, iNOS transcription has been shown to be under the control of the transcription factor $NF-{\kappa}B$, the effects of CHE on $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation were examined. Transient expression assays with $NF-{\kappa}B$ binding sites linked to the luciferase gene revealed that the increased level of iNOS mRNA, induced by CHE, was mediated by the $NF-{\kappa}B$ transcription factor complex. By using DNA fragments containing the $NF-{\kappa}B$ binding sequence, CHE was shown to activate the protein/DNA binding of $NF-{\kappa}B$ to its cognate site, as measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. These results demonstrate that C. heracleifolia stimulates NO production and is able to up-regulate iNOS expression through $NF-{\kappa}B$ transactivation.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.258-262
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• 2007

The antifungal activity of the essential oil fraction from Thymus magus, and its major component thymol, against Candida albicans was investigated in vitro and in vivo. The combined effects of the oils and clotrimazole, a commonly used antifungal drug for treatment of external candidiasis, were evaluated in this study. In experimental vaginal candidiasis the essential oil fraction of T. magnus resulted in relatively milder inhibition of fungal growth following the inoculation of test mice compared to clotrimazole. However, new fungal growth was not detected up to 12 days after cessation of treatment. In contrast, in a similar experiment using clotrimazole, C. albicans was detected in the $12^{th}$ day post-treatment with the sample. This result indicates that T. magnus oil could be a promising drug to control vaginal candidiasis. In checkerboard titer tests, the combination of clotrimazole with the essential oil fraction of T. magus or T. quinquecostatus resulted in significant synergism, with FIC indices between 0.14 and 0.27 against C. albicans, while clotrimazole combined with thymol, the major component of these oils, produced only an additive effect, with FIC indices ranging between 0.50 and 1.00. Thus, the prominent synergistic effects of clotrimazole combined with T. magus essential oil indicate that these compounds may be an effective treatment for C. albicans infections.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.61-67
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• 2021

Since ancient times, various herbal medicines have been used in folk medicine to treat a variety of diseases. While the majority of drugs belong to the Kingdom of Plantae, some drugs from the Kingdom of Animalia are listed in various Materia medica of alternative medicines. Animal-derived drugs are mentioned in the Unani system of Medicine (USM) and have been used successfully to treat a variety of diseases. Marjān (Corallium rubrum) is a vital marine drug of animal origin that has been used in USM since ancient times and continues to be used today. It possesses a variety of beneficial pharmacological properties, including tonic effects on the heart, brain, stomach, and eyes, pregnancy protection, expectorant, and hemostyptic properties. It is used to treat hemoptysis, palpitation, bleeding piles, hemiplegia, heart failure, and general weakness. It is also an ingredient in a variety of Unani formulations with pharmacological significance. Unani physicians expanded the uses of Marjan and successfully used it to treat a variety of new diseases. There is a dearth of scientific research on its pharmacological and medicinal properties. The urgent need is to validate the Unani claims about its beneficial cardiac and nervine actions, as well as other significant actions mentioned in the Unani literature.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.284-292
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• 2021

Recently, a phytoestrogenic functional food has been developed using the fruits of Sophora japonica. Phytochemical investigation of fruits of S. japonica led to the isolation of eight flavonoid glycosides using various chromatographic techniques. The isolated compounds were identified as genistin (1), sophoricoside (2), genistein 7,4'-di-O-β-D-glucopyransoide (3), sophorabioside (4), genistein-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside-4'-O-[(α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside] (5), sophoraflavonoloside (6), nicotiflorin (7) and kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), respectively, by comparison of their spectroscopic data with those reported in the literature. In addition, a new HPLC-DAD method for simultaneous determination of the isolated compounds was developed to quantitate the contents of flavonoids in S. japonica and S. flavescens. The method was validated in terms of limit of detection, limit of quantitation, specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy. The validated method was successfully applied to determine eight flavonoids in two Sophora species. The contents of eight flavonoids varied according to the parts and species. Particularly, it was found that only the fruits of S. japonica contained sophoricoside, a phytoestrogenic isoflavone.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제10권5호
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• pp.223-227
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• 2004

This study was carried out to investigate inhibitory effect of extracts from the root of Paeonia lactiflora on postprandial hyperglycemia. Organic solvent (hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol, aqueous) extracts from the crude drug were fractionated by high performance liquid chromatography. These fractions were examined to evaluate ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ (EC 3. 2. 1. 20) inhibition by microplate colorimetric assay. Among the fractions examined, the ethyl acetate fraction from the roots of Paeonia lactiflora showed potent inhibitory effects on ${\alpha}-glucosidase$. Therefore, further fractionation of the fraction was carried out to isolate the active principles. Finally, we isolated and Purified 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose (PGG) as a active principle by activity-guided fractionation. These results suggest that the extract from the root of Paeonia lactiflora can be used as a new nutraceutial for inhibition on postprandial hyperglycemia and PGG might be a candidate for developing an ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitor.