• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.162-169
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative bioavailability of synthetic Vitamin C and Nutra-C^® (calcium ascorbate) using a randomized parallel pharmacokinetics study design. Under fasting conditions, 20 healthy volunteers were randomly allocated to receive a single oral dose (500 mg of ascorbic acid) of either synthetic Vitamin C or Nutra-C^®. Fasting blood was collected pre-dose and 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 10 hr post-dose. The ascorbic acid content of human serum was determined using HPLC with ultraviolet detection. The fasting serum ascorbic acid concentrations of synthetic Vitamin C and Nutra-C^® were 6.734 ± 2.09 ng/mL (n = 10) and 7.542 ± 2.96 ng/mL (n = 10), respectively. The bioavailability of Nutra-C^® was significantly greater (128 %, p < 0.05) than that of the synthetic Vitamin C.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.136-141
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the action mechanism of the roots of Adenophora triphylla var. japonica extract (ATE) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Cell toxicity test by MTT assay and lipid accumulation was performed to evaluate the inhibitory effect on the differentiation of adipocyte from preadipocytes induced by MDI differentiation medium, while adipogenesis related proteins expression level were evaluated by western blotting. As a result, ATE inhibited MDI-induced adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells dose-dependently without cytotoxicity. Our results showed that ATE inhibited the phosphorylation of IRS1, thereby decreasing the expression of PI3K110α and reducing the phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR, resulting in attenuated protein expression of C/EBPα, PPARγ, ap2 and FAS in 3T3-L1 cells. These results suggest anti-adipogenic functions for ATE, and identified IRS1 as a novel target for ATE in adipogenesis.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.49-56
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• 2016

The current study investigated the anti-obesity effect of Cissus quadrangularsis extracts (CQR-300) and its molecular action mechanism on obese mice induced high-fat diet (HFD). To induce the obesity, mice were fed a HFD for 6 weeks and then fed HFD only or HFD with CQR-300 at 50 and 200 mg/kg. Then, body weight gain and white adipose tissue weights were measured. We investigated the reduction in body fat and the regulation of fatty acid synthesis was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and real-time PCR with Western blot, respectively. In vitro study, CQR-300 inhibited pancreatic lipase activity. The CQR-300 treatment was significantly decreased the body weight gain and adipocytes size as well as white adipose tissues weights in HFD-induced obese mice. Furthermore, CQR-300 reduced the body fat and fat mass with regulating of adipose tissue hormones as leptin. Treatment with 50 mg/kg CQR-300 showed effectively lower expression levels of adipogenesis/lipogenesis related genes and proteins such as CCAAT/enhancer binding protein ${\alpha}$ ($C/EBP{\alpha}$), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$), Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), and fatty acid synthase (FAS) in white adipose tissue (WAT) as compared with the HFD fed only mice. These results suggest that the CQR-300 has an anti-obesity effect via inhibition of lipase activity, decrease the body fat mass by regulating the adipogenesis and lipogenesis related genes and proteins in epididymal adipose tissue with evaluate body fat reduce in the HFD-induced obese mice.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2020

In this study, we investigated the inhibition effects of mixtures of Atractylodes macrocephala (AM) and Amomum villosum (AV) water extracts on adipocyte differentiation. Treatment with mixtures of AM and AV extracts in a ratio of 3:1 for 24 and 48 hours did not show any cytotoxicity in OP9 cells. Mixtures of AM(3) and AV(1) extracts inhibited adipocyte differentiation, expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and CCAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPα), the major transcription factors of differentiation. It also inhibited the expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), adipocyte protein 2 (aP2), which are PPARγ-target genes in adipocyte. We also checked the inhibition effects on cell proliferation during the early stage of differentiation by treatment with mixtures of AM(3) and AV(1) extracts. It markedly inhibited adipocyte proliferation after 48 hours, and also the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Akt after 10 min or 3 hour. These results identify a possible mechanism of action of mixtures of AM(3) and AV(1) extracts, suggesting that the mixtures of AM(3) and AV(1) extracts-induced inhibition of ERK and Akt phosphorylation suppresses adipogenesis by inhibiting other signaling cascades that include PPARγ and C/EBPα during the process of OP9 adipocyte differentiation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.222-228
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• 2020

Background: 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3 (C₄₂H₇₂O₁₃), a natural triterpenoid saponin, is extracted from red ginseng. The increasing use of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 has raised product safety concerns. Methods: In acute toxicity, 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 was singly and orally administrated to Kunming mice and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at the maximum doses of 1600 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg, respectively. In the 26-week toxicity study, we used repeated oral administration of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 in SD rats over 26 weeks at doses of 0, 20, 60, or 180 mg/kg. Moreover, a 4-week recovery period was scheduled to observe the persistence, delayed occurrence, and reversibility of toxic effects. Results: The result of acute toxicity shows that oral administration of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 to mice and rats did not induce mortality or toxicity up to 1600 and 800 mg/kg, respectively. During a 26-week administration period and a 4-week withdrawal period (recovery period), there were no significant differences in clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, urinalysis parameters, biochemical and hematological values, or histopathological findings. Conclusion: The mean oral lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3, in acute toxicity, is above 1600 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg in mice and rats, respectively. In a repeated-dose 26-week oral toxicity study, the no-observed-adverse-effect level for female and male SD rats was 180 mg/kg.