• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2014

Planaria were recently reported to be a simple and sensitive model to investigate the mechanistic aspect of seizure and to screen potential anticonvulsants. Using planarian model, we analyzed the pharmacological effect of ukgansan (UGS), an oriental herbal medicine containing seven medicinal herbs, on the planarian locomotor velocity (pLMV) and glutamate-induced seizure-like activity (pSLA). To test whether D. japonica is suitable for studying anti-seizure agents, we investigated the effect of glutamate on pLMV and pSLA in D. japonica. In the present study we first confirmed that pSLA in D. japonica was induced by L-glutamate. Glutamate significantly produced pSLA in a dose dependent manner, but did not affect pLMV. These glutamate-induced paroxysms were decreased by antiepileptic drug, topiramate. A similar inhibitory effect on glutamate-induced pSLA was observed after the treatment of UGS. The present results suggest that UGS and its active constituents possess useful substance inhibiting seizure in planarian and that D. japonica provides a convenient model to search active herbs containing anti-seizure activity.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 2010

Medical emergencies are not rare in dental practice but when an emergency does occur it can be life-threatening. Medical emergency such as hypertensive crisis can be encountered in dental practice and the dentist should be competent in emergency management by taking life support courses. This report shows 3 cases of hypertensive crisis during dental treatment and we discuss proper management of the patients. The medical and dental management for the hypertensive crisis included a correct diagnosis, pharmacological usages for pain control and stress relieving environment making.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.520-539
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• 1996

Based upon Shennong's Ancient Chinese Medical Textbook and Tsorngji Mingyi Byelu. Ginseng has been widely used for over 2,000 years in oriental countries. Scientific basic medical study or clinical study on ginseng was seal·toed 1910's in Eastern countries and from the 1950's in Western countries To obtain kotvledge of clinical studies on Korean ginseng. I investigated the following items 1) Oriental pharmacological documents. 2) the start and corrent state of ginseng research. 3) Clinical studies, 4) epidemiological studies. 5) non-medical human studies. 6) Foreign evaluation in published papers, and 7) future perspectives of clinical study. Although wide and profound research has been carried on the effect of ginseng (diabetes cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, liver diseases. gastrointestinal disorders soress, bram function. aging, antiradiation effect. anemia. hemopoiesis. immuomodulating effect. and tonic effect). Systemic clinical study to determine the therapeutic effects of speciblc disease have hardly been done even in other countries Clinical study or researches with human as the target. on ginseng has been performed in the field of body tenperazure. Pulse, clinical symptoms and hematological findings . fatigue, porformances. anemia. essential hypertension. blood sugar. serum cholesterol. lipid and prolactin. adrenocortical function. impotence. hypospermia. male sterility, climacteric disorder. anticancer effects. cancer preventive effects. and viral hepatitis. adverse effects. and prefered type of ginseng. At the same time as trying preventives or therapeutics from dietary oi natural products scientific research to support that ginseng is not a mystery. should be porformad to prove the effectiveness of Korean ginseng in the treatment of certain diseases using scientific methods or epidemiological approach.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.185-191
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• 2002

Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves neuronal degeneration with impaired cholinergic transmission, particularly in areas of the brain associated with learning and memory. Several cholinesterase inhibitors are widely prescribed to ameliorate the cognitive deficits in AD patients. In an attempt to examine if tacrine and donepezil, two well-known cholinesterase inhibitors, exhibit additional pharmacological actions in primary cultured rat cortical cells, we investigated the effects on neuronal injuries induced by glutamate or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), $\beta$-amyloid fragment ( $A_{{beta}25-35)}$), and various oxidative insults. Both tacrine and donepezil did not significantly inhibit the excitotoxic neuronal damage induced by glutamate. However, tacrine inhibited the toxicity induced by NMDA in a concentration-dependent fashion. In addition, tacrine significantly inhibited the $A_{{beta}25-35)}$-induced neuronal injury at the concentration of 50 $\mu$M. In contrast, donepezil did not reduce the NMDA- nor $A_{{beta}25-35)}$-induced neuronal injury. Tacrine and donepezil had no effects on oxidative neuronal injuries in cultures nor on lipid peroxidation in vitro. These results suggest that, in addition to its anticholinesterase activity, the neuroprotective effects by tacrine against the NMDA- and $A_{{beta}25-35)$-induced toxicity may be beneficial for the treatment of AD. In contrast, the potent and selective inhibition of central acetylcholinesterase appears to be the major action mechanism of donepezil.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.264-269
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• 2008

Ginsenosides are major components in Panax ginseng and known to have numerous pharmacological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, anti-viral and anti-atherosclerosis effects. In this study, the regulatory activities of G-Rg3 and its derivative 25-hydroxy Rg3 (G-Rg3-2H) on the production of nitric oxide (NO) in macrophages and the proliferation of lymphocytes prepared from spleen and bone marrow under treatment of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or concanavalin (Con) A were examined. G-Rg3 and G-Rg3-2H dose-dependently inhibited NO production from LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells and in agreement, these compounds protected RAW264.7 cells from LPS-mediated cytotoxicity. In contrast, G-Rg3-2H dose-dependently inhibited lymphocyte proliferation induced by both LPS and Con A, while there was no inhibition by G-Rg3. Therefore, our data suggest that these compounds may be applied for NO-mediated or lymphocyte-mediated immunological diseases.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.293-297
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• 2006

Curcumin is a phytochemical compound with anticancer activity. Although curcumin has substantial pharmacological effect against various cancers, the low solubility of curcumin has hindered its development. For an organic solvent-free injectable formulation, we encapsulated curcumin in various liposomes. Due to its lipophilic property, curcumin was placed in the membrane region of liposomes. Curcumin was stably encapsulated in all formulations tested in this study. The cellular uptake of curcumin delivered in liposomal formulations or free form was measured in K562 human leukemia cell lines using a flow cytometry and MTT viability assay, respectively. Although all the liposomes could solubilize curcumin, the cellular levels and the anticancer effects of liposomal curcumin varied with the composition of liposomes. Moreover, liposomal curcumin down-regulated the expression of Notch-1, the molecule involved in the carcinogenesis, to the similar extent to free curcumin dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide. These results warrant the development of liposomal curcumin as an injectable formulation for leukemia treatment.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.161-166
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• 2014

Ginseng is widely used for its promising healing and restorative properties as well as for its possible tonic effect in traditional medicine. Nowadays, many studies focus on purified individual ginsenoside, an important constituent in ginseng, and study its specific mechanism of action instead of whole-plant extracts on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Of the various ginsenosides, purified ginsenosides such as Rb1, Rg1, Rg3, Rh1, Re, and Rd are the most frequently studied. Although there are many reports on the molecular mechanisms and medical applications of ginsenosides in the treatment of CVDs, many concerns exist in their application. This review discusses current works on the countless pharmacological functions and the potential benefits of ginseng in the area of CVDs. Results: Both in vitro and in vivo results indicate that ginseng has potentially positive effects on heart disease through its various properties including antioxidation, reduced platelet adhesion, vasomotor regulation, improving lipid profiles, and influencing various ion channels. To date, approximately 40 ginsenosides have been identified, and each has a different mechanism of action owing to the differences in chemical structure. This review aims to present comprehensive information on the traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of ginseng, especially in the control of hypertension and cardiovascular function. In addition, the review also provides an insight into the opportunities for future research and development on the biological activities of ginseng.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2018.04a
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• pp.106-106
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• 2018

Cyanidin 3 - rutinoside chloride (CRC) is major anthocyanin, found in Schisandra chinensis, is known to have antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, tonic, and anti-aging effects in Korea, China and Japan. In the present study, the human mast cell line (HMC-1) was used to investigate the effects on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators. In this study, CRC showed no cytotoxicity in HMC-1. CRC significantly inhibited the secretion of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ and interleukin (IL)-6 in PMA plus A23187 cacium ionophore (PMACI)-stimulated HMC-1 cells. In addition, CRC suppressed the serum levels of IgE. Furthermore, CRC decreased the PMACI- stimulated phosphorylation of mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) such as p-ERK, p- JNK and p-P38. These results indicate that the pharmacological actions of CRC suggest their potential activity for treatment of allergic inflammation through the down-regulation of mast cell activation.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.659-665
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• 2020

Adenophorae Radix (AR) has been used as a traditional medicine for various diseases. However, the regulatory mechanisms of AR in allergic inflammation are not yet understood. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect and mechanisms of AR on the mast cell-mediated allergic response. To determine the pharmacological mechanisms of AR in allergic inflammation, we evaluated the effects of AR on the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and IL-8 as well as the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and caspase-1 in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus calcium ionophore A23187 (PMACI)-stimulated human mast cells (HMC-1). Our results demonstrated that AR effectively attenuated the PMACI-induced production of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and IL-8 in stimulated HMC-1. Additionally, we showed that the inhibitory effect of AR on inflammatory cytokines in PMACI-stimulated HMC-1 cells involved the suppression of the activation NF-kB/caspase-1 in PMACI-stimulated HMC-1. Collectively, these findings provide experimental evidence that AR may be a useful candidate for the treatment of allergic inflammation.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1293-1301
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• 2005

Flavonoids, a group of low molecular weight phenylbenzopyrones, have various pharmacological properties including antioxidant, anticancer, bactericidal, and anti-inflammatory. We carried out anti-herpetic assays on 18 flavonoids in five classes and a virus-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibitory assay, plaque reduction assay, and yield reduction assay were performed. When flavonoids were applied at various concentrations to Vero cells infected by HSV-1 and 2, most of the f1avonoids showed inhibitory effects on virus-induced CPE. Among the flavonoids, EC, ECG (flavanols), genistein (isoflavone), naringenin (flavanone), and quercetin (flavonol) showed a high level of CPE inhibitory activity. The antiviral activity of flavonoids were also examined by a plaque reduction assay. EC, ECG, galangin, and kaempferol showed a strong antiviral activity, and catechin, EGC, EGCG, naringenin, chrysin, baicalin, fisetin, myricetin, quercetin, and genistein showed moderate inhibitory effects against HSV-1. In these experiments, flavanols and flavonols appeared to be more active than flavones. Furthermore, treatment of Vero cells with ECG and galangin (which previously showed strong antiviral activities) before virus adsorption led to a slight enhancement of inhibition as determined by a yield reduction assay, indicating that an intracellular effect may also be involved.