• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.276-281
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• 2016

Corosolic acid (CA), a triterpenoid compound isolated from Lagerstroemia speciosa L. (Banaba) leaves, exerts anti-inflammatory effects by regulating phosphorylation of interleukin receptor- associated kinase (IRAK)-2 via the NF-κB cascade. However, the protective effect of CA against endotoxic shock has not been reported. LPS (200 ng/mL, 30 min) induced phosphorylation of IRAK-1 and treatment with CA (10 μM) significantly attenuated this effect. In addition, CA also reduced protein levels of NLRP3 and ASC which are the main components of the inflammasome in BMDMs. LPS-induced inflammasome assembly through activation of IRAK-1 was down-regulated by CA challenge. Treatment with Bay11-7082, an inhibitor of IκB-α, had no effect on CA-mediated inhibition of IRAK-1 activation, indicating that CA-mediated attenuation of IRAK-1 phosphorylation was independent of NF-κB signaling. These results demonstrate that CA ameliorates acute inflammation in mouse BMDMs and CA may be useful as a pharmacological agent to prevent acute inflammation.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.118-125
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• 2010

This study was carried out to determine changes in general chemical composition, free sugars, physicochemical properties of extract, and ginsenoside contents depending upon processing methods. Ginseng roots harvested from the same field were employed for the processing into white ginseng (WG), taegeuk ginseng (TG), red ginseng A (RGA, steamed one time), and red ginseng B (RGB, steamed three times). The fat content decreased by increasing duration of treatment and number of steaming treatment. On the other hand, there was no significant variation in contents of ash and carbohydrate depending on processing methods. Contents of sucrose and maltose was higher in Taegeuk and red ginseng than those of white ginseng. Steamed ginseng root (taegeuk and red ginseng root) showed higher amount of water extractable solid than the unsteamed white ginseng, but the variation of crude saponin content was not distinctive depending on processing methods. The contents of total ginsenosides increased by the order of white, taegeuk, red A, and red B root. In summary, chemical composition and total ginsenoside content were different according to part of root and processing methods, thus implies the importance of quality control as well as pharmacological activity of ginseng root.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.585-595
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• 2018

Amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, is commonly used to treat depression and neuropathic pain, but its mechanism is still unclear. We tested the effect of amitriptyline on 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 ($5-HT_3$) receptor currents and studied its blocking mechanism because the clinical applications of amitriptyline overlapped with $5-HT_3$ receptor therapeutic potentials. Using a whole-cell voltage clamp method, we recorded the currents of the $5-HT_3$ receptor when 5-HT was applied alone or co-applied with amitriptyline in cultured NCB-20 neuroblastoma cells known to express $5-HT_3$ receptors. To elucidate the mechanism of amitriptyline, we simulated the $5-HT_3$ receptor currents using Berkeley $Madonna^{(R)}$ software and calculated the rate constants of the agonist binding and receptor transition steps. The $5-HT_3$ receptor currents were inhibited by amitriptyline in a concentration-dependent, voltage-independent manner, and a competitive mode. Amitriptyline accelerated the desensitization of the $5-HT_3$ receptor. When amitriptyline was applied before 5-HT treatment, the currents rose slowly until the end of 5-HT treatment. When amitriptyline was co-applied with 5-HT, currents rose and decayed rapidly. Peak current amplitudes were decreased in both applications. All macroscopic currents recorded in whole cell voltage clamping experiments were reproduced by simulation and the changes of rate constants by amitriptyline were correlated with macroscopic current recording data. These results suggest that amitriptyline blocks the $5-HT_3$ receptor by close and open state blocking mechanisms, in a competitive manner. We could expand an understanding of pharmacological mechanisms of amitriptyline related to the modulation of a $5-HT_3$ receptor, a potential target of neurologic and psychiatric diseases through this study.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.503-509
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to examine the toxic effects caused by xanthine oxidase/hypoxanthine (XO/HX) and the effects of herbal extracts such as Mangeum-tang (萬金湯: MGT) and Gamimangeum-tang (加味萬金湯: GMGT) on the treatment of the toxic effects. The results of these experiments were XO/HX, an oxygen radical-generating system, decreased the survival rates of the cultured cells on XTT assay, the amount of DNA syntheses, and the amount of neurofilaments, and increased c-fos positive cells, MGT and GMGT have the efficacy of increasing the survival rates of the cultured cells by increasing the amount of neurofilaments and DNA synthesis and decreasing the c-fos positive cells damaged by XO/HX, From the above results, it is suggested that MGT and GMGT have marked efficacy as a treatment for the damages caused by the XO/HX-mediated oxidative stress. And MGT and GMGT are thought to have certain pharmacological effects.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.581-589
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• 2009

The water extract of Dohongsamul-tang(DHSMT) has been traditionally used in treatment of ischemic heart and brain diseases in Oriental Medicine. However, little is known about the mechanism by which DHSMT protects C6 glial cells from glucose deprevation induced damages. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of DHSMT on 2-deoxy-D-glucose induced autophagy of C6 glial cells. Autophagic phenotype is evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry with specific biological staining dyes, including monodansylcadaverine and acridine orange, as well as Western blot analysis with microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3) and Beclin-1. Treatment with 2-deoxy-D-glucose significantly resulted in a decrease of the viability of C6 glial cells and increase of the extracellular LDH release in a dose and time-dependent manner. However, pretreatment with DHSMT protected C6 glial cells from glucose deprivation with 2-deoxy-D-glucose. The author also observed the fact that autophagy phenotype occurred by 2-deoxy-D-glucose in C6 glial cells. Pretreatment with 3-MA, a pharmacological inhibitior of autophagy, abolished the formation of acidic vesicle organelle in C6 glial cells treated with 2-deoxy-D-glucose. However, pretreatment with DHSMT inhibited the formation of autophagic phenotypes, including formation of acidic vesicle organelle, and increase of the expression of LC-3 II Beclin-1 proteins in C6 glial cells treated with 2-deoxy-D-glucose. Taken together, these data suggest that DHSMT is able to protect C6 glial cells from glucose deprivation with marked inhibition of autophagy formation.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1140-1146
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• 2008

One of the major side effects of cisplatin is nephrotoxicity, leading to acute renal failure. Recent study has suggested a role of hydroxyl radicals and p53 in renal cell injury by cisplatin. This study determined the possible involvement of oxidative stress in p53 activation. In rat mesangial cells, cisplatin treatment induced apoptosis and p53 activation. Pifithrin-$\alpha$, a pharmacological inhibitor of p53, suppressed cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Cisplatin also induced reactive oxidative species (ROS) generation. Of interest, cisplatin-induced apoptosis was prevented by N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a general antioxidant. NAC diminished p53 activation during cisplatin treatment. Puerariae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Preparata with antioxidative activity were reduced the cisplatin-induced ROS generation, caspase-3 activity and p53 activation. In conclusion, ROS may contribute to p53 activation to initiate cisplatin-induced apoptosis in rat mesangial cells. In result, antioxidative effect of Puerariae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Preparata prevented cisplatin-induced apoptosis through inhibition of p53 activation.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.36 no.4 s.143
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• pp.324-331
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• 2005

The roots of Rosa rugosa have been used to treat diabetes mellitus in the folkloric society of Korea. To demonstrate the active component for the rat obesity induced by high fat diet for 6 weeks, the phytochemical fractionation and the pharmacological activity test were performed on this crude drug. It was shown that the methanolic extract and its EtOAc fraction inhibited the weight increase of the rat body, abdominal fat pad and hyperlipidemia at 200 mg/kg dose. Further, the triterpenoids, euscaphic acid and tormentic acid, isolated from R. rugosa roots were active at 30 mg/kg in the same assay. The two components shifted serum total-, HDL, and LDL-cholesterol levels toward the values of the unteated group, suggesting that the active compounds has hypolipidemic effects. The rats fad euscaphic acid and tormentic acid also reduced thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) and hydroxyl radical in the rat blood and increased superoxide dismutase activity compared to the control. TBARS values and carbonyl contest of the hepatic protein were reduced by treatment with the two triterpenoids. Antioxidative enzyme (SOD, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase) activities in hepatic were increased by treatment of rats with the triterpenoids, which suggests that triterpenoids inhibited the reduction of hepatic antioxidative activity caused by high fat diet. Taken together, these results support that euscaphic acid and tormentic acid improve a high fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia via the activation of antioxidative mechanism.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2012

Baicalin, a main constituent of the rhizome of Scutellaria baicalensis, is metabolized to baicalein and oroxylin A in the intestine before its absorption. To understand the role of intestinal microflora in the pharmacological activities of baicalin, we investigated its anti-inflammatory effect in mice treated with and without antibiotics. Orally administered baicalin showed the anti-inflammatory effect in mice than intraperitoneally treated one, apart from intraperitoneally administered its metabolites, baicalein and oroxylin A, which potently inhibited LPS-induced inflammation. Of these metabolites, oroxylin A showed more potent anti-inflammatory effect. However, treatment with the mixture of cefadroxil, oxytetracycline and erythromycin (COE) significantly attenuated the anti-inflammatory effect of orally administered baicalin in mice. Treatment with COE also reduced intestinal bacterial fecal ${\beta}$-glucuronidase activity. The metabolic activity of human stools is significantly different between individuals, but neither between ages nor between male and female. Baicalin was metabolized to baicalein and oroxylin A, with metabolic activities of $1.427{\pm}0.818$ and $1.025{\pm}0.603$ pmol/min/mg wet weight, respectively. Baicalin and its metabolites also inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$, and the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$B in LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophages. Of them, oroxylin A showed the most potent inhibition. Based on these findings, baicalin may be metabolized to baicalein and oroxylin A by intestinal microflora, which enhance its anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting NF-${\kappa}B$ activation.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.179-193
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• 2017

Objectives: Nigella sativa (black seed or black cumin), which belongs to the Ranunculacea family, is an annual herb with many pharmacological properties. Among its many active constituents, thymoquinone (TQ) is the most abundant constituent of the volatile oil of Nigella sativa (N. sativa) seeds, and it is the constituent to which most properties of this herb are attributed. Methods: PubMed-Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify randomized control trials (RCTs) investigating the therapeutic effects of N. sativa and/or TQ. In this review, we investigated the clinical uses of N. sativa and TQ in the prevention and the treatment of different diseases and morbidity conditions in humans. Results: Black seed and TQ are shown to possess multiple useful effects for the treatment of patients with several diseases, such as inflammatory and auto-immune disorders, as well as metabolic syndrome. Also, other advantages, including antimicrobial, anti-nociceptive and anti-epileptic properties, have been documented. The side effects of this herbal medicine appear not to be serious, so it can be applied in clinical trials because of its many advantages. Conclusion: Some effects of N. sativa, such as its hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and bronchodilatory effects, have been sufficiently studied and are sufficiently understood to allow for the next phase of clinical trials or drug developments. However, most of its other effects and applications require further clinical and animal studies.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2020

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan parasite that infects approximately one third of the human population worldwide. Considering the toxicity and side effects of anti-toxoplasma medications, it is important to develop effective drug alternatives with fewer and less severe off-target effects. In this study, we found that 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (4-HBA) induced autophagy and the expression of NAD-dependent protein deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) in primary murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). Interestingly, treatment of BMDMs with 4-HBA significantly reduced the number of macrophages infected with T. gondii and the proliferation of T. gondii in infected cells. This effect was impaired by pretreating the macrophages with 3-methyladenine or wortmannin (selective autophagy inhibitors) or with sirtinol or EX527 (SIRT1 inhibitors). Moreover, we found that pharmacological inhibition of SIRT1 prevented 4-HBA-mediated expression of LC3-phosphatidylethanolamine conjugate (LC3-II) and the colocalization of T. gondii parasitophorous vacuoles with autophagosomes in BMDMs. These data suggest that 4-HBA promotes antiparasitic host responses by activating SIRT1-mediated autophagy, and 4-HBA might be a promising therapeutic alternative for the treatment of toxoplasmosis.