• Toxicological Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.85-94
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• 1988

In order to elucidate the mechanism of toxic action of a pisonous mushroom, Amanita pantherina, biochemical effects of the mushroom extracts on mice were studied. A hotwater extract of Amanita pantherina injected intraperitoneally into male ICR mice evoked signs similar to those observed clinically upon acute poisoning by the mushroom and also changed the levels of component enzyme activities in blood, liver and urine. The serum cholinesterase activity was decreased significantly during 1-3 h after injection.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.134-144
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• 2020

In-situ stabilization is a remediation method using amendments to reduce contaminant availability in contaminated soil. We tested the effects of two amendments (furnace slag and red mud) on the availability of toxic trace elements (TTEs) and soil enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, phosphatase, and urease). The application of amendments significantly decreased the availability of TTEs in soil (p < 0.05). The decreased availability of TTE content in soils was accompanied by increased soil enzyme activities. We found significant negative relationships between the TTE content assessed using Ca(NO₃)_2^-, TCLP, and PBET extraction methods and soil enzyme activities (p < 0.01). Soil enzyme activities responded sensitively to changes in the soil environment (pH, EC, and availability of TTEs). It could be concluded that soil enzyme activities could be used as bioindicators or ecological indicators for soil quality and health in environmental soil monitoring owing to their high sensitivity to changes in soil.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.52-55
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• 2003

The present experiment was perf'3rmed to investigate the protective effects of ginseng total saponin (GTS) and possible mechanisms on the hepatocytotoxicity induced by tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BuOOH), 4-Bromo-calciumu ionophore A23187 (Br-A23187) and KCN. Hepatocytes were isolated by collagenase perfusion of livers from fasted male Sprague Dawley rats and cultured overnight. After various treatments in Krebs-Ringer-HEPES buffer at pH 7.4, cell viability was determined by propidium iodide using fluorocytometry. GTS (5-20 ${\mu}$M) inhibited cell killing induced by t-BuOOH, and KCN, dose-dependently. However, GTS did not inhibit Br-A23187-induced cell killing. These findings support that GTS could protect the hepatocytoxicity induced by some toxic chemicals. The mechanisms of these protective effects by GTS seem to be associated with antioxidant activity and increase of cellular ATP.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1984.09a
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• pp.119-126
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• 1984

Several publications in scientific journals affirming that ginseng could be toxic and have harmful effects on the organism, gave us reason to undertake extensive investigations as to the toxicity of the standardized ginseng extract G115, Acute and chronic toxicity, teratogenicity, carcinogenicity, its action on the cardiovascular and the hormonal system have been studied. The data obtained, which represent five years of research, are confirmed by clinical results: The standardized ginseng extract G115 is absolutely safe, no toxic actions or side effects were observed.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.33.1-33.5
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• 2023

Many scolicidal agents have been used to destroy fertile protoscolices, but these scolicidal agents have side effects, highlighting the need for research on effective and non-toxic replacement scolicidal agents. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are biocompatible and non-toxic. The current study examined the effects of AuNPs in killing the protoscolices of Echinococcus granulosus in vitro using eosin staining. The protoscolices were treated with 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, or 1.0 mg/mL of AuNPs for 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes. A concentration of 1.0 mg/mL was the most efficient in killing the protoscolices after 60 minutes exposure, reaching 96%, followed by 0.8 mg/mL (84.5%), whereas 0.4 and 0.2 mg/mL of AuNPs achieved a death rate of 76.8% and 68.5%, respectively. The loss of the protoscolices was lower at shorter exposure times with the same concentration of AuNPs and increased as the AuNP concentration was increased at the same exposure time. Significant differences were found between the different groups compared to the control group.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2017

Previous studies have found that firefighters have a tenfold higher prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) compare to the general population. Firefighters are constantly exposed to various occupational hazards including toxic chemicals of fire residue and the toxic chemicals can effects development and progression of PD. Nevertheless, there were no studies about the association between exposure to chemical byproducts of combustion and the development of PD among firefighters. Thus the aim of this study is to look into existing researches regarding the effect of chemical byproducts of combustion on the development of PD. An extensive literature search was conducted to identify harmful chemical components of smoke and fire residue, using the PubMed database during November of 2016. We searched for relevant articles by combining several keywords that contained "Parkinson's disease" and each of the different toxic chemicals, yielding a total of 1401 articles. After applying the selection criteria, 12 articles were chosen. Chemical substances reported to have a harmful effect on PD, in at least one article, were carbon monoxide, toluene, manganese and lead. Carbon monoxide and metal substances including manganese and lead were found to be associated with an increased PD risk in more than two articles. There was a heightened risk of PD in firefighters due to exposure of chemical byproducts of combustion including carbon monoxide, toluene, manganese and lead. However, to the best of our knowledge, to support this result we need more systematic epidemiological studies about these risk factors of PD among firefighters. In addition, further studies for the effects of prolonged exposure to toxic fire residue on the development and progression of PD in firefighters are needed.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 1992

Low doses of ionizing radiation from external or internal sources cause heterogeneous distribution of energy deposition events in the exposed biological system. With the cell being the individual element of the tissue system, the fraction of cells hit, the dose received by the hit, and the biological response of the cell to the dose received eventually determine the effect in tissue. The hit cell may experience detriment, such as change in its DNA leading to a malignant transformation, or it may derive benefit in terms of an adaptive response such as a temporary improvement of DNA repair or temporary prevention of effects from intracellular radicals through enhanced radical detoxification. These responses are protective also to toxic substances that are generated during normal metabolism. Within a multicellular system, the probability of detriment must be weighed against the probability of benefit through adaptive responses with protection against various toxic agents including those produced by normal metabolism. Because irradiation can principally induce both, detriment and adaptive responses, one type of affected cells may not be simply summed up at the expense of cells with other types of effects, in assessing risk to tissue. An inventory of various types of effects in the blood forming system of mammals, even with large ranges of uncertainty, uncovers the possibility of benefit to the system from exposure to low doses of low LET radiation. This experimental approach may complement epidemiological data on individuals exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation and may lead to a more rational appraisal of risk.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2014

Objectives : Many of currently used anti-cancer drugs were developed to target cell death mechanisms and had serious side effects by causing damage to normal cells. Hangambujeongsan or Kangai Fuzheng Powder was a mixture based on the traditional Chinese medicine. It had been used in the local Chinese hospitals to treat cancer patients for decades and had shown a certain level of beneficial effects without major toxic effects. But its mechanism of action had not been elucidated yet. Thus this study aimed to investigate the effects of Kangai Fuzheng Powder in an in vitro experiment. Methods : Cancer lines or RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cells were treated with Kangai Fuzheng Powder. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and morphological observation was also performed. Gene expression of cytokines in macrophages was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Phagocytic function assay was also performed in macrophage cells. Results : Kangai Fuzheng Powder had no direct detrimental effect on cancer cells. When macrophages were co-cultured with cancer cells, Kangai Fuzheng Powder had toxic effect on cancer cells. After exposing macrophages to Kangai Fuzheng Powder, macrophages transformed into activated form and the mRNA level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, interleukin-10 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 was significantly enhanced. Phagocytic activity of macrophages was dramatically potentiated. Conclusions : We demonstrated that anti-cancer effect of Kangai Fuzheng Powder was related to activation of macrophages including enhanced cytokine production and phagocytic function.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
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• 1996.06a
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• pp.147-148
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• 1996

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.7
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• pp.251-258
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• 2020

Exposure to environmental factors can cause interstitial lung diseases (ILDs); however, such types of ILDs are rare. From 2007 to 2011, an ILD epidemic occurred in South Korea owing to inhalational exposure to toxic chemicals in humidifier disinfectants (HDs). HD-associated ILDs (HD-ILDs) are characterized by rapidly progressing respiratory failure with pulmonary fibrosis and a high mortality rate of 43.8%-58.0%. Although 18.1%-31.1% of the general population used HDs, only a small proportion of HD users were diagnosed with HD-ILDs. This finding suggests that investigation of the pathophysiologies underlying HD-ILDs is needed in addition to the identification of susceptibility to HD-ILDs. Further, there have been several concerns regarding the diverse health effects of exposure to toxic chemicals in HDs, including those that have not been identified, and long-term prognoses in terms of pulmonary function and residual pulmonary lesions observed on follow-up chest images. In this review, we summarize the clinical features, pathologic findings, and changes in radiologic findings over time in patients with HD-ILDs and the results of previous experimental research on the mechanisms underlying the effects of toxic chemicals in HDs. Studies are currently underway to identify the pathophysiologies of HD-ILDs and possible health effects of exposure to HDs along with the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. The experience of identification of HD-ILDs has encouraged stricter control of safe chemicals in everyday life.