• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1153-1162
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• 2016

Termitomyces albuminosus (Berk.) Heim is a well-known wild edible mushroom in the southern region of China. Novel cerebrosides, termed termitomycesphins, isolated from EtOH extract of T. albuminosus have shown significant neuritogenic activity. Neurotrophic factors have been targeted as potential therapeutic drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. However, before expanding their applications to include food or therapeutic agents in Korea, a safety evaluation of T. albuminosus is needed. Herein, in a repeated-dose 90-day oral toxicity study, rats were exposed to a basal diet of powder ground from dried T. albuminosus at dose levels of 5%, 2.5%, 1.25%, and 0%. The following endpoints were evaluated: clinical observation, body weight, gross and microscopic pathology, clinical chemistry, and hematology. Significant dose-dependent increases in the weight of the left kidney were observed, possibly due to the test substance. Based on toxicity-decision criteria for minor compound-related changes (no observed adverse effect level [NOAEL] and no observed effect level [NOEL]), NOAEL was observed in male rats at a dose of 5% of dried T. albuminosus powder, and NOEl was observed in female rats at the same dose. The results point to the safety and potential use of T. albuminosus as a nontoxic neurotrophic factor.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.283-292
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• 2000

Angelicae gigantis Radix aqua-acupuncture solution (AGRAS) and Angelicae gigantis Radix water-extracted solution (AGRWS) were prepared and tested for their organ toxicities and chemopreventive potentials. The organ-toxicity of AGRAS to male ICR mice was studied by the measurements of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic pyruvate transaminase (GPT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP-s) activities after injection of AGRAS for 7 days. The activities of GOT GPT and LDH were decreased, but the activity of ALP-s was not changed with AGRAS. When AGRAS was administered once daily for 10 days before the tumor implantation, AGRAS exerted antitumor activity by inhibiting the growth of Ehrich ascites tumor cells (EATC) in viva. The inductions of quinone reductase (QR), glutathione (GSH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) and inhibition of polyamine metabolism were tested for the chemopreventive potentials of AGRAS and AGRWS. AGRAS was potent inducer of QR activity in murine hepatoma Hepalclc7 cells. In cultured rat Ac2F cells, AGRAS was also significantly induced QR activity GSH levels were increased about 1.3 fold with AGRAS. In addition the activity of GST was increased about 2.5 fold with AGRAS at the concentration of $0.1{\;}{\times}{\;}$. The effects of AGRAS and AGRWS were tested on the growth of Acanthamoeba castellanii. Proliferation of Acanthamoeba castellanii in a broth medium was inhibited by AGRAS and AGRWS at the concentration of $1{\;}{\times}{\;}and{\;}5{\;}{\times}{\;}$, respectively: These results suggest that AGRAS has chemopreventive potential by inducing QR activity increasing GSH and GST levels and inhibition of polyamine metabolism.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.189-195
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• 1998

Methylmercury (MeHg), which is widely distributed in the environment, is well known for both its acute and chronic poisoning effects on the human health; however, the precise biochemical mechanisms by which this compound elicits its toxicity in a cellular level are still poorly understood. To examine whether MeHg-induced liver injury involves activation of Phospholipase $A_2$ ($PLA_2$), the $PLA_2$ activity of control and MeHg-administrated livers was measured. MeHg stably enhanced a liver form of cytosolic $PLA_2$ activity, which exhibited several biochemical properties similar to those of the 100 kDa $cPLA_2$, except in its elution profile of a DEAE-5PW HPLC, and it migrated as a molecular weight of 80 kDa in Western blot analysis. This blotting analysis also indicated that the MeHg-induced enhancement of the activity could be due to the increase in the amount of the enzyme protein rather than a stable modification of the enzyme such as phosphorylation. Our data also showed the higher myeloperoxidase activity in MeHg-administrated liver than in the control, suggesting that this increase in the amounts of the 80 kDa $PLA_2$ and its activity may be resulted from infiltration of neutrophils into the liver during a hepatic injury process such as MeHg-induced inflammation. Taken together, these data suggest that MeHg-induced liver injury may be mediated by activation of the 80 kDa form of liver cytosolic $PLA_2$.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2000

Gel and cream containing 5% and 10% ketonic fraction (KF) of Leptospermum scoparium, respectively were formulated. Antimicrobial activity, stability, anti-inflammatory effect, rheological properties, drug release and acute toxicity for these topical efficacy were evaluated. Gel and cream containing neomycin or gentamycin in combination with KF has potent antimicrobial activity. Gel and cream were physically stable and did not show any creaming for 6 months storage. Gel showed plastic flow with yield value and cream showed pseudoplastic flow with hysteresis loop. The gel and cream containing KF showed higher viscosity than control or commercial one. The viscosity increased as the concentration of KF increased. Both 10% gel and cream showed a significant decrease in swelling when applied to the carrageenan- injected paw, suggesting local antiinflammatory activity. Particularly, 10% gel preparation showed similar antiinflammatory activity when compared with commercially available drugs. Percent of drug released and diffusion coefficient were in the order of 5% gel, 10% gel, 5% cream, and 10% cream, respectively. There were no significant changes of body weight in rats percutaneously administered with 10% cream and gel when compared with control. There were no induced acute toxicity when 10% cream or gel was applied to rats. Leptospermum scoparium could be practicaly used in topical preparations.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.314-320
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Run off from agricultural sites contaminates water bodies with nitrogen which is toxic and causes eutrophication when excessively accumulated. Hence, the interest in monitoring nitrogen toxicity in aquatic environment has been continuously increasing. METHODS AND RESULTS: To detect a real time toxicity of various nitrogen compounds, we applied biomonitoring method (biosensor) based on sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB). The toxicity biomonitoring test was conducted in semi-continuous mode in a reactor filled with sulfur particles (2~4 mm diameter) under aerobic condition. Relative toxicity was simply determined by measuring the change in electrical conductivity (EC). Various nitrogenous compounds at different concentrations were evaluated as a potential toxic substance. Nitrite was found to be very toxic to SOB with a 90% inhibition even when the concentration as low as 3 mg/L. However, nitrate and ammonia have any inhibitory effect on SOB's activity. CONCLUSION: The biosensor based on SOB responded sensitively to nitrite even at substantially low concentrations. Therefore, it can be used as a reliable biological alarm system for rapid detection of contaminants due to its simplicity and sensitive nature.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3637-3641
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• 2014

In this study, we analyzed the toxicity of mixtures of dimethylformamide (DMF) and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) or DMF and toluene (TOL) and predicted their toxicity using quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). A QSAR model for single substances and mixtures was analyzed using multiple linear regression (MLR) by taking into account the statistical parameters between the observed and predicted $EC_{50}$. After preprocessing, the best subsets of descriptors in the learning methods were determined using a 5-fold cross-validation method. Significant differences in physico-chemical properties such as boiling point (BP), specific gravity (SG), Reid vapor pressure (rVP), flash point (FP), low explosion limit (LEL), and octanol/water partition coefficient (Pow) were observed between the single substances and the mixtures. The $EC_{50}$ of the mixture of DMF and TOL was significantly lower than that of DMF. The mixture toxicity was directly related to the mixing ratio of TOL and MEK (MLR $EC_{50}$ equation = $1.76997-1.12249{\times}TOL+1.21045{\times}MEK$), as well as to SG, VP, and LEL (MLR equation $EC_{50}=15.44388-19.84549{\times}SG+0.05091{\times}VP+1.85846{\times}LEL$). These results show that QSAR-based models can be used to quantitatively predict the toxicity of mixtures used in manufacturing industries.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.119-129
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• 2019

As the use of cosmetics has greatly increased in a daily life, safety issues with cosmetic ingredients have drawn an attention. Drometrizole [2-(2'-hydroxy-5'-methylphenyl)benzotriazole] is categorized as a sunscreen ingredient and is used in cosmetics and non-cosmetics as a UV light absorber. No significant toxicity has been observed in acute oral, inhalation, or dermal toxicity studies. In a 13-week oral toxicity study in beagle dogs, No observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) was determined as 31.75 mg/kg bw/day in males and 34.6 mg/kg bw/day in females, based on increased serum alanine aminotransferase activity. Although drometrizole was negative for skin sensitization in two Magnusson-Kligman maximization tests in guinea pigs, there were two case reports of consumers presenting with allergic contact dermatitis. Drometrizole showed no teratogenicity in reproductive and developmental toxicity studies in which rats and mice were treated for 6 to 15 days of the gestation period. Ames tests showed that drometrizole was not mutagenic. A long-term carcinogenicity study using mice and rats showed no significant carcinogenic effect. A nail product containing 0.03% drometrizole was nonirritating, non-sensitizing and non-photosensitizing in a test with 147 human subjects. For risk assessment, the NOAEL chosen was 31.75 mg/kg bw/day in a 13-week oral toxicity study. Systemic exposure dosages were 0.27228 mg/kg bw/day and 1.90598 mg/kg bw/day for 1% and 7% drometrizole in cosmetics, respectively. Risk characterization studies demonstrated that when cosmetic products contain 1.0% of drometrizole, the margin of safety was greater than 100. Based on the risk assessment data, the MFDS revised the regulatory concentration of drometrizole from 7% to 1% in 2015. Under current regulation, drometrizole is considered to be safe for use in cosmetics. If new toxicological data are obtained in the future, the risk assessment should be carried out to update the appropriate guidelines.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2021

Objectives: Phthalates, which are widely used as plasticizers, have been recognized as endocrine disruptors. In the present study, we provided information on the regulation of these chemicals and summarized the information available on their detection and toxicity in children's products and those of their alternatives. Methods: The regulatory frameworks related to phthalates in children's products in Korea, the United States (US), and the European Union (EU) were compared. Data on the detection concentration of 16 phthalates and seven phthalate alternatives that could be used in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic products for children as well as on their toxicity classification and endocrine disruption toxicity were collected from the literature. Results: Korea adopted US and EU chemical standards for six phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DINP, DIDP, and DNOP), but not others (e.g., DIBP, DPP, DHP, and DCHP). Among the ten phthalates and seven substitutes for which regulatory standards were not determined, DIBP, DHP, DEHA, DIBA, DINA, and DEHT were detected in children's products made from PVC plastic. DIBP and DHP, which have a reproductive toxicity classification of 1B, were frequently detected in PVC toys. The reproductive toxicity, estrogenicity, and anti-androgenic activity of the unregulated phthalates and their alternatives have been reported in diverse in vitro and in vivo assays. Conclusion: The use of unregulated phthalates and their substitutes in children's products is increasing. Further monitoring and toxicological information on phthalate alternatives is required to develop proper management plans.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.57-61
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• 2001

Tank mixing application of pesticides has been used to reduce labor and to control wide spectrum of pests, but it may cause significant pesticide poisoning on human and animals due to carelessness. The toxic response of pesticides for the tank mixtures and mixtures was investigated to determine acute toxicity and enzymatic change using experimental animals. Acute oral toxicity and acute dermal toxicity were tested by RDA test guideline. The $LD_{50}$ was calculated by probit analysis method and cholinesterase was measured with automatic analyzer. The toxicities were generally higher than estimated toxicities in tank mixing and mixture. Serum cholinesterase activity was inhibited more than expected at the dose levels of 1/5, 1/10 and 1/20 of $LD_{50}$. Therefore, the results of this study showed that acute toxicity caused by the pesticide mixtures should be considered before the tank mixing method is applied.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.159-166
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• 2022

Background: A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was adopted in the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH, EU) regulations as well as the Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals (AREC, Republic of Korea). It has been previously used in the registration of chemicals. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the correlation between the predicted data provided by three prediction programs using a QSAR model and actual experimental results (acute fish, daphnia magna toxicity). Through this approach, we aimed to effectively conjecture on the performance and determine the most applicable programs when designating toxic substances through the AREC. Methods: Chemicals that had been registered and evaluated in the Toxic Chemicals Control Act (TCCA, Republic of Korea) were selected for this study. Two prediction programs developed and operated by the U.S. EPA - the Ecological Structure-Activity Relationship (ECOSAR) and Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (T.E.S.T.) models - were utilized along with the TOPKAT (Toxicity Prediction by Komputer Assisted Technology) commercial program. The applicability of these three programs was evaluated according to three parameters: accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. Results: The prediction analysis on fish and daphnia magna in the three programs showed that the TOPKAT program had better sensitivity than the others. Conclusions: Although the predictive performance of the TOPKAT program when using a single predictive program was found to perform well in toxic substance designation, using a single program involves many restrictions. It is necessary to validate the reliability of predictions by utilizing multiple methods when applying the prediction program to the regulation of chemicals.