• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.63-70
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• 2019

Objective : Arnebiae Radix, the roots of Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnst. or A. guttata Bunge, is a well-known traditional herbal medicine in East Asia. In the Korean Pharmacopoeia, three authentic species, including two Arnebia and Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc. have recognized as a Lithospermi Radix. But, the morphological and taxonomic information of two authentic Arnebia species lacks date since their distribution and difficulty of accessing the natural habitats. Methods : A full description of the external morphological characteristics of vegetative and reproductive organs in the original plants was carried out using digital calipers and stereoscope. For providing their taxonomic and nomenclatural synonyms, we reviewed various plant checklists and taxonomic literature. Results : This study provides taxonomic information of A. euchroma and A. guttata based on a morphological examination of authentic plant individuals and field observations. Detailed descriptions of the two Arnebia species, major quantitative and qualitative characteristics, nomenclatural reviews, distribution maps, and lists of voucher specimens examined are provided. The shape of leaves, root length, stem number, calyx length and pubescence as well as corolla color were useful characteristics for identification. Moreover, we confirmed that A. euchroma and A. guttata are clearly heterostylous species. Conclusion : Our research provides valuable basic information that could be used as quality control for distinguishing between Arnebiae Radix and its adulterants. These results will help in the understanding of authentic plants and also provide the verified materials and voucher information.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.465-477
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• 2014

In Korean Medicine (KM), the Yin-Yang doctrine is still used as a theoretical tool for understanding and explaining the clinical experiences. However, as the traditional culture declined in East Asia and the scientific culture took over, there was an increased negative view on the Yin-Yang doctrine, and thus a heightened distrust over KM. For KM to survive in an unfamiliar culture of science, a novel outlook on the Yin-Yang doctrine is needed. In this sense, I consider a thoroughly medical take on the Yin-Yang doctrine to be most important. The focus needs to be on the goals of medicine: this includes riddance of any discourses on Yin-Yang that cannot contribute to the goals, and an enhancement of the Yin-Yang concept as a rational and scientific terminology. One way to achieve this is by understanding Yin-Yang as a type of metaphor. The Yin-Yang doctrine that is utilized in KM corresponds well to the conceptual metaphor suggested by Lakoff and Johnson. As a metaphor, the Yin-Yang concept plays a role in structuring the target domain, that is life phenomena, metaphorically. Through the Yin-Yang metaphors, the life phenomena are understood as the Yin-Yang phenomena, and are systematically organized by the subcategories contained in the Yin-Yang doctrine. Understanding Yin-Yang as a metaphor is a good way to enhance the Yin-Yang concept and doctrine as a rational terminology and method.

• CELLMED
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.19.1-19.32
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• 2013

Piper sarmentosum is a creeping herb belongs to the family of Piperaceae. It is locally known to the Malays as 'Pokok kadok' and can be found in different regions of South-East Asia including Malaysia. Ethnopharmacologically, various parts of the plant (e.g. leave, fruit and root) are widely used in Asian countries for centuries to treat different types of diseases and ailments such as hypertension, diabetes, joint aches, muscle pain, coughs, influenza, toothaches and rheumatism. Scientific findings also demonstrated different pharmacological actions of various parts of P. sarmentosum such as adulticidal, antitermite, antioxidant, antifungal, antituberclosis, antiplasmoid, antimalarial, hypoglycemia, antiinflammatory, antinoceptive, antipyretic, antibacterial, anticancer, antituberculosis, antiangiogenesis, antimicrobial, antifeedant and cytotoxic activities. Different types of phytochemical constituents have been successfully identified and isolated from various parts of P. sarmentosum. Therefore, the information related to the botany, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents and pharmacological activities of P. sarmentosum were reviewed here.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.39.1-39.15
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• 2020

Background: There are various Helicobacter species colonizing the stomachs of animals. Although Helicobacter species usually cause asymptomatic infection in the hosts, clinical signs can occur due to gastritis associated with Helicobacter in animals. Among them, Helicobacter pylori is strongly associated with chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers, and gastric cancers. As the standard therapies used to treat H. pylori have proven insufficient, alternative options are needed to prevent and eradicate the diseases associated with this bacterium. Cheonwangbosim-dan (CBD), a traditional herbal formula that is popular in East Asia, has been commonly used for arterial or auricular flutter, neurosis, insomnia, and cardiac malfunction-induced disease. Objectives: The present study investigated the antimicrobial effect of CBD on H. pylori-infected human gastric carcinoma AGS cells and model mice. Methods: AGS cells were infected with H. pylori and treated with a variety of concentrations of CBD or antibiotics. Mice were given 3 oral inoculations with H. pylori and then dosed with CBD (100 or 500 mg/kg) for 4 weeks or with standard antibiotics for 1 week. One week after the last treatment, gastric samples were collected and examined by histopathological analysis, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and immunoblotting. Results: Our results showed that CBD treatment of AGS cells significantly reduced the H. pylori-induced elevations of interleukin-8, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). In the animal model, CBD treatment inhibited the colonization of H. pylori and the levels of malondialdehyde, inflammation, proinflammatory cytokines, iNOS, and COX-2 in gastric tissues. CBD also decreased the phosphorylation levels of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase family. Conclusions: This study suggests that CBD might be a prospective candidate for treating H. pylori-induced gastric injury.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.391-396
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• 2009

Perilla frutescens, which belonging to the Labiatae family, is widely cultivated oil crop and have been used traditional herbal medicine in East Asia such as Korea, China, and Japan. Especially, the leaves and the seeds of this species are important in Korean traditional cooking, as one of the popular garnish and food colorants. Numerous studies have revealed that the beneficial health effects of perilla are due to its several phytochemicals contents, such as rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, luteolin, and apigenin. For this reason, increasing the content of phytochemicals in perilla hasbecome a major breeding objective. The genetic diversity of the rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, luteolin, and apigenin content in perilla seed is poorly documented. We analyzed the rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, luteolin, and apigenin content of 203 accessions of perilla germplasm by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The rosmarinic acid and luteolin contents ofgermplasms were ranged from $15.7{\mu}g/g$ to $2717.1{\mu}g/g$ and from $1.6{\mu}g/g$ to $582.4{\mu}g/g$ respectively.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.239-243
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• 2013

Tigers are one of the most endangered species over the world and protected internationally or locally. However, they are still traded illegally for the Traditional East Asia Medicine or souvenirs / mementos as well as fake products. In the present study, to identify the species of the specimen known as the tiger's genitalia that was sold for mementos in China, two approaches of genetic tools and morphological comparisons were applied. On the basis of the entire sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1,140 bp), the result of nucleotide comparisons showed that the specimen examined here is matched with banteng, Bos javanicus (Identities = 1,138/1,140; 99%). In addition, the examination of external morphological characters revealed that the genitalia of the specimen is much more similar to the one of cows, not to tigers. The outcomes highlighted that there are still some fake products of tigers traded in market and molecular genetic tools could help identifying species of wildlife products.

• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.77-89
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• 2013

Objectives Tongue diagnosis is an important diagnostic method in traditional Eastern medicine, and it has a high potential to be used in the future healthcare because of easy, quick, and non-contact measuring features. Recently, research and development efforts on computerized tongue diagnosis systems (CTDS) have been active that led to the technical advancements in the field of photographing techniques, image extraction and classification algorithms. In this study, we analyzed the trends in the CTDS patents. Using the WIPS search engine (www.wipsglobal.com), quantitative and qualitative patent analyses were performed through Korea, China, Japan, U.S.A and Europe. Methods For a systematic search and data analysis, we defined patent categories based on the application area and technical details. By applying thus-obtained categorical key words, we obtained 360 relevant patents on photographing techniques, image extraction and classification algorithms for the purpose of diagnosis or security. Results As a result, companies related to image acquisition, medical imaging and mobile devices and research groups of universities in East Asia were major patent applicants. In all the five countries, the number of patents have been increasing since 1980. In particular, technology related to color correction and image segmentation were most actively patented categories, and expected to continue a high application rate.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.142-157
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• 2020

Cannabis is a historical plant which has been used as a medicine in East Asia. These days, there are active debates about using cannabis in clinical field. Collecting and comparing cannabis research articles which had been published in the Opening of Japan to spot the interactions between the traditional medicine of Japan, Rangaku which was established in Edo Period and the European medicine which is transferred after Perry Expedition is academically meaningful. This study searched publications, which were listed on Open-Access databases by Dec. 11^th, 2019. We collected research articles which had been published from January 3^rd, 1867 to July 30^th, 1912 also known as Meiji era and uploaded on OpenAccess databases. Our searching databases were J-stage, CiNii (Scholarly and Academic Information Navigator), Tokyo Metropolitan Library, The National Diet Library, IRDB (Institutional Repositories DataBase) and KAKEN (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research Database). Searching keywords were cannabis, hemp and all their Japanese synonyms and available combinations. We selected final 15 studies which met every selection criteria in the 346,393 collected studies. Cannabis was prescribed in Meiji era of Japan to alleviate pain and cure the digestive, respiratory, urinary, and nervous system diseases such as indigestion, asthma, tuberculosis, gonorrhea and its complications, insomnia, and nervous prostration. Cannabis was medically used in Meiji era of Japan and the reporting and sharing of its clinical effect was published on the medical journals like present days. There were already Cannabis regulations in that era, but its medicinal use was more liberated than nowadays. It may be a chance to reconsider the current legal system, which strictly controls the use of Cannabis.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2023

Objectives : Sihosogan-tang (SST) is one of the traditional herbal formula and also one of the Korean medical insurance medicines. It commonly used in the treatment of hepatitis, chronic gastritis, intercostal neuralgia, pleurisy, and depression in East Asia. In the present study, we have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects of SST in macrophage cell line. Methods : To investigate mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of SST, we examined the productions of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the expressions of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), nuclear factor-κ B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) on RAW 264.7 cells activated by LPS. Results : SST significantly inhibited the expression of iNOS increased by LPS, and also significantly inhibited the production of NO. In addition, SST significantly inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF- α and interleukines. SST inhibited the expression of NF-κB and MAPK activation. Conclusions : These results suggest that SST ameliorates inflammatory response in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells through the inhibition of the NF-κB and MAPK pathway. Therefore, this study supplies objective evidence for the anti-inflammatory effect of SST.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.31-38
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• 2012

Objectives : Mori Folium is one of the traditional medicinal herb. It was commonly used for sericulture in the world and has been traditionally administered as natural therapeutic agent for the treatment of filariasis, diabetes and dropsy in East Asia. This study investigated an anti-inflammatory potential of Mori Folium ethanol extract (MFE). Methods : We examined the effects of MFE on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) in a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. Results : MFE inhibited production of NO and $PGE_2$ in a dose dependent manner and also decreased the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$. As a plausible molecular mechanism, increased degradation of I-${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and phosphorylation of I-${\kappa}B{\alpha}$, NF-${\kappa}B$ and MAP kinases by LPS were partly blocked by MFE treatment. Conclusions : These results suggest that MFE has an anti-inflammatory therapeutic potential, which may result from inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and MAPK phosphorylation, thereby decreasing the expression of pro-inflammatory genes.