• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.708-716
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• 2012

In order to investigate and evaluate the effects of red deer antlers on hair growth in the full-thickness wound healing model, Sprague-Dawley rats were given incision wounds through the full thickness of their dorsal skin and deer antler was applied for 40 days. At specified intervals thereafter (4, 8, 16, 32 and 40 days), the animals were sacrificed and the wound site skins were excised, processed, and sectioned. At post-injury days 16, 32 and 40, longer and more active new hair appeared around the healing wound of antler-treated skin. Histological studies showed that the antler extract markedly increases the depth, size, and number of hair follicles. Expression of IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor) mRNA was detected by RT-PCR and real time RT-PCR. The result showed that the expression of IGF-I (days 16, 32, and 40) was obviously up-regulated in antler-treated skins compared to control skins. Similar results were seen in the ELISA analysis to quantify the IGF-I expression. These results support the notion that wound healing can cause hair growth by enhancing the expression of IGF-I. Deer antler extract appears to have the potential to promote hair growth and could be used in hair growth products.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 1989

Deer horn has been used in oriental medicine and folk remedy. It has had much effects on 'health and tonic efficacy' But this word, 'health and tonic efficacy', is very obscure in modern sense This report attempts to investigate their scientific and objective effects among many papers. The biochemical components of antler are composed of pentoses, hexoses, acid mucopolysaccharides, free and ester fatty acids, glycolipids, phospholipids, prostaglandins, sterols, protein and peptides, free amino acids, minerals, hormones etc. Deer horn extract especially increases body weight gain and feed efficiency, and it stimulates the ability of spermatogenesis of animal. However, a few papers have reported concerning the toxicity and side effects of antler.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.67-80
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• 2002

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of deer antler extract on the regeneration of peripheral nerves. Sprague-Dawley male rats weighing about 300 gm were fed deer antler extract for 1, 2, and 3 weeks per oral (1.5 ml/100 gm B.W.), respectively, once a day and transected both sides of sciatic nerve of each leg. After keeping for 6 hours, sciatic nerves taken from proximal part of transected region were treated with conventional transmission electron microscopical method and then observed with electron microscope. The results obtained were summarized as follows; 1. Sciatic nerves of normal control group were not showing any sprouts and electron dense axolemmal projections were frequently observed. 2. Sciatic nerves of saline treated groups were showing axonal sprouts at the nodes of Ranvier. The length of them was usually short, and numerous vesicles, vacuoles and organelles including neurofilament were contained. The number of nodes of Ranvier containing sprouts from 100 longitudinal sectioned nerve fibers was 29 (29%) in 1 week treated group, 32 (32%) in 2 weeks treated group, and 30 (30%) in 3 weeks treated group, respectively. 3. Sciatic nerves of deer antler treated groups were showing axonal sprouts at the node of Ranvier as well. Although most of the sprouts were short, some sprouts of 2 weeks and 3 weeks treated groups were quite long. Sprouts usually contained numerous vesicles, vacuoles and cell organelles such as neurofilaments and mitochondria. The number of nodes of Ranvier containing sprouts from 100 longitudinal sectioned nerve fibers was 38 (38%) in 1 week treated group, 46 (46%) in 2 weeks treated group, and 48 (48%) in 3 weeks treated group respectively. The results described above explain pretreatment of deer antler extract improves the sprout formation of transected sciatic nerves, and then it suggests deer antler may be effective for the regeneration of peripheral nerves.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2010

Deer velvet antler was subjected to the extraction process using boiling water at three different temperatures (100, 110 and $120^{\circ}C$) and 70% ethanol solution. Functional components such as uronic acid, sulfated-glycosaminoglycans (sulfated-GAGs) and sialic acid in the extracts were analyzed, and their antioxidant activities were investigated using several in vitro models. Uronic acid and sulfated-GAGs content of each extract significantly decreased with increasing extraction temperature (p<0.05), while the residues obtained from the upper and middle part of the antler had a higher uronic acid content than the residues obtained from the base section. Sialic acid contents were highest in compounds extracted at $110^{\circ}C$, followed by 120 and $100^{\circ}C$. The 70% ethanol extracts also had a high levels of uronic acid content, but not for sulfated-GAGs and sialic acid. All extracts showed good antioxidant ability in a dose-dependant manner, with the $100^{\circ}C$ residue exhibiting the strongest activity compared to the 110 and $120^{\circ}C$ extracts. In relation to the hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and reduction power, the 70% ethanol extract exhibited the strongest activity. Furthermore, the velvet antler extracts inhibited apoptosis in hydrogen peroxide-induced PC-12 cells.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.349-355
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• 2011

Russian deer velvet antlers were divided into three parts and subjected to a extraction process using hot water at 100, 110, and $120^{\circ}C$ or an extraction with 70% ethanol. Each extract was analyzed for its biochemical components, including uronic acid, sulfated-glycosaminoglycans (sulfated-GAGs), and sialic acid, and the antioxidant and anti-acetylcholinesterase activities were investigated. Different levels of uronic acid and sulfated-GAGs were observed in the extracts according to the water temperature used for the extraction, and contents decreased with increasing extraction temperature. The upper layer of each extract showed high amounts of uronic acid and sulfated-GAGs, followed by the middle and base layers. Ethanol extraction was more effective for recovering uronic acid than sulfated-GAGs. Sialic acid content was the highest in the $110^{\circ}C$ extracts but was not observed in the ethanol extracts. Velvet antler extracts showed strong antioxidant activities against DPPH and hydrogen peroxide as well as strong reducing power in a dose-dependent manner. However, the antioxidant activities were different in each layer and according to the extraction method. Additionally, velvet antler extracts exhibited inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase, which is associated with Alzheimer's disease, in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that velvet antler extracts are useful as a functional food ingredient and/or a pharmaceutical.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2006

Objectives : The effect of water extract of the pilose antler of Cervus korean TEMMINCK var. mantchuricus Swinhoe (Nokyong), a traditional immuno-suppressive and immuno-activating Korean oriental medicine, on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice model was studied. Identification of common Nokyong capable of affording protection or modulating the onset and severity of arthritis may have important human health implications. Methods : Nokyong has shown to possess anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic properties in experimental animals. In this study we determined the effect of DAE on collagen-induced arthritis in mice. Results : In three independent experiments mice given DAE in water exhibited significantly reduced incidence of arthritis (33% to 50%) as compared with mice given no DAE in water (84% to 100%). The arthritis index also was significantly lower in DAE-fed animals. Western blot analysis showed a marked reduction in the expression of inflammatory mediators such as cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2), $Interferon-{\gamma}\;(INF-{\gamma})$, and tumor necrosis factor ${\alpha}\;(TNF-{\alpha})$ in arthritic joints of DAE-fed mice. The neutral endopeptidase (NEP) activity was approximately 6-fold higher in arthritic joints of non-DAE-fed mice in comparison to nonarthritic joints of nonimmunized mice whereas it was only 2-fold higher in the arthritic joints of DAE-fed mice. Additionally, total IgG and type II collagen-specific IgG levels were lower in the arthritic joints of DAE-fed mice. Conclusion : Taken together our studies suggest that DAE may be useful in the prevention of onset and severity of arthritis.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.507-514
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• 2015

Deer velvet antler (DVA) is one of the most popular medicines in China. Numerous studies have demonstrated that velvet antler possess biological effects. However, data regarding its anti-migration activity on prostate cancer is scarce. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of top DVA (T-DVA) on the expression of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and migration-related genes in the human prostate cancer cell, LNCaP. The T-DVA down-regulated the expression of PSA. In addition, the Radius^TM assay revealed that T-DVA inhibited the migration behavior of prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was also decreased with T-DVA. On the contrary, T-DVA increased the tissue inhibition of metallo-proteinase (TIMP)-1 and (TIMP)-2. Taken together, our findings indicate that the T-DVA possesses anti-migration activity on prostate cancer cells. This is the first study of DVA to report the anti-migration activity on prostate cancer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Community Living Science Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.60-62
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• 2006

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.399-408
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• 2022

As part of research on the development of functional materials for antlers, lactic acid fermentation of antler extract was performed. It was intended to develop a functional material with enhanced total polyphenol and flavonoid content and enhanced antioxidant activity. During the fermentation of lactic acid bacteria, the number of proliferation, total polyphenol and total flavonoid content, DPPH radical scavenging and antioxidant activity were quantified and evaluated. As a result of adding these four types of lactic acid bacteria to the antler water extract substrate, the number of lactic acid bacteria measured was 2.04~5.00×10⁷. Meanwhile, a protease (Baciullus amyloliquefaciens culture: Maxazyme NNP DS) was added to the antler extract to decompose the peptide bonds of the contained proteins. Then, these four types of lactic acid bacteria were added and the number of lactic acid bacteria increased to 2.84×10⁷~2.21×10⁸ as the result of culture. The total polyphenol contents were 4.82~6.26g/mL in the lactic acid bacteria fermentation extracts, and after the reaction of protease enzyme and lactic fermentation, increased to 14.27~20.58 g/mL. The total flavonoid contents were 1.52~2.21 g/ml in the lactic acid bacteria fermentation extracts, and after the protease reaction and fermentation, increased to 5.59~8.11 mg/mL. DPPH radical scavenging activities of lactic acid bacteria fermentation extracts was 17.03~22.75%, but after the protease reaction and fermentation, remarkably increased to 32.82~42.90%.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1299-1304
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• 2009

We have previously shown that water extract of deer antler (WEDA) inhibited RANKL-mediated osteoclast differentiation from bone marrow macrophages by suppressing c-Fos and NFATc1 expression. Thus, we examined the effect of WEDA in inflammation-induced bone loss in vivo. Here we found that WEDA inhibited osteoblast-supported osteoclast differentiation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, WEDA did not suppress the expression of receptor activator of NF-${\kappa}B$ ligand (RANKL) in response to LPS in osteoblasts. WEDA also inhibited the bone resorptive activity of mature osteoclasts. To examine the effect of WEDA on bone loss, when LPS injected subcutaneously in mice, bone loss was greatly increased, but WEDA treatment inhibited LPS-mediated bone loss. Taken together, we conclude that WEDA inhibited osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in vitro and in vivo. Thus WEDA may be useful in the treatment of bone-related disorders.