• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.38 no.3 s.150
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• pp.205-216
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• 2007

South Korea is the representative consumption country of herbal medicines and most of herbal medicines circulating in Korea have been importing from the developing countries of Southeast Asia such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and so forth. Domestic hygiene and safety are continuously proposed because herbal medicines which are circulating have the possibility could remain contaminants or residues. Physicochemical contaminants such as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, radionucleosides, microbial toxins, biological contaminants such as microorganisms and animals, agrochemical residues such as pesticides, substances used for fumigation, antiviral agents, and solvent residues are classified as major contaminants and residues in herbal medicines from 2005 September WHO.$^{1)}$ Currently our administration have established a permission standard and the inspection criteria against the heavy metal, the residual pesticides and a residual sulfur dioxide. Furthermore our administration is continuously monitoring and conducting researches for the policies and their scientific ground against herbal medicines. But the appearances or discoveries of the harmful new species due to environmental and industrial developments are becoming social problems. Therefore it may be necessary to continuously consider and investigate regarding hereupon. Recently, the contamination of the mycotoxins against foods such as cereals, nuts and the powdered red pepper have developed and started became problematic issue, and possibility of contamination against the herbal medicine is proposed. And since populations who are using the herbal medicines very limited to several nations, recognition and researches about contamination of mycotoxins in herbal medicines are very insufficient. Therefore it will be need to more focus on the international regulation of quality control and safety for herbal medicines. Now on, we are going to introduce the importance, occurrence, characteristic properties, World-wide research trends and detoxification of aflatoxins, which is known as the most potent mutagen, carcinogen and teratogen mycotoxins.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.218-221
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• 2008

The levels of sulfites in wooden chopsticks were analyzed using two different methods, distillation-alkali titration and ion chromatography. According to the two methods, Sulfur dioxide($SO_2$) was validated by 0.6 and 0.2 ${\mu}ml$ of limit of detection(LOD), 1.8 and 0.5 ${\mu}ml$ of limit of quantification, (LOQ) and a $R^2>0.998$ for linearity, respectively. The recoveries of $SO_2$ from food simulants spiked ar levels of 100 ppm were 70.2-100.2%. 158 samples of wooden chopsticks were monitored the migrated amounts of sulfites. Sulfites were detected in 30 samples in ranged of 0.6 to 15.5 ppm. Maximum migration level, 15.5 ppm of sulfites was considered giving no harmful effect to human since it was reached 5.5% of estimated SML.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6321-6326
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• 2013

Introduction: Lung cancer is extremely harmful to human health and has one of the highest worldwide incidences of all malignant tumors. Approximately 80% of lung cancers are classified as non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Cisplatin-based multidrug chemotherapy regimen is standard for such lesions, but drug resistance is an increasing problem. F-box/WD repeat-containing protein 7 (FBW7) is a member of the F-box protein family that regulates cell cycle progression, and cell growth and differentiation. FBW7 also functions as a tumor suppressor. Methods: We used cell viability assays, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence combined with siRNA interference or plasmid transfection to investigate the underlying mechanism of cisplatin resistance in NSCLC cells. Results: We found that FBW7 upregulation significantly increased cisplatin chemosensitivity and that cells expressing low levels of FBW7, such as NCI-H1299 cells, have a mesenchymal phenotype. Furthermore, siRNA-mediated silencing or plasmid-mediated upregulation of FBW7 resulted in altered epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) patterns in NSCLC cells. These data support a role for FBW7 in regulating the EMT in NSCLC cells. Conclusion: FBW7 is a potential drug target for combating drug resistance and regulating the EMT in NSCLC cells.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.21-24
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• 1999

The analysis of hazard compounds, including naphthalene, biphenyls (BP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP), was conducted from the wooden kitchenwares and sanitory produce. Fifty samples of that wooden products in the local market were purchased for the study. All the samples were extracted by benzene and n-heptane, followed by the analysis through GC-MSD. As a result, neither naphthalene nor diethyl phthalate were found, however, trace amount of biphenyls were detected on all the samples ranged from 0.1 to 3.1 ppm. Biphenyls also contained both in the imported and the domestic of White Birch wood, as 0.25 ppm and 0.34 ppm, respectively. The concentration of biphenyls reduced with the process of the original woods, and especially the detection range was relatively low compared with the permission one of apples (110 ppm). The results suggested that biphenyls were contaminated into the product not by the addition doting the process of manufacture, but as the component itself in raw wood materials. Also, the content of the residual biphenyls were not suspected to give the harmful effects.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Information Technology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.21-28
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• 2019

Side effects of drugs mean harmful and unintended effects resulting from drugs used to prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases. These side effects can lead to patients' death and are the main causes of drug developmental failures. Thus, various methods have been tried to identify side effects. These can be divided into biological and systems biology approaches. In this study, we use systems biology approach and focus on using various phenotypic information in addition to the chemical structure and target proteins. First, we collect datasets that are used in this study, and calculate similarities individually. Second, we generate a set of features using the similarities for each drug-side effect pair. Finally, we confirm the results by AUC(Area Under the ROC Curve), and showed the significance of this study through a comparison experiment.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2018

After signing the WHO FCTC in 2003, South Korea ratified the FCTC in 2005. This study was conducted to provide data on toxic constituents that can be used as useful information for the level of exposure to Korean smokers. Emissions data from five brands of cigarettes were tested under the ISO and "Canadian Intense (HCI)" smoking regimes, respectively. We conducted an analysis of 25 compounds containing nicotine, tar, carbonyls, phenolics, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-VOC cigarette smoke. Tar and nicotine showed levels of 4.3 to 5.8 mg/cig and 0.4 to 0.5 mg/cig, respectively, which are within the range of tolerance presented in ISO 8243. In the case of carbonyls, formaldehyde was detected within a range of 8.2 to $14.3{\mu}g/cig$, and acetaldehyde was present within a range of 224.7 to $327.2{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO smoke regime. Crotonaldehyde was not detected under the ISO regime, and all of the carbonyls showed values 2.3 to 4.5 times higher under the HCI regime than those under the ISO regime. Catechol, which showed a level of 47.0 to $80.5{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 117.5 to $184.7{\mu}g/cig$ under the HCI regime, was the highest constituent among the phenols. The amount of isoprene was 91.7 to $158.3{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 221.0 to 377.0 under the HCI regime. To summarize, most of the constituents showed a tendency to be detected at levels 2 to 4 times higher under the HCI regime than under the ISO regime. Above all, these results represent the first analysis in Korea from an independent institute of tobacco companies under accreditation of ISO 17025.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.125-131
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• 2009

Korea is representative of a country that consumes herbal medicines; most of the herbal medicines circulating in South Korea have been imported from developing countries in Southeast Asia, such as China and Indonesia. Recently, domestic hygiene and safety are issues that have come to the forefront, because herbal medicines currently in circulation could possibly contain contaminants or residues. Furthermore, the appearance or discovery of harmful new species due to environmental and industrial developments is becoming a social problem. Therefore, it may be necessary to consider and investigate these matters on a continual basis. Recently, mycotoxin contaminations in such foods as cereals, nuts, and powdered red pepper have been reported. They have become a problematic issue; the possibility of contamination in herbal medicines has also been considered. Nevertheless, recognition of and research into mycotoxin contamination in herbal medicines has been scarce because herbal medicine is used in only a few nations. In this research, we identified contamination by aflatoxin which is known to be the most potent mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic mycotoxin in Thujae Semen, a herbal medicine. We also found co-contaminations involving other mycotoxins, including ochratoxin A and zeraleanone.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.214-223
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• 2013

BACKGROUND: This study focused on the development of an analytical method about dichlorprop (DCPP; 2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)propionic acid) which is a plant growth regulator, a synthetic auxin for agricultural commodities. DCPP prevents falling of fruits during their growth periods. However, the overdose of DCPP caused the unwanted maturing time and reduce the safe storage period. If we take fruits with exceeding maximum residue limits, it could be harmful. Therefore, this study presented the analytical method of DCPP in agricultural commodities for the nation-wide pesticide residues monitoring program of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. METHODS AND RESULTS: We adopted the analytical method for DCPP in agricultural commodities by gas chromatograph in cooperated with Electron Capture Detector(ECD). Sample extraction and purification by ion-associated partition method were applied, then quantitation was done by GC/ECD with DB-17, a moderate polarity column under the temperature-rising condition with nitrogen as a carrier gas and split-less mode. Standard calibration curve presented linearity with the correlation coefficient ($r^2$) > 0.9998, analysed from 0.1 to 2.0 mg/L concentration. Limit of quantitation in agricultural commodities represents 0.05 mg/kg, and average recoveries ranged from 78.8 to 102.2%. The repeatability of measurements expressed as coefficient of variation (CV %) was less than 9.5% in 0.05, 0.10, and 0.50 mg/kg. CONCLUSION(S): Our newly improved analytical method for DCPP residues in agricultural commodities was applicable to the nation-wide pesticide residues monitoring program with the acceptable level of sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.129-135
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• 2022

The official analytical method for the analysis of harmful heavy metals in Meju, distributed in Korea, employs a strong acid to decompose the organic components. This analysis is time consuming and harmful to the users and/or the environment. This study aimed to develop a new pre-treatment technology using laser ablation, to rapidly analyze harmful heavy metals without using strong acids. The results obtained from this method were validated by the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation guideline (NIFDS, 2016). Moreover, a comparison of the two methods showed that the analytical time for 55 Meju samples was shortened by 96% or more in the new method. The results showed no significant difference in the recovery ranging from 90-120%. The proposed method proved suitable for detecting harmful heavy metals in Meju.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.117-123
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• 2016

Taxol (paclitaxel) is a powerful anti-cancer drug widely used against several types of malignant tumors. Because Taxol may exert several side effects, a variety of formulations have been developed. One of these features liposomes, regarded as one of the most promising drug carriers, biocompatible and best able to reduce drug toxicity without changing efficacy against tumor cells. Eruca sativa seed extract (SE) is considered a promising natural product from cruciferous vegetables against breast cancer, increasing chemotherapeutic and eliminating harmful side effects. The effects of Taxol-encapsulated liposomes (T) alone and in combination between Eruca sativa seed extract on nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) gene expression levels were investigated in rat mammary gland carcinogenesis induced by 7,12 dimethylbenz(${\alpha}$) anthracene (DMBA) using qRT-PCR. The results showed that DMBA increased NF-${\kappa}B$, COX-2 and Bcl-2 gene expression levels and lipid peroxidation (LP), while decreasing glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and total antioxidant concentration (TAC) compared to the control group. T and T-SE treatment reduced NF-${\kappa}B$, COX-2 and Bcl-2 gene expression levels and LP. Hence, T and T-SE treatment appeared to reduce inflammation and cell proliferation, while increasing apoptosis, GST and SOD activities and TAC.