• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.104-114
• /
• 2020

We investigated the best antibiotics using blending oils after screening 11 kinds of essential oil known as antibiotics from plants. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum killing concentration (MBC) were found to be essential for essential oils B and E to inhibit target bacteria. All gram-positive bacteria containing S. aureus used in this experiment were shown highly antibiotic activity. And only A. baumanii in gram-positive bacteria and C. albicans in fungi were shown highly antibiotic activity. The essential oils used in our experiments showed better antibiotic activity compared to major studies using natural antibiotics with excellent antibiotic activity and essential oils from natural medicine. It is not known what mechanism of antimicrobial activity the essential oil used in the test has, but it is interpreted as a synthetic inhibitory mechanism of cell wall compared with other previous studies. From these results, it is expected that some substances or functional products with antibiotic activity will be developed.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.27-36
• /
• 2013

Objectives : The focus of the analysis was laid on changes in research pertaining to bee venom in regards to time progression. Methods : We collected 365 articles on Bee venom study result from OASIS system using the Keyword 'bee venom, apitoxin, apitherapy, bee sting'. We figured out number and percentage of theses according to year, study method, journal, subject. Results : Bee venom papers published in the journal of korean medicine from 1976. The classification of papers associated with bee venom, clinical studies outnumbered the other study types by a ratio of 1.3 to 1, followed by 138 for experimental papers, and 22 for literature studies. Proportion of Experimental Papers Classified According to the Theme, 16 for pain-killing, 14 papers concentrated on apoptosis anticancer, 13 for anti inflammatory, 11 for arthritis, and other disorders were followed. Type analysis of papers associated with bee venom in clinical trials, lumbar disorders comprised 38 out of 205 papers, 35 papers concentrated on upper limb disorders, 34 papers concentrated on systemic disease, followed by the effect on body. Conclusions : Bee venom is a treatment method based on the unique theory of Korean traditional medicine. Its effort and academical approach on bee venom are expected to receive positive evaluation through numerous research works.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.872-881
• /
• 2012

The inhibitory effect of the Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883 strain caused by the hexane extract of Halimeda discoidea (Nor Afifah et al., 2010) was further evaluated by means of the microscopy view and its growth curves. The morphological changes of the K. pneumoniae ATCC 13883 cells were observed under the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) after they were treated at minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; 0.50 mg/ml) (Nor Afifah et al., 2010) for 12, 24, and 36 h. The results showed the severity of the morphological deteriorations experienced by the treated cells. The killing curve assay was performed for 48 h at three different extract concentrations (1/2 MIC, MIC, and 2 MIC). An increase in the extract concentration of up to 2 MIC value did significantly reduce the number of cells by approximately 1.9 $log_{10}$, as compared with the control. Identification of the potential compounds of the extract responsible for the antibacterial activity was carried out through the gas chromatography-mass spectrum (GC-MS) analysis of the active subfraction, and the compound E-15-heptadecenal was identified and suggested as the most potential antibacterial compound of this extract. The subsequent cellular degenerations showed by the data might well explain the inhibitory mechanisms of the suggested antibacterial compound. All of these inhibitory effects have further proven the presence of an antibacterial compound within H. discoidea that can inhibit the growth of K. pneumoniae ATCC 13883.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2009

Thrombin-induced platelet microbicidal protein (tPMP) is a small cationic peptide that exerts potent in vitro microbicidal activity against a broad spectrum of human pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus rattus BHT. Earlier evidence has suggested that tPMP targets and disrupts the bacterial membrane. However, it is not yet clear whether membrane disruption itself is sufficient to kill the bacteria or whether subsequent, presumably intracellular, events are also involved in this process. In this study, we investigated the microbicidal activity of rabbit tPMP toward S. rattus BHT cells in the presence or absence of a pretreatment with antibiotics that differ in their mechanisms of action. The streptocidal effects of tPMP on control cells (no antibiotic pretreatment) were rapid and concentration-dependent. Pretreatment of S. rattus BHT cells with either penicillin or amoxicillin (inhibitors of bacterial cell wall synthesis) significantly enhanced the anti-S. rattus BHT effects of tPMP compared with the effects against the respective control cells over most tPMP concentration ranges tested. On the other hand, pretreatment of S. rattus BHT cells with tetracycline or doxycycline (30S ribosomal subunit inhibitors) significantly decreased the streptocidal effects of tPMP over a wide peptide concentration range. Furthermore, pretreatment with rifampin (an inhibitor of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase) essentially blocked the killing of S. rattus BHT by tPMP at most concentrations compared with the respective control cells. These results suggest that tPMP exerts anti-S. rattus BHT activity through mechanisms involving both the cell membrane and intracellular targets.

• Journal of Plant Biology
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 1960

From the view point of phytopathological anatomy, the author has tried to study the effect of the shoot cluster disease virus on the internal structure of vascular tissues of chinese date tree (Ziziphus jujuba var. inermis Rehd.) comparing healthy checks and diseased plants. The materials were collected at the several sites, Kumgock-Ri, Masuc-Ri, Kyungi-Do, and near the campus of Korea University and around the area of Chongam-Dong, Seoul City, from August 15th to September 5th 1959. The leaf materials of healthy and diseased plants are fixed and aspirated in two kinds of killing solutions, formalin-acetic acid alcohol solution and Craf III solution. Sections were cut at 5-10$\mu$ thickness and stained with the double staining reagents of safranin and fast green. In this experiment the author has observed that there are marked structural changes in the infected plants in contrast of healthy checks. As figures 3-7 show that the following characteric changes have taken place on infected plants: 1) the arrangement of irregularly developed sieve elements in phloem, 2) the degeneration of phloem elements, 3) the irregular arrangement of epidermis in mid-vein, 4) more necrosis is observed among the parenchymatous cells, 5) abundant accumulatin of starch grains in parenchymatous cells, . In contrast to the above irregularities caused by the virus disease, the healthy checks appear normal structures as shown in figures 1 and 2. In adding to the all features noted above, the author could also observe an interesting feature that the xylem elements in mid-vein vascular bundle tissues are considerably disorganized to show the unspecialized vessel elements, the irregularly arranged xylem elements. However, this kind of irregularities which occur in xylem under the virus infection has not been reported previously. The features noted on the internal structure of vascular bundle under the condition of infection by the shoot cluster disease on chinese date trees appear to be more or less closely similar to the symptoms of the bunchy-top of banana and the yellow dwarf disease of barley in respect to the fact that whether phloem necrosis takes place as a primary symptom or a secondary symptom. In all these disease, primary histological changes of hypoplasia and hypertrophy are preceeded by the necrosis of phloem.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.11 no.6
• /
• pp.383-389
• /
• 2011

Background: EY-6 is one of the newly synthesized indoledione derivatives to induce tumor cell-specific cell death. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of immunological death induced by EY-6 at mouse colon cancer cell as well as at the normal immune cell represented by dendritic cell. Methods: C57BL/6 mouse syngeneic colon cancer cell MC38 was treated with EY-6, and analyzed by MTT for viability test, flow cytometry for confirming surface expressing molecules and ELISA for detection of cytokine secretion. Normal myeloid-dendritic cell (DC) was ex vivo cultured from bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells of C57BL/6 mice with GM-CSF and IL-4 to analyze the DC uptake of dead tumor cells and to observe the effect of EY-6 on the normal DC. Results: EY-6 killed the MC38 tumor cells in a dose dependent manner (25, 50 and $100{\mu}M$) with carleticulin induction. And EY-6 induced the secretion of IFN-${\gamma}$ but not of TNF-${\alpha}$ from the MC38 tumor cells. EY-6 did not kill the ex-vivo cultured DCs at the dose killing tumor cells and did slightly but not significantly induced the DC maturation. The OVA-specific cross-presentation ability of DC was not induced by chemical treatment (both MHC II and MHC I-restricted antigen presentation). Conclusion: Data indicate that the EY-6 induced tumor cell specific and immunological cell death by modulation of tumor cell phenotype and cytokine secretion favoring induction of specific immunity eliminating tumor cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.8
• /
• pp.1299-1306
• /
• 2015

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of action of the cinnamon bark essential oil (CB), when used singly and also in combination with piperacillin, for its antimicrobial and synergistic activity against beta-lactamase TEM-1 plasmid-conferred Escherichia coli J53 R1. Viable count of bacteria for this combination of essential oil and antibiotic showed a complete killing profile at 20 h and further confirmed its synergistic effect by reducing the bacteria cell numbers. Analysis on the stability of treated cultures for cell membrane permeability by CB when tested against sodium dodecyl sulfate revealed that the bacterial cell membrane was disrupted by the essential oil. Scanning electron microscopy observation and bacterial surface charge measurement also revealed that CB causes irreversible membrane damage and reduces the bacterial surface charge. In addition, bioluminescence expression of Escherichia coli [pSB1075] and E. coli [pSB401] by CB showed reduction, indicating the possibility of the presence of quorum sensing (QS) inhibitors. Gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry of the essential oil of Cinnamomum verum showed that trans-cinnamaldehyde (72.81%), benzyl alcohol (12.5%), and eugenol (6.57%) were the major components in the essential oil. From this study, CB has the potential to reverse E. coli J53 R1 resistance to piperacillin through two pathways; modification in the permeability of the outer membrane or bacterial QS inhibition.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.44 no.2 s.138
• /
• pp.101-116
• /
• 2006

Vaginal trichomoniasis, caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, is the most common sexually transmitted disease. More than 170 million people worldwide are annually infected by this protozoan. In the Republic of Korea, 10.4% of women complaining of vaginal symptoms and signs were found to be infected with T. vagina/is. However, despite its high prevalence, the pathogenesis of T. vaginalis infection has not been clearly characterized although neutrophil infiltration is considered to be primarily responsible for the cytologic changes associated with this infection. We hypothesized that trichomonads in the vagina sometime after an acute infection secrete proteins like excretory-secretory product that have a chemotactic effect on neutrophils, and that these neutrophils are further stimulated by T. vaginalis to produce chemokines like IL-8 and $GRO-\alpha$, which further promote neutrophil recruitment and chemotaxis. Thus, neutrophil accumulation is believed to maintain or aggravate inflammation. However, enhanced neutrophil apoptosis induced by live T. vaginalis could contribute to resolution of inflammation. Macrophages may constitute an important component of host defense against T. vaginalis infection. For example, mouse macrophages alone and those activated by lymphokines or nitric oxide are known to be involved in the extracellular killing of T. vaginalis. In the host, T. vaginalis uses a capping phenomenon to cleave host immunoglobulins with proteinases and thus escape from host immune responses. Recently, we developed a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique using primers based on a repetitive sequence cloned from T. vaginalis (TV-E650), and found that the method enables the detection of T. vaginalis at concentrations as low as 1 cell per PCR mixture.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.140-148
• /
• 2017

Hyperlipidemia, which is closely associated with a fatty diet and aging, is commonly observed in the western and aged society. Therefore, a novel therapeutic approach for this disease is critical, and an immunological view has been suggested as a novel strategy, because hyperlipidemia is closely associated with inflammation and immune dysfunction. In this study, the effects of an aqueous extract of Rubus occidentalis (RO) in obese mice were investigated using immunological indexes. The mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce hyperlipidemia, which was confirmed by biochemical analysis and examination of the mouse physiology. Two different doses of RO and rosuvastatin, a cholesterol synthesis inhibitor used as a control, were orally administered. Disturbances in immune cellularity as well as lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production were significantly normalized by oral administration of RO, which also decreased the elevated serum tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ level and total cholesterol. The specific immune-related actions of RO comprised considerable improvement in cytotoxic T cell killing functions and regulation of antibody production to within the normal range. The immunological evidence confirms the significant cholesterol-lowering effect of RO, suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic agent for hyperlipidemia and associated immune decline.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.811-818
• /
• 2018

A fire and explosion accident caused by a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) welding and cutting torch gas leak occurred 10 m underground at the site of reinforcement work for bridge columns, killing four people and seriously injuring ten. We conducted a comprehensive investigation into the accident to identify the fundamental causes of the explosion by analyzing the structure of the construction site and the properties of propane, which was the main component of LPG welding and cutting work used at the site. The range between the lower and upper explosion limits of leaking LPG for welding and cutting work was examined using Le Chatelier's formula; the behavior of LPG concentration change, which included dispersion and concentration change, was analyzed using the fire dynamic simulator (FDS). We concluded that the primary cause of the accident was combustible LPG that leaked from a welding and cutting torch and formed a explosion range between the lower and upper limits. When the LPG contacted the flame of the welding and cutting torch, LPG explosion occurred. The LPG explosion power calculation was verified by the blast effect computation program developed by the Department of Defense Explosive Safety Board (DDESB). According to the fire simulation results, we concluded that the welding and cutting torch LPG leak caused the gas explosion. This study is useful for safety management to prevent accidents caused by LPG welding and cutting work at construction sites.