• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.296-299
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• 2006

Effects of mahwang(Ephedrae herba) extract on plasma lipid composition, GOT, GPT activity and blood cell composition were investigated in rats. Concentrations of FFA was not significantly different in all treatment groups. Concentrations of triglyceride and total cholesterol in plasma were decreased in mahwang(Ephedrae herba) extract groups. However concentrations of HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol showed no significant difference in all treatment groups. GOT activities were increased in mahwang(Ephedrae herba) extract 300mg/kg group. However the values of GPT showed no significant difference in all treatment groups. Counts of RBC were increased in mahwang(Ephedrae herba) extract 300mg/kg group. Counts of WBC showed no significant difference in all treatment groups. In WBC composition, neutrophils were increased, but other cells were not affected by mahwang extract treatment.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.90-97
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• 2018

Background: Antihyperglycemic effects of Panax ginseng berry have never been explored in humans. The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy and safety of a 12-wk treatment with ginseng berry extract in participants with a fasting glucose level between 100 mg/dL and 140 mg/dL. Methods: This study was a 12-wk, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 72 participants were randomly allocated to two groups of either ginseng berry extract or placebo, and 63 participants completed the study. The parameters related to glucose metabolism were assessed. Results: Although the present study failed to show significant antihyperglycemic effects of ginseng berry extract on the parameters related to blood glucose and lipid metabolism in the total study population, it demonstrated that ginseng berry extract could significantly decrease serum concentration of fasting glucose by 3.7% (p = 0.035), postprandial glucose at 60 min during 75 g oral glucose tolerance test by 10.7% (p = 0.006), and the area under the curve for glucose by 7.7% (p = 0.024) in those with fasting glucose level of 110 mg/dL or higher, while the placebo group did not exhibit a statistically significant decrease. Safety profiles were not different between the two groups. Conclusion: The present study suggests that ginseng berry extract has the potential to improve glucose metabolism in human, especially in those with fasting glucose level of 110 mg/dL or higher. For a more meaningful benefit, further research in people with higher blood glucose levels is required.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.269-275
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• 2008

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) has been widely used as an anti-inflammatory agent in oriental medicine. In the current study, we investigated the protective effect, and the possible mechanism, of dandelion extracts against ethanol-induced acute hepatotoxicity in C57BL/6 mice. Dandelion water and ethanol extract was administered at 2 g/kg body weight (BW) once daily for 7 consecutive days, whereas control and ethanol groups received water by gavage. Ethanol (50% ethanol; 6 g/kg BW) was administered 12 hr before sacrificing the mice in order to generate liver injury. Significantly increased serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities as well as liver triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol levels were attenuated by dandelion supplementation. In addition, dandelion extracts not only enhanced alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and anti-oxidative enzyme activities, but reduced lipid peroxidation. Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP 2E1), one of the critical enzymes xenobiotic metabolism, expression was lower with ethanol treatment but restored by dandelion supplementation. These results were confirmed by improved histopathological changes in fatty liver and hepatic lesions induced by ethanol. In conclusion, dandelion could protect liver against ethanol administration by attenuating of oxidative stress and inflammatory responses.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.865-871
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• 2006

Signs of dental discolouration, difficulty in mastication, bony exostosis and debility were observed in cattle from Qingtongxia Ningxia, China where fluoride concentration in drinking water, soil, fodder, serum, bone, teeth, haircoat and urine were significantly higher than the corresponding health site. The problem of fluorosis in beef cattle is attributable to water containing toxic levels of fluoride. The objective of this paper was therefore to evaluate the influence of fluoride on erythrocyte parameters in cattle under high fluoride and low selenium conditions, as well as the protective efficacy of selenium exposure in feedstuff for bovine endemic fluorosis. Sixteen 6 to 7 year-old high fluoride beef cattle were randomly allotted into two groups each with eight cows: high fluoride control group, and supplemented with 0.25 mg/kg selenium per day for 83 days respectively. In addition, eight 6 to 7 year-old normal control beef cattle were selected from a non-high fluoride site. Blood samples were collected on day 0, 30 and 83 for erythrocyte parameters analysis and scanning electronic microscopy. The results indicated that erythrocytes, hemoglobin, packed cell volume values and $Na^+-K^+$ ATPase activity from affected cattle on the high fluoride site were significantly reduced during the period as compared with the corresponding samples of normal control cattle, a great number of echinocytes were present in peripheral blood, and subsequent anaemia. However, affected cattle exposed to selenium revealed increasable erythrocyte parameters, the extent of elevation in these values being dependent on the duration of supplementation with selenium. These findings suggest that fluoride exposure can cause erythrocyte damage, whereas selenium supplementation can antagonize fluoride-induced generation of free radicals and cumulative effects of lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes. Selenium supplementation may help to alleviate the possible hazards associated with bovine endemic fluorosis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.342-348
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• 2014

This study was conducted to examine the effects of condensed tannins (CT) from Ficus bengalensis leaves on the feed utilization, milk production and health status of crossbred cows. Eighteen crossbred dairy cows at their second and mid lactation (avg. BW $351.6{\pm}10.6$ kg) were randomly divided into two groups of nine each in a completely randomized block design and fed two iso-nitrogenous supplements formulated to contain 0% and 1.5% CT through dried and ground leaves of Ficus bengalensis. The diets were designated as CON and FBLM, respectively and fed to cows with a basal diet of rice straw to meet requirements for maintenance and milk production. The daily milk yield was significantly (p<0.05) increased due to supplementation of FBLM diet. The 4% fat corrected milk yield was also significantly (p<0.01) higher due to increased (p<0.05) milk fat in cows under diet FBLM as compared to CON. The inclusion of CT at 1.5% in the supplement did not interfere with the feed intake or digestibility of DM, OM, CP, EE, NDF, and ADF by lactating cows. Digestible crude protein (DCP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) values of the composite diets were comparable between the groups. The blood biochemical parameters remained unaltered except significantly (p<0.05) lowered serum urea concentration in cows fed FBLM diet. There was a significant (p<0.05) increase intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in cows supplemented with condensed tannins. The total thiol group (T-SH) was found to be higher with reduction in lipid peroxidation (LPO) in cows of FBLM group. The cost of feeding per kg milk production was also reduced due to supplementation of Ficus bengalensis leaves. Therefore, a perceptible positive impact was evident on milk production and antioxidant status in crossbred cows during mid-lactation given supplement containing 1.5% CT through Ficus bengalensis leaves.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.414-421
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• 2014

This study was conducted to determine the effects of saturated long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) on cell proliferation and triacylglycerol (TAG) content, as well as mRNA expression of ${\alpha}s1$-casein (CSN1S1) and genes associated with lipid and protein synthesis in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs). Primary cells were isolated from the mammary glands of Holstein dairy cows, and were passaged twice. Then cells were cultured with different levels of palmitate or stearate (0, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 ${\mu}M$) for 48 h and fetal bovine serum in the culture solution was replaced with fatty acid-free BSA (1 g/L). The results showed that cell proliferation tended to be increased quadratically with increasing addition of stearate. Treatments with palmitate or stearate induced an increase in TAG contents at 0 to 600 ${\mu}M$ in a concentration-dependent manner, and the addition of 600 ${\mu}M$ was less effective in improving TAG accumulation. The expression of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase alpha, fatty acid synthase and fatty acid-binding protein 3 was inhibited when palmitate or stearate were added in culture medium, whereas cluster of differentiation 36 and CSN1S1 mRNA abundance was increased in a concentration-dependent manner. The mRNA expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, mammalian target of rapamycin and signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 with palmitate or stearate had no significant differences relative to the control. These results implied that certain concentrations of saturated LCFA could stimulate cell proliferation and the accumulation of TAG, whereas a reduction may occur with the addition of an overdose of saturated LCFA. Saturated LCFA could up-regulate CSN1S1 mRNA abundance, but further studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanism for regulating milk fat and protein synthesis.

• CELLMED
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.31.1-31.6
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• 2020

Introduction: Dyslipidaemia is directly associated with cardiovascular diseases. Temperament, the unique constitutional make-up of an individual, is responsible for one's personality traits, physical appearances, and disease predispositions. The rising prevalence of dyslipidaemia becomes a challenge to control morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases. Objective: To study clinical patterns and risk factors of dyslipidaemia and its association with temperament at the individual level was the main objective of this study. Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive and analytical cross sectional study. The participants (n=88) were screened on the basis of raised serum lipid profile from the outpatient department of National Research Institute of Unani Medicine for Skin Disorders, Hyderabad. The data were collected on a case record form designed for this study and analyzed retrospectively. Results: In this study, there were 57% participants (n=50) of phlegmatic temperament in which mean total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein- cholesterol and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol were 230.92 (±49.48) mg/dl, 182.34 (±110.61) mg/dl, 153.24 (±50.21) mg/dl and 46.3 (±10.83) mg/dl respectively. Discussion: This study showed the prevalence of different clinical patterns of dyslipidaemia in the population and the phlegmatic participants were dyslipidaemic in a higher percentage. The prevalence of dyslipidaemia in phlegmatic participants may be linked to the constitutional make-up of the individual. The temperament of an individual may be considered as one of the risk factors for dyslipidaemia. Conclusion: It was concluded that the temperament of an individual may be used as a screening tool to predict the individual's tendency to develop dyslipidaemia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.837-845
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• 2014

Background: Overweight and obesity are recognized as major drivers of cancers including breast cancer. Several cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10 and lipocalin 2 (LCN2), as well as dysregulated cell cycle proteins are implicated in breast carcinogenesis. The nuclear, casein kinase and cyclin-dependent kinase substrate-1 (NUCKS-1), is a nuclear DNA-binding protein that has been implicated in several human cancers, including breast cancer. Objectives: The present study was conducted to evaluate NUCKS-1 mRNA expression in breast tissue from obese patients with and without breast cancer and lean controls. NUCKS-1 expression was correlated to cytokine profiles as prognostic and monitoring tools for breast cancer, providing a molecular basis for a causal link between obesity and risk. Materials and Methods: This study included 39 females with breast cancer (G III) that was furtherly subdivided into two subgroups according to cancer grading (G IIIa and G IIIb) and 10 control obese females (G II) in addition to 10 age-matched healthy lean controls (G I). NUCKS-1 expression was studied in breast tissue biopsies by means of real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Serum cytokine profiles were determined by immunoassay. Lipid profiles and glycemic status as well as anthropometric measures were also recorded for all participants. Results: IL-6, IL-12 and LCN2 were significantly higher in control obese and breast cancer group than their relevant lean controls (p<0.05), while NUCKS-1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in the breast cancer group compared to the other groups (p<0.05). Significant higher levels of IL-6, IL-12, and LCN2 as well as NUCKS-1 mRNA levels were reported in G IIIb than G IIIa, and positively correlated with obesity markers in all obese patients. Conclusions: Evaluation of cytokine levels as well as related gene expression may provide a new tool for understanding interactions for three axes of carcinogenesis, innate immunity, inflammation and cell cycling, and hope for new strategies of management.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.129-149
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• 2003

Liver is an important target of the toxicity of drugs, xenobiotics and oxidative stress. Acetaminophen pverdose causes acute liver injury in both humans and animals. This study was performed to observe the effect of sachunwhan and its component groups on recovery of hepatoxicity in acetaminophen treated rats. The experimental group was divided into 4 groups: sachungwhan(SC), samultang group(SC-1: 當歸, 川芎), chungyul group(SC-2: 龍膽草, 大黃, 梔子), and haepyo group(SC-3:羌活, 防風). Under the same condition Normal group was fed basal diet and water; Control group was injected acetaminophen and fed basal diet for 2 weeks; Experimental groups were injected acetaminophen and fed each extracts for 2 weeks respectively. The results were obtained as follows: 1. In the study on antioxidative defense system in vivo, SC reduced the amount of lipid peroxide in both serum and liver and showed activity on antioxidative enzymes such as catalase, glutathion. Other groups had effect only on glutathion. 2. In the study on hepatotoxicity(GOT, GPT, ${\gamma}$-GTP, ALP, LDH, Bilirubin), SC had a significant effect on recovery of hepatoxicity in acetaminophen treated rats. Other groups had no effect except SC-1 having effect on ${\gamma}$-GTP. As results shown, only Sachungwhan(SC) has significant effects on recovery of hepatoxicity and antioxidative defense system in vivo. These results suggest that Sachungwhan(SC) made antioxidative defense system active and it seemed to be very important to its effect on recovery of hepatoxicity. In the other hand, Component groups had no effect on recoverv of hepatoxicity and antioxidative defense system in vivo. This was thought that component drugs' cooperative synergy effect would be important to Sachungwhan(SC)'s effects mentioned in this paper.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.277-284
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• 2014

The ethanol extraction yield of Meliae toosendan fructus(MT) was about 24.5% by extract apparatus. This study was done to investigate the carbohydrate metabolism related enzyme activities and antioxidative effects of MT in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The contents of serum glucose, triglyceride (TG) were significantly decreaed in MT treated group compared to the those of STZ-control group, also content of Total cholesterol was decreased. High density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol was increased in MT treated group. The activity of glucose-6-pase(G-6-Pase) was significantly decreased in MT treated group. Also the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase(G-6-PDH) and glucokinase(Gk) were increaed in MT treated group. The content of hepatic glycogen was significantly increaed in MT treated group, in addition, content of malondialdehyde(MDA) was significanly decreased in MT treated group. Also, content of glutathione(GSH)was dereased in MT treated froup. whereas, activity of catalase(CAT) was significantly increaed in MT treated group compared to the those of STZ-control group. activity of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) was inecreaed. In conclusion, these results indicated that ethanol extract of MT would have carbohydrate metabolism antioxidative effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats.