• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.80-86
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• 2013

Korean red ginseng has been shown to possess a variety of biological activities. However, little is known about antiviral activity of ginsenosides of Korean red ginseng. Here, we investigated the protective effect by oral administration of various ginsenosides on the lethal infection of haemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ) in mice. In a lethal infection model in which almost all mice infected with HVJ died within 15 days, the mice were administered orally (per os) with 1 mg/mouse of dammarane-type (ginsenoside-Rb1, -Rb2, -Rd, -Re, and -Rg2) or oleanolic acid-type (ginsenoside-Ro) ginsenosides 3, 2, and 1 d before virus infection. Ginsenoside-Rb2 showed the highest protective activity, although other dammarane-type and oleanolic acid-type ginsenosides also induced a significant protection against HVJ. However, neither the consecutive administration with a lower dosage (300 ${\mu}g$/mouse) nor the single administration of ginsenoside-Rb2 (1 mg/mouse) was active. In comparison of the protective activity between ginsenoside-Rb2 and its two hydrolytic products [20(S)- and 20(R)-ginsenoside-Rg3], 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3, but not 20(R)-ginsenoside-Rg3, elicited a partial protection against HVJ. The protective effect of ginsenoside-Rb2 and 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3 on HVJ infection was confirmed by the reduction of virus titers in the lungs of HVJ-infected mice. These results suggest that ginsenoside-Rb2 is the most effective among ginsenosides from red ginseng to prevent the lethal infection of HVJ, so that this ginsenoside is a promising candidate as a mucosal immunoadjuvant to enhance antiviral activity.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.408-415
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• 2008

In the present study, the ethanolic leaf and bark extract of Wrightia tomentosa were tested for comparative in vivo antitumour properties against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) tumour bearing mice at 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight doses given orally once daily for 16 days. The EAC mice receiving 100 and 200 mg/kg ethanolic leaf and bark extract showed a dose dependent elevation in tumour, free survival and a highest number of survivors were observed at 200 mg/ kg for leaf extract of ethanol, which was considered as an optimum dose for its anti neoplastic action. The Median survival time for this dose was approximately 44 days when compared with 23 days of non-drug treated controls. The results indicate that the administration of leaf extract not only increased the survival of animals with ascites tumour and reduced packed cell volume and viable tissue cell count, but also altered many hematological parameters changed during tumour progression, indicating the potent antitumour nature of leaf extract than the bark extract. Statistical analysis also reveals that the leaf extract showed highly significant anti tumour potency (p < 0.001) when compared with control.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.179-185
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• 2006

We investigated the effects of chronic administration of different extracts of ginger rhizome [pet ether extract (PE); toluene fraction (TF) of pet ether extract] on anxiety models: the elevated T-maze (ETM) (for inhibitory avoidance and escape measurements) and the open field test. Ondansetron (1 mg/kg), FE (10, 30 &100 mg/kg) and TF (10 & 30 mg/kg) were administered orally for 15 days. On the $14^{th}$ day mice were previously exposed for 30 min to one of the open arms of the T-maze, 24 h before the test. On $15^{th}$ day mice had two exposures to the enclosed and open arm of the ETM followed by exposure to the open field apparatus. The number of line crossings in the apparatus was used to assess locomotor changes. Cumulative Concentration Response Curve of 5-HT was plotted using rat fundus which were pretreated in a similar way. Treatment with Ondansetron (1 mg/kg), PE (100 mg/kg), TF (10 mg/kg) and TF (30 mg/kg) significantly (P<0.05) impaired inhibitory avoidance performance but did not impair escape latency. Concentration response curve of 5-HT was shifted towards the right with suppression of maxima in rats treated with PE and TF. The results suggest that PE and TF of Ginger rhizome exerts anxiolytic like behaviour in a specific subset of defensive behaviour, particularly those related to generalized anxiety disorder.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.1401-1407
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• 2008

1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) is a strong $\alpha$-glucosidase inhibitor which inhibits hyperglycemia in animals. To select the Bacillus strains highly producing DNJ, 4,000 strains were isolated from soil and grain samples. By the inhibitory activity against $\alpha$-glucosidase, nine Bacillus strains were selected and then identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. B. subtilis S10 was finally selected as the best strain for the production of DNJ. Various carbon sources and nitrogen sources in culture medium were evaluated for the highest production of DNJ. As the results, the optimized concentration of carbon source and nitrogen source was 1.0% galactose and 1.6% polypeptone and the concentration of DNJ produced was 0.75 g/L. The effect of culture supernatant of B. subtilis S10 on lowering blood glucose level was investigated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice model. Mice were randomly assigned to control group (saline) and three test groups such as acarbose group, silkworm powder group and B. subtilis S10 group. After eight-week oral feeding, blood glucose levels of the B. subtilis S10 and silkworm powder groups were respectively $209.1{\pm}19.6\;mg/dL$ (59.1%) and $208.6{\pm}39.8\;mg/dL$ (59.0%) lower than $510{\pm}10\;mg/dL$ of the control group. These results indicated that the culture supernatant of B. subtilis S10 was able to reduce the blood glucose level in STZ-induced diabetic mice.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1771-1779
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• 2018

Chrysanthemum zawadskii (CZ) is a perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae family. CZ is used medicinally to treat inflammatory and uterine diseases in Asia. CZ was extracted with 50% ethanol and CZ extract (CZE; at 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg body weight) was administered orally every day for 5 or 6 weeks to investigate the anti-diabetic effects in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced rats and STZ + high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. CZE significantly decreased fasting blood glucose levels in STZ- and STZ + HFD-induced diabetic models. In addition, glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance were improved in the STZ + HFD + CZE group by increasing insulin levels and decreasing hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in serum. Furthermore, CZE supplements decreased components of the serum lipid profile such as triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. These results suggest that CZE may be a potential candidate for controlling hyperglycemia.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 2017

This study intends to analyze the contents of rutin, procyanidin B3, quercetin, kaempferol, known to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects, among the polyphenol type contained in the grape pruning stem extracts (GPSE), utilizing grape stems being discarded after harvest, measure the effects on the skin moisture, inhibition of skin cell proliferation, anti-inflammatory on the damaged skin of a HR-1 mice induced with UVB, and verify the applicability as a material for functional food and functional cosmetics. The results of verifying the photoprotection effects through the skin proliferation control through of GPSE showed similar result to suncream was achieved at the GPSE concentration of 2,000 mg/kg on the epidermis (p<0.05). The results showed anti-inflammatory effects on all groups applied with GPSE as compared to the control group irradiated with UVB, but at the GPSE concentration of 1,000 mg/kg, a lower COX-2 protein expression at 8%, lower than the 22% of suncream, was observed to achieve an excellent anti-inflammatory effect (p<0.05). The results of this study confirmed the existence of active polyphenol type, such as rutin, kaempferol, querocetin and procyanidin B3, within the GPSE, and GPSE has improvement effects on moisturizing effects, skin proliferation control effect, inflammatory control effect and improvement effects on the skin barrier function through UV ray damage. GPSE is a functional ingredient with a potential for skin protection effects, and has high utilization as an ingredient for functional food and functional cosmetics.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.197-201
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• 2016

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with an increased risk of developing upper gastrointestinal tract diseases. However, treatment failure is a major cause of concern mainly due to possible recurrence of infection, the side effects, and resistance to antibiotics. The aim of this study was to investigate the activities of Centella asiatica leaf extract (CAE) against H. pylori both in vitro and in vivo. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against 55 clinically isolated strains of H. pylori were tested using an agar dilution method. The MICs of CAE ranged from 0.125 mg/mL to 8 mg/mL, effectiveness in inhibiting H. pylori growth was 2 mg/mL. The anti-H. pylori effects of CAE in vivo were also examined in H. pylori-infected C57BL/6 mice. CAE was orally administrated once daily for 3 weeks at doses of 50 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg. CAE at the 50 mg/kg dose significantly reduced H. pylori colonization in mice gastric mucosa. Our study provides novel insights into the therapeutic effects of CAE against H. pylori infection, and it suggests that CAE may be useful as an alternative therapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.391-396
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• 2018

It is well known that Korean red ginseng has various biological activities. However, there is little knowledge about the antiviral activity of Korean red ginseng and its ginsenosides. In this study, we addressed whether oral administration of ginsenoside-Rb2 and -Rg3 is able to protect against rotavirus (RV) infection. The protective effect of ginsenosides against RV infection was examined using an in vivo experiment model in which newborn mice (10-day-old) were inoculated perorally (p.o.) with $1.5{\times}10^6$ plaque-forming units/mouse of RV strain SA11. When various dosages of ginsenoside-Rb2 (25-250 mg/kg) were administered 3days, 2 days, or 1 day before virus challenge, treatment with this ginsenoside at the dosage of 75 mg/kg 3days before virus infection most effectively reduced RV-induced diarrhea. In addition, consecutive administration of ginsenoside-Rb2 (75 mg/kg) at 3 days, 2 days, and 1 day before virus infection was more effective than single administration on day -3. The consecutive administration of ginsenoside-Rb2 also reduced virus titers in the bowels of RV-infected mice. In an experiment to compare the protective activity between ginsenoside-Rb2 and its two hydrolytic products (20(S)- and 20(R)-ginsenoside-Rg3), 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3, but not 20(R)-ginsenoside-Rg3, prevented RV infection. These results suggest that ginsenoside-Rb2 and its hydrolytic product, 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3, are promising candidates as an antiviral agent to protect against RV infection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.493-499
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• 2023

In this study we evaluated the immune-enhancing effects of β-glucan, the main component of Euglena gracilis (Euglena), and Euglena on inflammatory factor expression in RAW264.7 macrophages and ICR mice with cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression. Macrophages were treated with β-glucan or Euglena for 48 h. The β-glucan and Euglena groups exhibited higher levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase, nitric oxide, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α than the control (vehicle alone) group. Animals were fed saline and β-glucan (400 mg/kg body weight (B.W.)) or Euglena (400 or 800 mg/kg B.W.) for 19 days, and on days 17-19, cyclophosphamide (CCP, 80 mg/kg B.W.) was administered to induce immunosuppression in the ICR mouse model. CCP reduced the body weight, spleen index, and cytokine expression of the mice. To measure cytokine and receptor expression, splenocytes were treated with concanavalin A (ConA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a mitogen for 24 h. In vivo, ConA stimulation significantly upregulated the expression of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12 receptor β1, IL-1β, and IL-2 in splenocytes from the β-glucan- or Euglena-treated groups compared with those in the splenocytes from the CCP-treated group; LPS stimulation increased the levels of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in splenocytes from the β-glucan- or Euglena- treated groups compared with those from the CCP-treated group, but most of these differences were not significant. These results demonstrate the effect of Euglena in ameliorating macrophages and immunosuppression in CCP-treated mice. Thus, Euglena has the potential to enhance macrophage- and splenocyte- mediated immune-stimulating responses.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.191-202
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the anti-depressive effects of BanHaHuBakTang-kami (BHHBT) on an animal model of depression induced by chronic immobility stress. Methods: Mice were treated daily with immobilization stress for 2 hours over a period of 21 days. To examine the effect of BHHBT, we performed behavioral, biochemical and histological analysis to measure immobility time (FST), brain neurotransmitter concentration (HPLC, ELISA), hippocampal damage (H&E staining) and CRF-R1 expression (immunohistochemistry). Results: BHHBT has reduced the immobility time of immobilization stress exposed mice in the forced swimming test. BHHBT has increased the amount of serotonin in the brain. BHHBT has increased the expression level of serotonin in the brain. BHHBT 540 mg/kg were sufficient to prevent tissue damage in the hippocampus region. BHHBT has reduced the expression level of CRF receptors in the hippocampus region. Conclusions: These results suggest that BHHBT may have anti-depressive effects on mice treated with immobilization stress by reducing immobility, increasing brain serotonin concentration and reducing CRF-R1 expression in the hippocampus region.