• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 2003

General phannacological properties of IH-901, a new pharmacological composition as an intestinal metabolite formed from ginseng protopanaxadiol saponins, were investigated in experimental animals administered orally and in vitro test system. IH-901 had no effects on general behavior, pentobarbital sleeping time, spontaneous motor activity, motor coordination of mice, normal body temperature, chemoshock produced by pentylenetetrazole and writhing syndromes induced by 0.8％ acetic acid at the dose of 25 and 250 mg/kg. Gastric secretion of rats and intestinal motility in mice were not also influenced by the administration of IH-901 at doses of 25 and 250 mg/kg. IH-901 (25 and 250 mg/kg) did not change the mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate in conscious rats. IH-901 had no effect on the respiratory rate at the same doses when it was given to anesthetized rats. In in vitro experiments, IH-90l at the concentration of 25$\mu\textrm{g}$/L did not show any direct effect and inhibitory or augmentative action on the histamine-or acetylcholine-induced contractions in the isolated ileum of guinea-pig. Based on these results, it was concluded that IH-901 did not induce any adverse effects in experimental animals.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2003

General pharmacological properties of ADP, a new pharmaceutical composition, which contains a mixed water extract obtained from the mixture of Phellodendron cortex (Phellodendron amurense) and Anemarrhena rhizoma (Anemarrhena asphodeloides), as the active ingredients, were investigated in experimental animals administering orally and in vitro test system. ADP had no influences on general behavior, pentobarbital sleeping time, spontaneous motor activity, motor coordination of mice, normal body temperature, chemoshock produced by pentylenetetrazole and writhing syndromes induced by 0.8% acetic acid at the dose of 150 and 1500 mg/kg. Gastric secretion of rats and intestinal motility of mice were not also influenced by the administration of ADP at doses of 150 and 1500 mg/kg, with the exception of the significant decrease of free HCI concentration at a dose of 1500 mg/kg in rats. ADP (150 and 1500 mg/kg) did not alter mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate in conscious rats. ADP given to anesthetized rats showed no effect on respiratory rate at the same doses. In in vitro experiments, ADP at the concentration of 150 mg/L did not show direct effect and inhibitory or augmentative action on histamine- or acetylcholine-induced contractions in the isolated ileum of guinea-pig. Taken together, these results indicate that ADP does not induce any adverse effects in experimental animals.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.34-38
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• 2006

The hot water extract of the seeds of Vernonia anthelmintica Kuntze (Compositae) in a dose of 10 ml/kg body weight of mice, showed significant analgesic activity on the hot plate analgesic method throughout the 4 h experimental period. The hole cross scores and the climbing out scores are of lower than the control animals. The hot water extract reduced the defecation in hole board study and significantly reduces the exploratory ambulation and head dipping behaviour. The seed also showed significant depressant activity on the exploratory ambulation of the open field scores. The drug decreased the spontaneous locomotion activity on brick-chip displacement method up to 45 min and also showed the ability to lessen the amphetamine induced hyperactivity up to 20 min. But it didn't show any effect on pentobarbital induced sleeping time test. The extract reduced gastrointestinal motility.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.813-817
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• 2005

We investigated the effect of a viscous substance from chongkukjang (chongkukjang mucilage) on immunohistochemical reactions in rat gastrointestinal (GI) tracts, Rats fed a steady diet of chongkukjang mucilage showed an increase in the immunoreactive densities of gastrin and serotonin in the pyloric region of their stomachs and duodenal villi, The number of gastrin and serotonin immunoreactive cells was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. Feeding on dietary chongkukjang mucilage increased the immunohistochemical densities of $CD4^+$ and $CD8^+$ lymphocytes in the mucosa and submucosa of the rats' gastroduodenal region. The universal nitric oxide synthase (uNOS)-immunoreactive neurons and nerve fibers were strongly stained in the vascular walls of the submucosa and myenteric plexus in rats fed the test diet. The results indicate that the intake of chongkukjang mucilage could increase mucosal immune activity, gastrointestinal motility, and blood circulation in the GI tract.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2012

Flavobacterium johnsoniae was isolated from farmed rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in Korea, and its biochemical and molecular characterization was determined. Yellow-pigmented bacterial colonies were isolated from 18 of 64 fish samples (28.1%) on trypticase soy agar plates, and their biochemical profiles were characterized by API 20E and API 20NE test kits. F. johnsoniae was identified by biochemical phenotyping of factors including rapid gliding motility, Gram-negative condition, oxidase- and catalase-positive status, Congo red absorption, nitrate reduction, ${\beta}$-galactosidase production, acid production from glucose, and gelatin and casein hydrolysis. PCR and subsequent sequencing of 16S rRNA confirmed that the yellow-pigmented colonies were most similar to F. johnsoniae. The alignment analysis of 16S rRNA sequences also showed that all 18 rainbow trout isolates had highly similar homologies (97-99% identity). One isolate was selected and named FjRt09. This isolate showed 98% homology with previously reported F. johnsoniae isolates, and in phylogenetic analysis was more closely grouped with F. johnsoniae than with F. psychrophilum, F. columnare, or F. branchiophilum. This is the first report on the occurrence and biochemical characterization of F. johnsoniae isolated from rainbow trout in Korea.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.184-189
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• 1996

General pharmacological studies of LB20304a (a mesylate salt form of a new quinolone antibiotic LB20304 following oral administration of 300 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg, almost maximum tolerance dose in mice and rat, respectively, were performed in terms of effects on general behaviour, central nervous system, gastrointestinal system, and blood coagulation system in mice and rats. With regards to general behaviour of mice, at oral dose of 300 mg/kg, LB20304a reduced muscle tone and locomotor activity. In terms of CNS, at oral treatment of 300 mg/kg, LB20304a showed some analgesic effects in mice, and oral dose of 1000 mg/kg caused drop in normal body temperature of rat, while it enhanced the pentylenetetrazole-induced clonic convulsion to tonic convulsion and/or death in mice at the doses of unto 300 mg/kg. In addition, LB20304a increased hexobarbital-induced sleeping time two and three times in mice at oral doses of 20 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg, respectively. Rota-rod and traction test in mice were not influenced by the dose of 300 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively. LB20304a reduced gastric secretion of rat at dose of 1000 mg/kg, and increased intestinal motility of mice at dose of 300 mg/kg. In rats, blood coagulation index, such as PT (prothrombin time) and aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) were not affected by the treatment of upto 1000 mg/kg of LB 20304a.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.124-131
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• 2016

The toxic responses of flagellate Euglena agilis Carter to 8 heavy metals (Ag, Cd, Cr (VI), Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) were measured using E. agilis system (E-Tox), an automated biomonitoring system. The E-Tox measures cell movement parameters, such as velocity, motility, and forms of the cells, as biological endpoints. $EC_{50}$ values from the E. agilis biomonitoring test were compared with the literature data from the tests with Daphnia magna, Vibrio fischeri and Euglena gracilis. Measurement of the E. agilis movement behavior and D. magna acute toxicity test were also conducted for the wastewater samples. E. agilis is less sensitive than D. magna but is comparable to or more sensitive than V. fischeri and E. gracilis for the heavy metals tested in this study. E. agilis shows prompt changes of these parameters for the toxic metal plating wastewater. Major advantages of the E-tox are automatic, easy to handle and fast ecotoxicity monitoring system compared to other biological test systems. These results imply that E. agilis biomonitoring test using E-Tox can be a putative ecotoxicity test as a good early warning tool for the monitoring of toxic wastewater.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 1992

From December 1991 to March 1992, 34 anejacuratory patients with spinal cord injury underwent 90 of electric stimulations with Seager NRH model 12. The average patient age was 43.5 years with a range of 23 to 48 years. The level of cord injury was cervical in 7, thoracic in 6, lumbar in 11, lumbosacral in 7 and conus medullaris in 3. The average number of electric stimulation per a patient was 2.65 with a range of 1 to 4. The average voltage and amplitude per a stimulation were 17.72 volts and 309. 89 mAmp with ranges of 5 to 25 volts and 50 to 500 mAmp. The total and motile sperm number were evaluated microscopically and analyzed statistically by paired t-test according to the frequency of electroejaculation, level of cord injury and voiding pattern. The results were obtained as follows. 1. An overall success rate of electroejaculation was 85.3% among 34 patients and 82.2% among 90 electric stimulations. 2. The total and motile sperm number per a stimulation were not correlated the frequency of electric stimulation, level of cord injury and voiding pattern. 3. Complications occured in 10 cases; severe low abdominal pain in 5, hypertension in 2, sweating in 1, headache in 1 and neck stiffness in 1. All the copmlications subsided spontaneously within 5 to 10 minutes after transient interruption of the electric stimulation. In summary, rectal probe electroejaculation is an accepted safe means of procuring sperm from spinal cord injury patients with ejaculatory incompetence. However very poor sperm motility was found and it was not related with the frequency of electroejaculation, level of cord injury and voiding pattern. Further investigation would be needed to conclude and to identify the reasons for impaired sperm motility.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.577-583
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• 2007

It is important to obtain semen with good quality for efficient fertilization and pregnancy. To obtain these semen, various methods have been developed but most of these methods are time consuming and require costly equipment. Therefore, the objective of this research is to investigate the usability of column filtration system as quick and simple method to get sperm with better quality. Ejaculates were obtained from 5 dogs and analyzed with basic quality parameters before each filtration. Sperm concentration was adjusted to $5{\times}10^7/ml$ after dilution. The experimental groups were divided into non-filtered group(control) and filtered groups(glass wool, Sephadex 5% and Sephadex 20%). Ejaculates were filtered through each filter system and assessed by recovery rate of sperm, motility, normal morphology, CFDA/PI stain and plasma membrane integrity(hypo-osmotic swelling test, HOST). The lowest recovery rate of spermatozoa was recorded in glass wool filtration group, followed by 20% Sephadex filtration group(p<0.05). There was no significant difference between control(non-filtered) and 5% Sephadex filtration poop. Also, there was no significant difference of sperm motility assessed under light microscope among experimental groups. Morphological normality of canine spermatozoa was the highest in the glass wool filtration group and the lowest in the 5% Sephadex filtration group with no significant differences versus 20% Sephadex filtration and control group, respectively(p<0.05). Viability of canine sperm assessed by CFCA/PI staining was the highest in the glass wool filtration poop with no significant difference versus the control group, and the lowest in the 20% Sephadex filtration group with no significant difference versus 5% Sephadex filtration group, respectively(p<0.05). HOS values of canine sperm was the highest in the 20% Sephadex filtration group with no significant difference versus 5% Sephadex filtration group, and the lowest in the control poop with no significant difference versus glass wool filtration group, respectively(p<0.05). Therefore, these results indicated that filtration treatment for extended canine sperm would be useful method to get sperm with better quality by trapping the damaged sperm, consequently filter would be physical barrier against injured or immotile sperm.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2002

The objectives of this study were to understand the possible mechanism of duck sperm toxicity induced by arsenic exposure in vivo, and to investigate the roles of the antioxidant L-ascorbic acid in ameliorating the arsenic-induced sperm impairment. To test the acute toxicity, the percentages of mortality of mature drakes treated with different concentrations of trivalent sodium arsenite, As (III), and pentavalent sodium arsenate, As (V) were measured. The LD50 value of As (III) for mature drakes was $4.89{\pm}1.49$ ppm. Although As (V) didn't cause any deaths even at a concentration of 40 ppm, the chronic toxicity of As (V) on sperm quality was shown by a decreased fertilization rate. When the concentrations of As (V) were above 0.4 ppm, fertilization rates were lower than those of 0.04 ppm and control. Drakes treated with 40 ppm of As (V) had the highest malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the testis tissue, $3.100{\pm}0.218{\mu}mole/g$ testis. This showed that 40 ppm of As (V) significantly induced lipid peroxidation in testis tissue. For the 1.2 ppm As (III) treatment, several significant effects were observed: (1) sperm motility was decreased most dramatically by $52.0{\pm}9.1$% after three days of incubation; (2) fertilization rate of artificially inseminated semen was the lowest, $26.4{\pm}15.4$; (3) the MDA concentration in testis tissue, $7.846{\pm}0.246{\mu}mole/g$ testis, was significantly higher than the others (p<0.05); (4) the sperm number, $1.17{\pm}0.40({\times}10^9)$, was significantly lower than with the 60 ppb and control treatments (p<0.05); (5) a black appearance and soft texture was observed in the testis tissue. The antioxidant L-ascorbic acid administered along with 1.2 ppm As (III) decreased the toxicity of arsenic. The ameliorating effects included: improved sperm motility, increased sperm number and fertilization rate, and decreased MDA concentration in the testis tissue. This study suggests that the toxicity of the trivalent arsenic on sperm quality is partly from free radicals generated by its metabolic pathway, and the antioxidant ascorbic acid ameliorates arsenic-caused sperm impairment.