• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.186-195
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• 2006

The present study was carried out to determine the involvement of opioid and non-opioid receptor and the effect of pH and enzymes on the recently reported antinociceptive activity of aqueous extract of Corchorus olitorius (AECO) leaves using the abdominal constriction test. The extract was prepared by soaking the dried powdered leaves of Corchorus (C.) olitorius in distilled water overnight, and the supernatant obtained was considered as a stock solution with 100% concentration/ strength. The extract, administered subcutaneously in the concentrations/ strength of 10, 50 and 100%, was found to show a significant concentration-independent antinociception. The 50% concentration AECO were further used to study on the above mentioned parameters. The extract exhibited: significant (P < 0.05) decreased in activity when pre-treated (s.c.) against 10 mg/kg naloxonazine, bicuculine (10 mg/kg), phenoxybenzamine (10 mg/kg), 10 mg/kg pindolol, and 5 mg/kg mecamylamme, but not 10 mg/kg naltrindole, 10 mg/kg atropine, respectively; significant (P < 0.05) decreased in activity after pre-treatment against 10% a-amylase, but not 1 % protease or 10% lipase and; significant (P < 0.05) decreased in activity after exposure to alkaline condition (pH between 9 and 13) while maintaining the activity at acidic condition, respectively. The C. olitorius leaves antinociception, which involved, at least in part, activation of $\mu-opioid,\;\alpha-and\;\beta-adrenergic$, and nicotinic receptors, was found to decrease under alkaline condition and in the presence of $\alpha-amylase$.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.279-285
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• 2015

Background: Korean Red Ginseng has been used as a traditional oriental medicine to treat illness and to promote health for several thousand years in Eastern Asia. It is widely accepted that ginseng saponins, ginsenosides, are the major active ingredients responsible for Korean Red Ginseng's therapeutic activity against many kinds of illness. Although the crude saponin fraction (CSF) displayed antiplatelet activity, the molecular mechanism of its action remains to be elucidated. Methods: The platelet aggregation was induced by collagen, the ligand of integrin ${\alpha}_{II}{\beta}_I$ and glycoprotein VI. The crude saponin's effects on granule secretion [e.g., calcium ion mobilization and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release] were determined. The activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), and p38 MAPK, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt was analyzed by immunoblotting. In addition, the activation of integrin ${\alpha}_{II}b{\beta}_{III}$ was examined by fluorocytometry. Results: CSF strongly inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation and ATP release in a concentration-dependent manner. It also markedly suppressed $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ mobilization in collagen-stimulated platelets. Immunoblotting assay revealed that CSF significantly suppressed ERK1/2, p38, JNK, PI3K, Akt, and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 phosphorylation. In addition, our fraction strongly inhibited the fibrinogen binding to integrin ${\alpha}_{IIb}{\beta}_3$. Conclusion: Our present data suggest that CSF may have a strong antiplatelet property and it can be considered as a candidate with therapeutic potential for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders involving abnormal platelet function.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.28-38
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• 2008

In traditional oriental medicine, Gentianae Radix has been used clinically for clearing away 'heat', removing dampness and purging fire in the liver and gall bladder. However, there has been a lack of studies regarding the effects of Gentianae Radix on the immunological activities. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Gentianae Radix on the regulatory effects of cytokines and nitric oxide(NO) for the immunological activities in Raw 264.7 cells. After the treatment of Gentianae Radix MeOH extract, cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and NO production was monitored by measuring the nitrite content in culture medium. The expression of COX-2 and iNOS was determined by immunoblot analysis, and the content of levels of cytokines in media was analyzed by ELISA kit. Results provided evidence that Gentianae Radix inhibited the production of nitrite and nitrate (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), $interleukin-l{\beta}$ $(IL-l{\beta})$ and IL-6, and the activation of phospholylation of inhibitor ${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ ($p-I {\kappa}B{\alpha}$) in Raw 264.7 cells activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These findings suggest that Gentianae Radix can make anti-inflammatory effect, which may playa role in adjunctive therapy.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.134-140
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• 2010

Dolichos biflorus Linn. (Fabaceae), commonly known as Horse gram is a medicinal plant, used in folk medicine for treating kidney stones and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of daily oral feeding of various doses of methanolic extract of Dolichos biflorus seeds (DB) for 42 days on blood glucose concentrations and kidney functions in Alloxan-diabetic rats. Plasma glucose levels, body weight, serum creatinine, and urinary albumin levels were monitored on $15^{th}$, $29^{th}$, $43^{rd}$ day. Renal hypertrophy was assessed as the ratio between the kidney weight and body weight of the rats. Plasma glucose concentrations in Alloxan-diabetic rats were significantly reduced by the administration of DB (350 mg/kg) and DB (700 mg/kg) on day 15 and onwards (P < 0.01). After 15 days of Alloxan administration urinary albumin levels (UAE) were over 5 fold higher in diabetic controls as compared to normal controls. Treatment with DB significantly prevented the rise in UAE levels from day 15 to 43 in comparison to diabetic controls (P < 0.01). Renal hypertrophy was significantly higher in diabetic controls as compared to non-diabetic controls. Treatments with DB (350 mg/kg) and DB (700 mg/kg) significantly prevented renal hypertrophy (P < 0.01) as compared to diabetic controls. DB (175 mg/kg) failed to modify renal hypertrophy. Thus the present study indicates that methanolic extract of Dolichos biflorus may be useful in management of hyperglycemia and kidney functions in Alloxan-diabetic rats.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.227-237
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• 2023

Objectives: Pharmacopuncture is considered a unique new type of acupuncture in Korean medicine (KM). This study was performed to investigate the research trends regarding pharmacopuncture through a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for this study. The search terms were pharmacopuncture and pharmaco-puncture. The search was conducted on May 23, 2023, and 185 studies retrieved up to this date were included. Software VOSviewer version 1.6.19 was used to perform the bibliometric analysis. After data clearing, keyword co-occurrence and cooperation pattern analyses were performed. Results: The number of studies on pharmacopuncture have gradually increased since the mid-2000s, with the most published in 2020 (46 studies). The quality of the studies has also steadily increased, and recently, several randomized controlled trials of pharmacopuncture have been conducted. Moreover, this treatment has been investigated in the context of KM clinical practice guideline development in Korea. The scope of pharmacopuncture studies to date seems to be limited to musculoskeletal pain and bee venom pharmacopuncture. The researchers from Jaseng Medical Foundation have been the core researchers in the field of pharmacopuncture in Korea. They collaborated with researchers from universities or government-funded research institutes. However, small-scale research teams from KM clinics and university researchers were also identified as independent clusters. Conclusion: Pharmacopuncture research has grown both quantitatively and qualitatively, but the scope needs to be further expanded. There is also a gap between the use of pharmacopuncture by KM doctors in clinical settings and pharmacopuncture research. Based on these findings, some suggestions for future studies in this field are discussed. Furthermore, these findings may be used as data to expand and globalize pharmacopuncture research in the future.

• THE JOURNAL OF KOREAN ORIENTAL ONCOLOGY
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.19-32
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• 1999

To evaluate the antitumor activity and antimetastatic effects of Kamigumgusingihwan(KGSH) studies have ken done. The results were obtained as follows: 1. KGSH extracts exhibited a weak cytotoxicity against A549, SK-OV-3, B16-F10, and SK-MEL-2 cell lines. But exhibited potent cytotoxicity against P388 cell line in a dose-dependent manner. 2. The concentration inhibiting adhesion of A549, to complex extracellular matrix up to below 30% of control was recognized at $10^{-3}g/ml$ of KGSH 3. KGSH extracts showed a weak inhibitoty effect on DNA topo-isomerase I from calf thymus. 4. The T/C% was 137% in KGSH treated group in S-180 bearing ICR mice. 5. In pulmonary colonization assay, a number of colonies in the lungs were decreased significantly in KGSH treated group as compared with control group. 6. In hematological changes in B16-BL6 injected C57BL/6, numbers of WBC were decreased insignificantly in KGSH treated groups, and also those of platelet were increased insignificantly in KGSH treated groups as compared with control. 7. In CAM assay, KGSH extracts inhibited angiogenesis at $15{\mu}g/egg $concentration significantly as compared with control. Taken together these results, it is strongly demonstrated that KGSH significantly suppressed tumor metastasis by blocking cell adhesion to extracellular matrix. Therefore, KGSH is expected to be clinically a potent antimetastatic drug for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.7 no.1 s.12
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• pp.22-31
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• 2003

Conventional stimulus patterns have used DC for discrimination of acupoint and meridian which is the basic object of diagnosis and medical treatment in oriental medicine. Those discriminate conduction points by stimulation on body skin with DC. But, it is insufficient to reliability in discrimination ratio, coincident ratio, body effect, reproductivity. Therefore, this paper has extracted the optimal parameter of frequency and waveform in order to improve conventional pattern, and proposed the SPAC(Single Power Alternative Current) stimulus pattern applying that. Also, We proposes algorithm which is able to discriminate with low pressure of the electrode by displaying in the level meter both the absolution and relation value of the skin current. It can decrease pain and body effect by electrode pressure and discriminate acupoint regardless of skin current in difficult discrimination spot. We have compared the performance of system applying the extracted optimal parameter and algorithm. We have compared discrimination, coincident ratio of both conduction point and traditional acupoints by acupoint stimulation pattern. In the results, we confirmed reliability of SPAC stimulus pattern.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.381-386
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• 2012

Eucommia ulmoides OLIVER (EU) is a traditional Korean herbal used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the present study, the molecular pharmacology basis of its anti-inflammatory effect is revealed in this work, EU was studied in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophage cells (RAW 264.7) as an established inflammation model. After activation, nitric oxide (NO) production and iNOS mRNA were measured by using a colorimetric assay (Griess reagent), and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. The change in the content of $PGE_2$, $TNF{\alpha}$, and IL-6 was concurrently monitored by ELISA. In results, we found that in the concentration range without showing cytotoxicity, EU produced a remarkable anti-inflammatory effect and showed a dose-dependent inhibition of LPSinduced NO production. Compared with indomethacin, EU has more potency and a specific action of NO inhibition, $PGE_2$, IL-6, and TNF-${\alpha}$ inhibition. These results suggest that EU may be a suitable herbal medicine to yield the greatest anti-inflammatory activity for food additives and medicine.

• THE JOURNAL OF KOREAN ORIENTAL ONCOLOGY
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.43-56
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• 1996

The sprig of Sojekbojungwhan(消積保中丸) has been used for curing as a traditional medicine without any experimental evidence to support the rational basis for their clinical use. This experiment was carried out to evaluate the possible therapeutic or antitumoral effects of Sojekbojungwhan extract against cancer, and to study some mechanisms responsible for its effect. The cytotoxic and antitumor effects were evaluated on human cell lines(A549, hep3B, Caki-1, Sarcoma 180) after esposure to Sojekbojungwhan extract using in ILS, colony forming efficiency and SRB assay which were regarded as a valuable method for cytotoxic and antitumor effects of unknown compound on tumor cell lines. The results obtained in this studies were as follows. 1. As a result of exposure to Sojekbojungwhan extract, the proliferation of A549, hep3B, Caki-1, good correlations were shown from the results of SRB assay and those of clogenetic assay. 2. The oral administration of Sojekbojungwhan extact showed significant effects of increase of MST(mean survival time) and ILS(increased life span) depending on the increasing concentration. 3. Against squamous cell carcinoma induced by MCA, Sojekbojungwhan decreased not only the frequency of tumor production but also the number and weight of tumors per tumor bearing mice(TBM). Sojekbojungwhan also significantly suppressed the development of 3LL cell-implanted tumors by frequency and their size, and some developed tumors were regressed by the continuous treatment of Sojekbojungwhan extract into TBM. 4. Sojekbojungwhan extract also increased NK cell activities. According to the above results, it could be suggested that Sojekbojungwhan extract has some antitumor effects.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.12-32
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• 2016

Objectives : The objective of this study is to develop the strategies of the psoriasis clinical trials guideline on Korean medicine by comparison between Clinical guidelines and domestic and foreign clinical trials papers of psoriasis on Korean medicine. Methods : This study is based on analysis of papers on Clinical trials guidelines, Clinical practice guideline and clinical trials about Korean medicine. The papers were searched from Pubmed, Medline, Oasis(Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System), Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal and Google portal database. Results : A total 8 Clinical practice guidelines and 2 Clinical trials guidelines were found. Moreover, there were 15 foreign papers about clinical trials and 29 internal articles about case studies. They suggested the diagnostic strategy, classification, effective outcome measure, severity measure, precaution of combination therapy, precaution and treatment period of clinical trials, safety evaluation, patterns of Korean Medicine, clinical specific features on psoriasis.Conclusions : The criteria of every item to provide the clinical trials guideline using Korean medicine on psoriasis were developed by apply the results. If we accumulate the more clinical articles on Korean medicine, it will be great help to develop the reliable standard of that guideline.