• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.637-641
• /
• 2002

In order to convert the one ryang of Guizhi-tang into the modern weights and measures, herbs whose dose was expressed by number in Treatise on Feverile Disease of Zhongjing were measured actually. The results obtained are as follows. 1. Size of Jujubae fructus in Guizhi-tang is an average and if remove the seed, 12 Jujubae fructuses corresponds to 20g. These weights are the same as Belamcandae Rhizoma, Persicae Semen, Gleditsiae Fructus, Gardeniae Fructus and Armeniacae amarum Semen whose dose was expressed by number in Treatise on Feverile Disease of Zhongjing. If one ryang corresponds to 6.5g, 20g corresponds to three ryang. If one ryang corresponds to 15.6g, 20g corresponds to 1.3 ryang. When herbs were added in Guizhi-tang, the used weights were two more ryang. Almost unit of weights in Formulae of Zhongjing is the constantly multiplied. 2. Half sheng(升) of Pinelliae Rhizomae is 15 Pinelliae Rhizomas and corresponds to two and a half ryang. 14 Pinelliae Rhizomas are contained in 50 mL egg. 3.1 geun(斤), maximal amount of Gypsum Fibrosum and amount of one egg are the same weight supposing one ryang corresponds to 6.5g. 4. 2 ryang of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma is the 6.8 balls(碁子) of baduk and similar as 5-6 balls of baduk of Jisilchijasi-Tang. 5. General dose of Glycyrrhizae Radix is two ryang and 20mL, the size of thumb is 13g. 6. Half geun approaches the 3 flattened spoons. Consequently the presumption that one ryang in Guizhi-tang is 15.6g is wrong. One ryang is assumed as 6.5g.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.306-313
• /
• 2012

Herbal medicines are medicinal products containing a single or a mixture of two or more different herbal substances or herbal preparations as active principles. Recently, much attention has been paid to developing various kinds of fermented herbal extracts, a new type of traditional herbal medicine in the field of Korean traditional medicine. The fermentation of medicinal herbs is intended to exert a favorable influence on bioestability, bioavaliablilty and pharmacological activity of herbal extract in the gastrointestinal tract as well as intensifying the nutritional and pharmacological aspects of the medicinal herbs. The purpose of this study was to investigate biological activities of fermented Rehmanniae Radix by lactic acid bacteria at $30^{\circ}C$ for 3 days in comparison with those for Rehmanniae Radix The fermented Rehmanniae Radix exhibited different chemical profile to Rehmanniae Radix generated with HPLC, indicating production of new ingredients during fermentation. Rehmanniae Radix served as good nutritional sources for the growth of lactic acid bacteria showing increased number of bacteria during fermentation. Toxic effect of the fermented Rehmanniae Radix to cells were not seen judged by the MTT assay. The fermented Rehmanniae Radix exhibited better antioxidant effect than non-fermented Rehmanniae Radix analyzed by a SOD-likely assay. Both hypoglycemic and hypotensive effects of the fermented Rehmanniae Radix were also detected and better than those for Rehmanniae Radix in showing dose-dependent inhibitory effects on alpha-glucosidase and ACE, respectively. In conclusion, fermented Rehmanniae Radix appears to have more biological activities than non-feremented Rehmanniae Radix showing not only antioxidant effect but also cardiovascular protection.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.607-611
• /
• 2008

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces the synthesis of several inflammatory cytokine, chemokine, NO and inflammation in the liver of rats. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preventive effects of Houttuynia cordata Thunb and Oriental herbs mixture extract (HCTM) against the hepatotoxicity-inducing LPS in the lipid metabolism. HCTM of 100 mg/kg concentration was intra-peritoneally administered into rats at dose of 1.5 ml/kg for 20 days. On the day 21, 1.5 ml/kg of LPS was injected 4 hours before anesthetization. The levels of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), total lipid, triglyceride (TG) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured in serum. LPS-treatment markedly increased the levels of GOT, GPT, total lipid and TG, and decreased the level of HDL-C. However, HCTM pretreatment decreased the levels of GOT, GPT, total lipid and TG by 76.8%, 55.48%, 34.04% and 76.21% respectively, and increased the level of HDL-C by 97.84%. These results showed that HCTM had the protective effect against the hepatotoxicity-inducing LPS in the lipid metabolism, and it suggest that HCTM could be used for functional beverage.

• Herbal Formula Science
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.167-181
• /
• 1999

Rhizoma Arisaematis, Lignum Akebiae, Rhizoma Zedoariae, Cortex Eucommiae, Folium Perillae, Radix Sophorae Subprostratae, Radixi, Radix Ledeboutriellae, Rhizoma Atractylodis, Herba Ephedrae, Radix Puerariae and Radi Aconitx Bupleuri have been used in Korea for many centuries as a treatment for various disease. The purpose of the present study is to determine the effect of several herbs on norepinephrine(NE) induced blood vessel contraction in rabbits and pigs. Rabbit(2 kg, male) were killed by $CO_2$ exposure and a segment (8-10mm) of each rabbit was cut into equal segments and mounted in a tissue bath. Contractile force was measured with force displacement transducers under 2-3 g loading tension. The dose of norepinephrine(NE) which evoked 50% of maximal response $(ED_{50})$ was obtained from cumulative dose response curves for NE $(10^{-6}{\sim}10^{-3}M)$. Contractions evoked by NE $(ED_{50})$ were inhibited significantly by Rhizoma Arisaematis, Lignum Akebiae, Rhizoma Zedoariae, Cortex Eucommiae, Folium Perillae, Radix Sophorae Subprostratae and Herba Ephedrae in abdominal aorta. Contractions evoked by NE $(ED_{50})$ were inhibited significantly be Lignum Akebiae, Rhizoma Zedoariae, Cortex Eucommiae, Herba Ephedrae, Radix Puerariae and Radix Bupleuri in femoral artery. Contractions evoked by NE $(ED_{50})$ were inhibited significantly by Radix Sophorae Subprostratae, Radix Aconiti and Herba Ephedrae in renal artery. These results indicate that each herb can relax NE induced contraction of rabbit and pig blood vessel selectively, and that this relaxation relates to Gui-Gyung(歸經).

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.220-233
• /
• 1998

This study was made to objectify the principle of oriental medical prescriptions so that we could obtain the principle and the formulation of them For that purpose, we analysed the formula and rule of 205 prescriptions recorded in Gum-goe-yo-rak, which have a few of components, and are widely used in clinical from ancient times to these days. At first we classified those prescriptions by their effect. Then we re-classified the herbs of the effect groups into four natures (cold, hot, warm and cool) and five kinds of flavors (sour, bitter, sweet, acrid and salty). And we classified the herbs into three grades - superior, medium, and inferior - which were used in Shen Nong's Herbal Classic. By these means, we statistically evaluated the prescriptions recorded in Gum-goe-yo-rak based on the Four Regular Components(Monarch, Minister, Assistant, and Laborer). As a result we could obtain some facts about the prescriptions recorded in Gum-goe-yo-rak, those are what kind of herbal material was used frequently and distribution of the natures flavors and grades according to thier effects. And we are sure that these results can be great help for establishment of fundamental formulation of theory of traditional herbal medicinal polyprescription.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.141-149
• /
• 2010

A concern of safety issue for traditional herbal medicine is the possibility of some herbs containing heavy metals responsible for several cases of metal poisoning. In our previous study, the physiological levels of heavy metals, such as Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb, were examined to evaluate a potential risk in patients taking herbal medicine. In this study, the levels of 12 heavy metals, including non-metallic element, Se, were analyzed in hair and compared to the results from the previous study. In the previous study, the levels of Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb in hair showed a significantly lower odds ratio than 1. In this study, however, all metals did not show any significant odds ratio higher or lower than 1 even if 5 of 12 metals showed lower odds ratio than 1. In addition, the levels of metal concentrations, especially for Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn, exceeding the WHO reference values were observed in hair. However, any evidence for metal accumulation in hair caused by taking herbal medicines for long duration was not observed in analysis of multiple regression and odds ratio from case-control study. This result would show another possibility for a role of herbs as a non-enzymatic chelator inhibiting the gastrointestinal absorption of heavy metals.

• Integrative Medicine Research
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.67-73
• /
• 2014

Background: The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3)is constitutively activated in many human cancers. It promotes tumor cell proliferation,inhibits apoptosis, induces angiogenesis and metastasis, and suppresses antitumor hostimmune responses. Therefore, Stat3 has emerged as a promising molecular target for cancertherapies. In this study, we evaluated the Stat3-suppressive activity of 38 herbal medicinestraditionally used in Korea.Methods: Medicinal herb extracts in 70% ethanol were screened for their ability to suppressStat3 in the A549 human lung cancer cell line. A Stat3-responsive reporter assay system wasused to detect intracellular Stat3 activity in extract-treated cells, and Western blot analyseswere performed to measure the expression profiles of Stat3-regulated proteins.Results: Fifty percent of the 38 extracts possessed at least mild Stat3-suppressive activities(i.e., activity less than 75% of the vehicle control). Ethanol extracts of Bupleurum falcatumL., Taraxacum officinale Weber, Solanum nigrum L., Ulmus macrocarpa Hance, Euonymus alatusSieb., Artemisia capillaris Thunb., and Saururus chinensis (Lour.) Baill inhibited up to 75% of thevehicle control Stat3 activity level. A549 cells treated with these extracts also had reducedBcl-xL, Survivin, c-Myc, and Mcl-1 expression.Conclusion: Many medicinal herbs traditionally used in Korea contain Stat3 activity-suppressing substances. Because of the therapeutic impact of Stat3 inhibition, these resultscould be useful when developing novel cancer therapeutics from medicinal herbs.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.53-61
• /
• 2011

Objective : This study reports one case of urachal cancer patient treated with oriental medicine. Methods : One patient who was diagnosed with stage IVB urachal cancer was admitted and treated using different modalities of herbs, acupuncture, and pharmacopuncture. An herbal formula, Hang-Am Plus, Myun-Yuk Plus, and Nobongbiki-jung was given three times a day with daily acupuncture treatment session, in addition to Sweet bee venum pharmacopuncture injection which were administered two~three times a week. After treatment, patient's symptoms and blood test results were observed and analyzed. Results : During treatment, symptoms and laboratory findings of patient were maintained in stable condition about 4 months, and the patient survived during 22 months after operation (5.5 months after oriental medicine treatment). Conclusions : This case study shows minimum evidence of efficacy of oriental medicine for managing symptoms of urachal cancer. Considering this is only single case study, further research is needed to confirm these results.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.127-133
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this study is to develop the order communication system for Traditional Korean Medicine(TKM) which can support prescribing decisions and provide the toxicological information. The relative vulnerability of the infrastructure of TKM has made us start the study. We carried out the benchmarking for TKM charting solution firstly, and then designed the intelligent search and supporting method for prescription decisions. We developed of the medical herbs database and the web-based order communication program which can be used in medical field actually. This system supplies a various functions to oriental medical doctors such as management for prescription history, search for herb's effects, generating prescriptions, inventory management, alerting of toxicity and taboo, guideline for taking medicine, and so on. The design and implementation process has been described in this research. We expect that this system will play an important role in electronic medical record(EMR) or electronic health record(EHR) binding diagnosis and management functions.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.10-19
• /
• 2017

Objective: This study reviewed experimental studies on the effects of Korean medical treatment for diabetes mellitus (DM). Method: We reviewed 24 studies about DM that had been published since 2013. We searched the Korean Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) database with the keyword '당뇨', '消渴', 'Diabetes'. Results: 1. The studies used various Korean medicine treatments; 15 used single medicinal herbs, 6 used herbal complexes, and 2 used acupuncture. 2. The measurement parameters used in the studies included blood glucose, body weight, histochemical change, lipid parameters, and food/water intake. Anti-diabetic effects were demonstrated in most of the studies. 3. The experimental animals used were rats or mice. There were 15 type 1 diabetes models, 7 type 2 diabetes models, and one normal model. Among them, 13 cases of chemical diabetes induced by Streptozotosin (STZ, type 1 diabetes inducer) were the most common. Conclusion: Further articles on Korean medical treatment of DM should be studied.