• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.416-421
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• 2006

Among the oriental medicine compounds, sulfur is known as a heat-generation material in a human body. Heat-generation reaction results in the consumption of energy source. Some oriental herbs are used to treat obesity and blood lipid composition. Therefore, we hypothesized that a sulfur containing oriental medicine compound, called as Hangbisan, could help weight loss of experimental rats. This study was designed to observe the change of weight of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats that had been fed with high-fat diet containing 10% cellulose or Hangbisan for 9 weeks. Hangbisan affected the weight loss of rats as reducing the level of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride and increasing the level of HDL-cholesterol. Thus, this study revealed Hangbisan have an anti-obesity effect and a potential role for anti-obesity agent in the application of oriental medicine compounds.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.7-16
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• 2005

Objectives : Scrophulariae Radix (SRE) is commonly used in combination with other herbs as a nutrient and health strengthening agent, and to remove 'heat' and replenish vital essence. The water-based extract of this herb can lower blood pressure in both anesthetized and concious animals, and exhibits an anti-inflammatory activity. But, there is lack of studies regarding the effects of SRE on the immunological activities in molecular levels. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of SRE on the regulatory mechanism of cytokines and nitric oxide (NO) in Raw 264.7 cells. Method : After the treatment of Scrophulariae Radix methanol extract, cell viability was measured by MTT assay, NO production was monitored by measuring the nitrite content in culture medium. COX-2 and iNOS were determined by Immunoblot analysis, and levels of cytokine were analyzed by sandwich immunoassays. Results : Results provided evidence that SRE inhibited the production of nitrite and nitrate (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), $interleukin-1{\beta}\;(IL-1{\beta})$ and interleukin-6 (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). Conclusion : These findings suggest that Scrophulariae Radix can produce anti-inflammatory effect, which may playa role in adjunctive therapy in Gram-negative bacterial infections.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.509-517
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• 2008

Gyejijakyakjimo-tang is a multi-herbal formula that is composed of nine medicinal herbs. Gyejijakyakjimo-tang has been reported to have antipyretic and analgesic effects. Gyejijakyakjimo-tang has traditionally been used for goat and rheumatoid arthritis. However, analgesic and antiinflammatory effects of Gyejijakyakjimo-tang has not been clarified yet. In this study, we investigated the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of the aqueous extract of Gyejijakyakjimo-tang. We evaluated the aqueous extract of Gyejijakyakjimo-tang on Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in murine raw 264.7 macrophage cells. For this study, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) immunoassay, and nitric oxide (NO) detection were performed. Gyejijakyakjimo-tang suppressed $PGE_2$ synthesis and NO production by inhibiting the LPS-induced expressions of COX-2 and iNOS mRNA in murine raw 264.7 macrophage cells. These results show that Gyejijakyakjimo-tang has the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect by mostly suppressing COX-2 and iNOS expressions, and resulting in the inhibition of $PGE_2$ synthesis and NO production.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.75-88
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• 2007

Objective : This study was designed to test the anti-craving effect of Gigaltang(extracts of Oriental medicinal herbs ; Hovenia dulcis and Puerariae flos) in C57BL/6 mice. Anti-craving effect was substituted by alcohol intake amount of C57BL/6 mice. Method : 60 C57BL/6 mice was randomized into vehicle(water) group and Gigaltang group. Only 39(vehicle group(21) and Gigaltang group(18)) was eligible for this study, and 21 C57BL/6 mice was dropped out. The procedure was composed of 5 days of adjustment period and 32 days of alcohol exposure and withdrawal period with limited access paradigm and 10 days of treatment period. Alcohol was offered only for 2 hours a day from 2 to 4PM and water was offered for 22 hours left. Food was offered for 24 hours a day. 1140mg/Kg/day of Gigaltang was administrated to 18 mice of Gigaltang group for 10 days whereas water to 21 mice of vehicle group. The amount of alcohol intake, water intake, food intake, body weight were measured every other day. Result : There weren't significant differences in 2 hours of alcohol intake, 22 hours of water intake, 24 hours of food intake and body weight for ten days between Gigaltang and vehicle group. Conclusion : Anti-craving effect of Gigaltang on C57BL/6 mice wasn't verified. To verify the anti-craving effect, further study with advanced animal model, various dose of Gigaltang and diverse period of drug administration should be taken.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.533-542
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• 2010

Skin aging is a natural phenomenon. There are internal and external factors of skin aging. The internal factor of skin aging is from the wearing down of the body over time. The external factors are more noticeable from habits such as smoking, excessive alcohol, malnutrition, and extended exposure to UV rays. Completely stopping skin from aging is impossible but one can slow down and treat external signs of skin aging. In western medicine, the following methods are used to reduce the appearance of skin aging: applying lotions and creams containing ingredients such as fruit acid, antioxidants, plant exracts, depigmentation, moisturizer, retinoids, and sun block; botulinum toxin injections; chemical peels, laser and other painful methods remove the top layer of skin to promote new skin growth; fillers are injected to increase soft tissue growth; surgery. In oriental medicine, the following methods are used: acupuncture into facial muscles which stimulates acupuncture point; applying topical treatments and cosmetics containing herbs are effective of preventing skin aging and wrinkles. Above all thing, medicine that helps maintain essence and blood in the skin can be fundamental.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.610-615
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• 2010

Alcohol is the most widely psychoactive drug and has known in almost all civilization since ancient time. Recently increase consuming alcoholic beverages, alcohol is on of the major public health problems in the world. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) play important roles in the metabolism of alcohols and aldehydes. The drink consists of medicinal herbs, Puerariae Radix, Phyllostachyos Folium, Citri Pericarpium, Polygonati Rhizoma, Rehmanniae Rhizoma (Vinegar), which have been widely used in oriental medicine. This study was designed to investigate effects of medicinal herbal drink (MHD) on alcohol metabolism in drunken SD rats subjects. In experiment, rats were treated to ethanol (EtOH, 3 g/kg, PO) at 60 min. after saline (CON) or MHD (1 ml/kg, PO) administration. The blood alcohol concentration (BAC), blood acetaldehyde concentration (BALC) activities of ADH, ALDH, AST and ALT were significantly decreased in MHD group than in control group as a time-dependent manner. And drinking water volume in MHD group with duplicate treatment, were significantly decreased than in CON group. These results suggested that MHD intake could give an influence upon the reduction in BAC and BALC may alleviate acute ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity by altering alcohol metabolic enzyme activities.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.683-690
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• 2011

The object of this study was to observe the effects of Hwanggeum-tang (HGT) aqueous extracts on Streptozotocin-induced rat's diabetes and related complications. Three different dosages of HGT extracts were orally administered oncea day for 28 days from 3 weeks after Streptozotocin treatment (60 mg/kg, single intraperitoneally administered). All the rats were checked at 3 weeks after Streptozotocin treatment as follows. Changes on the body weight, blood glucose level, kidney weight, serum BUN and creatinine level, liver weight, serum AST and ALT level, serum LDL, HDL, triglyceride and total cholesterol level were observed with changes on the pancreatic MDA content and GSH content. The results were compared with a potent antioxidant silymarin 100 mg/kg in which the effects on Streptozotocin-induced diabetes and related complications were already confirmed. As results of Streptozotocin-injected diabetes and related complications, dramatical decreases on the body weight, increase of the kidney and liver weight, increase of serum BUN, creatinine, AST, ALT, LDL, triglyceride, total cholesterol level and decreases of serum HDL level were detected in streptozotocin control as compared with intact control. In addition, marked increases of pancreatic MDA content and decreases of GSH content were also detected in streptozotocin control as compared with intact control. However, these diabetes and related complications, and inhibition of antioxidant effects induced by Streptozotocin were inhibited by 28 days continuous treatment of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg of HGT extracts in the present study. HGT have favorable effects on the diabetes and various diabetic complications. Therefore, more detail mechanism studies should be conducedin future with the efficacy tests of individual herbal composition of HGT and the screening of the biological active compounds in herbs.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.463-469
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• 2010

This research is performed to obtain positive evidences of Mori cortex, a kind of oriental medicinal herbs, in the cellular levels. The extracts of M. cortex have shown anti-inflammatory effects against cutaneous inflammation and clinical effects on pulmonary asthma and congestion in oriental medicine. Thus BV2 cells were chosen because microglia are considered as the main immunocompetent cells in the central nervous system. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation of cultured BV2 cells and subsequent release of nitric oxide (NO) and Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were effectively suppressed by methylene chloride extract of Morus alba L. (MEMA). From the inflammation-mediated mRNA and protein analyses, we showed that inducible NO synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$) and tumor necrosis alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) induced by LPS were markedly decreased by MEMA treatment. From the observation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-${\kappa}B$) which is controlling and mediating inflammation through COX-2 and iNOS, there showed that p65, a subunit of NF-${\kappa}B$, was increased in nuclear and $I{\kappa}B$, a competitor of NF-${\kappa}B$, was recovered in cytosol after MEMA treatment. These are corresponding with results of iNOS, COX-2, IL-$1{\kappa}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$, and confirm some suppressive effect against transcriptional activation of NF-${\kappa}B$. In conclusion, the anti-inflammatory action of M. cortex against BV2 microglia cells is expected to protect nerve tissues through suppression of neuronal inflammation in various neurodegenerative diseases.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.942-949
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• 2010

Morus alba L., a kind of Oriental medicinal herbs, has been traditionally used to treat pulmonary asthma and congestion. According to recent studies, extracts of M. alba L. have showed anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-tumor and hypoglycemic effects. However, the molecular mechanisms on how it acts as a death-inducer in cancer cells have not been fully understood. In this study, we investigated the cell death effects of methylene chloride extracts of M. alba L. (MEMA) in A549 human lung carcinoma cells. It was shown that MEMA induced the apoptotic cell death proved by increased sub-G1 phase cell population, apoptotic body formation and chromatin condensation. MEMA treatment induced the expression of death receptor-related proteins such as death receptor (DR) 4, DR5, Fas and FasL, which further triggered the activation of caspase-8 and the cleavage of Bid in a concentration-dependent manner. However, MEMA reduced anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression which contributed to the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and the activations of caspase-9 and caspase-3. Meanwhile, the morphological study indicated a characteristic finding of autophagy, such as the formation of autophagosomes in MEMA-treated cells. Furthermore, markers of autophagy, namely, the increased MDC-positive cells, conversion of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-I to LC3-II and increased beclin-1 accumulation, were observed. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that MEMA triggered both autophagy and apoptosis in A549 cancer cells. They might suggest that M. alba L. could be a prospective clinical application to treat human lung cancers.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.76-81
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• 2012

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the skin depigmentation effect of the extracts of three herbs, Carthamus tinctorius seed, Cyperus rotundus and Schizonepeta tenuifolia. Their effects on tyrosinase and melanin synthesis inhibitory action were assessed. We found that the C. tinctorius seed ethanol extracts reduced the tyrosinase activity and melanin formation of B16F10 melanoma cells. The C. tinctorius seed suppressed the expression in microphthalmia associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase, tyrosinase related protein 1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase related protein 2 (TRP-2) in B16F10 melanoma cells. These results show that C. tinctorius seed inhibited melanogenesis on the B16F10 melanoma cell. The underlying mechanism of C. tinctorius seed whitening activity may be the inhibition of tyrisinase, MITF, tyrosinase, TRP-1, and TRP-2 expression. The results suggested that C. tinctorius seed has considerable potential as a natural functional ingredient with a depigmentation effect.