• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 1981

The wormwood is one of the plants which occur widely throughout the world. Though the precise data on the entire chemical composition of mugwort leaves are not available, the major principles which have been found so far include inulin, alkaloid, thujon, sesquiterpene and several vitamins. Santonin, a parasiticide, is one of the glucosides extracted from the limited species of wormwood. It has long been known in herb medicine that the plants of this family has not only strong hemostatic, analgesic and parasiticidal actions but also therapeutic effects for diarrhea, stomachache and asthma. In recent pharmaceutical botany the wormwood is introduced to have antipyretic and astringent actions also. The mugwort(Artemisia asiatica Nakai) is the most common species of wormwood that occurs in Korea. The usage of this edible leaves of mugwort is rather various. It is used not only for wormwood bath but also as forage, moxa and medicinal agents. Recently Kim et al reported from their study on the effect of mugwort on the motility of isolated intestine of rabbits that tonus and motility were markedly enhanced by mugwort but this effect of mugwort on intestinal motility was almost completely blocked by atropine suggesting that activity of mugwort was exerted through its cholinergic effect. It was the findings of Kim et al that prompted the authors to do the present experiment. The present study was undertaken to investigate effects of mugwort(Artemisia asiatica Nakai) juice on the respiration and blood pressure in cats. And also studied was the mechanism of depressor action of Artemisia asiatica Nakai Juice (AAJ). The results obtained are as follows; 1) It was observed that mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were decreased markedly by AAJ. Following administration of 0.15 ml/kg and 0.3 ml/kg AAJ into cats the maximum depressor responses observed were $77.5{\pm}2.2\;mmHg$ and $94.0{\pm}3.7\;mmHg$ respectively. 2) Depressor responses to AAJ were blocked markedly by atropine whereas the responses were not affected by propranolol and dibenamine. Therefore it is strongly inferred that depressor action of AAJ results mainly from its cholinergic effect. This inference was further substantiated by the fact that heart rate change which invariably accompanies depressor responses to AAJ was almost completely abolished by atropinization. 3) After administration of AAJ into cats frequency of respiration was markedly increased while depth of respiration decreased during first 2-3 seconds.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.207-212
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• 2016

Objectives: Acupuncture treatments are safe and effective for a wide variety of diseases involving autonomic dysregulation. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive method for assessing sympathovagal balance. The low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) spectral power ratio is an index of sympathovagal influence on heart rate and of cardiovascular health. This study tests the hypothesis that from rest to 30% to 50% of peak oxygen consumption, the nonlinear Conte-Zbilut-Federici (CZF) method of computing the LF/HF ratio is a more reliable index of changes in the HRV than linear methods are. Methods: The subjects of this study were 10 healthy young adults. Electrocardiogram RR intervals were measured during 6-minute periods of rest and aerobic exercise on a cycle ergometer at 30% and 50% of peak oxygen consumption ($VO_{2peak}$). Results: The frequency domain CZF computations of the LF/HF ratio and the time domain computations of the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) decreased sequentially from rest to 30% $VO_{2peak}$ (P < 0.001) to 50% $VO_{2peak}$ (P < 0.05). The SDNN and the CZF computations of the LF/HF ratio were positively correlated (Pearson's r = 0.75, P < 0.001). fast Fourier transform (FFT), autoregressive (AR) and Lomb periodogram computations of the LF/HF ratio increased only from rest to 50% $VO_{2peak}$. Conclusion: Computations of the LF/HF ratio by using the nonlinear CZF method appear to be more sensitive to changes in physical activity than computations of the LF/HF ratio by using linear methods. Future studies should determine whether the CZF computation of the LF/HF ratio improves evaluations of pharmacopuncture and other treatment modalities.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.581-587
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• 2004

Conventional power spectrum methods based on FFT, AR method are not appropriate for analyzing biomedical signals whose spectral characteristics change rapidly. On the other hand, time-frequency analysis has more desirable characteristics of a time-varying spectrum. In this study, we investigated the spectral components of heart rate variability(HRV) in time-frequency domain using time frequency analysis methods. In the various time-frequency kernels functions, we studied the suitable kernels for the analysis of HRV using synthetic HRV signals. First, we evaluated the time/frequency resolution and cross term reduction of various kernel functions. Then, from the instantaneous frequency, obtained from time-frequency distribution, the method extracting frequency components of HRV was proposed. Subjects were 17 healthy young men. A coin-stacking task was used to induce mental stress. For each subjects, the experiment time was 3 minutes. Electrocardiogram, measured during the experiment, was analyzed after converted to HRV signal. In the results, emotional stress of subjects produced an increase in sympathetic activity. Sympathetic activation was responsible for the significant increase in the LF/HF ratio. Subjects were divided into two groups with task ability. Subjects who have higher mental stress have lack of task ability.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.247-252
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• 2016

Cultivated wild ginseng is a widely used dietary supplement and medicinal herb. The aim of this study was to optimize the ginseng using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)- charged aerosol detection (CAD) for ginsenoside analysis. CAD measures the physical property of an analyte and responds to almost all non-volatile species, independent of their nature, spectral properties, or particle size. It has become widely employed in pharmaceutical analysis. The cultivated wild ginseng extracts were analyzed for compositions of ginsenosides Rb1, Rd, Rg1, Rf, Re, and Rh1. The optimal analysis condition was set up from an experiment using a gradient. Ten grams of cultivated wild ginseng were extracted with 95% EtOH 100 ml for 24 hr at 80℃. The contents of the 6six major ginsenosides in the cultivated wild ginseng extract were Rb1 (5.48±0.12 mg/g), Rd (5.33±0.14 mg/g), Rg1 (12.80± 0.05 mg/g), Rf (19.08±0.68 mg/g), Re (19.87±0.05 mg/g), and Rh1 (16.47±0.16 mg/g), respectively. HPLC showed that the protopanaxatriol group (Rg1, Rf, Re, Rh1) had more content than the protopanaxadiol group (Rb1, Rd) in cultivated wild ginseng extract. In summary, the ginsenosides were identified with HPLC-CAD analysis, and their presence and quantity imply the importance of quality control, as well as the pharmacological activity of the ginseng root.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.421-429
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• 2017

In this study, we investigated the effect of roasting temperature on nutrient content, digestive enzyme activities, and antioxidative properties of sesame seed juice. The sesame seeds were either roasted at 160, 200, and $240^{\circ}C$ or not roasted, and the juice was extracted using a low-speed juice extractor. Owing to the short duration of roasting, benzo[a]pyrene were not detected and trans fatty acids were negligible detected in all sesame seed juices. The sesame seed juice contained abundant nutrients such as minerals, vitamins, and fatty acids. The contents of minerals, vitamin B1 and B3, and sesamol increased with increase in roasting temperature; however, the levels of fatty acids, vitamin B2, sesamin, and sesamolin decreased. In addition, the antioxidant content and antioxidative activities of sesame seed juice increased with increase in roasting temperature. Therefore, these results suggest that roasted sesame seed juice possesses high antioxidative activities, which may be beneficial for preventing oxidative damage in the body.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2015

Background: Panax ginseng (i.e., ginseng) root is extensively used in traditional oriental medicine. It is a modern pharmaceutical reagent for preventing various human diseases such as cancer. Ginsenosidesd-the major active components of ginsengd-exhibit immunomodulatory effects. However, the mechanism and function underlying such effects are not fully elucidated, especially in human monocytes and dendritic cells (DCs). Methods: We investigated the immunomodulatory effect of ginsenosides from Panax ginseng root on $CD14^+$ monocytes purified from human adult peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and on their differentiation into DCs that affect $CD4^+$ T cell activity. Results: After treatment with ginsenoside fractions, monocyte levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 increased through phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), but not p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). After treatment with ginsenoside fractions, TNF-${\alpha}$ production and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and JNK decreased in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-sensitized monocytes.We confirmed that DCs derived from $CD14^+$ monocytes in the presence of ginsenoside fractions (Gin-DCs) contained decreased levels of the costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86. The expression of these costimulatory molecules decreased in LPS-treated DCs exposed to ginsenoside fractions, compared to their expression in LPS-treated DCs in the absence of ginsenoside fractions. Furthermore, LPS-treated Gin-DCs could not induce proliferation and interferon gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) production by $CD4^+$ T cells with the coculture of Gin-DCs with $CD4^+$ T cells. Conclusion: These results suggest that ginsenoside fractions from the ginseng root suppress cytokine production and maturation of LPS-treated DCs and downregulate $CD4^+$ T cells.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.77-82
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• 2004

DA-125, a novel derivative of adriamycin, is known for its anti-cancer activity. In this study, the inhibitory mechanism of DA-125 on topoisomerase was investigated in the simian virus 40 (SV40) replicating CV-1 cell by studying the SV40 DNA replication intermediates and DNA-topoisomerase complexes. DNA-protein complexes that were formed in the drug-treated cells were quantitated by using a glass filter assay. SV40 DNA replication intermediates that were accumulated in the drug-treated CV-1 cell were analyzed in a high resolution gel. DA-125 did not accumulate B-dimers of SV40 DNA replication intermediates which were found in the adriamycin-treated CV-1 cells. DA-125 induced a dose-dependent formation of the DNA-protein complexes, while adriamycin did not. When adriamycin and etoposide (VP16) were added to the SV40-infected cells at the same time, adriamycin blocked the formation of the DNA-protein complexes induced by VP16 in a dose-dependent manner. However, DA-125 blocked the formation of the DNA-protein complexes induced by VP16 up to the maximum level of the DNA-protein complexes that were induced by DA-125 alone. Adriamycin and DA-125 did not inhibit the formation of the DNA-protein complexes that were caused by camptothecin, a known topoisomerase I poison. DA-125 is bifunctional in inhibiting topoisomerase II because it simultaneously has the properties of the topoisomerase II poison and the DNA intercalator. As a topoisomerase II poison, DA-125 alone induced dose-dependent formation of the DNA-protein complexes. However, as a DNA intercalator, it quantitatively inhibited the formation of the DNA-protein complexes induced by a strong topoisomerase II poison VP16. Furthermore considering that the levels of the DNA-protein complex induced by VP16 were decreased by DA-125 in terms of the topoisomerase II poison, we suggest that DA-125 has a higher affinity to the drug-binding sites of DNA than VP16 has.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.293-300
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• 2018

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is sulfaamide-based synthetic antibiotics, which are widely prescribed pharmaceutical compound to treat bacterial infections in both human and animals. Most of them are not completely decomposed as refractory substances. The environmental impact of pharmaceuticals as emerging contaminants has generated severe concerns. In this study, catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) of SMX was carried out with $Cu/Al_2O_3$ catalyst and investigated the optimum reaction conditions of temperature, dosage of catalyst and concentration of $H_2O_2$ to completely decompose the SMX. It was observed that SMX was completely decomposed within 20 min using 0.79 mM $H_2O_2$ and 6 g $Cu/Al_2O_3$ catalyst at 1 atm and $40^{\circ}C$, but SMX was not fully mineralized and converted to intermediates as hydroylated-SMX, sulfanilic acid, 4-aminobenzenesulfinic acid and nitrobenzene. After that these are completely mineralized through organic acid. We proposed the decomposition reaction path ways of SMX by analyzing the behavior of these intermediates. To investigate the durability of heterogeneous catalyst, decomposition of SMX was observed by continuously recycling catalysts. When the heterogeneous catalyst of 10 wt% $Cu/Al_2O_3$ was continuously reused 5 times, decomposition of SMX was a little lowered, but the activity of catalyst was overall very stable.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.592-599
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• 2019

This study is to stabilize insoluble and unstable active ingredient which is Idebenone (INCI name: hydroxydecyl ubiquinone) in a multi-lamellar vesicle (MLV) and to stabilize it in the skin care cosmetics. Idebenone is good effective raw material in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in the medical field and a powerful antioxidant in dermatology. It is well known as a substance that inhibits the formation of melanin and cleans the skin pigment. However, it did not dissolve in any solvent and it was difficult to apply in cosmetic applications. Niosome vesicle was able to develop a nano-particle by making a multi-layer of idebenone encapsulated with a nonionic surfactant, hydrogenated lecithin and glycine soja (soybean) sterols and passing it through a high pressure microfluidizer. Idebenone niosome vesicle (INV) has been developed to have the ability to dissolve transparently in water and to promote transdermal penetration. The appearance of the INV was a yellowish liquid having specific odor, and the particle size distribution of INV was about 10~80 nm. The pH was 5~8 (mean=6.8). This capsulation with idebenone was stored in a $45^{\circ}C$ incubator for 3 months and its stability was observed and quantitatively measured by HPLC. As a result, the stability of the sample encapsulated in the niosome vesicle (97.5%) was about 66.3% higher than that of the non-capsule sample of 32.5%. Idebenone 1% INV was used for the efficacy test and clinical trial evaluation as follows. The anti-oxidative activity of INV was 38.2%, which was superior to that of 12.8% tocopherol (control). The melanin-reducing effect of B16 melanoma cells was better than INV (17.4%) and Albutin (control) (9.6%). Pro-collagen synthesis rate was 128.2% for INV and 89.3% for tocopherol (control). The skin moisturizing effect was 15.5% better than the placebo sample. The elasticity effect was 9.7% better than the placebo sample. As an application field, INV containing 1% of idebenone is expected to be able to develop various functional cosmetic formulations such as skin toner, ampoule essence, cream, eye cream and sunblock cream. In addition, it is expected that this encapsulated material will be widely applicable to emulsifying agents for skin use in the pharmaceutical industry as well as the cosmetics industry.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.117-129
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• 2019

In this study Anti-inflammatory activity was investigated for the extract of Prunus pendula for. ascendens (Makino) Ohwi by monitoring nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. The P. pendula ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction showed to decrease the NO synthesis by 76.3% at $100{\mu}g/mL$ concentration. The inhibition occurred in a dose-dependent manner without causing cell toxicity. The EtOAc fraction also inhibited the production of $PGE_2$, $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and expression of iNOS, COX-2 protein in dose-dependent manner. From the phytochemical study to isolate the active constituents, five known compounds were identified, which are ursolic acid (1), prunasin (2), methyl p-coumarate (3), kaempferol (4), astragalin (5). All of the compounds 1 - 5 were isolated for the first time from the P. pendula. Among the isolates, the flavonoids 4 and 5 were verified to inhibit NO production with high efficiency. These results suggested that extract of P. pendula leaves could be useful as anti-inflammatory agents in pharmaceutical or cosmetic applications.