• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2006

This study was carried out to investigate the protective effect of crude saponin from red ginseng efflux (RGE-CS) on biochemical parameters in male rats acutely exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-$\rho$-dioxin (TCDD). Forty male rats ($200{\pm}20g$) were divided into 4 groups. Normal control group (NC) received vehicle and saline; only TCDD-treated group (TT) received TCDD ($5{\mu}g/kg$, single dose) intrperitoneally; RGE-CS 20 received 20 mg/kg of crude saponin i.p. for 4 weeks from 1 week before TCDD-exposure; RGE-CS 40 also received 40 mg/kg of crude saponin i.p. for 4 weeks from 1 week before TCDD-exposure. Body weight of TT group was significantly decreased after TCDD-exposure. However, body weight of crude saponin groups increased throughout the experimental period, although the increasing rate was slower than that of NC group. Decrease in body weight was not observed during the experimental period in RGE-CS 40. Increases in triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), AST, ALT and $Fe^{2+}$ levels by TCDD intoxication were significantly attenuated by the RGE-CS treatment. Decrease in glucose, amylase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatinine kinase (CK) by TCDD also were inhibited by the RGE-CS. These results suggest that saponin from red-ginseng efflux might be a useful protective agent against TCDD, an endocrine disrupter.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 2014

Rubus coreanus has been used as a traditional medicine in Asia because of its various pharmacological properties. This study examined the effects of protocatechuic acid (PCA), one of phenolic compounds derived from R. coreanus on the lipid metabolism in high cholesterol diet-induced mice. A total of 30 male C57BL/6 mice were divided into 5 groups with 6 mice in each group as follows: (1) Control mice received normal diet (ND). (2) Mice received high-cholesterol diet (HCD) plus water, 10% sucrose solution and treated daily oral phosphate-buffered-saline (PBS) of equal volumes through gavage. (3) Mice received HCD and treated daily with 25 mg/kg b.w./day of PCA (4) with 50 mg/kg b.w./day or (5) with 10 mg/kg b.w./day of simvastatin via oral gavage for 12 weeks. Body weights were measured weekly for a period of experiment. After treatment, liver, thymus, spleen and kidney were harvested and weighed, and the lipid metabolite profiles (total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-c), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) and liver-damaging markers (GOT and GPT) in serum were examined. PCA significantly reduced the total cholesterol, TG, LDL-c level and increased the HDL-c level. PCA administration also significantly reduced the levels of GOT and GPT. These results indicate that the PCA could be used as a functional material for lowering lipid and an adjuvant for the treatment of hyperlipemia.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.324-329
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• 2008

This study was performed to investigate the changes of the serological lipid-related parameters of the rats when they were fed with the high fat diets supplemented with or without rutin for five weeks. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley male rats ($272.2{\pm}7.2 g$ of body weight) were randomly divided into three groups: control (C) group and two treatment groups. Rats in the C group were fed with the high-fat diet containing 20% lard, 1% cholesterol and 0.5% sodium cholate (w/w) which was modified from the formula of the American Institute of Nutrition-76 (AIN-76) diet. Rats in treatment groups were fed with above diet supplemented with 0.75% rutin (R-0.75) or 1.5% rutin (R-1.5) on the weight to weight basis, respectively. The supplementation of rutin did not induce any significant difference on the final body weight, gain of body weight, the amount of feed intake and the feed efficiency of rats in both control and treatment groups. In addition the values of glucose concentration, total protein, albumin, globulin and albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio showed no significant differences among groups. The values of total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in sera of rats in both R-0.75 and R-1.5 groups were lower than those in C group but the significances were showed in only between R-0.75 and C group (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). The values of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) in sera of rats in both R-0.75 and R-1.5 groups were higher than those in C group but the significances were showed in only between R-1.5 and C group (p < 0.01). The values of atherogenic index(AI) of rats in both R-0.75 and R-1.5 groups were the lower than those in C group (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). The values of triglyceride in sera of rats showed no significant differences among groups. The values of AST and ALT in sera of rats showed no significant differences among groups. Therefore the supplementation of rutin to high fat diet in rats reduced effectively the serum lipid levels such as TC and LDL-C which were regarded as to cause the cardiovascular diseases, and moreover it elevated effectively HDL-C value which was regarded to protect cardiovascular diseases.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.276-280
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• 2013

Obesity, the leading metabolic disease, is a prevalent health problem in industrialized countries and is closely associated with coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and even cancer. In this study, we investigated the effects of dip-sauce for meat containing Garcinia cambogia extract (GC) on the lipid accumulation and body weight reduction in rats fed high-fat diet for three months. Eighteen Sprague Dawley male rats of five-week-old were randomly assigned to one of three groups; normal chew diet (NCD) group, high-fat diet plus GC-noncontaining dip-sauce (HFD) group, and HFD plus GC-containing dip-sauce (HFD+GC) group. Co-administration of GC-containing dip-sauce (5 g/kg body weight/day) with HFD significantly attenuated cumulative body weight gain, compared with NCD or HFD groups. Both epididymal and perirenal fat pad weights in the HFD plus GC group were significantly lower than those of HFD or NCD groups. Administration of GC-containing dip-sauce also resulted in significant reduction in the serum levels of total cholesterol, total lipid, and triglyceride, compared with NCD or HFD groups. Thus, GC-containing dip-sauce confers beneficial effects to pathological states associated with metabolic disorder via its anti-obesity and lipid lowering properties.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.325-334
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• 2014

The effects of aloe on liver function and lipid metabolic disorders induced by alcohol consumption were studied in rats using aloe power (0.25%, 0.5%, 1%) and 10% ethanol. 35 Sprague-Dawley (male, 4 weeks old) rats were divided into five groups and fed experimental diets for six weeks. Body weights of rats tended to be lower in all alcohol supplemented groups than in the control. Food intakes and dry feces per day were significantly lower in all alcohol supplemented groups than in the control. Atherogenic indices (AI) were highest in the alcohol group and decreased in proportion with aloe amount. Serum triglyceride level was significantly higher in the alcohol group than in the control, but tended to be lower in the aloe supplemented groups. In relation to liver function, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities tended to be higher in the alcohol groups than in the control, but lower in the aloe groups, especially in the alcohol+0.5% AO group. The levels of liver cholesterol were significantly lower in the alcohol group than in the control and aloe supplemented groups. In the histochemical evaluation, fat droplets appeared extensively on the liver-lobule in the alcohol group, whereas they decreased slightly in the alcohol+0.25% AO group and apparently disappeared in the alcohol +0.5% AO. On the other hand, fat droplets appeared again on the liver-lobule in the alcohol+1% AO group, but were reduced compared with the alcohol group. Regarding the fatty acid composition of adipose tissue triglycerides, the level of linoleic acid (18:2) was significantly higher in the aloe supplemented group. Regarding the fatty acid composition of liver phosphatidylcholine (PC), the level of linoleic acid was higher in the alcohol group and alcohol+1% AO group than the other groups. In contrast, the level of arachidonic acid was significantly lower in the alcohol group. As a result, arachidonic / linoleic acid ratios were significantly lower in the alcohol group compared to the control group, whereas the ratios of the aloe supplemented groups were similar to that of the control group. Therefore, aloe had some beneficial effects on lipid metabolic disorders induced by alcohol and affected desaturation of fatty acids.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.276-286
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• 2020

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease associated with multiple metabolic disorders. The medicinal plant Curcuma longa L. is widely distributed in Asia and has been used to treat a spectrum diseases in clinical practice. To date, there are inadequate reports of the effects of C. longa 50% EtOH extract (CE) on NAFLD. Therefore, in this study, we evaluate the CE on an NAFLD animal and elucidate the mechanism of action. Methods and Results: C57BL/6J mice fed a methionine-choline deficient diet (MCD) were treated with CE or milk thistle, and changes in inflammation and stetosis were assessed. Experimental animals were divided into six group (n = 10); Normal, MCD, MCD + CE 50 mg/kg/day (CE 50), MCD + CE 100 mg/kg/day (CE 100), MCD + CE 150 mg/kg/day (CE 150), and the Control, MCD + Milk thistle 150 mg/kg/day (MT 150). Body weight, liver weight, liver function, and histological changes were assessed in experimental animals. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses were performed on samples collected after 4 weeks of treatment. We observed that CE administration improved MCD-diet-induced lipid accumulation, and triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels in serum. Treatment with CE also decreased hepatic lipogenesis through modulation of the sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), CCAAT-enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) expresion. In addition, the use of CE increased adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and inhibited the up-regulation of toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 and TLR-4 signaling and the production of inflammatory mediators. Conclusions: In this report, we observed that CE regulated lipid accumulation in an MCD dietinduced NAFLD model by decreasing lipogenesis. These data suggeste that CE could effectively protect mice against MCD-induced NAFLD, by inhibiting the TLR-2 and TLR-4 signaling cascades.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.680-691
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• 2021

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of fermented cottonseed meal (FCSM) on growth performance, carcass traits, and fat deposition in white-feather broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 480 male one-day-old white-feather broiler chickens were selected randomly and divided into four groups with six replicates of 20 chickens in each. The experimental chickens were fed diets including 3%, 6%, or 9% FCSM fermented by Candida tropicalis until 42 days old. In the experiment, the chickens of the control group were fed soybean meal. Results: FCSM supplementation linearly decreased the feed conversion ratio from d 15 to 21 and d 36 to 42, respectively (p<0.05). The percentage of carcass and semi-eviscerate increased in response to dietary FCSM supplementation at d 21 (p<0.05). The percentage of eviscerated and semi-eviscerate of 3FCSM was higher than that in other groups at d 35 (p<0.05). At the age of 42 d, the percentage of carcass increased in a quadratic way among increasing FCSM in diets (p<0.05). The subcutaneous fat thickness linearly decreased with the increasing levels of FCSM at d 21 (p<0.05). Gompertz and Logistic functions provided a better fit on abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat, respectively. The best fitted equation predicted that the maximum growth rate of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness occurred at d 28. FCSM had no significant effects on the shape of growth curve of abdominal fat weight and subcutaneous fat thickness, but reduced the height of the curve. Birds receiving the 6FCSM diet for 21 d had smaller adipocyte surface and lower serum glucose as well as triglyceride concentration. Conclusion: FCSM is beneficial for broiler chickens as it positively affects their growth and carcass in addition to altering their fat deposition.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.246-256
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• 2022

The present study focused on the potential mechanism of betulin (BT), a pentacyclic triterpenoid isolated from the bark of white birch (Betula pubescens), against chronic alcohol-induced lipid accumulation and metaflammation. AML-12 and RAW 264.7 cells were administered ethanol (EtOH), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or BT. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed Lieber-DeCarli liquid diets containing 5% EtOH for 4 weeks, followed by single EtOH gavage on the last day and simultaneous treatment with BT (20 or 50 mg/kg) by oral gavage once per day. In vitro, MTT showed that 0-25 mM EtOH and 0-25 µM BT had no toxic effect on AML-12 cells. BT could regulate sterolregulatory-element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), lipin1/2, P2X7 receptor (P2X7r) and NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) expressions again EtOH-stimulation. Oil Red O staining also indicated that BT significantly reduced lipid accumulation in EtOH-stimulated AML-12 cells. Lipin1/2 deficiency indicated that BT might mediate lipin1/2 to regulate SREBP1 and P2X7r expression and further alleviate lipid accumulation and inflammation. In vivo, BT significantly alleviated histopathological changes, reduced serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and triglyceride (TG) levels, and regulated lipin1/2, SREBP1, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α/γ (PPARα/γ) and PGC-1α expression compared with the EtOH group. BT reduced the secretion of inflammatory factors and blocked the P2X7r-NLRP3 signaling pathway. Collectively, BT attenuated lipid accumulation and metaflammation by regulating the lipin1/2-mediated P2X7r signaling pathway.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.27-37
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• 2021

Objectives : In the current study, we performed the 13-week repeated oral dose toxicity test and a 4-week recovery test of standardized Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc. and Psoralea corylifolia L. 30 % ethanol extract (SCP) in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats owing to aims for verifying no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL). Methods : The animal study was performed according to OECD guidelines for the testing of chemicals section 4 health effects test No.408 repeated dose 90-day oral toxicity study in rodents (03 October 2008). In the repeated dose toxicity study, SCP was orally administered to female and male rats at dose levels of 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 mg/kg/day for 13-week. The control group and high dose (4,000 mg/kg/day) group were then monitored for 4 extra weeks to determine recovery time after the study period. 1) Results : Compared with the control group, there were no treatment-related adverse effects in clinical signs, body weight, hematology, serum biochemistry (Aspartate aminotransferase, Alanine aminotransferase, Alkaline phosphatase, 𝛾-Glutamyl transpeptidase, Blood urea nitrogen, Creatinine, Glucose, Total cholesterol, Total protein, Creatine phosphokinase, Albumin, Total bilirubin, Triglyceride, Inorganic phosphorus, Albumin/Globulin ratio, Calcium ion, Sodium ion, Potassium ion, Chloride ion), necropsy findings and organ weight (Ovary, Adrenal gland, Pituitary, Thymus, Prostate, Testis, Epididymis, Spleen, Kidney, Heart, Lung, Brain, Liver) at any dose tested. Conclusions : Taken together, these results suggest that the NOAEL of SCP in both genders was considered as over 4,000 mg/kg. Results from this study provide scientific evidence for the safety of SCP.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.766-773
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• 2012

This study investigates the effects of diets with mulberry leaf and Cudrania tricuspidata leaf supplements on blood glucose-related biomarkers in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Male diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into groups and fed several diets. Group A was fed a diet with a 10% supplement of mulberry leaves. Group B was fed a diet with a 10% supplement of mulberry leaves and an additional 10% supplement of Cudrania tricuspidata leaves. Group C was fed a diet with a 10% supplement of mulberry leaves and an additional 30% supplement of Cudrania tricuspidata leaves. Group D was fed a diet with a 10% supplement of Cudrania tricuspidata leaves. Group E was the DM control. All diets were based on AIN-93G diet and they all lasted 6 weeks. The blood glucose levels of groups B and C stayed similar to initial levels (reference blood glucose) for the experimental period, which was significantly lower than levels in groups A, D, and E at the 6th week (p<0.05). And the area under the blood glucose curve (AUC) was also significantly lower in groups B and C than in groups D and E (p<0.05). The fasting blood glucose level after the experiment was significantly lower in groups B and C (p<0.05), and the C-peptide content of group C was as high as 50 pmol/L on average. The HbA1c content was also significantly lower in groups A and B than in group E (p<0.05). The serum TG, AST, and ALT levels were significantly decreased in groups A, B, and D than in group E (p<0.05). From the findings, it is shown that a diet of 1:1 mulberry and Cudrania tricuspidata leaf supplements could improve blood glucose-related biomarkers.