• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2016

Kaempferia galanga L. is one of the plants in Zingiberaceae family. It is used by people in many regions of Asia and Africa for relieving toothache, abdominal pain, muscular swelling and rheumatism. Tyrosinase is a key enzyme for melanogenesis, and hyperpigmentation is associated with abnomal accumulation of melanin pigment. This study aimed to investigate the inhibition of melanogenesis by hexane extract of Kaempferia galanga L. (HKG) in B16F10 melanoma cells. Cell-free tyrosinase, melanin contents, intracellular tyrosinase activity and western blot analysis were performed to elucidate the effects on anti-melanogenesis. Cytotoxicity of the extracts was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and determined the concentration of 12.5, 25 μg/ml. HKG significantly inhibited to activities of intracellular tyrosinase and melanin synthesis in the absence or presence of α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) with dose-dependent manner. And HKG inhibited the expression of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1) and tyrosinase-related protein 2 (TRP-2), regardless of the presence or absence of α-MSH. HKG also down-regulated phosphorylation of p38 and JNK, and up-regulated phosphorylation of Akt. These effects were not related to its cytotoxicity action. These results indicate that HKG has the potential to be a useful therapeutic agent for treating hyperpigmentation disorders and as a beneficial additive in whitening agents in cosmetics industry.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.977-981
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• 2005

Most inflammatory disorders are usually treated using anti-inflammatory drugs including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (SAID). In a prolonged use, however, they may frequently produce adverse side-effects. Thus, it is necessarily required to develop a new anti-inflammatory drug with little side-effects. Nephrite has been widely used by traditional oriental medicine to cure the various chronic diseases. In order to verify the anti-inflammatory activity of nephrite, the TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-acetate) or the croton oil-induced edema was developed in the mouse ears and the nephrite powder suspension or the nephrite water was directly applied to the ear edema. It was found that nephrite could significantly reduce the ear swelling implying its strong potential as an active anti-inflammatory agent when comparing to indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.260-266
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• 2014

This study evaluated the pharmacokinetic profile and therapeutic efficacy of piroxicam (PX), a long acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the treatment of arthritis, following intra-articular (IA) injection in comparison to the pharmacokinetic profile and therapeutic efficacy of PX after intramuscular (IM) injection. In the pharmacokinetic study in rats, systemic exposure and pharmacokinetic parameters of PX after a single IA dose were compared with systemic exposure and pharmacokinetic parameters of PX after administration of the same dose IM (0.6 mg/kg). The anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of IA PX were evaluated simultaneously in a monoiodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis rat model. The plasma PX concentration rapidly rose following IA injection, and it was comparable to the plasma PX concentration following IM injection, suggesting the rapid efflux of the drug molecule from the joint cavity. However, in the efficacy study, the IA PX administration significantly reduced the knee swelling by reducing the level of prostaglandin $E_2$ in the joint, compared to that following administration of IA vehicle and after administration of the IM PX dose. In addition, we found that the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive efficacies of IA PX were synergistically increased upon co-treatment with hyaluronic acid (HA), a potent agent for the treatment of osteoarthritis, at the weight ratio of 1:1 or 1:2, and these effects were more pronounced than those following administration of HA or PX alone. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the efficacy of the IA use of PX alone and/or in combination with HA in osteoarthritis.

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.145-151
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• 1995

The stretching of synthetic fibers by hot dry process is very difficult, because these fibers have high glass transition temperature at above $150^{\circ}C$. But, we used a swell-wet stretching precess; the fibers are stretched in a swelling agent such as organic solvents at lower temperature. In this study, 100% acryl fibers were uniaxially stretched with free width at $70^{\circ}C$ by swell-wet process in organic solvents. The stretchability was estimated by stretching work. This work is concerned with stretching stress and strain, and initial modulus. We found that it is a good parameter for the estimatation of high strength to the acrylic fiber. The effects of stretching conditions on the molecular orientation for high strength and mechanical properties of PAN fibers were measured.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.942-952
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• 2013

Monoliths are functional porous materials with a three-dimensional continuous interconnected pore structure in a single piece. A monolith with uniform shape based on poly(${\gamma}$-glutamic acid) (PGA) has been prepared via a thermally induced phase separation technique using a mixture of dimethyl sulfoxide, water, and ethanol as solvent. The morphology of the obtained monolith was observed by scanning electron microscopy and the surface area of the monolith was evaluated by the Brunauer Emmett Teller method. The effects of fabrication parameters such as the concentration and molecular mass of PGA and the solvent composition have been systematically investigated. The PGA monolith was cross-linked with hexamethylene diisocyanate to produce the water-insoluble monolith. The addition of sodium chloride to the phase separation solvent affected the properties of the cross-linked monolith. The swelling ratio of the cross-linked monolith toward aqueous solutions depended on the buffer pH as well as the monolith fabrication condition. Copper(II) ion was efficiently adsorbed on the cross-linked PGA monolith, and the obtained copper-immobilized monolith showed strong antibacterial activity for Escherichia coli. By combination of the characteristic properties of PGA (e.g., high biocompatibility and biodegradability) and the unique features of monoliths (e.g., through-pore structure, large surface area, and high porosity with small pore size), the PGA monolith possesses large potentials for various industrial applications in the biomedical, environmental, analytical, and separation fields.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2007

Objective. The objective of this international comparative study was to investigate the clinical features and outcome of the treatment of infratemporal fossa abscess (IFA). Study design. This retrospective study was conducted at the Deptartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Hallym University and "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Ten-year records of patients were reviewed in Romania and six-year records were reviewed in Korea. The collected data was then analyzed. Results. A total of 36 cases were found to be IFA (12 males and 24 females: average age; $36.3{\pm}15.5$ yrs: 34 cases from Romania and 2 cases from Korea). The annual frequency of IFA in Romanian and Korean hospitals was 3.40 and 0.33 respectively (P<0.001). The etiology was septic anesthesia (33.3%), infection occurring after extraction (30.6%), periapical lesion (13.9%), impacted third molar (8.3%), post-extraction alveolitis (5.6%), and unknown (8.3%). A successful outcome was seen in 27 patients (75.0%) after initial treatment. The main complication after initial treatment was restricted movement of the mouth (9 cases). Conclusion. The etiology of IFA was various and minimal swelling hampered early diagnosis. To prevent IFA, preoperative painting with antiseptic agent must be stressed and proper drainage proved important to relieve pain and to prevent further complications.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2012

In Northeast Asia, Paeoniae Radix has been used in treatments of inflammation-causing diseases such as arthritis for many centuries. Paeoniflorin, one of the principle bioactive monoterpene glucosides from the paeony root, is reported to be mostly responsible for the effectiveness of the treatments. However, the anti-inflammatory effect of a monoterpene, paeoniflorigenone (PFG) which partially has the moiety of paeoniflorin minus a glucose structure is unknown. Thus, the aim of this work was to investigate anti-inflammatory activity of PFG. For the investigation, PFG activity on the NO (nitric oxide) production from LPS-stimulated macrophages, and the anti-inflammatory effect was tested in the animal model of septic arthritis caused by Candida albicans, a major etiological agent for septic arthritis. For induction of the arthritis, mice were administered with an emulsion of C. albicans cell wall (CACW) mixed with Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) via footpad-injection (Day 0); PFG at a dose of 0.5 or 1 mg/mouse (25 or 50 mg/kg of body-weight) was given to the animals on Day 3, 6, and 9; footpads were scored for arthritis. Moreover, the PFG effect on proliferation of T-lymphocyte that causes aggravation of arthritis was additionally tested. Data resulting from those tests showed that PFG inhibited the NO production from the stimulated macrophage in a dose dependent manner (P<0.05), indicating that PFG is an anti-inflammatory. To confirm the in-vitro results, anti-inflammatory activity of PFG was determined against C. albicans-caused septic arthritis. Data showed that PFG-treatment reduced footpad-swelling which indicates that PFG has anti-arthritic effect (P<0.05), which is therapeutic. The anti-arthritic effect appeared to be mediated by PFG suppression of T-cell proliferation. Ultimately, PFG, a monoterpene component, has anti-inflammatory activity analogous to paeoniflorin. The anti-inflammatory activity treats the septic arthritis due to a pathogenic fungus C. albicans.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.279-284
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• 2016

In this study, facial hair weakening ability of urea and anti-oxidants for shaving was investigated. The hair weakening ability and cross-section increase of hair depends on concentration of urea. The results showed that urea affects swelling of hair and this is related to the hair weakening ability. Anti-oxidants showed outstanding weakening ability despite of their low concentrations by breaking disulfide bond in facial hair. To evaluate the suitability of urea and anti-oxidants for facial cosmetic products, in vitro safety tests were proceeded. The results showed that urea and glutathione were safe for face. As a result, urea and glutathione were safe and outstanding as hair weakening agent for cosmetic shaving products.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.256-263
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• 2012

A strain of bacterium producing antifungal antibiotic was isolated and identification of the strain was attempted. We could identify the bacterium as being a Bacillus sp., based on morphological observation, physiological characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, thus leading us to designate the strain as Bacillus sp. AH-E-1. The strain showed potent antibiotic activity against phytopathogenic and human pathogenic fungi by inducing mycelial distortion and swelling and inhibiting spore germination. The antibiotic metabolite produced by the strain demonstrated excellent thermal and pH (2-11) stability, but was labile to autoclaving. From these results, we could find a broader antifungal activity of Bacillus genus. Isolation and characterization of the active agent produced by the strain are under progress.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.642-646
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• 2007

It was examined that the effect of fermented traditional wine made by using mycelium of Phellinus linteus (TWPL) on the expression of inflammation-related proteins in rat liver. Levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was significantly increased in the serum of ethanol-treated rats compared to normal. However, the level of AST showed no significant changes in the TWPL-treated rat compared normal. Slight histopathological changes of liver such as cloudy swelling, inflammatory cells infiltration, Kupffer cell reaction were demonstrated in the rats challenged with ethanol compared with normal. Fewer scores of these changes were observed in TWPL-treated rat with recovered glycogen in hepatocytes of whole hepatic lobule. The RT-PCR and Western analysis showed that the expression of inflammatory proteins such as cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ were decreased in the TWPL-treated rat compared with ethanol-treated ones. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the expression of interleukin-lf and TNF-${\alpha}$ tended to decrease in TWPL-treated rat compared with ethanol-treated ones. These results suggest that TWPL may contains some protective agent for alcohol-induced liver injury through a regulating inflammation-related proteins.