• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.167-173
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• 2007

Purpose: Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extract is one of the most widely used agents in alternative cancer therapeutic regimens in Europe. This study was conducted to determine the effect of mistletoe extract on immune function in gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Ten patients that had undergone a curative gastrectomy were enrolled in the prospective study. ABNOBAviscum $Q^{(R)}$ was injected subcutaneously three times a week from postoperative-day 7 to week 16 with an increasing dose. All of the patients simultaneously received chemotheraphy with mitomycin, oral 5-FU and a cisplatin regimen. The WBC count, differential count, lymphocyte/WBC ratio and the level of cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$) were checked in the peripheral blood preoperatively, at postoperative week 8 and at postoperative week 16. Results: The WBC and neutrophil counts significantly decreased after treatment on week 8 and week 16 (P=0.001), but the total eosinophil count was slightly increased (P=0.15). The total lymphocyte count also decreased during treatment but the lymphocyte/WBC ratio was slightly increased without statistical significance (P=0.91). The cytokine levels did not significantly change during treatment. Conclusion: It is somewhat difficult to determine the direct effect of mistletoe therapy on immune function as the effect may be compromised by the concurrent chemotherapy. It can be assumed that the slightly increased lymphocyte/WBC ratio and eosinophil count may be a result of the immunomodulatory effect of the mistletoe extract.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.631-640
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• 2014

The inhibitory effects of Boswellia serrata (BW) extracts on degenerative osteoarthritis were investigated in primary-cultured rat cartilage cells and a monosodium-iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rat model. To identify the protective effects of BW extract against $H_2O_2$ ($800{\mu}M$, 2 hr) in vitro, cell survival was measured by MTT assay. Cell survival after $H_2O_2$ treatment was elevated by BW extract at a concentration of $20{\mu}g/mL$. In addition, BW extract treatment significantly reduced and normalized the productions of pro-inflammatory factors, nuclear transcription factor ${\kappa}B$, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and interleukin-6 at a concentration of $20{\mu}g/mL$. Treatment of chondrocytes with BW extract significantly reduced 5-lipoxygenase activity and production of prostaglandin E2, especially at a concentration of $10{\sim}20{\mu}g/mL$. For the in vivo animal study, osteoarthritis was induced by intra-articular injection of MIA into knee joints of rats. Consumption of a diet containing BW extract (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 35 days significantly inhibited the development and severity of osteoarthritis in rats. To determine the genetic expression of arthritic factors in articular cartilage, real-time PCR was applied to measure matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-3, MMP-9, and MMP-13), collagen type I, collagen type II, and aggrecan, and BW extract had protective effects at a concentration of 200 mg/kg. In conclusion, BW extract was able to inhibit articular cartilage degeneration by preventing extracellular matrix degradation and chondrocyte injury. One can consider that BW extract may be a potential therapeutic treatment for degenerative osteoarthritis.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2001

This study was conducted to investigate the immunomodulatory activities of proteoglycan extracted from cultured mycelia of Ganoderma lucidum IY009. The proteoglycan contained two polymer peaks, one was the higher MW peak of 2,000 kD and the other was low peaks of 12kD. To understand the part of strong pharmaceutical activity between two peak, the proteoglycan was separated by ultrafiltration and column chromatography and then examined the various pharmaceutical effects. High molecular weight fraction possesing high content of ${\beta}-linked$ glucan was exhibited high antitumor activity, against sarcoma 180 bearing ICR mouse. And also, anticomplementary activity was highly observed in high molecule fraction than low it fraction. When the raw 264.7 and murine peritoneal macrophage treated with low fraction, high fraction and other stimuli. The activities inducing tumor necrosis factor of the high factions were $2.2{\sim}2.5$ times stronger than that of low fraction.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.185-198
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• 2008

Influences of dietary brown seaweed(BSW) on the nutrient metabolism, anti-oxidant enzyme activity and cell-mediated immune response were studied in broiler chicks activated acute phase response. 72 Hatched male broiler chicks(Ross) were divided into 12 pens, 6 heads per pen, and fed the BSW 0.0% (Basal) or 2.0% diet, respectively, and injected with the Salmonella typhimurium lipopoly saccharide(LPS) for activation of the acute phase response three times at 8, 10 and 12 d of age. During 4 wks of experimental feeding, growth performance of broiler chicks was not affected by dietary BSW and the acute phase response. Compared with control birds, the acute phase response did not affect the daily weight gain in birds fed BSW 2.0% diet, decreased nitrogen balance(NB) or metabolizable energy(ME) utilization per metabolic body size(kg0.75), and enhanced activities of peroxidase or extracellular SOD(EcSOD), tumor necrosis factor-alpha and ovotransferrin in plasma and MnSOD and CuZnSOD in erythrocyte cytosol. Compared to BSW 0.0% diet, 2.0% diet enhanced protein retention(NB) per kg0.75 regardless the acute phase response, did not affect uric acid nitrogen excretion(UAN) per kg0.75 in birds during the acute phase response, decreased(p<0.05) the UAN excretion per kg0.75 in control birds. And BSW 2.0% diet also decreased(p<0.05) plasma peroxide level and erythrocyte peroxidase or MnSOD activity but increased plasma peroxidase and EcSOD activity and interleukin-1 activity secreted from LPS-stimulated PBMC in 4 week broiler chicks.