Bone is continuously remodeled by osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoclasts play an important role in bone metabolism by resorbing the bone matrix. Thus, the compounds inhibiting osteoclasts can improve bone diseases such as osteoporosis. The methanol extracts of 159 herbal medicines were screened for the inhibitory activity against differentiation of osteoclasts. Among the tested extracts, Achuranthis Radix and Corydalis Tuber showed relatively strong inhibitory activity against differentiation of osteoclasts, whereas they have no significant effect on proliferation of osteoclasts.

The toxicity of aristolochic acid (ArA) has attracted considerable attention since the case of nephropathy regarding diet pill preparations was reported. The present study was performed to determine the reproductive toxicity of ArA in female SD rats. ArA was administered orally to female rats at 2, 8 or 16 mg/kg b.w./day and the females were mated with untreated males and their reproductive status was determined. ArA is well known as PLA2 inhibitor, toxic effects of such a relationship are not yet clear, and in vivo study on this matter are scarce. For this study, ArA was administered to pregnant rats at 10 or 20 mg/kg b.w./day, because premating treatments were not conducted. Administration of 20 mg/kg b.w./day caused infertility or abortion. In ArA-treated groups, PGF2a productions were inhibited and apoptosis were suppressed. Collectively, this study may help to further define the roles of sPLA2 in reproductive organs and to determine the toxic mechanisms of ArA.

'Whang Baig(黃柏)' is one of the crude drugs used mainly as a removing dampness, purging fire, detoxicating, and cleaning away heat of deficiency type. The botanical origin of the crude drug has never been studied pharmacognostically in Korea. To clarify the botanical origin of Whang Baig, the anatomical characteristics of Phellodendron amurense Rupr., Phellodendron insulare Nakai and Phellodendron molle Nakai were studied. As a result, it was clarified that Whang Baig from Korea was the bark of Phellodendron amurense and Phellodendron molle.

GCSB-5 preparation is a purified extract from a mixture of 6 medicinal plants(Acanthopanacis Cortex, Achyranthis Radix, Saposhnikoviae Radix, Cibotii Rhizoma, Glycine Semen Nigra, Eucommiae Cortex) that have been widely used for the treatment of various bone disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate HPLC analysis method and screening of standard compound on Saposhnikoviae Radix for quality standardization of a medicinal crude drug GCSB-5. Standard compound of Saposhnikoviae Radix was decided with cimifugin by isolation and instrumental analysis such as NMR. HPLC analysis method for the simultaneous determination of cimifugin was established for the quality control of the medicinal plants of Saposhnikoviae Radix species, GCSB-5 raw material and preparation. And validation of HPLC analysis methods were conformed for verification of HPLC methods by check to specificity, linearity, intra-day precision, inter-day precision and accuracy following ICH guideline.

We examined the purity of six heparin samples by using heparinase, chondroitinase, $^{1}H-NMR$, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. To obtain high molecular weight contaminants from heparin samples, heparinase I - digested samples were subjected to the exhaustive microcon filtration. The filtration process removed heparin-derived di- and oligosaccharides effectively. By combining chondroitinase ABC treatment and strong anion exchange - high performance liquid chromatography, the result showed all six samples contained chondroitin sulfate as a contaminant ranging from 1.3 to 14.9%. Among them, sample S3 showed the highest content of 14.9%, which was further analyzed by chondroitinase AC treatment to confirm chondroitin sulfate B (dermatan sulfate). $^{1}H-NMR$ chemical shifts of N-acetyl groups clearly suggested the existence of chondroitin sulfate B (sample S3) and oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (samples S2 and S4) as contaminants. In addition, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was useful for qualitative detection on the sample's purity. These results suggest that the tools of heparinase I and chondroitinase ABC in combination with NMR spectroscopy would give very useful information for investigation of heparin contaminants such as oversulfated chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate in heparin samples.

Methanol extracts of Orostachys japonicus A. Berger (OAB) were found to exhibit apoptosis induction of HL60 human acute promyelocytic leukemia cells. Treatment of OAB exerted strong cytotoxicity against HL60 cells. OAB induced DNA fragmentation of HL60 cells in a dose dependent manner. Nitric oxide production were also increased in OAB-treated RAW264.7 macrophage cell lines. Treatment of OAB increased the expression of p53 and iNOS gene and the expression of p53, $NF-{\kappa}B$ and iNOS protein in cultured HL60 and RAW264.7 cells. These results suggest that OAB are effective on strong anti-cancer properties and can be useful as a chemo-preventive agents.

In an ongoing investigation into anti-oxidative compounds from natural products, the EtOAc soluble fraction of Aster tataricus L. (Compositae) showed significant anti-oxidative activity on the NBT superoxide scavenging assay. By means of an activity-guided purification, three flavonoids, kaempferol (1), quercetin (2), astragalin (3) and one monoterpene glycoside, shionoside A (4) were isolated. Their structures were determined spectral analyses. Compounds 2 and 3 showed potent antioxidative activity, while, compounds 1 and 4 were inactive $IC_{50}$>120${\mu}g/mL$. In addition, these compounds were examined for the effect of interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in TNF-${\alpha}$ stimulated MG-63 cell. Compounds 1-3 showed negligible inhibitory activity against IL-6 production in $TNF-{\alpha}$ stimulated $MG-6{\beta}$ cell, and compound 4 was inactive.

This study was carried out to investigate the antidiabetic and antioxidative effect of Lycii fructus in the Streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The effective fractions were prepared as a form of organic solvents of $CH_{3}(CH_{2})_{4}CH_{3}$ $CHCI_{3}$, EtOAc, BuOH and $H_{2}O$ fractions prepared from the EtOH extract of Lycii fructus and The diabetes were induced by an tail-intravenous injection of STZ with a dose of 45 mg/kg dissolved in citrate buffer. The various fractions of Lycii fructus were orally administrated once a day for 7 days. The contents of serum glucose, and triglyceride in the $CHCI_{3}$ fraction and hepatic lipid peroxidation in the EtOAc, BuOH and $H_{2}O$ fractions treated rats were significantly decreased when compared to those of the STZ-control group In addition, an activity of hepatic GST in the BuOH fraction treated rats was significantly increased compared to that of the STZ-control group. whereas, activities of hepatic catalase, GSH-Px in the BuOH fraction treated rats were significantly decreased compared to those of the STZ-control group. Meanwhile, The content of hepatic glycogen and avtivity of hepatic glucokinase in $CHCI_{3}$ fraction treated rats were significantly increased, but activity of glucose-6-pase was significantly decreased in the $CHCI_{3}$ fraction treated rats. In conclusion, these results indicated that the BuOH fraction of Lycii fructus was effective for the antioxidation, and also the $CHCI_{3}$ fraction of Lycii fructus was effective for the antidiabetes in the STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Isoniazid was discovered in 1950's and since then it has been widely used as a synthetic bactericidal agent in the treatment of tuberculosis. However, the adverse effect of isoniazid has been reported to show significant hepatotoxicity in approximately 1-2% of patients. Nitrofurantoin {1-(5-nitro-2-furfurylideneamino)-hydantoin} is a synthetic nitrofuran that is commonly used for the treatment and prophylaxis of urinary tract infections, but its use is associated with liver cirrhosis and fatal liver necrosis. Therefore, studies for natural products with protective effect on the isoniazid- and/or nitrofurantoin-induced hepatotoxcity would be valuable as the potential therapeutic use. 107 plants sources were collected at Mt. Baekdu, and extracted with methanol. These extracts had been screened for the protective effects against isoniazid- and/or nitrofurantoin-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells at the both 100 and $300{\mu}g/ml$. Five methanolic extracts, Acanthopanax senticosus, Acer mono, Asparagus schoberioides, Fagopyrum tataricum, Potentilla centigrana, showed significant protective effects against isoniazidinduced hepatotoxicity. Two methanolic extracts, Acer mono and Leonurus artemisia, showed significant protective effects against nitrofurantoin-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells.

Among aging diseases, the most basic problem is a decrease in bone mineral density. Patients with osteoporosis are steadily increasing in the world. This study was investigated to show the relationship between osteoporotic effects and oxidative damage. Water extracts of 15 medicinal plants and ethanol extracts of 14 medicinal plants with known anti-osteoporotic effects, were tested for their radical scavenging activity using DPPH, ABTS, SRSA and FRAP assay. Water extract of Cornus officinalis, Rubus coreanus and ethanol extract of Rubus coreanus, Viscium album var. coloratum, Cimicifuga heracleifolia showed about 15-20 mg/g of total phenolic contents. Water extract of Cornus officinalis, Rubus coreanus and Epimedium koreanum showed high radical scavenging activity. Ethanol extract of Drynaria fortunei, Cornus officinalis, Rubus coreanus, Gentiana scabra and Astragalus membranaceus showed high radical scavenging activity. Water extract of Drynaria fortunei, Cornus officinalis, Nelumbo nucifera, Epimedium koreanum, and Gentiana scabra showed very strong protective effect against oxidative damage to DNA. These results suggest the correlation between anti-osteoporotic effects and antioxidative effects.

We examined ethanol extracts prepared from the Korean marine algae belonging to the Sargassaceae family for their inhibitory effects on ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity and free radicals in vitro. Among five marine algae, the extracts of Sargassum yezoense were found to possess strongly ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition and free radicals scavenging activities. Two compounds were isolated via bioactivity guided isolation and tested for their effects on ${\alpha}$-glucosidase, DPPH, $ABTS^{+}$ and $Photochem^{(R)}$ analysis. Their chemical structures were elucidated by spectral analysis and direct comparison with authentic compounds; their structures were identified as sargaquinoic acid (1) and sargahydroquinoic acid (2). The inhibitory effects of compound 1 and 2 ($IC_{50}$ value:14.2 and 12.8 ${\mu}M$, respectively) on ${\alpha}$-glucosidase were more potent that of deoxynojirimycin as a positive control ($IC_{50}$ value:18.0 ${\mu}M$). All compounds displayed antioxidative activity which was measured by DPPH, $ABTS^{+}$ and $Photochem^{(R)}$ apparatus.

The reference herbal extracts and their identification methods by Korean Pharmacopoeia IX were established based on the organic solvent extracts to detect their marker compounds. However, most of herbal medicine decoctions in the market are prepared with water as extracting solvent. As the reference herbal extracts and their identification methods are not appropriate for the practical test, new preparation of alternative reference herbal extracts and their identification test methods are essential for the correction of test methods and identification of herbal drugs. Three novel identification test methods were developed for Evodiae Fructus, Cimicifugae Rhizoma and Aurantii Fructus Immaturus. Total 10 reference herbal extracts and their identification methods were optimized for Ephedrae Herba, Schisandrae Fructus, Curcuma longae Rhizoma, Citri Unshius Pericarpium, Puerariae Radix, Corni Fructus, and Cinnamomi Cortex.