• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.767-772
• /
• 2006

This study was to investigate the effect of betaine on the hypoglycemia and hepatoprotection of streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing around 280 g were randomly assigned to the three experimental groups: a healthy normal group and two groups with STZ-induced diabetes and fed either control diet or betaine diet. Betaine given to the STZ-diabetic rats had significant effect in lowering the serum glucose concentrations compared to the STZ-diabetic rats. The alanine aminotransferase (AST) and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) activities and triglyceride contents in serum were dramatically higher in the STZ-diabetic rats, but these increases in relation to diabetes also decreased in the STZ-diabetic rats fed betaine. However, the total-cholesterol concentration in the STZ-diabetic rats was even increased by betaine. The morphology of the pancreatic islets in the normal rats showed a typical round form, but most of the islets in the STZ-diabetic rats showed severe morphological alterations by being markedly destroyed. However, the islet morphology of STZ-diabetic rats given betaine mostly maintained a normal rounded appearance. The present study strongly suggests that the administration of betaine showed a moderate hypoglycemic effect by protecting the pancreatic beta-cells by morphological examination from STZ-induced destruction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.721-729
• /
• 2013

To improve the quality and functionality of the low salt squid Jeot-gal, extracts from three types of medicinal and edible plants (bay leaf, green tea, pine needle) were added. The quality characteristics, bioactivities, and shelf-lives of these preparations were determined at three different fermentation temperatures. The pH decreased more rapidly at higher temperatures, while the amount of volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), total viable cells, and amino nitrogen ($NH_2$-N) increased. The shelf-lives of Jeot-gal with natural plant extracts at $10^{\circ}C$ were 34~35 days, similar to the control. The major free and compositional amino acids of Jeot-gal were glutamic acid, proline, and alanine, while the major nucleotides (and related compounds) were hypoxanthine and inosine. In bioactivity assays, samples supplemented with plant extracts showed higher bioactivities than the control. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of ethanol extracts from Jeot-gal were stronger than the water extracts; in contrast, the water extracts were stronger for hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity. However, superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity and ${\beta}$-glucuronidase inhibitory activity were moderately low at 20 mg/mL. Based on sensory evaluation results, the quality of low salt squid Jeot-gal with natural plant extracts is similar to the control. Therefore, low salt squid Jeot-gal with natural plant extracts can be commercialized as a functional fermented food.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.17-26
• /
• 2018

Objective : In this study, we investigated the effect of SAL5(mixing extracts of Schisandra chinensis Baillon, Artemisia capillaris Thunb., and Aloe vera Linne) on chronic ethanol-induced fatty liver model. Methods : Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed Liber-DeCarli (normal), ethanol liquid diet (control), SAL5 (200 mg/kg). We administrated the SAL5 on chronic ethanol-induced fatty liver model for 5 weeks. We measured alkaline phosphtase (ALP), alanine transminase (ALT), aspartate transminase (AST) and ${\gamma}-glutamyl$ transpeptase (${\gamma}-GTP$) in serum and triglyceride (TG), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in liver. Liver histopathology was examined by Hematoxylin-eosin and Oil red O staining of the fixed liver tissues. Real-time PCR was performed to measure the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and MMP-2, MMP-9. Results : SAL5 administration resulted in significantly decreased liver marker enzymes activities of alanine transminase (ALT), ${\gamma}-glutamyl$ transpeptase (${\gamma}-GTP$) in serum and triglyceride (TG) activities in liver. The control group decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) with the reduced level of glutathione (GSH) in liver. On the other hand, SAL5 group increased the activities of SOD, CAT and the level of GSH. SAL5 delayed the development of an alcoholic fatty liver by reversing fat accumulation in the liver, as evidenced in histological observations. The gene expression of mRNA were significantly decreased at the $IL-1{\beta}$, $TNF-{\alpha}$, NOS-II and MMP-2 by SAL5. Conclusions : These results indicate that SAL5 might have protective effect chronic ethanol-induced fatty liver models.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.101-112
• /
• 2011

Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine arterial stiffness levels as measured by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and to identify the association between arterial stiffness and inflammatory markers, in healthy adults over 50 years old. Methods: The study population consisted of 4617 persons over the age of 50 years who participated in the baseline survey of the Dong-gu Study, which was conducted in 2007 and 2008. Arterial stiffness was measured using baPWV. A multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between conventional cardiovascular risk factors and inflammatory markers, including white blood cell (WBC) counts, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT). Results: After adjustment for conventional cardiovascular risk factors including sex, age, smoking status, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, hypertension or diabetic medication, total cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, and alanine aminotransferase, baPWV was significantly associated with WBC counts (${\beta}$=0.158, p<0.0001), hs-CRP (${\beta}$=0.244, p=0.026), and GGT (${\beta}$=0.003, p<0.0001). Conclusion: This study shows that arterial stiffness correlates with inflammatory markers. Arterial stiffness may be used as a composite risk factor to identify persons with higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, arterial stiffness may be a marker for future cardiovascular disease and a target for prevention.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.19-27
• /
• 1996

Zanthoxylum piperitum and Z. schinifolium have been utilized not only as food stuffs, but also as medicinal plants in Korea. In this study, lipids, sugar, amino acids and other components of Zanthoxylum piperitum and Z. schinifolium peels and seeds were analyzed by HPLC and GLC. Four samples contained common fatty acids such as linoleic, linolenic, palmitic, oleic and stearic acid. The contents of unsaturated fatty acids were 87.1% and 64.8% in Z. schinifolium peels and seeds, 73.6% and 62.9% in Z. piperitum peels and seeds, respectively. Z. schinifolium peels contained only beta-sitosterol, whereas other three samples contained campesterol, stigmasterol and beta-sitosterol. In case of free amino acids, peels of both species showed higher contents of acids than seeds of both species. Glutamic acid, aspartic acid, arginine, valine, and leucine were found in all four samples. Essential oils consisted of limonene (30.1-66.8%), beta-phellandrene (4.8-13.3%), citronellal (1.5-22%) and cineol (1.6-3.9%). It is worthwhile to note that the content of citronellal in Z. schinifolium seeds was higher than that of the others.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.23 no.2 s.73
• /
• pp.121-128
• /
• 1995

The characteristics of protein-bound polysaccharides (PBP) which were isolated and purified from the sawdust mycelia of Agrocybe cylindracea were investigated. The yield of crude protein-bound polysaccharides (Fr.CB) extracted with boiling water and precipitated with 95% ethanol, was 0.74% based on the original sawdust mycelia. The Fr.CB was purified by the membrane filtration, ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The Fr.B fraction of which the molecular weight is over 300 KDa, was isolated from the Fr.CB using membrane filtration, and the yield was 38.6% based on the Fr.CB. This result indicates that high molecular protein-bound polysaccharides are the dominent components of the Fr.CB. Two fractions (Fr.B-1, Fr.B-2) were also isolated from the Fr.B using ion exchange chromatography, and the yields were 17.3% (Fr.B-1) and 10.3% (Fr. B-2), respectively. The Fr.B-1 was concentrated and gel-filtrated, and the single peak, thought to be nearly pure protein-bound polysaccharides, was obtained. The yield of final fraction $(Fr.B-1-{\beta})$ was 42.5% based on the Fr.B-1. The molecular weight of $Fr.B-1-{\beta}$ was nearly 710 KDa. The monosaccharides' composition of $Fr.B-1-{\beta}$ was analized by HPLC, and glucose was the dominent component, and fucose and galactose were also detected. The result of amino acid analysis was that glutamic acid and analysis were detected to a significant level, and cysteine was not detected.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.558-560
• /
• 2005

Hepatoprotective effects of white ginseng extract (WGE), and IH-901 (20-O-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl-20(S)-protopanaxadiol) derived from intestinal metabolite of ginsenoside $Rb_1$ were studied using two experimental animal models with chemical-induced hepatic damage. Administration of WGE (200 and 500 mg/kg) and IH-901 (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 mM/kg) significantly decreased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in acute hepatitic mice induced by $CCl_4$. Administration of WGE (l00 mg/kg) and IH-901 (0.02, 0.04, and 0.08 mM/kg) significantly decreased AST and ALT levels in acute hepatitic rats induced by D-galactosamine. AST and ALT levels of IH-901 groups decreased. These results suggested WGE and IH-901 may have protective effects against chemical-induced hepatic damage.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.218-227
• /
• 2018

In this study, we investigated the effect of the extracts from Vaccinium oldhamii on cell proliferation and the regulatory mechanisms of cyclin D1 protein level in human cancer cells. The branch extracts from Vaccinium oldhamii (VOB) showed higher inhibitor effect against the cell growth than leave extracts (VOL) and fruit extracts (VOF) in human colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer cells. In addition, VOB decreased cyclin D1 level at both protein and mRNA level. MG132 treatment attenuated VOB-mediated cyclin D1 downregulation. A point mutation of threonine-286 to alanine attenuated cyclin D1 degradation by VOB. In addition, the inhibition of nuclear export by leptomycin B (LMB) attenuated cyclin D1 degradation by VOB. But, the treatment of PD98059 (ERK1/2 inhibitor), SB203580 (p38 inhibitor), SP600125 (JNK inhibitor), LiCl ($GSK3{\beta}$ inhibitor), LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) or BAY 11-7082 ($I{\kappa}K$ inhibitor) did not affect VOB-induced cyclin D1 degradation. In conclusion, VOB induced cyclin D1 degradation through redistribution of cyclin D1 from the nucleus to cytoplasm via T286 phosphorylation of cyclin D1, which resulted in the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.7
• /
• pp.935-944
• /
• 2013

Essential oils have been shown to favorably effect in vitro ruminal fermentation, but there are few in vivo studies that have examined animal responses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of thyme (THY) and cinnamon (CIN) essential oils on feed intake, growth performance, ruminal fermentation and blood metabolites in feedlot calves fed high-concentrate diets. Twelve growing Holstein calves ($213{\pm}17kg$ initial BW) were used in a completely randomized design and received their respective dietary treatments for 45 d. Treatments were: 1-control (no additive), 2-THY (5 g/d/calf) and 3-CIN (5 g/d/calf). Calves were fed ad libitum diets consisting of 15% forage and 85% concentrate, and adapted to the finishing diet by gradually increasing the concentrate ratio with feeding a series of transition diets 5 wk before the experiment started. Supplementation of THY or CIN did not affect DMI and ADG, and feed efficiency was similar between treatment groups. There were no effects of additives on ruminal pH and rumen concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and total VFA; whereas molar proportion of acetate and ratio of acetate to propionate decreased, and the molar proportion of propionate increased with THY and CIN supplementation. Rumen molar concentration of butyrate was significantly increased by adding CIN compared to control; but no change was observed with THY compared with control group. No effects of THY, or CIN were observed on valerate, isobutyrate or isovalerate proportions. Plasma concentrations of glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, urea-N, ${\beta}$-hydroxybutyrate, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were not changed by feeding THY or CIN. Results from this study suggest that supplementing a feedlot finishing diet with THY or CIN essential oil might be useful as ruminal fermentation modifiers in beef production systems, but has minor impacts on blood metabolites.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.350-357
• /
• 1999

At concentrations of 1 mM, the protective effects of carnosine and related compounds including anserine, homocarnosine, histidine, ${\beta}$-alanine were investigated against copper-catalyzed oxidative damage to deoxyribose, ascorbic acid, human serum albumin, liposome, and erythrocytes. Carnosine and anserine reduced Cu (II) to bathocuproine-reactive Cu (I) in a time- a and a dose-dependent manner while the others did not. Carnosine reduced 86% of $100\;{\mu}M$ Cu (II) in 60 min. Carnosine, homocarnosine, anserine, and histidine inhibited copper-catalyzed deoxyribose degradation by 75, 66, 65, and 45%, respectively. In the presence of $1\;{\mu}M$ Cu (II), carnosine and related compounds inhibited ascorbic acid oxidation by 55-85% after incubation for 20 min. In the presence of 0.15 mM ascorbic acid and 0.8 mM $H_2O_2$, carnosine, anserine, homocarnosine, and histidine inhibited copper-catalyzed oxidation of human serum albumin by 41, 21, 29, and 24%, respectively, as determined by carbonyl formation. These compounds also significantly inhibited copper-catalyzed liposomal lipid peroxidation as measured by malondialehyde and lipid hydroperoxides. Carnosine, anserine, homocarnosine, and histidine inhibited hemolysis of bovine erythrocytes induced by 0.1 mM Cu (II). These results suggest that histidine-containing dipeptides may play an important role in protecting against free radical-mediated tissue damage.