• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.32 no.2 s.125
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• pp.168-174
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• 2001

Induction of phase II enzymes is a major mechanism of chemoprevention. The induction levels of quinone reductase (QR) activity in cultured murine hepatoma (Hepa 1c1c7) cells by 80%-methanol extracts of traditional medicinal plants were measured. Among the tested 81 plants, the extracts of Aralia continentalis, Magnolia obovata, and Viscum album were found to induce QR activities over 250%. The maximum induction levels obtained were 401.9%, 270.5%, and 301.8% by treatments of the extracts of A. continentalis $(318\;{\mu}g/ml)$, M. obovata $(53.8\;{\mu}g/ml)$ and V. album $(80.6\;{\mu}g/ml)$, respectively. These QR induction activities were more potent than those of the known QR inducers, t-butylhydroquinone (170.1%) and ${\beta}-naphthoflavone$ (320.0%).

• Toxicological Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 1995

Cyclophosphamide (CP) must be enzymatically activated by cytochrome P450(CYP)-linked mixed-function oxidation pathway to be either mutagenic or teratogenic. Influences of alterations in hepatic mixed-function oxidase acitivity and glutathione (GSH) content on the embryotoxicity of CP were studied in rat whole embryo culture system. The embryotoxicity of CP was compared using rat S-9 fraction (S-9) pretreated with chemicals inducing different CYP isozymes, acetone (ACE), Aroclor 1254 (ARO), $\beta$-naphthoflavone (NAF) and phenobarbital (PHE). When 10.5 day embryos were cultured in the immediately centrifuged rat serum for 48 hrs using general gas char{ging schedule, CP$(40{\mu}g/ml)$ with S-9 induced by either NAF or PHE increased the incidence of realformations and significantly decreased embryonic growth compared with the non-induced S-9 group. ACE or ARO induced S-9 group showed no significant difference in embryonic growth. These data suggest that PB and/or NAF inducible CYP isoenzymes are mainly involved in the activation of CP. To examine the effect of GSH on the embryotoxicity of CP, 10.5 day embryos were exposed to CP and S-9 after preincubation with 10 mM of GSH for 3 hrs. In the GSH pretreated group the growth of embryos increased significantly compared with that of the untreated group, suggesting that GSH may protect embryos in culture from some toxic effects of CP.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.330-335
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• 2014

Objectives: To evaluate the mutagenicity of lithium carbonate, a bacterial reverse mutation(Ames) test was carried out using four strains of S. typhimurium(TA1535; TA1537; TA98; and TA100) and one strain of E. coli(WP2uvrA). Materials: This was carried out in a dose range from 312.5 to $5,000{\mu}g/plate$ in triplicate with and without S9 activation, which is the most commonly used metabolic activation system supplemented by a post-mitochondrial fraction prepared from the livers of rodents treated with enzyme-inducing agents such as Aroclor 1254 or a combination of phenobarbitone and ${\beta}$-naphthoflavone. Results: No significant increases in the number of revertants were observed under the conditions examined in this study. Conclusions: Based on the above observations, it can be concluded that lithium carbonate has no mutagenic activity. Despite the results, it can have an effect by inducing acute oral toxicity, eye irritation and acute aquatic toxicity. Based on this study, we suggest that future studies should be directed toward chronic, carcinogenic testing and other related areas.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.391-398
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• 1998

In vitro effects of acetone, methanol, and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on liver microsomal cytochrome P450 (P450) content, and P450-dependent arylhydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase (ECOD) activities were studied in rats. Acetone at 1% (v/v) enhanced the content ofP450, assayed spectrally in 3-methylcholanethrene (MC)- and ${\beta}-naphthoflavone$ (BNF)-inducible microsomes by 18 and 7%, respectively. Methanol, up to 5% (v/v) applied, also showed enhancement effects on P450 content in liver microsomes from rats treated with phenobarbital (PB), MC, and BNF, as well as uninduced microsomes with similar but low strength. DMSO, however, did not show such enhancing effects at the ranges of the concentrations applied. AHH and ECOD activities in MC-inducible microsomes were also enhanced by acetone at 1%, which was in proportion to the increase in P450 content by the same concentration. However, the P450 content, and AHH and ECOD activities, were decreased by increasing the concentration of acetone. Methanol at the same concentration with acetone also enhanced ECOD activity but not AHH activity in MCinducible microsomes. The enhancing effect of acetone on the enzymes was negligible when the microsomes were pretreated with a specific monoclonal antibody of MC-inducible isozyme. The difference in the effects of these solvents on P450 system might be due to their different properties that cause the P450 active site to be exposed in milieu.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.381-386
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• 2008

Deep sea water was tested for cancer chemopreventive activity by measuring the activities of ${\beta}-$ naphthoflavone $({\beta}-NF)-induced$ cytochrome P 450 1A2 (CYP 1A2), quinone reductase (QR) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione (GSH) levels, and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity. The in vitro incubation of rat liver microsome with deep sea water (a hardness range of $100{\sim}1,000$) showed a hardness-dependent inhibition of CYP 1A2 activity. QR and GST activities were induced about $1.1{\sim}1.2$ fold with the treatment of deep sea water in murine hepatoma Hepa 1clc7 cells. In addition GSH levels were increased $1.3{\sim}1.4$ fold in a hardness range of $100{\sim}1,000$. The deep sea water showed 20.3 and 35.0% inhibition of 12-O- tetradecanoylphorbol-13-a-cetate (TPA)-induced ODC activity at hardness 800 and 1,000, respectively. Therefore, deep sea water is worth further investigation with respect to cancer chemoprevention or therapy.