• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1683-1690
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• 2010

There is an increasing interest in the potential of isoflavone in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, however, although several effects of isoflavone as a component of soy protein are well established, the hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of purified isoflavone are still controversial. This study was to investigate the effects of isoflavone on serum lipid profiles and antioxidant status in rats. 7-week old male Sprague Dawley rats were fed one of the following diets for 8 weeks: basal diet (B), basal+0.3% isoflavone (BI), basal+0.5% cholesterol (BC), or basal+0.3% isoflavone +0.5% cholesterol (BIC). Two-way ANOVA was used to test the effects of dietary isoflavone and cholesterol supplementation and their interaction on variables. Serum lipid profiles and total antioxidant status (TAS) were examined spectrophotometrically. Degree of serum lipid peroxidation was measured by malondialdehyde (MDA) assay. The activities of serum antioxidant enzymes (GSH-Px, total-SOD) was determined. Levels of serum total cholesterol, VLDL+LDL-cholesterol and Atherogenic index were significantly lower in BI than those levels in group B (p=0.0002, p<0.0001, and p=0.0042, respectively). Serum total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were significantly higher, in both isoflavone supplemented groups (BI, BIC) compared to those levels in each control group (B, BC) (p<0.0001). Activity of total-SOD was significantly higher in BI compared to the activities in group B (p=0.0317). There was no interaction between isoflavone and cholesterol supplementation. In conclusion, isoflavone supplementation showed positive effects on the serum lipid profiles and total antioxidant activities in both conditions, either when fed a diet with or without cholesterol. These effects of isoflavone were independent of cholesterol supplementation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1315-1323
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• 2017

Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant (Curcuma longa (CL)) of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. A yellow-pigmented fraction isolated from the rhizomes of CL contains curcuminoids belonging to the dicinnamoyl methane group. Curcumin is an important active ingredient responsible for the biological activity of CL. However, CL is not usually used as a food source due to its bitter taste. The present study was designed to determine the effect of the CL fermented by Rhizopus oryzae (FCL) on pro-inflammatory factors such as nuclear factor ${\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$), tumor necrosis factor alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cell line. The cell viability was determined by MTT assay. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of FCL 80% EtOH extracts, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ were measured by ELISA kit. Also, the amount of $NO/PGE_2/NF-{\kappa}B$ was measured using the $NO/PGE_2/NF-{\kappa}B$ detection kit and the iNOS/COX-2 expression was measured by Western blotting. The results showed that the FCL reduced NO, $PGE_2$, iNOS, COX-2, $NF-{\kappa}B$, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ production without cytotoxicity. These results suggest that FCL extracts may be a developed the functional food related to anti-inflammation due to the significant effects on inflammatory factors.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.510-518
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• 2003

Protective effects of natural components including genistein (4',5,7-trihydroxyisoflavone) from Glycine max MERRILL on the rose-bengal sensitized photohemolysis of human erythrocytes were investigated. Genistein $(10{\sim}100\;{\mu}m)$ suppressed photohemolysis in a concentration-dependent manner, and was more effective than the lipid peroxidation chain blocker, ${\alpha}$-tocopherol (Vit. E). Glycoside of genistein, genistin, the water-soluble antioxidant, L-ascorbate, and the iron chelator, myo-inositol hexaphosphoric acid dodecasodium salt (sodium phytate) did not exhibit protective effect against photohemolysis. L-Ascorbate and sodium phytate stimulated photohemolysis at high concentration $(500\;{\mu}m)$. ${\alpha}$-Carotene 3,3'-diol (lutein), a singlet oxygen $(^1O_2)$ quencher, exhibited pronounced protective effect, an indication that $^1O_2$ is important in photohemolysis sensitized by rose-bengal. Reactive oxygen scavenging activities $(OSC_{50})$ of natural antioxidants including genistein on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated in $Fe^{3+}-EDTA/H_2O_2$ system using the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay were in the order of sodium phytate > L-ascorbate > ${\alpha}$-tocopherol > genistein > genistin. $OSC_{50}$ value of genistein, genistin, ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, L-ascorbate, and sodium phytate were 41.0, 109.0, 9.0, 5.2, and $0.56{\mu}m$ respectively. The order of free radical (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, DPPH) scavenging activity $(FSC_{50})$ was L-ascorbate > ${\alpha}$-tocopherol > genistein > genistin. These results indicate that genistein can function as an antioxidant in biological systems, particularly skin exposed to solar UV radiation by scavenging $^1O_2$ and other ROS, and to protect cellular membranes against ROS.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.125-131
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• 2003

Physiological activities of hot water extracts of 10 commercial instant curry powders and 6 spices, were investigated. All spice extracts except ginger showed significant antioxidant activities on the autoxidation of linoleic curry acid (p＜0.01). Antioxidant activities of clove and fennel were significantly higher than ${\alpha}-tocopherol$, instant curry powders, and other spices, Red pepper $(52.8{\pm}2.13%)$, clove, and coriander showed significant inhibitory activities against angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (p＜0.001). Cytotoxic effects of instant curry powder and spices against human cancer cell lines were examined through MTT assay. Black pepper $(29.31{\pm}2.21%\;cytotoxic\;rate)$ and cardamon $(19.41{\pm}3.92%)$ were effective against MCF-7 (p＜0.01), Clove $(42.92{\pm}5.57%)$ against HeLa (p＜0.01). Ginger $(34.21{\pm}1.11%)$, cardamon, and black pepper against A172 (p＜0.001), garlic $(82.88{\pm}0.53%)$ against SN12C (p＜0.001), garlic $(71.63{\pm}0.38%)$, red pepper, ginger, fenugreek, SPC, cumin, and MPC against SNU-638 (p＜0.001), and cassia $(82.84{\pm}16.92%)$ against A549 (p＜0.001).

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2007

Background: Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is known to modulates the cellular functions, including cell proliferation and apoptosis. It is known that a high level of HO-1 expression is found in many tumors, and HO-1 plays an important role in rapid tumor growth on account of its antioxidant and antiapoptotic effects. Cisplatin is a widely used anti-cancer agent for the treatment of lung cancer. However, the development of resistance to cisplatin is a major obstacle to its use in clinical treatment. We previously demonstrated that inhibiting HO-1 expression through the transcriptional activation of Nrf2 induces apoptosis in A549 cells. The aim of this study was to determine of the inhibiting HO-1 enhance the chemosensitivity of A549 cells to cisplatin. Materials and Methods: The human lung cancer cell line, A549, was treated cisplatin, and the cell viability was measured by a MTT assay. The change in HO-1, Nrf2, and MAPK expression after the cisplatin treatment was examined by Western blotting. HO-1 inhibition was suppressed by ZnPP, which is a specific pharmacologic inhibitor of HO activity, and small interfering RNA (siRNA). Flow cytometry analysis and Western blot were performed in to determine the level of apoptosis. The level of hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) generation was monitored fluoimetrically using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate. Results: The A549 cells showed more resistance to the cisplatin treatment than the other cell lines examined, whereas cisplatin increased the expression of HO-1 and Nrf2, as well as the phosphorylation of MAPK in a time-dependent fashion. Inhibitors of the MAPK pathway blocked the induction of HO-1 and Nrf2 by the cisplatin treatment in A549 cells. In addition, the cisplatin-treated A549 cells transfected with dither the HO-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or ZnPP, specific HO-1 inhibitor, showed in a more significantly decrease in viability than the cisplatin-only-treated group. The combination treatment of ZnPP and cisplatin caused in a marked increase in the ROS generation and a decrease in the HO-1 expression. Conclusion: Cisplatin increases the expression of HO-1, probably through the MAPK-Nrf2 pathway, and the inhibition of HO-1 enhances the chemosensitivity of A549 cells to cisplatin.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.287-294
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• 2015

In this study, we investigated the antioxidative effects of brown seaweed Ecklonia cava extract and its subfractions. All experiments were performed with 50% ethanol extract, ethyl acetate fraction and aglycone fraction of E. cava. The free radical (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, DPPH) scavenging activities ($FSC_{50}$) of ethyl acetate fraction ($FSC_{50}=6.98{\mu}g/mL$) and aglycone fraction ($7.03{\mu}g/mL$) are similar to that of (+)-${\alpha}$-tocopherol ($8.98{\mu}g/mL$) which is a reference control. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity (total antioxidant capacity, $OSC_{50}$) of the aglycone fraction ($OSC_{50}=14.48{\mu}g/mL$) on ROS generated in $Fe^{3+}-EDTA/H_2O_2$ system using the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay was the strongest among all extract and fractions. However, all samples showed lower antioxidant activities than that of L-ascorbic acid ($6.88{\mu}g/mL$) known as a powerful antioxidant. The protective effect of 50% ethanol extract on the $^1O_2$-induced cellular damage of human erythrocytes was dependent on the concentration from 5 to $50{\mu}g/mL$. Both ethyl acetate fraction and aglycone fraction showed strong cellular protective activities at $10{\mu}g/mL$, where the cellular protective effects (${\tau}_{50}$) of each fraction were recorded 442.0 min and 539.9 min, respectively. Three kinds of extract/fractions of E. cava showed much greater cellular protective activities at $10{\mu}g/mL$ than that of liposoluble antioxidant (+)-${\alpha}$-tocopherol (40.6 min) which is a reference control. These results suggest E. cava extracts and its fractions can be applied as an antioxidant ingredient in a field of cosmetics.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.237-242
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• 2015

The use of calcite-forming bacteria (CFB) in crack remediation and durability improvements in construction materials creates a permanent and environmentally-friendly material. Therefore, research into this type of application is stimulating interdisciplinary studies between microbiology and architectural engineering. However, the mechanisms giving rise to these materials are dependent on calcite precipitation by the metabolism of the CFB, which raises concerns about possible hazards to cement-based construction due to microbial metabolic acid production. The aim of this study was to determine target microorganisms that possibly can have bio-corrosive effects on cement mortar and to assess multi-functional CFBs for their safe application to cement structures. The chalky test was first used to evaluate the $CaCO_3$ solubilization feature of construction sites by fungi, yeast, bacterial strains. Not all bacterial strains are able to solubilize $CaCO_3$, but C. sphaerospermum KNUC253 or P. prolifica KNUC263 showed $CaCO_3$ solubilization activity. Therefore, these two strains were identified as target microorganisms that require control in cement structures. The registered patented strains Bacillus aryabhatti KNUC205, Arthrobacter nicotianae KNUC2100, B. thuringiensis KNUC2103 and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia KNUC2106, reported as multifunctional CFB (fungal growth inhibition, crack remediation, and water permeability reduction of cement surfaces) and isolated from Dokdo or construction site were unable to solubilize $CaCO_3$. Notably, B. aryabhatti KNUC205 and A. nicotianae KNUC2100 could not hydrolyze cellulose or protein, which can be the major constituent macromolecules of internal materials for buildings. These results show that several reported multi-functional CFB can be applied to cement structures or diverse building environments without corrosive or bio-deteriorative risks.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1581-1590
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• 2009

Hizikia fusiforme is a kind of brown edible seaweed that mainly grows in the temperate seaside areas of the northwest pacific, including Korea, Japan and China, and has been widely used as a health food for hundreds of years. Recently, H. fusiforme has been known to exert pharmacological activities including antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticoagulant activities. However, the molecular mechanisms of H. fusiforme in malignant cells have not been clearly elucidated yet. In this study, the effects of ethyl alcohol extract of H. fusiforme (EAHF) on the anti-proliferative effects of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were investigated. EAHF treatment resulted in a concentration-dependent growth inhibition by including apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells and G1 phase arrest in MCF-7 cells, which could be proved by MTT assay, DAPI staining, agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry analysis. In MDA-MB-231 cells, the increase in apoptosis induced by EAHF treatment correlated with up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax expression. EAHF treatment induced the proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, and a concomitant inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, $\beta$-catenin, phospholipase-${\gamma}1$ protein and DNA fragmentation factor 45/inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of H. fusiforme.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.1039-1046
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• 2009

The cytochrome P450s (P450s) metabolizing natural products are among the most versatile biological catalysts known in plants, but knowledge of the structural basis for their broad substrate specificity has been limited. The activity of p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (C3H) is thought to be essential for the biosynthesis of lignin and many other phenylpropanoid pathway products in plants however, all attempts to express and purify the protein corresponding C3H gene have failed. As a result, no conditions suitable for the unambiguous assay of the enzyme are known. The detailed understanding of the mechanism and substrate-specificity of C3Hdemands a method for the production of active protein on the milligram scale. We have developed a bacterial expression and purification system for the plant C3H, which allows for the quick expression and purification of active wild-type C3H via introduction of combinational mutagenesis. The modified cytochrome P450 C3H ($C3H_{mod}$) could be purified in the absence of detergent using immobilized metal affinity chromatography and size exclusion chromatography following extraction from isolated membranes in a high salt buffer and catalytically activated. This method makes the use of isotopic labeling of C3H for NMRstudies and X-ray crystallography practical, and is also applicable to other plant cytochrome P450 proteins.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.297-303
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• 2014

The effects of Eisenia bicyclis extracts on osteoblast differentiation and osteoclast formation were investigated. The proliferation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells was tested in an MTT assay. Treatment with E. bicyclis ethanol extract increased cell proliferation by approximately 128% at a concentration of 10 ${\mu}g/ml$. The ALP activities in the MC3T3-E1 cells was 179% higher when the E. bicyclis ethanol extract was processed at a concentration of 50 ${\mu}g/ml$. The proliferation of RAW 264.7 osteoclastic cells decreased significantly in response to treatment with the E. bicyclis extracts. Moreover, the proliferation of the RAW 264.7 osteoclastic cells treated with E. bicyclis hot water extract decreased by nearly 80%. In addition, the E. bicyclis extract reduced the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive (TRAP+) multinucleated cells from osteoclastic RAW 264.7 cells. These results indicate that E. bicyclis extracts have an anabolic effect on bone through the promotion of osteoclast differentiation and suggest that the extracts could be used in the treatment of common metabolic bone diseases.