• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2072-2081
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• 2015

Aloe vera has been used in traditional medicine for the therapy of a variety of disorders, such as wounds and burns. However, few studies have examined the antioxidant capacities of A. vera plants during different growth periods. In order to investigate the effects of growth on antioxidant activity, A. vera was prepared from 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, and 12-month-old aloe. The extracts from 6-month-old A. vera showed the highest contents of flavonoids (9.750 mg catechin equivalent/g extract) and polyphenols (23.375 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract) and the highest ferric reducing antioxidant power (0.047 mM ferrous sulfate equivalent/mg extract). The extract from 6-month-old A. vera exhibited the highest free radical scavenging potential, and the lowest IC₅₀ values were found for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (0.26 mg/ml) and alkyl radicals (0.50 mg/ml). In addition, the extract from 6-month-old A. vera showed the greatest effects on cell viability in normal liver cells. Based on these findings, the extract from 6-month-old A. vera was examined further in order to determine its protective potential against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative stress. The extract from 6-month-old A. vera at a concentration of 0.25 mg/ml showed the highest protective activity against t-BHP-induced reactive oxygen species production. These findings suggested that harvesting regimens were critical in the regulation of effects of the bioactive potential of A. vera on antioxidant activity.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.332-335
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• 1995

The angiogenic activity of Aloe vera (Aloe baradensis), known as a good healing plant, was investigated. We have extracted and fractionated dichloromethane extract (G1M1D1) and methanol soluble fraction of dichloromethane extract (G1M1D1M1) which contain low-molecular weight substances of Aloe vera gel. G1M1D1 and G1D1M1 fractions induced a radially arranged, spoke-sheel-like vasculature in chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. The angiogenic activity was dose-dependent and the angiogenic pattern in the CAM assay. The angiogenic activity was dose-dependent and the angiogenic pattern in the CAM assay was very similar to that of phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) used as a positive control. The modified CAM assay, e simple and accurate quantitating method, was used to quntitate the angiogenic activity of G1D1M1 fraction. Application of G1M1D1M1 fraction ($100\mug/egg$) resulted in much more intense angiogenesis than in control while slightly less intense angiogenesis than in PMA (100 ng/egg).

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.269-275
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• 2010

P-gp plays a critical role in drug disposition and represents a mechanism for the development of multidrug resistance. Flavonoids, a major class of natural compounds widely present in foods and herbal products, have been shown to inhibit P-gp. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify new candidate chemosensitizers by screening various plant extracts. The ability of natural plant extracts to inhibit P-gp activity was assessed by measuring cellular accumulation of calcein AM, daunorubicin and vincristine in P-gp overexpressing MDCKII-MDR1 cells. Among more than 800 plant extracts, eight were found to inhibit P-gp activity. Curcuma aromatica extract produced greatest inhibition, followed by Curcuma longa and Dalbergia odorifera extracts. Extracts of Aloe ferox, Curcuma zedoariae rhizome, Zanthoxylum planispinum, and Ageratum conyzoides showed moderate inhibitory effects. Curcumin and quercetin exhibited similar inhibition of P-gpmediated efflux of daunorubicin and vincristine, and flavones had a lesser effect. When chemosensitizing effect was evaluated by measuring daunorubicin sensitivity to MDCKII-MDR1 cells in the presence of natural plant extracts, Curcuma aromatica showed the most potent chemosensitizing effect based on daunorubicin cytotoxicity. In conclusion, natural plant extracts such as Curcuma aromatica can potently inhibit P-gp activity and may have potential as a novel chemosensitizers.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2013

Cultured products (callus and exopolysaccharide) were obtained from suspension culture of Aloe vera callus, and the extracts of callus were further prepared with cold water or 60% ethanol solution. The ethanol extract of callus (AC) and exopolysaccharide (ACP) of 10 mg/mL exhibited the relatively higher suppression activity of 43.2-52.1% against hyaluronidase activity. Thus, their anti-inflammatory effects were further investigated using animal cell (Raw 264.7) in vitro. Though AC shows a slight suppression effect of cell survival rate (97%) using MTT assay in the presence of $400{\mu}g/mL$ AC- dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), cell growth promotion was observed in the other samples of lower levels. It indicates that the ethanol extract of Aloe callus rarely affect cell survival rate in the ranges ($200-400{\mu}g/mL$) used in the study. Using Griess reagent, the suppression of NO production by the aloe callus extract was analyzed by measuring the amount of the nitrite produced in Raw 264.7 culture activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). As a result, supplementation of AC-distilled water (DW) and AC-DMSO produced higher levels of NO than the positive control LPS. However, the NO suppression effect by ACP-DW was so intense that lower amount ($80-100{\mu}g/mL$) suppressed NO production to the level of the control. The effect was attributed to the expression of the iNOS. Then, Raw 264.7 cells were stimulated with the LPS and expression of COX-2 protein level was analyzed depending on the Aloe suspension culture product treatment. The results showed that the ACP-DW supplemented medium did not express COX-2 by itself, and LPS stimulated COX-2 expression was slightly decreased. On the other hand, realtime-PCR analysis of the expression of inflammatory cytokine showed that IL-$1{\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ expression was highly suppressed in the ACP- distilled water supplemented medium.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.44-48
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• 2015

To investigate the anti-cancer effect of shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) cultured in aloe-supplement, we treated extract of shiitake mushroom cultured in aloe-supplement (ESA) to MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. ESA-treated MDA-MB-231 cells showed decreased growth rate in XTT assay. In addition migration/invasion was noticeably inhibited by ESA in TNF-${\alpha}$-treated MDA-MB-231 cells. Western blot analysis showed that the molecular mechanism of cell migration/invasion was mediated by reduced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression via p-ERK signal transduction pathways. We found ESA had inhibition activity against cellular growth and migration/invasion. Taken together, ESA has putative anti-cancer activity against human breast cancer.

• Oncology Letters
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.2953-2959
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• 2019

Rheum undulatum L. (R. undulatum) is a medicinal plant used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in East Asian countries. Numerous stilbenes isolated from R. undulatum have been revealed to possess anticancer effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of extracts and compounds isolated from R. undulatum on human gastric cancer cell viability and to elucidate their molecular mechanism of action on the apoptosis pathway. The results demonstrated that aloe-emodin and chrysophanol 1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, isolated from the methanolic extract of dried rhizomes of R. undulatum, exhibited anti-proliferative effects on the human gastric carcinoma cell line AGS, with IC50 values of 84.66±0.44 and 68.28±0.29 µM, respectively. The percentage of apoptotic cells increased significantly following treatment with each compound at a concentration of 100 µM, compared with that in the non-treated group in the image-based cytometry assay. Western blot analysis revealed that these compounds activated the caspase cascade and inhibited B-cell lymphoma-2, an anti-apoptotic protein.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.173-182
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• 2013

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease associated with dysfunction of skin barrier and cutaneous hyper-reactivity to environmental triggers. In the previous study, cytotoxicity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities were investigated for various herbal extracts such as Aloe vera L. (AV), Viola mandshurica W. Becker (VM), Punica granatum L. (PG), and Dendrobium nobile L. (DN) in order to develop effective therapeutic herbal extracts for atopic dermatitis, In this study, anti-inflammatory activities of these herb extracts in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage RAW264.7 cells were further examined to find the underlying molecular mechanisms. The RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) analysis showed that PG, DN and AV inhibited effectively the gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-$1{\beta}$ in LPS-stimulated macrophages, while VM did not. The transfection and luciferase analysis exhibited that all herbal extracts hindered the activation of transcription nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$). The western blot analysis indicated that AV blocked the activation of only JNK MAP (c-Jun N-terminal kinase mitogen-activated protein) kinase not p38 MAP kinase, while VM, PG and DN did not show the activation of both JNK and p38 MAP kinases. These results suggest that AV, VM, PG, and DN have anti-inflammatory activities and thus have the potential to reduce and alleviate the symptoms of atopic dermatitis.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.302-309
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• 2020

The objective of this study was to optimize the condition for induction and proliferation of callus from Rhus chinensis Mill. and investigate the skin-brightening effect of Rhus chinensis callus (RCC). It was confirmed that the most proper plant growth regulator (PGR) for callus induction is 1.0 mg/L of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). The most optimal condition of PGR, medium and additives for callus proliferation were 2,4-D (1.0 mg/L), MS medium and citric acid, respectively. Inhibitory activities of tyrosinase were higher at 50 and 100 ㎍/mL of RCC extracts (41.86 and 75.56%, respectively) than arbutin (27.32%). As the results of measuring melanin inhibition in B16F1 melanocyte and B16F10 melanoma cell, RCC extracts increased its inhibitory activities concentration-dependently, and were found to have higher whitening effect than arbutin at a concentration of 100 ㎍/mL. Therefore, it is suggested that RCC can be used as an effective material for skin-brightening cosmetics.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.58-64
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• 2004

This study was performed to investigate the kinds of health food advertised and sold through media like printed matter, TV broadcasting or internet. It was found that fifty three percent of the health food was circulated through internet, 27% through printed matter, 9% through TV Broadcasting. When the health foods was classified, the proportion of special purpose nutritious foods was 36.1%, health aid foods 33.9%, uncooked powdered foods 18.5%, functional foods for health 4.9%, Ginseng products 3.9%, and tea 0.9%. The special purpose nutritious foods was composed of 59% of nutrition supplementary foods, 24% of dietary fiber foods, 9% of weaning foods, 7% of milk formula and 2% of HCA. Vegetable extracts occupied 21.1% of health aid foods, yeast 7.5%, mushroom extracts 7.0%, chitosan 6.2%, aloe 5.3%. Dried powdered type health food occupied the highest proportion. The other type were capsule(18.8%), tablet(18.1%), and liquid type(16.4%). When the health food was classified with health claim, the proportion of "nutrition supplementation" was the highest (23.9%), "diet" 14.9%, "ergogenic"(18.8%), "promoting bowel movement" 7.8%, "growth" 5.7%, "regulation of blood sugar" 4.5%, "improving of immunity"(2.4%) and anti-aging effect(2.4%).

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.1445-1453
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• 2023

In 2022, the domestic production performance of functional cosmetics in South Korea reached 4.6 trillion won, accounting for 33.85% of the total cosmetics production. The number of functional cosmetics reviewed increased by about 7.5% from the previous year, totaling 974 items. Especially with the increasing importance of the skin barrier function due to skin sensitivity caused by various environmental pollutants, domestic cosmetic companies are showing interest in the development of new ingredients and products related to this area. This study aims to analyze academic research trends related to in vitro experiments for the development of cosmetics improving the skin barrier, to provide practical information for the cosmetic industry. The findings are as follows: Academic research mainly focused on the efficacy of natural ingredients in improving the skin barrier, but there is a significant lack of quantitative accumulation of research. For the development of skin barrier-improving cosmetic ingredients, efficacy evaluation indicators were set, including hyaluronic acid production, expression of filaggrin gene, loricrin, formation of cornified envelope (CE), and expression of ceramide synthesis enzyme genes. Moreover, effective cosmetic ingredients for improving the skin barrier included lemongrass and perilla leaf extracts, flavonoids, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Exosomelike Nanovesicles derived from apple callus, Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus, Acanthopanax sessiliflorus, Eleutherococcus gracilistylus, Acer okamotoanum extracts, Aloe vera adventitious root extract, ethanol extract of Aruncus dioicus, and organic solvent fraction of Dracocephalum argunense.