• 대한한의학방제학회지
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.311-321
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• 2016

Chronic or acute alcohol abuse often leads to liver injury associated with alcoholic hepatitis, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. In addition to the liver, alcohol abuse also induces a variety of other tissue injuries including pancreatitis, cardiomyopathy, neurotoxicity and muscle loss. Chronic skeletal muscle myopathy, independent of peripheral neuropathy, is well recognised in alcoholic patients. Several mechanisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of alcoholic myopathy. Ethanol is a potent inhibitor of muscle protein synthesis. Gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles are Type II fiber-predominant and usually considered representative of the musculature as a whole. Whereas, soleus muscle is Type I fiber predominant. Shihosogan-san is a traditional Korean medicine that is widely employed to treat indigestion and liver diseases. Muscle diseases are often related to liver diseases and conditions. We therefore tested the hypothesis that treatment with Shihosogan-san could ameliorate the ethanol-induced changes in muscle protein synthesis. Young male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally given 25% ethanol (5ml/kg, body weight) daily with Ethanol for 28 days. Normal group was similarly administrated with saline. In Shihosogan-san treated group, rats were orally administrated Shihosogan-san extract, and rats of EtOH group were given with the vehicle only. After 4 week, the morphology of gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. For comparative purposes, liver function was also investigated. The muscles from rats of EtOH group displayed a significant reduction in average cross section area compared to Normal group. Shihosogan-san treated group had increased fiber compared to the EtOH group. Moreover, Shihosogan-san treated group compared with EtOH group showed significantly decreased pro-apoptotic BAX expression and increased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression. In conclusion, Shihosogan-san extract showed ameliorating effects on chronic alcohol toxicity in skeletal muscle.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제10권6호
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• pp.583-589
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• 2016

BACKDROUND/OBJECTIVE: Constipation is a condition that can result from intestinal deformation. Because humans have an upright posture, the effects of gravity can cause this shape deformation. Oligosaccharides are common prebiotics and their effects on bowel health are well known. However, studies of the physiological functionality of a product that contains both lactulose and galactooligosaccharides are insufficient. We investigated the constipation reduction effect of a dual-type oligosaccharide, Dual-Oligo, in loperamide-treated rats. MATERIALS/METHODS: Dual-Oligo consists of galactooligosaccharides (15.80%) and lactulose (51.67%). Animals were randomly divided into four groups, the normal group (normal), control group (control), low concentration of Dual-Oligo (LDO) group, and high concentration of Dual-Oligo (HDO) group. After 7 days of oral administration, fecal pellet amount, fecal weight, watercontent of fecal were measured. Blood chemistry, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), gastrointestinal transit ratio and length and intestinal mucosa were analyzed. RESULTS: Dual-Oligo increased the fecal weight, and water content of feces in rats with loperamide-induced constipation. Gastrointestinal transit ratio and length and area of intestinal mucosa significantly increased after treatment with Dual-Oligoin loperamide-induced rats. A high concentration of Dual-Oligo tended to produce more acetic acid than that observed for the control group, and Dual-Oligo affected the production of total SCFA. Bifidobacteria concentration of cecal contents in the high-concentration oligosaccharide (HDO) and low-concentration oligosaccharide (LDO) groups was similar to the result of the normal group. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that Dual-Oligo is a functional material that is derived from a natural food product and is effective in ameliorating constipation.

• 동의신경정신과학회지
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.125-144
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• 2010

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to characterize the effect of the fraction of Korean mountain ginseng folium (FKG) on the learning and memory impairments induced by scopolamine. Methods: The memory ameliorating effect of FKG was investigated using a passive avoidance test, the Y-maze test, and the Morris water maze test in mice. Drug-induced amnesia was induced by treating animals with scopolamine(1mg/kg, i.p.). Results: FKG (2 or 4mg/kg, p.o.) administration significantly reversed scopolamine-induced cognitive impairments in mice by the passive avoidance test and the Y-maze test(P<0.05), and also improved escape latency in the Morris water maze test at 2 or 4mg/kg(P<0.05). Although FKG has little inhibitory activity for AChE (IC50 value; 1847 ${\mu}g/ml$) in an invitro study, phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase(pERK) was increased by the administration of FKG inhippocampus on immunohistochemistry. Conclusions: These results suggest that FKG may be a useful cognitive impairment treatment, and its beneficial effects are mediated, in part, via activation of ERK pathway.

• 생약학회지
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• 제36권4호통권143호
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• pp.291-298
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• 2005

Anti-hyperglycemic effects of 17 medicinal plants that have been used for ameliorating diabetes in oriental medicine were evaluated using glucose transport assay in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Higher activities were obtained by treating water or alcohol extract of Phellodendri Cortex (PC), which showed enhancing effects both on basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. The latter effect of PC was completely inhibited by wortmannin, a specific inhibitor for phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), but not affected by SB203580, A specific inhibitor for p38 mitogen-activatedprotein kinase(MAPK). Genistein, an inhibitor for tyrosine kinases, abolished the PC effects completely. Treatment of vanadate, an inhibitor for tyrosine phosphatases, together with PC showed no significant synergic enhancement in glucose uptake. The results of inhibitors associated with insulin signaling pathway indicated that extracts of PC enhance glucose uptake by PI-3 kinase activation which is an upstream event for GLUT4 translocation. Antidiabetic effects of PC extract might be also due to enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation and reduced tyrosine dephosphorylation. In addition, PC accelerated insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in insulin-resistant cells, recovering the uptake level close to that of normal cells. These findings may offer a new way to utilize extracts of PC as novel anti-hyperglycemic agents.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.222-226
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• 2017

Flavonoids including quercetin and rutin are a group of naturally occurring compounds widely distributed in plants, especially in buckwheat. Thus, cereal and the leaf of the plant have increasingly used as a source of nutritional and functional foods such as noodle, cake or soup in Korea, Japan and other countries. This study investigated comparative effects of dietary rutin rich in buckwheat and its aglycone, quercetin, on serum biomarkers and antioxidant parameters in rats treated with chronic ethanol. Rats were fed with the liquid diets prepared by the method of Lieber Decarli. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) activities increased significantly by alcohol feeding. Dietary flavonoids including rutin, quercetin and their mixtures (1/1, v/v) decreased significantly the activities of serum ALT whereas the feeding of quercetin decreased only the activity of serum AST. The concentration of serum malondialdehydes elevated by chronic alcohol feeding decreased markedly in all the experimental groups that were fed with the flavonoids; however, the combined administration of quercetin or rutin, but not that of rutin or quercetin alone decreased significantly the concentration of liver malondialdehydes to the normal range in rats fed without ethanol. Our results suggested that dietary combined mixture of rutin and quercetin might be effective in ameliorating adverse responses seen in rats exposed to ethanol chronically.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.61-68
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• 2017

This study was performed to investigate the ameliorating effects of steamed soybeans (SS) and fermented SS (FSS) on lipid metabolism in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. ICR mice were divided into four groups and given the following different diets: normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), HFD with 1% SS (HFD + SS), and HFD with 1% FSS (HFD + FSS). After 14 weeks, the body weight gain was higher in the HFD group compared with the ND group but lower in the HFD + FSS group compared with the HFD group. Plasma levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were significantly higher in the HFD group compared to the ND group, but lower in the HFD + SS and HFD + FSS groups compared with the HFD group. In addition, leptin concentration in plasma was lower in the groups fed HFD + SS and HFD + FSS compared with the HFD group. The accumulation of hepatic TG and TC was significantly inhibited in the HFD + SS and HFD + FSS groups. Furthermore, SS and FSS attenuated lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide formation in the liver induced by the high-fat diet. These results suggest that soybeans, especially FSS, may be useful in preventing obesity-induced abnormalities in lipid metabolism.

• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.721-727
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to review the current situation of Sasang typology studies and get a recommendation for ameliorating it by systematically reviewing articles published in Korea from 2000 to 2009. Six hundred seventy-seven articles were found by searching the representative Korean databases such as KISS, RISS, KISTI, DBPIA, NDSL and also by hand search. Yearly analysis was performed by academic field, journal, author and affiliation, type of article and content. The analysis showed that the number of published articles has increased from 61 in 2000 to 86 in 2009. 607(89.6%) were related to medical field, 627(92.6%) were published in Korean Citation Index-listed journals, and 413(68.8%) were published in the Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine. The authors listed on one article were 3.98 persons and affiliated in 1.66 departments in average. Sixty six percents are for the clinical studies or case reports, and twenty-five for Sasang type diagnosis. This study showed that more active collaborations with diverse research fields and various research methods are needed for the improvement of Sasang typology studies and the scope expansion of Korean traditional medicine.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.113-117
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• 2012

The fruits of Foeniculum vulgare (Foeniculi Fructus) have been widely used in Chinese medicine as an antiemetic, ameliorating stomach ailments and as an analgesic. In order to establish its potential for antiallergic use, inhibitory actions of the fruit on 5-lipoxgenase (5-LOX) and ${\beta}$-hexosaminidase release were evaluated. The 70% ethanol extract of this plant material (FR) considerably inhibited 5-LOX-catalyzed leukotriene production from A23187-induced rat basophilic leukemia (RBL)-1 cells. The $IC_{50}$ was $3.2{\mu}g/ml$. From this extract, 12 major compounds including sabinene, fenchone, ${\gamma}$-terpinene, ${\alpha}$-pinene, limonene, p-anisylacetone, panisylaldehyde, estragole (4-allylanisole), trans-anethole, scopoletin, bergapten and umbelliferone were isolated. And it was found that several terpene derivatives including ${\gamma}$-terpinene and fenchone as well as phenylpropanoid, trans-anethole, showed considerable inhibitory action of 5-LOX. In particular, the $IC_{50}$ of trans-anethole was $51.6{\mu}M$. In contrast, FR and the isolated compounds did not show considerable inhibitory activity on the degranulation reaction of ${\beta}$-hexosaminidase release from antigen-treated RBL-2H3 cells. Against arachidonic acid-induced ear edema in mice, FR and trans-anethole showed significant inhibition by oral administration at doses of 100-400 mg/kg. In conclusion, FR and several major constituents are 5-LOX inhibitors and they may have potential for treating 5-LOX-related disorders.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.116-123
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• 2015

Objectives : The present study was designed to investigate effects and molecular mechanisms of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidzumi extracts(AMK) on the improvement of adipocyte dysfunction induced by TNF-${\alpha}$ in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We examined whether AMK could directly influence the inflammation and insulin resistance in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Methods : Potential roles of AMK in the lipolysis, production of inflammatory adipokines and ROS, expression and phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ protein, and expression of $PPAR{\gamma}$ and C/EBP${\alpha}$ were investigated in this study. Results : Our data demonstrated that TNF-${\alpha}$ significantly increased lipolysis, levels of MCP-1, IL-6, and ROS and phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ protein, while TNF-${\alpha}$ reduced the expression of $PPAR{\gamma}$ and C/EBP${\alpha}$ in adipocytes, suggesting that TNF-${\alpha}$ induced a condition with the occurrence of inflammation and insulin resistance. Those alterations induced by TNF-${\alpha}$ were prevented by the treatment of AMK. AMK down-regulated the phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ protein and up-regulated the expression of $PPAR{\gamma}$ and C/EBP${\alpha}$ on TNF-${\alpha}$-induced inflammation and insulin resistance. Conclusions : Thus, our results indicate that AMK can be used to prevent from the TNF-${\alpha}$-induced adipocyte dysfunction through MAPK, $NF{\kappa}B$ and $PPAR{\gamma}$ pathways.

• 한국식품영양학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.635-642
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the physiological functionality of jerusalem artichokes and to define its antioxidant potential. The study also evaluated mook prepared with jerusalem artichokes powder as a new functional food for ameliorating Diabetes Mellitus. Regarding the chromaticity of mook prepared with jerusalem artichoke, lightness decreased as the amount of jerusalem artichoke increased (p < 0.05), while the redness and yellowness values increased significantly (p < 0.05). Regarding the mechanical properties, hardness, springiness, chewiness, gumminess, and cohesiveness decreased significantly as the amount of jerusalem artichoke increased (p < 0.05). The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of JA30 were 7.36 mg TAE/g and 2.15 mg RE/g, respectively, which were higher than those of the control group(3.50 mg TAE/g and 0.76 mg RE/g, respectively). The DPPH and ABTS scavenging abilities ($IC_{50}$) for JA30 were 4.40 and 5.70 mg/mL, respectively, indicating a higher radical scavenging ability than the control group (7.59 and 7.24 mg/mL, respectively). The ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory effect ($IC_{50}$) of JA30 and the control group was 18.91 and 24.01 mg/mL, respectively. Based on the above-described results, mook containing jerusalem artichoke powder is expected to ameliorate diabetes with antioxidant activity, ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory effect, and sensory factor. Also, it is believed that this functional material has the potential to improve health.