• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.661-674
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• 2023

Abstract: This retrospective study delved into the effects and safety considerations associated with the concomitant usage of hypoglycemic agents and herbal extracts, specifically Pyeongwi-san (PWS) or HyangsaPyongwi-san (HSPWS) in the context of type 2 diabetes mellitus management. Methods: The investigation involved 38 inpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who received PWS or HSPWS treatment at Kyung Hee University Korean Medical Hospital from January 2012 to December 2022. By investigating clinical attributes and conducting laboratory assessments, this study aimed to discern the impact of these herbal extracts on blood glucose levels, encompassing fasting blood sugar (FBS) and mean 2-hour postprandial glucose (PP2) levels. Furthermore, the safety profile of the herbal extracts was assessed by comparing liver function indicators, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alongside kidney function markers, such as blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr). Results: Following the administration of the herbal extracts, no statistically significant alterations in FBS and mean PP2 levels emerged compared to the baseline levels. Notably, the safety evaluation revealed no significant differences in liver and kidney function parameters following herbal extract administration. Conclusion: The results of this research indicate that using PWS or HSPWS alongside hypoglycemic medications could be a beneficial additional method for addressing digestive symptoms in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Notably, this combination seems to have no negative interactions with other drugs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.1034-1063
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• 2021

The experiment was designed as a 3 × 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, including (i) pomegranate peel (zero, 4%, and 8 percent), (ii) oxidized soybean oil (zero, 2%, and 4 percent), and (iii) alpha-tocopherol (zero and 200 mg/kg). Supplementation of 8% pomegranate peel in diets significantly decreased the growth performance of broiler chickens. The supplementation of 4% oxidized oil in diets significantly reduced body weight gain and Feed intake whole experimental period (p < 0.05). The results showed that supplementation of 4% pomegranate peel in the diet was associated with low aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase, and malondialdehyde (MDA). However, 4% pomegranate peel increased the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities. The supplemental 4% oxidized oil increased the serum AST, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and MDA concentrations. TAC, SOD, and Catalase (CAT) activities were affected by 4% oxidized oil and alpha-tocopherol. The use of oxidized oil and vitamin E decreased MDA concentration. The serum glucose and globulin concentrations were significantly lower in the 8% pomegranate peel. The results showed that supplementation with 4% pomegranate peel in diets reduced serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The inclusion of 4% oxidized oil in diets reduced serum glucose and increased the blood lipid concentration such as triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL. Vitamin E supplementation reduced the serum cholesterol and LDL concentrations. The use of 8% pomegranate peel reduced red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin, and packed cell value (PCV). The results indicated that supplementation with 8% pomegranate peel and 4% oxidized oil in diets decreased the immunoglobulin concentration in broilers. In addition, it was found that the inclusion of 4% pomegranate peel in diets resulted in higher IgG, IgM and total immunoglobulin. Pomegranate peel supplementation significantly decreased meat MDA concentration. Supplementation of 4% oxidized oil increased MDA of meat (p < 0.05). Vitamin E supplementation (200 mg/kg) significantly decreased MDA of meat (p < 0.05). Consequently, the results of this experiment showed that supplementation with 4% pomegranate peel had beneficial effects on broiler chickens. It was also found that feeding 2% oxidized oil in diets had no adverse effect on broilers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1260-1265
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• 2001

This study was performed to investigate the protective effects of Hovenia dulcis Thunb on hepatotoxicity in carbon tetrachloride-intoxicated rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (220~240 g) were used as experimental groups, which were divided into 7 groups; Control group, $CCl_4$-treated group, hexane fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, ethylacetate fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, butanol fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group, $H_2O$ fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group. After 6 days, the activities of aminotransferase, contents of cholesterol, TG and hepatic lipid peroxide content in chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group were significantly decreased (p<0.05) compared to the only $CCl_4$-treated group. The content of glutathione and activities of GST in chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group were also significantly increased (p<0.05) compared to the only $CCl_4$-treated group. In addition, activities of SOD, catalase and GSH-Px in chloroform fraction pretreated and $CCl_4$-treated group were significantly decreased (p<0.05) compared to the only $CCl_4$-treated group. These results indicated that the chloroform fraction of Hovenia dulcis Thunb methanol extract showed hepatoprotective effect in carbon tetrachloride-intoxicated rats.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.146-151
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• 2013

Perilla frutescens usually dieted in East Asian country such as Korea and Japan. Antioxidant, antiinflammatory and anticancer activities of perilla leaves have been founded. In previous study, we confirmed that caffeic acid, major compound of perilla, was accumulation by sucrose aqueous solution and thus antioxidant effect of perilla was enhanced. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of functional perilla leaves extract (PLE) against tert-butyl hydroperoxide(t-BHP) induced-oxidative hepatotoxicity. The pretreatment with PLE (250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg b.w.) for 5 days before a single dose of t-BHP (i.p.; 0.5 mmol/kg) significantly lowered the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase dose-dependently. And we confirmed that the indicators of oxidative stress were remarkably reduced in the liver, such as the glutathione contents and malondialdehyde, marker of lipid peroxidation. Pathological histology of the rat livers tissues showed that PLE reduced the hepatocyte degeneration and neutrophilic infiltration of liver induced by t-BHP. These results suggest that functional perilla frutescens has the protective effect of liver against t-BHP-induced oxidative hepatic stress in rats.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.939-948
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• 2008

The effects of goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus var ramtschaticus Hara) ethanol extracts (AD) on the streptozotocin-induced diabetic symptoms and oxidative stress in rats were assessed. Experimental plots were divided into normal controls (NC), diabetes controls (DM), diet with 0.3% AD after diabetes induction (SA), and diet with 0.6% AD after diabetes induction (SB), then fed for 5 weeks. In the SA and SB groups as compared with the DM group, diabetic symptoms including weight loss, increase in feed and water intake, and enlargement of the liver and kidney were improved. The levels of blood glucose and serum fructosamine were reduced by $17.9{\sim}27.2%$ and $25.6{\sim}32.6%$, respectively. The activities of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol in the serum were reduced by $25.6{\sim}30.3$, $42.37{\sim}55.51$, $26.85{\sim}30.44$ and $37.29{\sim}39.11%$, respectively, whereas the level of HDL-cholesterol was increased by $37.29{\sim}39.11%$. Hepatic total (T) and O type (O) activities of xanthine oxidoreductase, O/T ratio(%) and level of lipid peroxide were significantly decreased, while the level of glutathione was increased, and also the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase were increased by $56.84{\sim}94.90%$ and $57.14{\sim}68.92%$, respectively. In the above results, it was noted that AD has an antidiabetic effect which alleviated hyperglycemia and the AD reduced and/or prevented the tissue damage caused by diabetes yia the inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generating systems concurrent with an increase in ROS scavenging.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.117-125
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• 2019

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of zinc (Zn) sources (zinc oxide and Zn-methionine) on performance, organ weights, blood biochemical profiles, and digestive enzymes of the pancreas and small intestine in Korean native chicks (KNC). A total of 144 KNC (n=6) were fed a basal diet (CON, 100 ppm of Zn), a basal diet supplemented with 50 ppm of Zn with ZnO (ZNO), or a basal diet supplemented with 50 ppm of Zn with Zn-methionine (ZMT) for 28 days. There was no significant difference in body weight, gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio among the three groups. The relative weights of the liver, spleen, and intestinal mucosa were unaffected by the dietary source of Zn, whereas pancreas weight in the ZNO group decreased (P<0.05) compared with that in the CON and ZMT groups. Blood biochemical components including aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase were unaffected by dietary Zn supplementation. Pancreatic trypsin activity in the ZNO and ZMT groups was significantly (P<0.05) enhanced compared with that in the CON group. However, the activities of ${\alpha}$-amylase and carboxypeptidase A were not altered by dietary Zn supplementation. The activities of maltase and sucrase were unchanged, whereas the activity of leucine aminopeptidase tended (P=0.08) to be increased by dietary Zn supplementation. In conclusion, the supplementation with 50 ppm of ZnO or Zn-methionine resulted in an activation of protein digestive enzymes in the pancreas and small intestine without affecting animal performance in KNC.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.8
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• pp.1139-1147
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• 2014

We investigated whether or not Schisandra chinensis (SC), a traditional herbal medicine, has protective effects against alcohol-induced fatty liver and blood alcohol clearance. Two tests focused on acute intoxication and chronic ethanol treatment were carried out. For the chronic ethanol treatment test, rats were fed ethanol by intragastric administration everyday for 8 weeks to induce alcoholic fatty liver. Ethanol treatment significantly increased blood alcohol concentration at 90 min after acute ethanol intoxication. Compared with the two ethanol-treated groups, rats administered ethanol along with SC extracts showed an approximately 13% increased blood alcohol clearance rate at 360 min. Chronic ethanol treatment significantly increased serum and hepatic triglyceride (TG) levels, and caused fatty degeneration of liver. Ethanol treatment also elevated the serum total-cholesterol (TC) level. However, after feeding of ethanol plus SC extracts, ethanol-induced elevation of hepatic TG levels reversed, whereas elevation of serum TG and TC levels was not observed after treatment with SC extracts. Ethanol treatment significantly increased ${\gamma}$-GT, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase activities after 8 weeks. Compared with the ethanol-fed group, rats administered ethanol plus SC extracts for 4 weeks showed attenuated fatty degeneration as well as decreased hepatic function test values. SC administration also significantly increased intracellular lipid accumulation in hepatocytes and reduced steatosis score and hepatic TG levels, as measured by biochemical and histolopathological analyses. Our results indicate that the protective effects of SC are accompanied by a significant decrease in hepatic TG levels, thereby suggesting SC has the ability to prevent ethanol-induced fatty liver, by reducing hepatic TG and enzyme levels in alcoholic rats.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.373-379
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• 2017

Juvenile Paralichthys olivaceus (mean length $19.8{\pm}2.6cm$, mean weight $97.8{\pm}15.8g$) were exposed for 96 hours to different nitrate concentrations of 0, 62.5, 125, 250, 500, 1,000, and $1,500mg\;L^{-1}$ in biofloc and 0, 62.5, 125, 250, 500, and $1,000mg\;L^{-1}$ in seawater. Median lethal concentration values ($LC_{50}$, the concentration at which 50% of mortality occurred after 96 hours of exposure) of nitrate to P. olivaceus in biofloc and seawater were 1,226 and $597mg\;NO_3L^{-1}$ (P<0.05), respectively, revealing a higher toxicity of nitrate to P. olivaceus in seawater than in biofloc. In hematological parameters, hematocrit level in P. olivaceus exposed to nitrate was significantly increased only at a concentration of $1,000mg\;L^{-1}$ in biofloc and at concentrations higher than $250mg\;L^{-1}$ in seawater, but no significant changes in hemoglobin were found in biofloc and seawater. In plasma parameters, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransminase (ALT) were significantly increased by nitrate exposure in biofloc and seawater, but no significant changes in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were found in biofloc and seawater. Results of this study indicate that nitrate exposure to P. olivaceus have a lethal toxic effect and alter hematological and plasma constituents of flatfish P. olivaceus. Given relatively lower toxicity of nitrate in biofloc than in seawater, the use of biofloc in aquaculture may reduce potential toxic effect caused by nitrate in feces and feed residue.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.143-148
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary egg yolk antibody (IgY) powder supplementation on the growth performance, blood component profile, intestinal microflora, and immunoglobulin G in ducks. A total of 300 1-day-old ducks (Cherry Valley) were randomly divided into 5 groups, with 3 replicates of 20 birds. The treatment groups were the negative (NC), positive (PC), egg yolk antibody powder 0.1% (T1), egg yolk antibody powder 0.5% (T2), and egg yolk antibody powder 1.0% (T3) groups. In the growth performance of ducks during the entire experimental period, the IgY groups and positive control group (PC) showed significantly higher (P<0.05) body weights and body weight gains compared to the negative control group (NC). However, no significant differences were observed in the feed intake and feed conversion ratio. The blood component profiles showed that the IgY 0.1 and 1.0% groups decreased in total cholesterol content compared to the NC group. The aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotranferease (ALT) contents were lower in the IgY 1.0% group, but there were no significant differences. Regrading the leukocyte content after feeding IgY, the heterophil: lymphocyte ratio decreased in the IgY groups, especially in the IgY 0.1% group, which had a lower content than the other groups. However, these results showed no significant differences. The Lactobacillus count in the intestines significantly increased (P<0.05) in the IgY 0.1 and 0.5% groups, the level of IgY increased, and the Escherichia coli count decreased. However, no significant difference was observed in the total plate count. The immunoglobulin G content was lower in the IgY groups than in the NC group, and compared with the IgY groups, the IgY 0.5% had a lower content, which was not a significant difference.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1178-1184
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• 2006

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of antler velvet (EAV) on common serum chemistry panels and histopathological change in rats exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Administration of TCDD ($50{\mu}g/kg$ body weight) induced significant decrease in platelet count (p<0.01), creatine phosphokinase (CPK, p<0.01), lactatate dehydrogenase (LDH, p<0.05) and glucose (p<0.05) levels and increase in hemoglobin (p<0.05), aspartate aminotransferase (AST, p<0.01), alanine amino transferase (ALT, p<0.05) and lipase activities (p<0.05), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN, p<0.05), triglyceride (p<0.01) and low density lipoptotein cholesterol (LDL-C, p<0.05) levels. However, pretreatment of EAV at daily dose of 20 mg/kg b.w. from 1 wk before TCDD exposure for 5 wks attenuated the abnormality of the overall serum chemistry panels but statistical difference between TE and TA groups was observed only in testicular weight (p<0.01), LDH activity (p<0.05), glucose (p<0.05) and lipase activity (p<0.01). In addition, TCDD induced significant histopathological changes including swelling, fatty metamorphosis, and vacuolar degeneration in liver; edema in proximal and distal convoluted tubules, and glomerulus in kidney; severe atrophy of red purple and appearance of significant number of macrophage in spleen; prominent atrophy and decrease in immune cells in thymus. On the other hand, administration of EAV attenuated histopathological damage induced by TCDD. These results further suggest that administration of EAV attenuates TCDD induced testicular, liver, pancreatic, hematopoietic and nephrotic toxicities in rats.