• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.745-754
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• 2000

Effects of oral taurine supplementation (6g/day)for 2-4 weeks on activities of red blood cell(RBC)total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and plasma glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) and the level of malondialdehyde(MDA) were evaluated in healthy female adults (23.6$\pm$0.3 years old). Compared to the value for 0 week plasma GSH-Px activity of the subjects was significantly lower after 2 weeks of taurine supplementation(p<0.05) and recovered to the value similar to 0 week after 4 weeks of taurine supplementation. RBC total SOD activity tended to be decreased after 2 weeks of taurine supplmentation compared to the values for 0 week although the difference between the means of the two group was not statistically significant. Plasma MDA level was not significantly decreased by taurine supplementation most probably due to the fact that the subjects participated in the present study were healthy and their antioxidant defense system had been in the 'normal' range. Plasma MDA concentration was negatively correlated with plasma taurine concentration(r=-0.2003m p<0.05) but tended to be positively correlated with plasma cholesterol concentration(r=0.2465, p=0.0645) as expected Plasma GSH-Px activity was positively associated with the percentage of 22:0 (r=0.2892, p<0.05) or 20:4w6(r=0.2939, p<0.05). On the other hand plasma MDA concentration was positively correlated with the percentage of 20:5w3 in plasma total lipids(r=0.2635 p<0.05) and negatively correlated with $\Delta$5 desaturation index of w6 fatty acids(20:3w6⇒20:4w6) in plamsa total lipids(r=-0.2714, p<0.05) as well as in phospholipids(r=-0.2864, p<0.05). From these results protective effect of taurine supplementation against lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense system in humans appears to be minimal when the subjects are in a relatively healthy state. Further studies concerning the antioxidant efficacy of taurine should be conducted in human subjects under various disease states related to oxidative stress such as diabetes and artheroxclerosis.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.299-305
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• 2012

Yam has been recognized having the beneficial effects for the prevention of various diseases, such as cancer, immunity, infection and obesity etc. There is increasing consideration to supplement the antioxidant nutrients to make up the lack of the antioxidant nutrient intakes. No study has been reported for the analysis of antioxidant mineral contents and comparison to dietary recommended intake for the sense of health promotion. In our study, we analyzed the contents of antioxidant trace elements (Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu and Se) and Cr contents in cultivated Korean yam powders for evaluation of nutrient intake aspects. We collected the commercial yam powders from six different cultivated areas in the South Korea and measured antioxidant minerals (Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu and Se) and Cr contents using trace element-free plasma spectrometer (ICP) or atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) after dry-ashing and then wet-acid digestion. The accuracy of mineral analysis method was confirmed by the mineral analysis of standard reference material. Each analyzed element contents in yam were compared to dietary reference intakes of Koreans (KDRIs). The average levels of trace elements (Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu, Se and Cr) in yam powders were 18.3, 11.9, 36.0, 3.7, 1.9 and 1.27 ${\mu}g/g$ yam powder, respectively. The intakes of Zn, Fe, Cu and Se of which KDRIs is determined, are accounted as being up to 23.8%, 55.6%, 32.5% and 236% recommended intake (RI) of KDRIs, if daily yam supplementation (50 g) of commercial instruction would be considered. The intake of Mn is about 25% adequate intake (AI) of KDRIs with the daily supplementation of yam powder. Most of mineral intakes from daily yam supplementation were with the range of non-detectable to <10% upper limit (UL) level, which is very much safe. The study results show that daily supplementation of Korean yam power is beneficial to provide the supplemental nutrient intake and also is safe, if the suggested dosage would be considered.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.79-84
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• 2001

The influence of Rhodiola extract on tissue antioxidant status, plasma lipid levels, cholesterol contents of liver and fores were investigated in rats find oxidized linoleic acid. Groups of five-week old male Sprague-Dawley rats fed ad libitum with a diet containing 20% oxidized linoleic acid with or without 300 mg/kg body weight freeze-dried Rhodiola water extract. The antioxidant effect of dietary Rhodiola extract supplementation on the peroxidation potential of rats was investigated. The microsomal thiobarbiruric acid reactive substance (TBARS) contents were changed significantly by Rhodiola extract supplementation. Hepatic Catalase activities were increased in Rhodiola supplemented rats, whereas hepatic Manganese Superoxide Dismutase (MnSOD) or Copper Zinc Superoxide Dismutase (CuZnSOD) were not elevated. In addition, plasma cholesterol lowering effect was observed along with the stimulated excretion of cholesterol through the feces were observed with Rhodiola feeding. Supplementation with Rhodiola extract did not alter high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. These results support that Rhodiola extract may be effective in protection against oxidative stress, and prevention and treatment of blood dyslipidemia. It demonstntes that Rhodiola extract has a potential to exert anti-atherogenic properties antioxidative capacities .

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.533-538
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effect of Pycnogenol (Pyc) on survival and immune dysfunction of C57BL/6 mice induced by low micronutrient supplementation. MATERIALS/METHODS: Female C57/BL/6 mice were fed a diet containing 7.5% of the recommended amount of micronutrients for a period of 12 wks (immunological assay) and 18 wks (survival test). For immunological assay, lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine regulation, and hepatic oxidative status were determined. RESLUTS: Pyc supplementation with 50 and $100mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}{\cdot}bw{\cdot}d^{-1}$ resulted in partial extension of the median survival time. Pyc supplementation led to increased T and B cell response against mitogens and recovery of an abnormal shift of cytokine pattern designated by the decreased secretion of Th1 cytokine and increased secretion of Th2 cytokine. Hepatic vitamin E level was significantly decreased by micronutrient deficiency, in accordance with increased hepatic lipid peroxidation level. However, Pyc supplementation resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of hepatic lipid peroxidation, which may result from restoration of hepatic vitamin E level. CONCLUSION: Findings of this study suggest that Pyc supplementation ameliorates premature death by restoring immune dysfunction, such as increasing lymphocyte proliferation and regulation of cytokine release from helper T cells, which may result from the antioxidative ability of Pyc.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.729-735
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• 2003

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of iron supplement for 4 weeks on iron status, immunity, and antioxidant status of national female soccer players (n = 25). This study was performed at summer hard training period right before competition. A single blind design was used to divide the subjects into iron-supplement (IS) or placebo group (P). Iron-supplement group was supplemented with iron (40 mg/d) for 4 weeks. The mean age of the subjects was 23.3 $\pm$ 2.5 years old. Mean height and body weight of the subjects were 164.4 $\pm$ 5.7 em and 57.4 $\pm$ 4.6 kg, respectively. The mean carrier as soccer player was 11.0 $\pm$ 2.6 years and mean training time was 7.0 $\pm$ 1.3 hr/day. The mean hemoglobin, hematocrit, total iron binding capacity and ferritin concentrations before iron supplementation were not different between two groups. After 4 weeks of summer training and iron supplementation, serum ferritin level was significantly increased only in IS group after supplementation. Mean corpuscular volume and total iron binding capacity were significantly decreased in both groups. Meanwhile, hemoglobin and red blood cell count were significantly lowered only in placebo group. The IgM concentration increased significantly in both groups, but IgG concentration had increasing tendency only in IS group (p < 0.064). Therefore, iron supplementation during hard training period may be helpful to improve work capacity of the athletes by improving ferritin status and humoral immune responses.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.289-296
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• 2005

This study was performed to investigate the effect of dietary $\beta$-carotene supplementation on lipid peroxide levels and antioxidant enzyme activities in alcoholic fatty liver rats. Forty five Sprague-Dawley male rats aging 8 weeks were used as experimental animals, which were divided into the control diet (CD) and the ethanol diet (ED) and the ethanol + $0.02\%$ $\beta$-carotene diet (EPD) groups and fed the experimental diet respectively for 5 weeks. After the feeding, rats were sacrificed to get blood and liver to analyze lipid and lipid peroxide levels and antioxidant enzyme activities. The mean body weight and food intake of the ethanol diet group was significantly lower than that of the control diet. The liver index (LI) of the ethanol diet group was significantly higher than those of the control diet and the $\beta$-carotene supplementation group. Serum levels of total lipid, triglyceride of the ethanol diet group were significantly higher than those of the control diet and the $\beta$-carotene supplementation group. Total cholesterol levels were not significantly different among all groups. HDL-cholesterol of the ethanol diet group was significantly lower than those of the control diet and the $\beta$-carotene supplementation group. Liver TBARS of the ethanol diet group was significantly higher than those of the control diet and the $\beta$-carotene supplementation group. Liver lipofuscin and conjugated diene levels were not significantly different among all groups. The superoxide dismutase activity of the ethanol diet group was significantly lower than those of the control diet and the $\beta$-carotene supplementation group. Catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities were not significantly different among all groups. Because v-carotene supplementation significantly decrease the serum total lipid, triglyceride, liver TBARS revels and increase the superoxide dismutase activity in alcoholic ratty liver rats, $\beta$-carotene supplementation seems to give beneficial effect for the alcoholics.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.76-82
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• 2004

Pine needles are known as a traditional medicine and their ingestion has been shown to be beneficial to human beings. Following induction of the neoplastic process in rats by azoxymethane (AOM), we determined the effects of pine needle supplementation on colon carcinogenesis and on antioxidant systems in the blood and liver. Five week old male Fisher 344 rats were injected with AOM (15 mg/kg) once a week for two weeks. After the second injection, 18 rats were randomly assigned into two groups and were fed a casein-based high-fat diet (120 g fat and 1 g cholesterol/kg diet) with or without pine needle powder (10%w/w). After 6 weeks, rats receiving pine needle powder showed a 40% lower incidence of the number of colonic preneoplastic lesions (aberrant crypts) and a 52% lower incidence of aberrant crypt foci (p<0.01). A significantly elevated level of erythrocyte catalase activity was observed in the pine needle supplemented group (17.4$\pm$1.1 vs. 24.5$\pm$1.5, p<0.01). Pine needle supplementation also increased liver glutathione peroxidase activity (7.5$\pm$0.6 vs. 14.6$\pm$0.6, p<0.01). Other antioxidant parameters such as erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase, liver catalase activity, and plasma total antioxidant potential (TRAP), showed no statistical differences between the two groups. Our data demonstrate that pine needle supplementation improves the antioxidant system and suppresses the formation of colonic preneoplastic lesions in AOM-treated rats. This result provides additional insights into the chemo-preventative properties of pine needles.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2005

An increase in serum cholesterol is directly associated with high incidences of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and atherosclerosis. Serum lipid profiles are highly dependent on dietary fatty acids and age. The purpose of this study was to examine the age-related effects of polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratios and antioxidant supplementation under the control of the dietary peroxidizability index (PI) value on serum lipid profiles in rats. While the PI level of dietary fatty acids was controlled at 81.22, the P/S ratios of fatty acids were 0.38 and 4.81 (LP and HP). The diets were supplemented with a vitamin E 1000 mg/kg diet and a selenium 2.5 mg/kg diet (LPS and HPS). Female Sprague-Dawley rats ages 3 weeks (young) and 16 weeks (adult) were fed four different experimental diets for 4 weeks. The serum triglyceride concentration of LPS was significantly higher in young rats than in adult rats. The total-cholesterol concentration of LP and HPS were higher in young rats than in adult rats. The high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration of LP, LPS and HP was higher in adult rats than in young rats. The low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration was higher in young rats than in adult rats. T-C/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios were much higher in young rats than in adult rats. In conclusion, P/S ratios and antioxidant supplementation did not affect T-C/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios as risk factors of CVD in adult rats when we controlled the PI value in the diet Probably, the invisible and confounding effects of dietary PI value implicate the beneficial roles of dietary P/S ratios and antioxidants in CVD. Accordingly, controlling the dietary PI value may be advantageous to lower the risk of CVD in adult rats.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.933-941
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• 2003

It has been suggested that green juice supplementation may have some health promoting benefits. We evaluated the effects of green juice (Angelica keiskei) consumption on parameters of lipid profiles and plasma antioxidant status in healthy male smokers. Fifty-four smokers were supplemented with 300 ml of green juice for 6 weeks while maintaining their normal diet. Blood samples were collected on week 0 and week 6 in order to evaluate plasma lipid profiles (total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol) , plasma antioxidant vitamin levels (ascorbic acid, $\alpha$ -tocopherol, ${\gamma}$ -tocopherol, $\alpha$ -carotene, $\beta$ -carotene, cryptoxanthin and lycopene) , the degree of LDL oxidation and GOT, GPT levels for liver function. Plasma ascorbic acid level remained at the same level. However, $\alpha$ -tocopherol and ${\gamma}$ -tocopherol normalized by total cholesterol (p <0.05) and $\beta$ -carotene (p <0.001) level were all significantly increased after green juice supplementation. Plasma cholesterol was reduced for 12%, LDL-cholesterol was reduced for 9.3% after green juice consumption, while plasma triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol was not changed. Oxidized LDL assessed by conjugated diene (CD) , was decreased (p < 0.0001) after green juice consumption. These results further support a role for green juice supplementation in the improvement of lipid status, prevention of lipid peroxidation, and thereby reducing risk factors of numerous diseases associated with elevated oxidative stress in smokers.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2005

This study was done to investigate effects of antioxidant supplementation on phytohemagglutinin (PHA) -stimulated interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in elderly women. This study was designed as a placebo-controlled, single-blinded, randomized intervention trial. Twenty four elderly women aged over 60 years, visitings social welfare center in Seoul were divided into 3 groups, placebo (n = 8), vitamin C supplemented (n = 8) , and vitamin E supplemented (n = 8) groups. Experimental groups were given either 1000mg of L-ascorbic acid or 400 ill of d- $\alpha$-tocopherol for 4 weeks. There was no significant difference in antioxidant vitamins intakes and their plasma levels among pre-intervention groups. Plasma vitamin C or E levels was significantly increased after vitamin C or E sup-plementations. The increases of plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) levels in the placebo group were significantly higher than those of the supplemented 2 groups. There were no significant differences in the changes of plasma IL-2 level between pre- and post-intervention among the 3 groups. However there was a significant increase in PHA­stimulated IL-2 production by PBMCs after 4-week vitamin E or vitamin C supplementation. Particularly, vitamin E supplemented group showed a higher PHA-stimulated IL-2 production than vitamin C supplemented group. These results indicate that vitamin E or vitamin C supplementation might enhance mitogen-stimulated cytokine production by immune cells, which could be one of the factors to improve health status in the elderly.