• 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 for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.288-295
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• 2010

Metal exposure experiments using polychaete (Perinereis nuntia) as a bio-indicator of trace metals contamination were conducted to evaluate the bioaccumulation and the biomarkers responses such as metallothionein-like protein (MTLPs) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) which was simultaneously exposed to Cadmium (Cd) and Copper (Cu). Cu and Cd concentrations in polychaete were enhanced with increasing exposure time and their concentrations of aqueous medium. Initial accumulation of Cd was higher than that of Cu. Our results showed that the bioaccumulation of Cu and Cd were prohibited, especially at higher Cu levels, suggesting the different cellular uptake mechanisms when Cu and Cd are co-exist. Net accumulation rate of Cu was declined with exposure time but it did not show any significant change for Cd. Although the highest MTLPs concentration was observed at 6 hr of exposure time, it did not show any significant change related to exposure times and metals concentrations. An increase of GST activity tended to increase as a function of exposure time and metals concentrations. And GST activities in P. nuntia have similar tendency with bioconcentration factors in high concentration of Cu (treatment group IV) at post 24 h of exposure. Our results provide new information of the bioaccumulation and biomarker responses to understand the effects of co-existing contaminants (Cu and Cd) using polychaete. Further studies are required to elucidate the bioaccumulation and biomarkers responses for various contaminants.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 2016

Pectin, a naturally occurring polysaccharide, has in recent years attracted considerable attention. Its benefits are increasingly appreciated by scientists and consumers due to its safety and usefulness. The chemistry and gel-forming characteristics of pectin have enabled to be used in pharmaceutical industry, health promotion and treatment. Yet, it has been rarely used in cosmetics because of its incompatibility with many cosmetic ingredients, including alcohols, and unstable viscosity of pectin gels under various pH and salt conditions. However, low-molecular-weight pectin oligomers have excellent biological activities, and depolymerization of pectin to produce cosmetic ingredients would be very useful. In this study, we attempted the development of cosmetic ingredients using pectin with an excellent effect on human skin. We developed a bio-conversion process that uses enzymatic hydrolysis to produce pectin hydrolysates containing mainly low-molecular-weight pectin oligomers. Gel permeation chromatography was used to determined the ratio of hydrolysis. The molecular weight of the pectin hydrolysates obtained varied between 200 and 2,700 Da. The two newly developed low-molecular-weight pectin hydrolysates, LMPH A and B, had higher anti-oxidative activities than pectin or D-galacturonic. Exposure to UVB radiation induces apoptotic cell death in epidermal cells. Annexin V binding and propidium iodide uptake were measured by flow cytometry to evaluate UVB-induced cell death in HaCaT cells. Both LMPH A and B reduced UVB-induced cell death and increased cell proliferation by 22% and 30% at 0.5% concentration respectively, while pectin had no significant activity. In conclusion, this study suggests that the newly developed low-molecular-weight pectin hydrolysates can be used as safe and biologically active cosmetic ingredients.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.412-420
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• 2014

This study was performed to investigate the effect of fermented Hovenia dulcis Thunb fruit water extract on biomarkers for acute (a) ethanol-induced hangover and chronic (c) ethanol-induced liver injury in rats. For acute ethanol-induced hangover, the rats were administered distilled water (D.W., 10 mL/kg body wt.), Hovenia dulcis Thunb fruit water extract (HWE, 400 mg/10 mL/kg body wt.) and fermented HWE (FHWE, 400 mg/10 mL/kg body wt.), respectively, before 40% ethanol (5 g/kg body wt.) was administered. For chronic ethanol-induced liver injury, the rats were randomly divided into the normal control (cNC), ethanol (cET), cET-HWE and cET-FHWE groups. The cNC and cET groups were administered D.W. (10 mL/kg body wt.) before 40% alcohol (5 g/kg body wt.) was administrered for 21 days. The cET-HWE and cET-FHWE groups were administered HWE (400 mg/10 mL/kg body wt.) and FHWE (400 mg/10 mL/kg body wt.), respectively before 40% ethanol (5 g/kg body wt.) administration for 21 days. For acute ethanol-induced hangover, the serum alcohol and acetaldehyde concentrations were more significantly reduced in the aHWE and aFHWE groups than in the aET group. Moreover, the effect of FHWE was greater than that of HWE. For chronic ethanol-induced liver injury, the serum ethanol, acetaldehyde, ${\gamma}$-glutamyl transpeptidase (${\gamma}$-GTP) levels and the hepatic lipids concentration more significantly dropped in the cET-HWE and cET-FHWE groups than in the cET group. The FHWE administration showed faster recovery of the serum glucose concentration than in the cET and cET-HWE groups. The body weight reduction tended to normalize in the cET-HWE and cET-FHWE groups, which is ideal for chronic ethanol administration. These results suggest that FHWE has a protective effect against ethanol-induced liver damage, as evidenced by its ability to lower the serum ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations after alcohol administration, and by its ability to decrease the level of ${\gamma}$-GTP and hepatic lipids. FHWE also elevated serum glucose concentration. Therefore, FHWE is effective in reducing ethanol-induced hangover and can play a beneficial role in the treatment of ethanol-induced liver damage as well as body weight reduction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.1238-1243
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• 2008

The root of Adenophora triphylla is widely used as traditional herbal medicine in Korea. We studied its effects on sodium nitroprusside (SNP) cytotoxicity and antioxidant genes expression in HepG2 cells. To study whether Adenophora triphylla ethylacetate extract (ATea) inhibited NO-induced cell death, HepG2 cells were preincubated for 24 hr with 50 and 100 $\mu$g/mL ATea followed by 24-hr exposure to 0.5 mM SNP (exogenous NO donor). No-induced cytotoxicity was inhibited by pretreatment of ATea, as assessed by mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity (MTT assay). We further investigated the effects of ATea on mRNA levels of various enzymes of the antioxidant system such as Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD 1), Mn SOD (SOD 2), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase and several enzymes of the glutathione metabolism [glutathione reductase (GR), $\gamma$-glutamyl-cystein synthetase (GCS), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), $\gamma$-glutamyltranspeptidase ($\gamma$-GT), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)] by RT-PCR. CAT, GCS, GR and G6PD mRNA levels were increased after treatment with ATea. The SOD 1, SOD 2, GPx, GST and $\gamma$-GT mRNA levels were not affected in ATea-treated HepG2 cells. We concluded that ATea have an indirect antioxidant effects, perhaps via induction of CAT, GCS, GR and G6PD.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2009

This study was carried out to investigate the mutagenic, antimutagenic, cytotoxicity and antitumor effects of Adenophora triphylla (AT). AT was extracted with 70% ethanol and then further fractionated to hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water. Antimutagenic, cytotoxicity and antitumor effects of AT extracts were measured by using Ames test, SRB method, and the tumor growth inhibition test. AT extracts did not show any mutagenicity in the Ames test; however, 70% ethanol extracts and its fractions had strong antimutagenic effects against mutation induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO). The ethyl acetate fraction of AT (200 ${\mu}g$/plate) showed approximately 66.5% inhibitory effect on the mutagenesis induced by 4NQO against TA98 strain, whereas 83.3% and 75.1% inhibitions were observed on the mutagenesis induced by MNNG and 4NQO against TA100 strain. In anticancer effects, the cytotoxicity of AT extract and its fractions against cancer cell lines including human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep3B), human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), human gastric carcinoma (AGS), human lung carcinoma (A549) and transformed primary human embryo kidney (293) were investigated. The treatment of 1 mg/mL AT ethyl acetate faction had the highest cytotoxicity of 79.9%, 74.9%, 66.0%, 71.0% and 74.3% against HeLa, Hep3B, MCF-7, AGS and A549 cells, respectively. In contrast, the extract and its fractions showed only $3{\sim}36%$ cytotoxicity for a normal human kidney cell line (293). In vivo anti-cancer effect of Adenophora triphylla extract was tested using Balb/c mice transplanted sarcoma-180 cells. Adenophora triphylla ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest inhibition rate of 37.2% at the 50 mg/kg concentration.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1221-1229
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• 2010

Nerium indicum, an India-Pakistan-originated shrub belonging to the oleander family, is reported to possess many pharmacological activities including cardiac muscle stimulation, and anti-diabetes, anti-angiogenesis, anti-cancer and neuro-protective activities. However, the anti-inflammatory properties of N. indicum were unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of ethanol extract of the N. indicum leaf and stem (ENIL and ENIS) on the expression of anti-inflammatory mediators in U937 human pre-monocytic cell models. In U937 cells stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), pre-treatment with ENIS significantly inhibited the expression of both cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA and protein, which are associated with inhibition of the release of prostaglandin $E_2\;(PGE_2)$, whereas the inhibitory effects appeared weakly in ENIL. Moreover, ENIS significantly attenuated PMA-induced IkappaB ($I{\kappa}B$) degradation and suppressed elevated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) nuclear translocation. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights that N. indicum exhibits anti-inflammatory properties by suppressing the transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes through the NF-kB signaling pathway.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.435-443
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• 2018

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) functions as a metabolic master through regulating and restoring cellular energy balance. In skeletal muscle, AMPK increases myofibril protein degradation through the expression of muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases. Mori Folium, the leaf of Morus alba, is a traditional medicinal herb with various pharmacological functions; however, the effects associated with muscle atrophy have not been fully identified. In this study, we confirmed the effects of AMPK activation by examining the effects of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR), an activator of AMPK, on the induction of atrophy and expression of atrophy-related genes in C2C12 myotubes. We also investigated the effects of the ethanol extract of Mori Folium (EEMF) on the recovery of AICAR-induced muscle atrophy in C2C12 myotubes. It was found that exposure to AICAR resulted in the stimulation of Forkhead box O3a (FOXO3a); an up-regulation of muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases such as Muscle Atrophy F-box (MAFbx)/atrogin-1 and muscle RING finger-1 (MuRF1), and a down-regulation of muscle-specific transcription factors, such as MyoD and myogenin; with the activation of AMPK. In addition, AICAR without cytotoxicity indicated a decrease in diameter of C2C12 myotubes. However, treatment with EEMF significantly suppressed AICAR-induced muscle atrophy of C2C12 myotubes in a dose-dependent manner as confirmed by a decrease in myotube diameter, which is associated with a reversed stimulation of FOXO3a by the inhibition of AMPK activation. These results indicate that the activation of AMPK by AICAR induces muscle atrophy, and EEMF has preeminent effects on the inhibition of AICAR-induced muscle atrophy through the AMPK signaling pathway.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.585-590
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• 2015

This study was conducted to improve the acclimatization rate of in vitro strawberry plantlets through bioreactor culture using the growth retardant flurprimidol. Different concentrations [0 (Control), 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and $2.0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$] of flurprimidol were added during bioreactor culture. After six weeks of treatments, various growth characteristics were investigated and in vitro plantlets were acclimated in the greenhouse. The growth rate of treated plantlets was much lower than that of control, and as the treatment concentration increased, the growth rate was much decreased. Shoots of plantlets treated with flurprimidol were shorter (2.2-3.7 cm) than those of control (7.9 cm). The number of roots per treated plant was around 11.6-34.2, compared with 51.8 in the control. Root length was also lower (0.88-3.08 cm) than control (4.36 cm). However, the number of new shoots and leaves increased in all treatments except for $2.0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ concentration. The root was partially decayed in $1.0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ concentration and was completely decayed in $2.0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$. The survival rate in $0.1mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and $0.5mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ concentrations was 100% and 23.3% respectively. After four weeks of acclimatization, the plantlets restarted growth, and growth characteristics of shoots and roots recovered to the levels of control, except for fresh weight. Based on our results, a concentration of $0.1mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ flurprimidol is appropriate for improvement of acclimatization rate of in vitro strawberry plantlets in bioreactor culture.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.27-38
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• 2011

The distributions of phytoplankton assemblages and environmental factors in Jinhae Bay and their relationships were investigated to estimate the potential limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth and community structure. In situ algal bioassay experiments were also conducted to assess the species-specific characteristics in phytoplankton responses under different nutrient conditions (control, N(+) and P(+) treatment). During the study periods, bacillariophyceae and cryptophyceae occupied more than 90% of total phytoplankton assemblages. Phytoplankton standing crops in the inner part of Masan Bay were higher than that of Jinhae Bay. The DIN:DIP ratio, pH and transparency showed the significant positive correlation with phytoplankton biomass. According to cluster and multidimensiolnal scaling (MDS) analysis based on phytoplankton community data from each station, the bay was divided into three groups. The first group included stations from the south-western part of Jinhae bay where cryptophyta species were dominated. The second group was distinguished from inner stations in Masan Bay. These stations showed low transpancy and high DIN:DIP ratio. The other cluster included the stations from the eastern part and central part of Jinhae Bay, which was characterized by the high DSi:DIP ratio and dominant of diatom species. Phosphorous (P) was limited in Masan Bay due to significantly increases in the phytoplankton abundances. Based on stoichiometric limitation and algal bio-assay in Jinhae Bay, nitrogen (N) was a major limiting factor for phytoplankton production. However, silicate (Si) was not considered as limiting factor, since Si/DIN and Si/P ratio and absolute concentration of nutrient did not create any potential stoichiometric limitation in the bay. This implies that high Si availability in winter season contributes favorably to the maintenances of diatom species.