• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제31권2호
• /
• pp.148-160
• /
• 2023

Depression is a neuropsychiatric disorder associated with persistent stress and disruption of neuronal function. Persistent stress causes neuronal atrophy, including loss of synapses and reduced size of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. These alterations are associated with neural dysfunction, including mood disturbances, cognitive impairment, and behavioral changes. Synaptic plasticity is the fundamental function of neural networks in response to various stimuli and acts by reorganizing neuronal structure, function, and connections from the molecular to the behavioral level. In this review, we describe the alterations in synaptic plasticity as underlying pathological mechanisms for depression in animal models and humans. We further elaborate on the significance of phytochemicals as bioactive agents that can positively modulate stress-induced, aberrant synaptic activity. Bioactive agents, including flavonoids, terpenes, saponins, and lignans, have been reported to upregulate brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression and release, suppress neuronal loss, and activate the relevant signaling pathways, including TrkB, ERK, Akt, and mTOR pathways, resulting in increased spine maturation and synaptic numbers in the neuronal cells and in the brains of stressed animals. In clinical trials, phytochemical usage is regarded as safe and well-tolerated for suppressing stress-related parameters in patients with depression. Thus, intake of phytochemicals with safe and active effects on synaptic plasticity may be a strategy for preventing neuronal damage and alleviating depression in a stressful life.

• 셀메드
• /
• 제2권2호
• /
• pp.14.1-14.7
• /
• 2012

Cordycepin, a nucleoside derivative, was extracted from $Cordyceps$ $sinensis$, and then proved to be a bioactive compound present in traditional Chinese medicine Cordyceps. Early investigations revealed cordycepin possessed anti-microbial activity mainly by inhibiting nucleic acid synthesis. Although cordycepin is not used as antibacterial agents in clinic, its other pharmacological effects and possible mechanisms have gradually been deeply studied. This review serves to summarize the research progress of cordycepin.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• 제28권5호
• /
• pp.877-879
• /
• 2007

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제17권3호
• /
• pp.403-407
• /
• 2007

Several marine. bacterial strains, which were isolated from seawater off the island Dokdo, Korea, were screened to find new bioactive compounds such as antibiotics. Among them, Donghaeana dokdonensis strain DSW-6 was found to produce antibacterial agents, and the agents were then purified and analyzed by LC-MS/MS and 1D- and 2D-NMR spectrometries. The bioactive compounds were successfully identified as cholic acid and glycine-conjugated glycocholic acid, the $7{\alpha}$-dehydroxylated derivatives (deoxycholic acid and glycodeoxycholic acid) of which were also detected in relatively small amounts. Other marine isolates, taxonomically different from DSW-6, were also able to produce the compounds in a quite different production ratio from DSW-6. As far as we are aware of, these bile acids are produced by specific members of the genus Streptomyces and Myroides, and thought to be general secondary metabolites produced by a variety of bacterial taxa that are widely distributed in the sea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제28권7호
• /
• pp.1105-1111
• /
• 2018

The flavin-dependent monooxygenase Sam5 was previously reported to be a bifunctional hydroxylase with coumarate 3-hydroxylase and resveratrol 3'-hydroxylase activities. In this article, we showed the Sam5 enzyme has 3'-hydroxylation activities for methylated resveratrols (pinostilbene and pterostilbene), hydroxylated resveratrol (oxyresveratrol), and glycosylated resveratrol (piceid) as substrates. However, piceid, a glycone-type stilbene used as a substrate for bioconversion experiments with the Sam5 enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli, did not convert to the hydroxylated compound astringin, but it was converted by in vitro enzyme reactions. Finally, we report a novel catalytic activity of Sam5 monooxygenase for the synthesis of piceatannol derivatives, 3'-hydroxylated stilbene compounds. Development of this bioproduction method for the hydroxylation of stilbenes is challenging because of the difficulty in expressing P450-type hydroxylase in E. coli and regiospecific chemical synthesis.

• 대한화장품학회지
• /
• 제35권1호
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2009

남아시아 지역은 문화적, 사회적으로 흰 피부에 대한 관심이 높으며 이로 인해 미백화장품에 대한 요구가 크다. 합성물에 대한 우려 및 거부감으로 천연물중심의 원료가 급증하고 있다. 본 논문에서는 인도를 포함하는 남아시아 지역의 미백소재에 관한 문화, 사회적 배경과 최근 연구 개발 현황을 조사하였다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제16권6호
• /
• pp.2575-2580
• /
• 2015

Cancer is a multifaceted and genomically complex disease and rapidly accumulating high impact research is deepening our understanding related to the mechanisms underlying cancer development, progression and resistance to therapeutics. Increasingly it is being realized that genetic/epigenetic mutations, inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, overexpression of oncogenes, deregulation of intracellular signaling cascades and loss of apoptosis are some of the extensively studied aspects. Confluence of information suggested that rapidly developing resistance to therapeutics is adding another layer of complexity and overwhelmingly increasing preclinical studies are identifying different natural agents with efficacy and minimal off-target effects. We partition this multi-component review into citrus fruits and their bioactive ingredients mediating rebalancing of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins to induce apoptosis in resistant cancer cells. We also discuss how oncogenic protein networks are targeted in cancer cells and how these findings may be verified in preclinical studies.

• 약학회지
• /
• 제34권4호
• /
• pp.277-281
• /
• 1990

The isolation and identification of an antibacterial component, from Polygoni Radix against a cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans OMZ 176, were carried out for development of anticariogenic agents. The bioactive component was identified to be emodin. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of emodin was $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ against S. mutans OMZ 176. The bioactive component emodin weakly inhibited ${\beta}-lactamase$ activity with the inhibition ratio of 1.7, 4.3 and 7.6% at the concentration of 50, 100, and 200 uM, respectively. Emodin exhibited slight phototoxicity when analysed by the photohemolysis method.

• Mycobiology
• /
• 제37권1호
• /
• pp.48-52
• /
• 2009

Essential oils are mixtures of volatile, lipophilic compounds originating from plants. Some essential oils have useful biological activities including antimicrobial, spasmolytic, antiplasmodial, and insect-repelling activities. In this study, we tested the antimicrobial activity of essential oil prepared from the aromatic plant, Cymbopogon citrates, against three important plant pathogenic and medical microorganisms, Pectobacterium carotovorum, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Aspergillus niger. It effectively inhibited the growth of the bacterium, Pectobacterium carotovorum, in a dose-dependent fashion, and 0.5% of the oil inhibited the growth of bacteria completely. Similarly, the essential oil inhibited the growth of plant pathogenic fungus, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and the addition of 1% of essential oil completely inhibited the growth of fungus even after 5 days of culture. Finally, it effectively inhibited the growth of the medically and industrially important fungal species, Aspergillus spp. These results suggest that the essential oil from Cymbopogon citrates may be an environmentally safe alternative to inhibit antimicrobial agents for various uses.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• 제62권4호
• /
• pp.367-374
• /
• 2019

Euphorbia humifusa Willd (EuH), called Ttang-Bin-Dae in Korea, is a traditional medicinal plant widely used for its anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity. Ethyl acetate (EA) extracts of EuH (EA/EuH) inhibit invasion and metastasis by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor TNFá-induced matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-9 expression in human breast cancer cells. However, the bioactive components of EA/EuH mediating the inhibition of MMP-9 expression have not been identified. In the present study, three bioactive constituents of EA/EuH were isolated using high-performance liquid chromatography. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed isoquercetin, avicularin, and astragalin as the bioactive compounds responsible for preventing TNFα-induced MMP-9 mRNA expression in breast cancer cells. These findings suggest that isoquercetin, avicularin, and astragalin could be used as valuable anti-metastatic agents against metastatic cancers.