• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.516-523
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• 2015

This study investigated the antimutagenic and anticancer effects of Platycodon grandiflorum extract (PGE) and its fractions against carcinogenic N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and genotoxicity. The Ames Salmonella mutagenicity test employing histidine mutants of Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 and TA100 was used to examine the mutagenicity of PGE and its fractions. Bacterial reversion assay with S. Typhimurium TA98 and TA100 did not show a significantly increased number of revertant colonies. The same test was used to examine the ability of PGE and its fractions to prevent acquisition of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine- and 4-introquino-line-1-oxide-induced mutations. PGE and its fractions inhibited mutagenesis in a dose-dependent manner. Among the fractions, ethyl acetate fraction from PGE (PGEA) exhibited a higher antimutagenic effect than other fractions. PGE and its fractions suppressed the growth of cancer cell lines, including human cervical adenocarcinoma, human hepatocellular carcinoma, human breast adenocarcinoma, human lung carcinoma, and transformed primary human embryonic kidney cells. In addition, we evaluated the antitumor activity of PGEA and its fractions in sacorma-180 solid tumor-bearing mice. In vivo anticancer activity results showed that PGE and its fractions could more effectively suppress tumor growth than the control. PGEA showed higher in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects than PGE and other fractions, and PGEA inhibited NDMA formation. Thus, we showed that PGEA has antimutagenic and anticancer activities, making it a candidate anticancer material under these experimental conditions.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.625-635
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• 2007

The enzyme squalene synthase (EC 2.5.1.21) catalyzes a reductive dimerization of two farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) molecules into squalene, a key precursor for the sterol and triterpene biosynthesis. A full-length cDNA encoding squalene synthase (designated as TcSqS) was isolated from Taxus cuspidata, a kind of important medicinal plants producing potent anti-cancer drug, taxol. The full-length cDNA of TcSqS was 1765 bp and contained a 1230 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 409 amino acids. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the deduced TcSqS protein had high similarity with other plant squalene synthases and a predicted crystal structure similar to other class I isoprenoid biosynthetic enzymes. Southern blot analysis revealed that there was one copy of TcSqS gene in the genome of T. cuspidata. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis and northern blotting analysis showed that TcSqS expressed constitutively in all tested tissues, with the highest expression in roots. The promoter region of TcSqS was also isolated by genomic walking and analysis showed that several cis-acting elements were present in the promoter region. The results of treatment experiments by different signaling components including methyl-jasmonate, salicylic acid and gibberellin revealed that the TcSqS expression level of treated cells had a prominent diversity to that of control, which was consistent with the prediction results of TcSqS promoter region in the PlantCARE database.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.255-261
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• 2012

The skin is continuously exposed to environmental stresses. One of the most important stress factor is UV radiation. UV radiation causes a variety of biological effects on the skin, including inflammation, pigmentation, photoaging and cancer. Therefore in this study, we tried to search for skin-protective antioxidant materials from marine natural products (Porphyra Thalli, Laminariae japonicae thallus, Ostreae Concha, Sargassum Thallus, Undaria thallus, Haliotidis Concha, Agar, Codium thalli, Hizikia fusiforme thalli; HFE, Thalli) which exhibit protective activities against UVB-induced cytotoxicity and oxidative cell death and antiaging effects. As a results, UVB-induced cytotoxicity and cell death were effectively suppressed by treatment of Sargassum Thallus, Agar, Haliotidis Concha, Codium thalli, Thalli ethanol extracts. UVB-induced cell death was mediated by intracellular accumulation or ROS, which was significantly inhibited by treatment with marine natural products extracts. Also, The protective effect of these marine natural products seemed to be mediated by increased expression of type I collagen and Type I procollagen. These results suggest that marine natural products may have anti-aging effects new functional materials against oxidative stress-mediated skin damages.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.157-161
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• 2012

The aim of this research was to investigate the industrial application of Sedum sarmentosum. Antibacterial activities of the n-hexane, methylene chloride (MC), ethyl acetate, and n-butanol fractions of S. sarmentosum were tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Helicobacter pylori. The MC fraction showed the strongest antibacterial activity against E. coli, with an inhibition zone greater than 13 mm in disc assays. At $100{\mu}g/mL$, all fractions scavenged more than 50% of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radicals (${\cdot}OH$). In particular, the MC fraction showed the strongest scavenging activity against DPPH and ${\cdot}OH$. In addition, we found that treatment with the MC fraction inhibited the growth of H. pylori and gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The present results suggest that the MC fraction of S. sarmentosum would play the promising protective role against pathogenic bacteria and free radicals.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.439-445
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• 2016

Soybean leaves, a Korean edible plant material, have been reported to prevent the development of osteoporosis and breast cancer. Based on this rational, soybean fallen leaves ethanolic extract (SBFL) was used for the experiment of cell invasion related to metastasis and antioxidant activity. The effect of SBFL on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in human fibrosarcoma cells, HT1080 as well as its anti-oxidant activity was investigated in this study. The effect of SBFL on scavenging activity of reactive oxygen species was evaluated in vitro using lipid peroxidation assay,DPPH radical and reducing power assay. SBFL showed the positive effects on antioxidant activity, compared with vitamin C and vitamin E used as positive controls. Furthermore, SBFL showed cytotoxicity above 16 µg/ml in MTT assay. In particular, it was found that SBFL decreased the activation of MMP-9 stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetae (PMA) and phenazine methosulfate (PMS). SBFL treatment increased the expression levels of p-FoxO-1 and SOD-1. Moreover, SBFL inhibited cell invasion stimulated by vascular endothelial growth Factor (VEGF). These results indicate that SBFL could inhibit cell invasion related to the activation of MMP-9 and oxidative stress, suggesting that it could be available as a main ingredient for prevention of metastasis.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.475-482
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• 2020

Background: Active natural ingredients, especially small molecules, have recently received wide attention as modifiers used to treat neurodegenerative disease by promoting neurogenic regeneration of neural stem cell (NSC) in situ. 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD), one of the bioactive ingredients in ginseng, possesses neuroprotective properties. However, the effect of PPD on NSC proliferation and differentiation and its mechanism of action are incompletely understood. Methods: In this study, we investigated the impact of PPD on NSC proliferation and neuronal lineage differentiation through activation of the Wnt/glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β/β-catenin pathway. NSC migration and proliferation were investigated by neurosphere assay, Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, and EdU assay. NSC differentiation was analyzed by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Involvement of the Wnt/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway was examined by molecular simulation and Western blot and verified using gene transfection. Results: PPD significantly promoted neural migration and induced a significant increase in NSC proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, a remarkable increase in anti-microtubule-associated protein 2 expression and decrease in nestin protein expression were induced by PPD. During the differentiation process, PPD targeted and stimulated the phosphorylation of GSK-3β at Ser9 and the active forms of β-catenin, resulting in activation of the Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway. Transfection of NSCs with a constitutively active GSK-3β mutant at S9A significantly hampered the proliferation and neural differentiation mediated by PPD. Conclusion: PPD promotes NSC proliferation and neural differentiation in vitro via activation of the Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway by targeting GSK-3β, potentially having great significance for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.393-401
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• 2016

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation from the sun is the primary environmental factor that causes skin damages including skin cancer and premature skin aging. Because, even the most powerful sunscreen can't always afford enough protection, it is necessary to enhance the defensive power of skin against UV. Recently, constitutive photomorphogenic protein-1 (COP1) has shown to contribute to the regulation of UVB response of keratinocytes. In this study, we represent that COP1 and its associated protein, de-etiolated 1 (DET1), might participate in photoaging process in human skin as Arabidopsis COP1 does sun-protective function in plants. After UVB irradiation, the decrease of COP1 and DET1 mRNA expression was followed by the increase of c-Jun total protein. Moreover, transfection with DNA vectors expressing COP1 and DET1 down-regulated the c-Jun total protein. We found that Zanthoxylum piperitum extract (ZE) up-regulated the expression of COP1 and DET1 on human keratinocytes, and inhibited the expression of MMP1 which is one of the genes regulated by c-Jun signal. In addition, ZE has been reported to stimulate PPAR-${\alpha}$ and strengthen the skin barrier. We found that ZE decreased the UVB-induced IL-6 and IL-8 in NHEK cells. In human study, ZE protected skin against UV-B induced erythema and erythema-induced pigmentation. These results indicate that ZE could be useful for the protection against the adverse effects of UV irradiation through various mechanisms.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.218-226
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• 2016

Helicobacter pylori primarily colonizes the human stomach. Infection by this bacterium is associated with various gastric diseases, including inflammation, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. Although there are antibiotic regimens for the eradication of H. pylori, the resistance of this species against antibiotics has been continuously increasing. The natural compound plumbagin has been reported as an antimicrobial and anticancer molecule. In this study, we analyzed the inhibitory effect of plumbagin on H. pylori strain ATCC 49503 as well as the expression of various molecules associated with H. pylori growth or virulence by immunoblotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses. We demonstrated the minimal inhibitory concentration of plumbagin on H. pylori through the agar dilution and broth dilution methods. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of plumbagin treatment on the expression of the RNA polymerase subunits and various virulence factors of H. pylori. Plumbagin treatment decreased the expression of RNA polymerase subunit alpha (rpoA), which is closely associated with bacterial survival. Moreover, the mRNA and protein levels of the major CagA and VacA toxins were decreased in plumbagintreated H. pylori cells. Likewise, the expression levels of urease subunit alpha (ureA) and an adhesin (alpA) were decreased by plumbagin treatment. Collectively, these results suggest that plumbagin may inhibit the growth, colonization, and pathogenesis of H. pylori by the mechanism demonstrated in this study.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.149-156
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• 2008

This study was carried out to investigate the anti oxidative and antitumor activities of medicinal plants for the purpose of developing a functional food. The methanol extracts of Agrimonia pilosa was fractionated with five solvents and examined anti oxidative activities and enzyme inhibitory activities in addition to growth inhibitory activity of human cancer cell. The contents of total phenol compounds in EtOAc and BuOH fraction were 39.89% and 39.56%, respectively. Strong electron donating abilities(>90%) were shown in these fractions and its abilities were 92.90% ($500\;{\mu}g/ml$), 94.47% ($1000\;{\mu}g/ml$) in EtOAc fraction and 93.77% ($500\;{\mu}g/ml$), 92.90% ($1000\;{\mu}g/ml$) in BuOH fraction, respectively. These fractions exhibited more than 50% nitrite scavenging ability and potent inhibition activities to XOase activity (93.06%, 91.73%) at concentration of $1000\;{\mu}g/ml$. In antitumor activity test, hexane fraction showed the strongest growth inhibition activity against HT-29, SNU-1 and HeLa cells. Inhibition levels were 51.50, 90.09% in HT-29, 88.19, 95.11 % in SNU-1 and 42.66, 96.40% in HeLa at the concentration of 50, $100\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.3 s.76
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• pp.369-374
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• 2006

Six fractions of Salvia miltiorrhiza were tested for their chemopreventive potentials using biochemical markers of carcinogenesis such as quinone reductase (QR), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione (GSH). Seventy percentage of EtOH extract was potent inducer of QR activity in Hepa1c1c7 murine hepatoma cells. GST activity was increased about 1.4-fold with EtOAc extract at concentration of 50 ${\mu}g/ml$. GSH levels were significantly increased with $H_2O$ extract, 70% EtOH extract and water extract at concentration of 50 ${\mu}g/ml$ (p<0.005). From these results, 70% EtOH extract (250 mg/kg) was intragastrically administered to ICR mice for 14 days. QR, GST and GSH levels were significantly increased with the 70% EtOH treatment. These studies suggest that the 70% EtOH extract of S. miltiorrhiza could be considered as a potential agent for cancer chemoprevention.