• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제18권5호
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• pp.1449-1455
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• 2004

Bufonis venenum (dried toad venom; Chinese name, Chan su) is a traditional Chinese medicine obtained from the skin venom gland of the toad. It has long been used in treating arrhythmia and other heart diseases in China and other Asian countries. Additionally, Bufonis venenum has been reported to selectively inhibit the growth of various lines of human cancer cells. In the present study, it was examined the effects of extract of Bufonis venenum (EBV) on the growth of human bladder carcinoma cell line T24 in order to investigate the anti-proliferative mechanism and induction of apoptosis by EBV. Treatment of T24 cells to EBV resulted in the growth inhibition, morphological change and induction of apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that EBV treatment caused G2/M phase arrest of the cell cycle and down-regulation of cyclin A, cyclin B1 and Cdc2, which was associated with a marked up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) inhibitor p21 (WAF1/CIP1) in a p53-independent manner. The Cdc25C expression was also significantly inhibited by EBV treatment, however Wee1 kinase expression was not affected. The induction of apoptotic cell death by EBV was connected with down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-XS/L expression without alteration pro-apoptotic Bax expression. Taken together, these findings suggest that EBV may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the control of human bladder carcinorma cells and further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds that confer the anti-cancer activity of EBV.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.171-179
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• 2008

Objective: Bufonis Venenum is the traditional Korean medicine Chan Su, which is obtained from the skin and parotid venom gland of the toads. It has been used for myocardial diseases, inflammation diseases, pain relief, cancer and others. The main components of BV are cinobufotoxin, cinobufalin, bufalin and others. Of these, bufalin, the major active ingredient of BV, has been reported to induce apoptosis and to possess anti-tumor effects. There was no report of anti-tumor screening of BV on hepatic cancer and which signaling pathway can be involved. In order to examine the effect of BV on hepatic cancer and the related signaling pathway with BV-induced apoptosis, human Hep G2 cells were used. Methods: Analysis of apoptosis was confirmed by MTT assay. BV decreased cell viability in a dose and duration dependent manner. To observe which signaling molecules will be activated by BV, phosphorylation of MAPK (p38, ERK, JNK), caspase 8 and caspase 9 were examined by Western blot analysis. Results: The phosphorylation levels of p38 started to increase at 5 min after addition of 5 ${\mu}g$/ml of BV and sustained to increase until 48 hours. The phosphorylation levels of other MAPK (ERK and JNK), caspase 8 and caspase 9 increased in a time-dependent manner. These imply that BV may activate different signaling pathways, MAPK, caspase 8 and caspase 9. These results propose that BV may induce apoptosis on Hep G2 cells through the activation of MAPK, caspase 8 and caspase 9.

• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.1315-1321
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• 2008

본 논문은 오랫동안 민간요법으로 염증치료에 사용되어오던 섬수가 lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-자극된 BV2 소교 세포의 nitric oxide(NO) 분비에 미치는 효과에 대해 연구한 내용이다. 실험 결과 섬수는 세포 생존력에 대한 영향 없이 BV2 소교 세포에서 NO 분비를 억제시켰고, nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) 단백질도 감소시켰다. 또한 섬수는 prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) 생산 및 cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 발현을 저지하였고, proinflammatory cytokines과 ${IkB-\alpha}$감소를 억제시켰다. 따라서 섬수가 $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$감소를 억제함으로써 NO 합성을 저해하여 항염증작용을 할 수 있다는 내용이다.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.52-65
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• 2012

Objectives: Toad venom, called Chan-Su, is a traditional Oriental medicine secreted from the auricular and the skin glands of the Bufo bufo gargarizanz Cantor or B. melanosticus Schneider and has been widely used in China, Korea and other parts of Asia for the treatment of pain, heart conditions, and cancer. We examined the concentrations of the main chemical constituents within a commercially available toad venom product and compared the levels for different extraction methods. Methods: Toad venom was extracted using either cold or hot water, ethanol (EtOH), methanol (MeOH), or ethyl acetate (EtOAc), was fractionated using precipitation or reflux, and was then analyzed using thin layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HTLC), and liquid chroma-tography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Individual components were identified by comparisons of the retention times, the ultraviolet spectra, and mass spectras and differences in chemical constituents for different solvents and extraction methods are presented. Results: Components with authentic standards, including serotonin and bufodienolides (cinobufagen, bufalin, cinobufalin, and resibufogenin), were detected. The water extract of toad venom contained the greatest amount of serotonin ($75.7{\pm}0.1$ mg/g), but very small amounts of bufodienolides ($3.8{\pm}0.0$ mg/g). In contrast, the use of MeOH or EtOH extraction solutions resulted in 5-26 times higher concentrations of bufodienolides, with only trace amounts of serotonin. The relative and the absolute concentrations of the component also varied based on the extraction method; i.e., EtOH extracts yielded the greatest total amounts of bufodienolides, and EtOAc precipitation had the lowest amounts of bufodienolides. Conclusions: Toad venom consists of serotonin and several bufodienolides, and the choice of solvent to extract chemical the constituents is important as a way to enrich the purported active components for treating different conditions.