• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.112-118
• /
• 2004

It has been reported that various kinds of chinese herbs have an activity of promote growth rate in both animals and human. To investigate the growth promoting effect of the selected plants, fish and pigs were used as experimental animals. In fish, Eleutherococcus senticosus extract and Artemisia capillasis extract were found to be most effective. And these plant extracts were given to pigs. The result showed that plant extracts-fed pigs were significantly increased their body weight gain at 7.06% of average daily gain, as compared to control. The verify this results, secreted growth hormone (GH)levels and insulin-like growth factor-1 (ICF-1) levels into blood were measured. This result indicated that GH and IGF-1 levels in the blood in plant extracts-fed pigs were higher that those of control. To confirm growth promotion effect on human, we manufactured the mixture of these plant extracts, and coated this mixture onto rice, named as $Kiwoomi^{TM}$. When we administered $Kiwoomi^{TM}$ to elementary students, it was found to be effective in growth promotion. This result showed that $Kiwoomi^{TM}$-treated elementary students significantly increased their growth rate (about 2.14 times), as compared to untreated children. Taken together, it is suggested that this functional rice ($Kiwoomi^{TM}$) might be helpful for growing children without any side effects.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.689-699
• /
• 2020

Brevibacillus brevis GZDF3 is a gram-positive, plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacterium (PGPR) isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Pinellia ternata (an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine). The GZDF3 strain produces certain active compounds, such as siderophores, which are the final metabolite products of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and independent non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NIS) activity. With the present study, we attempted to investigate the siderophore production characteristics and conditions of Bacillus sp. GZDF3. The antibacterial activity of the siderophores on pathogenic fungi was also investigated. Optimal conditions for the synthesis of siderophores were determined by single factor method, using sucrose 15 g/l, asparagine 2 g/l, 32℃, and 48 h. The optimized sucrose asparagine medium significantly increased the production of siderophores, from 27.09% to 54.99%. Moreover, the effects of different kinds of metal ions on siderophore production were explored here. We found that Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺ significantly inhibited the synthesis of siderophores. The preliminary separation and purification of siderophores by immobilized-metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) provides strong antibacterial activity against Candida albicans. The synergistic effect of siderophores and amphotericin B was also demonstrated. Our results have shown that the GZDF3 strain could produce a large amount of siderophores with strong antagonistic activity, which is helpful in the development of new biological control agents.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.209-215
• /
• 2012

Somok, the heart wood of Caesalpinia sappan is used in traditional Chinese medicine. This study was performed to investigate the effect of growth and culture conditions of brazilin from C. sappan against S. mutans ATCC 25175. The bacteria were cultured in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth, and then incubated under 5% $CO_2$ at $37^{\circ}C$ for 18-24 hours. The effect of brazilin against S. mutans was confirmed under the changes of the culture conditions, such as growth curve and the change of pH, protein, and total carbohydrate. The growth of S. mutans in control medium was the highest at 24 hr, while brazilin-added medium (0.3 mg/ml) showed maximum growth at 32 hr. The pH values of the control medium was 5.25 at 16 hr, but the media supplemented with brazilin (0.3 mg/ml) was 7.0 at 16 hr. The amounts of total carbohydrate of the control medium was 11 mg/ml at 8 hr, but the brazilin-added media (0.3 mg/ml) was 18 mg/ml at 8 hr. In the protein change of the culture medium, the control culture broth and the brazilin supplemented-cultures was 2.4 mg/ml and 2.54 mg/ml at 24 hr, respectively. Polysaccharide contents of the control medium and test media were 3 mg/ml and 2 mg/ml at 8 hr, respectively. Thus, the application of C. sappan can be considered a useful and practical material for the prevention of dental caries.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.804-813
• /
• 2008

Cordyceps militaris, the Chinese medicinal fungal genus Cordyceps, is reported to possess many pharmacological activities including immunological stimulating, anti-cancer, anti-virus and anti-infection activities. However, the molecular mechanisms of C. militaris on biochemical actions in cancer have not been clearly elucidated yet. In the present study, we investigated the anti-proliferative activity of the water extract of C. militaris (WECM) in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. It was found that WECM could inhibit the cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with morphological changes and apoptotic cell death such as formation of apoptotic bodies and increased populations of apoptotic sub-G1 phase. Apoptotic cell death of HepG2 cells by WECM was connected with a up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax expression, tumor suppressor p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (WAF1/CIP1). In addition, WECM treatment induced the proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and a concomitant degradation and/or inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), ${\beta}-catenin$ and phospholipase $(PLC)-{\gamma}1$ protein. Furthermore, caspase-3 inhibitor, z-DEVD-fmk, significantly inhibited WECM-induced apoptosis demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of C. militaris.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.155-162
• /
• 2012

Somok, the heart wood of Caesalpinia sappan is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Adherence of S. mutans to the tooth surface can result in the formation of a dental plaque. This study was performed to investigate the antibacterial activity and bacterial adhesion of ethyl acetate extract from C. sappan against S. mutans ATCC 25175. The bacteria were cultured in brain heart infusion(BHI) broth, and then incubated under 5% $CO_2$ at $37^{\circ}C$ for 18~24 hours. The antimicrobial activity of the ethyl acetate extract of C. sappan was then examined using the paper disc methods and MIC. In addition, bacterial adherence to hydroxyapatite was also examined. The ethyl acetate extract was shown to produce inhibitory effects and had MIC values of 125 mg/ml against S. mutans ATCC 25175. The ethyl acetate extract inhibited adhesion of S. mutans to saliva coated-hydroxyapatite beads(S-HA). At 24 hr, the ethyl acetate extract significantly reduced the adherence of S. mutans to S-HA beads relative to the control. The isolated active substance was identified as brazilin($C_{16}H_{14}O_5$) by $^1H-NMR$ and $^{13}C-NMR$. Thus, the application of C. sappan can be considered a useful and practical method for the prevention of dental caries.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.211-221
• /
• 2005

Objective : The aim of this study is to review clinical trials on the effectiveness of acupuncture in stroke rehabilitation. Methods : Computerized literature searches was carried out on three electronic databases, and hand-searching on some chinese medical journals in library of Kyung Hee Medical Center. Results : 1) Sixteen articles of clinical trials were collected and reviewed. Among these articles, randomized controlled trials were achieved in nine articles. 2) In three articles, statically significant results in improvement of mobile abilities, activities of daily life and Quality of life were reported after acupuncture treatment applied as a part of stroke rehabilitation. In three articles no statically significant changes were reported. 3) Among two articles about spasticity, One about the upper limbs and the results showed statically significant improvement of the spasticity after acupuncture treatment as stroke rehabilitation, and the other was about the lower limbs and the results showed no statically significant changes. 4) One article about acupuncture and postural control showed statically significant results suggesting that acupuncture promotes normalization of postural control after stroke.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.12-18
• /
• 2017

The dried root of Angelica species is used in traditional Chinese medicine in East Asia, particularly in Korea, China and Japan. Since the plant origin differs in these countries, they are often misused or adulterated in the commercial markets, resulting in distrust among the consumers. Enormous efforts have therefore been focused to distinguish the origin for the Angelica genus, by using morphological or cytogenetical analyses, and chemical markers based on biochemical analyses of secondary metabolites. DNA is considerably stable against different cultivation conditions, and to treatment and processing after harvesting of plants. Hence, several researches have been filed for the development of molecular markers, based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms in specific regions of DNA. However, there are several obstacles for application in the commercial markets, concerning the reproducibility, accuracy, sensitivity, and rapidity of these tests. In this review, we summarize the research achievements that help classify the origin of Angelica species, in particular, Angelica gigas Nakai. A. sinensis(oliv.) Diels, A. acutiloba Kitag., and A. acutiloba var. sugiyamae Hikino. Further researches are required for practical applications.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.117-128
• /
• 1993

Ten axonic isolates of Trichomonns uaginolis were subcutaneously injected to the BALB/c mice in order to assess their pathogenicity by means of so-called "mouse assay" method. All the isolates revealed neutral and acid proteinase activities both in their Iysates and in culture media, but the specific activities of both proteinases in the severely pathogenic group were significantly higher than the mildly pathogenic group (p < 0.05). In the SDS-PAGE system in which the electrophoretic gels contained 0.4% gelatin as the substrate, five different handing patterns of trichomonal proteinases were detected, and the patterns were closely related with the pathogenicity of the isolates of T. vosinalis. All five bands might be regarded as cysteine proteinases group in the inhibitor assays. The cytotoxicity of the Iysates of T. vaginalis to the target Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cell line was also significantly different according to the pathogenicity of the isolates, and generally lower in the Iysates treated with cysteine proteinase inhibitors than in the control Iysates. In summarizing the results, it might be considered that the proteinases of T.vaginalis showing five electrophoretic banding patterns are closely related with the pathogenicity and cytotoxicity of the isolates of T. voginolis.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.133-138
• /
• 2010

Mountain ginseng is a perennial crop rarely found in the deep mountains of Korea. The medicinal effect of the mountain ginseng is well known as a panacea in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time. But scientific studies to elucidate the medicinal effect of the mountain ginseng have never been made on account of lack of sample. Recently an improved method of adventitious root culture system through the use of bioreactor has been developed in Panax ginseng that seems to be a reliable way of commercialization of root derived secondary metabolites. This experiment was conducted to evaluated chemotherapeutic effect against human cervical cancer cells by cisplatin (CDDP) and extract of tissue cultured mountain ginseng (ETCMG). CDDP and ETCMG-induced apoptotic cell death in human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa was confirmed by the analysis of cell growth, morphological changes, DNA fragmentation, flow cytometry showed that ETCMG is an inducer of apoptosis and synergizes with CDDP. These results suggest that ETCMG present evidence of anticancer effect and could have a possibly natural therapeutic potential in cervical cancer patients.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1156-1163
• /
• 2015

The present study investigated the immunomodulatory properties of four different medicinal plants in a cyclophosphamide-treated Balb/c mouse model. One of the four plants, Ulmus macrocarpa, showed partial resistance against immune suppression induced by cyclophosphamide. The bark of U. macrocarpa, commonly known as the Chinese elm, has been used as a pharmaceutical material in Korean traditional medicine to treat bacterial inflammation and induce wound healing. In this study, water extract of U. macrocarpa, named DEU-7, was used for its immunomodulating functional activity. DEU-7 increased the weight of the spleen and the number of splenocytes but did not significantly affect the liver, kidney, and thymus in vivo. A splenocyte viability assay confirmed that DEU-7 influenced ex vivo splenocyte survival. DEU-7 also increased the levels of cytokines, such as IL-2 and IL-4, and immunoglobulins, such as IgM, IgG, and IgA. These results indicated that DEU-7 is involved in the activation of T and B lymphocytes. In addition, DEU-7 was able to maintain the production of cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-12, and IFN-γ, in the condition of cyclophosphamide-induced immune suppression, suggesting that DEU-7 activated innate immune cells, even under immune suppression. We concluded that DEU-7 aids immunological homeostasis, thereby preventing immune suppression, and aids both innate and adaptive immune response by maintaining the levels of various cytokines and immunoglobulins. Consequently, it is worth investigating the potential of DEU-7 as a supplemental source for immune-enhancing agents.