• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.160-164
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• 2008

Potential antioxidant activities of methanol and water extracts of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense (CJ) leaves were examined. The reducing power and hydroxyl raical-scavenging activity assays showed that the methanol extract had a significantly higher activity than the water extract. In addition, the methanol extract showed a concentration-dependent reducing power, ranging from 0.228 to 1.072($0.1{\sim}0.5\;mg/mL$), as well as a high DPPH free radical-scavenging activity($EC_{50}=40.25\;{\mu}/mL$). The total phenolic(as tannic acid) and flavonoid(as quercetin) contents of the extract were 62.41 mg/g and 13.48 mg/g, respectively. The cytotoxic activity indicated that the methanol extract has an inhibition activity in the stomach carcinoma cell (35.40%), suggesting that the methanol extract of CJ leaves could be used as a potential source of pharmaceutical material.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.172-177
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• 2016

The phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity and neuronal cell protective effect of Cirsium japonicum extract were evaluated in this study. High performance liquid chromatography mass analysis showed that C. japonicum was composed of chlorogenic acid, linarin, and pectolinarin. C. japonicum extract showed its antioxidant activity with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 567 and $130{\mu}g/mL$ by DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, respectively. The total antioxidant capacities of C. japonicum via DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays were 11.32, 100.15, and $12.76{\mu}g/mL$ trolox equivalents, respectively. In addition, the neuroprotective effect of C. japonicum extract was investigated by measuring cell viability via MTT, LDH and DCF-DA assay using $H_2O_2-damaged$ PC12 cells. C. japonicum extract showed neuronal cell protective effects in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicated that C. japonicum extract has potent antioxidant and neuronal protective effects. Therefore, C. japonicum can be regarded as an effective and safe functional food resource as natural antioxidants, and may decrease the risk of neurodegenerative disorders.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2008

Antioxidant and anti-rheumatoid activities of Cirsium japonicum leaf extract (CJLE) were investigated in this study. CJLE had similar DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power to ascorbic acid and several flavonoids. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory tissue-destructive disease, partly related with functions of hyaluronidases (HAases) and collgenases. CJLE ($1,000\;{\mu}g/mL$) had approximately 60.7 and 31.9% inhibition of HAase and collagenase activity, respectively. Also, CJLE inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitrite production in a dose-dependent manner, and CJLE ($1,000\;{\mu}g/mL$) suppressed approximately 70% of LPS-induced nitrite production effectively in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. CJLE had inhibitory effects on the adherence of monocytic THP-1 to human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) monolayers to the basal level. Inhibitory effect of CJLE on the adhesion was caused by suppression of tumor necrosis factor-a-upregulated expression of vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin. We expect that CJLE may alleviate the inflammatory process in rheumatoid synovium, and these findings will raise the possibility of the usage of C. japonicum as a traditional pharmaceutical of anti-rheumatoid arthritis.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.416-421
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• 2013

Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense is often used in treatment of human disease such as hemorrhage, blood congestion and inflammation. The present study has been undertaken to investigate the effect of the leaf extract from C. japonicum var. ussuriense (CLE) on the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in DBA1/J mice. CLE administration suppressed markedly the arthritis incidence and arthritis score in CIA mice. Also, CLE significantly suppressed the release of $PGE_2$, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-4 and IL-6 in CIA mice. However, CLE significantly increased the production of IL-10, but not IL-4. These results suggest that CLE suppress inflammatory mediators and regulates Th1 and Th2 cytokines. These properties may contribute to the anti-arthritis action of CLE.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.322-329
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• 2015

Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense are often used in treatment of human diseases such as hemorrhage, blood congestion and inflammation in Korea. However, there was not report on the anti-obesity efficacy of water extracts from different organs of C. japonicum var. ussuriense. Here, we investigated the antioxidant effects of water extracts of flowers, leaves and roots from C. japonicum var. ussuriense. Total polyphenol amounts of the flower extract showed higher than those of leaf and root extract. Flower extract also showed the high antioxidant activities such as DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power. We also investigated the anti-obesity effects of water extracts of flowers, leaves and roots from C. japonicum var. ussuriense in 3T3-L1 cells and high fat diet-induced obesity mice. The mice were divided into four groups [high fat diet (HFD) control, HFD + leaf extract, HFD + flower extract and root extract] and administered with each extract (200 mg/kg) for 12 weeks. The flower and leaf extract significantly suppressed the levels of oil red O and triglyceride content. The flower and leaf extract also significantly reduced the triglyceride, total cholesterol and lower density lipoprotein levels of plasma as well as body and abdominal fat weight. Furthermore, oral glucose tolerance in the flower and leaf extract groups were significantly ameliorated in comparison to the high fat diet group. Therefore, these results indicate that the flower and leaf extract could ameliorate obesity and attenuate blood glucose level in high fat diet-induced obesity mice. We conclude that this study may provide positive insights into water extracts of flowers and leaves from C. japonicum var. ussuriense as a functional food ingredient for treatment of obesity.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.369-379
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• 2019

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease associated with age, and amyloid beta ($A{\beta}$) is known to cause Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of Cirsium japonicum var. maackii extract and its fractions against $A{\beta}$-induced neurotoxicity in C6 glial cells. The cells treated with $A{\beta}_{25-35}$ showed a decrease in cell viability and an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production compared with the non-treated cells. However, the cells treated with the C. japonicum var. maackii extract and its fractions increased the cell viability and inhibited the $A{\beta}$-induced ROS production. These results demonstrate the neuroprotective effects of C. japonicum var. maackii against $A{\beta}$. To further examine the protective mechanism, we measured inflammation and apoptosis related protein expressions. The cells treated with extract and fractions from C. japonicum var. maackii down-regulated inflammatory related proteins such as cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin $(IL)-1{\beta}$, and IL-6, and attenuated apoptosis related proteins including B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) associated X protein/Bcl-2 ratio. In particular, the ethanol and ethylacetate fraction exhibited higher inhibitory effect against ROS production and apoptosis-related protein expressions among the extract and the other fractions. Therefore, this study demonstrated the protective effects of C. japonicum var. maackii extract and its fractions against $A{\beta}$-induced neurotoxicity in C6 glial cells through the regulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, suggesting that it might have potential as a therapeutic for AD.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.34.1-34.9
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• 2018

Cirsium japonicum belongs to the Asteraceae or Compositae family and is a medicinal plant in Asia that has a variety of effects, including tumour inhibition, improved immunity with flavones, and antidiabetic and hepatoprotective effects. Silymarin is synthesized by 4-coumaroyl-CoA via both the flavonoid and phenylpropanoid pathways to produce the immediate precursors taxifolin and coniferyl alcohol. Then, the oxidative radicalization of taxifolin and coniferyl alcohol produces silymarin. We identified the expression of genes related to the synthesis of silymarin in C. japonicum in three different tissues, namely, flowers, leaves, and roots, through RNA sequencing. We obtained 51,133 unigenes from transcriptome sequencing by de novo assembly using Trinity v2.1.1, TransDecoder v2.0.1, and CD-HIT v4.6 software. The differentially expressed gene analysis revealed that the expression of genes related to the flavonoid pathway was higher in the flowers, whereas the phenylpropanoid pathway was more highly expressed in the roots. In this study, we established a global transcriptome dataset for C. japonicum. The data shall not only be useful to focus more deeply on the genes related to product medicinal metabolite including flavolignan but also to study the functional genomics for genetic engineering of C. japonicum.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.30-47
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• 2006

Objective : The present study is aimed to elucidate the effects of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense on immunomodulation and the potential as an herbal remedy for cancer treatment. Method : It was performed through measurement of effects Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense extract (CJE) on NO production, NK cell cytotoxicity and cytokine gene expressions related with macrophage and NK cell activity. Result : 1. CJE did not show any direct cytotoxic effects on 7250, HT1080, Hep G2 and CT-26 cells. 2. CJE activated macrophages partially to product NO and up-regulated gene expressions for iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells. 3. CJE promoted cytotoxicity of NK cells against YAC-1 cells at higher concentration than 200 ${\mu}g/ml$. 4. CJE up-regulated gene expressions for $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-2, iNOS, $IFN-{\gamma}$ and $TNF-{\alpha}$ in mice splenocytes.　５. CJE inhibited lung tumor metastasis induced by CT-26 cell transplantation compared with the control group.　Conclusion : It could be concluded that CJE is an effective herbal drug for immune modulating and anti-cancer treatment by promoting activity of macrophages and NK cells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.739-744
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• 2012

Cirsium japonicum (Gyonggido (GG), Gangwondo (GW), Jeollanamdo (JN) and Jejudo (JJ)) were investigated for their antioxidative components (total polyphenol and flavonoid contents) and their antioxidant activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and reducing power). Analysis of antioxidative components and activities showed significant (p<0.05) differences across samples from various regions (GG, GW, JN, JJ). Amounts of total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were in the order of GG${\geq}$GW>JJ>JN (p<0.05). The results of the antioxidative activity test of Cirsium japonicum showed that GG and GW had higher activities compared to others (p<0.05). Therefore, the results of the antioxidative activity test (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and reducing power) were correlated with total polyphenol and flavonoid contents values.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.39-47
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• 2011

Objective: The roots, leaves, flowers, stems and seeds of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense are often used in treatment of human diseases such as hemorrhage, blood congestion and inflammation. Focusing our attention on natural and bioavailable sources of antioxidants and anti-inflammation, we undertook to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense used as a folk medicine in Korea. Methods: The extracts of the leaves, stems, flowers, seeds and roots from C. japonicum var. ussuriense were prepared by extracting with water or 80% ethanol. Total flavonoids and polyphenols were measured by a colorimetric assay. The free radical scavenging activity of the extract was analyzed by the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and Griess reagent assay. An oxidative product of nitric oxide (NO), was measured in the culture medium by the Griess reaction. The level of prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were measured by Western blot analysis. Results: Total flavonoid and polyphenol amounts of the leaves (CLE) and flowers (CFE) showed higher than those of the seed extract (CSE), stem extract (CSTE) and roots (CRE). CLE and CFE also showed the high antioxidant activities such as DPPH, NO-like and ABTS radical scavenging activity. An antioxidant activities of these water extracts showed higher than those of 80% ethanol extracts. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of CLE on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. CLE significantly suppressed the levels of the inflammatory mediators such as NO and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) in dose dependant. Furthermore, the levels of iNOS and COX-2 protein expressions were markedly suppressed by the treatment with CLE extract in a dose dependent manner. Conclusions: These results suggest that CLE water extract has a higher anoxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, these properties may contribute to the oxidative and inflammatory related disease care.