• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1019-1030
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• 2003

Platycodi Radix, the root of Platycodon grandiflorum, commonly known as Doraji, is used as a traditional oriental medicine. Extracts from the roots of P. grandiflorum have been reported to have wide ranging health benefits. In the present study, we investigated the effects of an aqueous extract from the roots of P. grandiflorum (AEPG) on the growth of human lung carcinoma A549 cells. Results obtained are as fellow; AEPG treatment resulted in the inhibition of the cell viability of A549 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Upon treatment with AEPG, A549 cells developed many of the hallmark features of apoptosis, including condensation of chromatin. Flow cytometry analysis confirmed that AEPG increased populations of apoptotic-sub G1 phase. Western blot and RT-PCR analyses indicated that the expressions of Bcl-2 was down-regulated but Bax was up-regulated in AEPG-treated A549 cells. AEPG-induced apoptotis of A549 cells was associated with rroteolytic cleavage and activation of caspase-3, release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into cytosol and down-regulation of Akt and phospho-Akt proteins in a dose-dependent manner. Induction of apoptosis by AEPG treatment was associated with inhibition and/or degradation of apoptotic target proteins such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, β-catenin and phospholipase C-γ 1. AEPG treatment inhibited the levels of cyclooxygenases protein of A549 cells, which was associated with the inhibition of prostaglandin E2 accumulation in a concentration-dependent fashion. Taken together, these findings suggest that P. grandiflorum has strong potential for development as an agent for prevention against human lung cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.125-131
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• 2015

Currently, taxol is mainly extracted from the bark of yews; however, this method can not meet its increasing demand on the market because yews grow very slowly and are a rare and endangered species belonging to first-level conservation plants. Recently, increasing efforts have been made to develop alternative means of taxol production; microbe fermentation would be a very promising method to increase the production scale of taxol. To determine the activities of the taxol extracted from endophytic fungus N. sylviforme HDFS4-26 in inhibiting the growth and causing the apoptosis of cancer cells, on comparison with the taxol extracted from the bark of yew, we used cellular morphology, cell counting kit (CCK-8) assay, staining (HO33258/PI and Giemsa), DNA agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry (FCM) analyses to determine the apoptosis status of breast cancer MCF-7 cells, cervical cancer HeLa cells and ovarian cancer HO8910 cells. Our results showed that the fungal taxol inhibited the growth of MCF-7, HeLa and HO8910 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. IC50 values of fungal taxol for HeLa, MCF-7 and HO8910 cells were $0.1-1.0{\mu}g/ml$, $0.001-0.01{\mu}g/ml$ and $0.01-0.1{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The fungal taxol induced these tumor cells to undergo apoptosis with typical apoptotic characteristics, including morphological changes for chromatin condensation, chromatin crescent formation, nucleus fragmentation, apoptotic body formation and G2/M cell cycle arrest. The fungal taxol at the $0.01-1.0{\mu}g/ml$ had significant effects of inducing apoptosis between 24-48 h, which was the same as that of taxol extracted from yews. This study offers important information and a new resource for the production of an important anticancer drug by endofungus fermentation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5291-5298
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• 2012

Beta-asarone is one of the main bioactive constituents in traditional Chinese medicine Acorus calamu. Previous studies have shown that it has antifungal and anthelmintic activities. However, little is known about its anticancer effects. This study aimed to determine inhibitory effects on LoVo colon cancer cell proliferation and to clarify the underlying mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. Dose-response and time-course anti-proliferation effects were examined by MTT assay. Our results demonstrated that LoVo cell viability showed dose- and time-dependence on ${\beta}$-asarone. We further assessed anti-proliferation effects as ${\beta}$-asarone-induced apoptosis by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide assay usinga flow cytometer and observed characteristic nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation of apoptosis by microscopy. Moreover, we found the apoptosis to be induced through the mitochondrial/caspase pathway by decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and reducing the Bcl-2-to-Bax ratio, in addition to activating the caspase-9 and caspase-3 cascades. Additionally, the apoptosis could be inhibited by a pan-caspase inhibitor, carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-[O-methyl]-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-FMK). When nude mice bearing LoVo tumor xenografts were treated with ${\beta}$-asarone, tumor volumes were reduced and terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays of excised tissue also demonstrated apoptotic changes. Taken together, these findings for the first time provide evidence that ${\beta}$-asarone can suppress the growth of colon cancer and the induced apoptosis is possibly mediated through mitochondria/caspase pathways.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.125-132
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• 2023

In this study, we compared the performance of machine learning models for predicting Vapor Pressure Deficits (VPD) in greenhouses that affect pore function and photosynthesis as well as plant growth due to nutrient absorption of plants. For VPD prediction, the correlation between the environmental elements in and outside the greenhouse and the temporal elements of the time series data was confirmed, and how the highly correlated elements affect VPD was confirmed. Before analyzing the performance of the prediction model, the amount and interval of analysis time series data (1 day, 3 days, 7 days) and interval (20 minutes, 1 hour) were checked to adjust the amount and interval of data. Finally, four machine learning prediction models (XGB Regressor, LGBM Regressor, Random Forest Regressor, etc.) were applied to compare the prediction performance by model. As a result of the prediction of the model, when data of 1 day at 20 minute intervals were used, the highest prediction performance was 0.008 for MAE and 0.011 for RMSE in LGBM. In addition, it was confirmed that the factor that most influences VPD prediction after 20 minutes was VPD (VPD_y__71) from the past 20 minutes rather than environmental factors. Using the results of this study, it is possible to increase crop productivity through VPD prediction, condensation of greenhouses, and prevention of disease occurrence. In the future, it can be used not only in predicting environmental data of greenhouses, but also in various fields such as production prediction and smart farm control models.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.161-167
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• 2009

Objectives : Maekmoondong-tang (MMDT), a Korean herbal medicine, has been used to treat severe dry cough in patients with bronchitis and pharyngitis. MMDT has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, immunomodulatory, secretory-modulating, and metabolic regulatory actions. However, there are no evidence in regard to the effects of MMDT on carcinogenesis and metastasis. Here, we investigated the effects of 70% ethanol extract of MMDT on cell viability, apoptosis, and motility in human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. Methods : Cell viability was measured using the CCK-8 assay, and the apoptosis induction was evaluated by caspase-3 activity. To detect apoptotic features, the cells treated with MMDT were stained with 4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). Cell motility was examined by Boyden chamber assay and Real-time Cell Index of Migration assay. Gelatin zymography also performed to measure matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2/9 activity. Results : We found that MMDT significantly inhibited cell proliferation and increased caspase-3 activity in a dose-dependent manner in HepG2 cells. Apoptotic features such as chromatin condensation and apoptotic bodies were observed in MMDT-treated cells by DAPI staining. MMDT also suppressed PMA-induced cell motility and activities of MMP-2/9. Conclusions : Our results exhibited that MMDT possess the anti-carcinogenetic and anti-metastatic activities via caspase-3 activation and down-regulation of cell motility and invasion in HepG2 cells. Therefore, these findings suggest that MMDT could be potentially applied to the prevention and treatment of cancer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1384-1392
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• 2015

Sagantang (SGT), a Korean multiherb formula comprising six medicinal herbs, Paeonia lactiflora Pall., Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC, Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, Poria cocos Wolf, Cimicifuga heracleifolia Komarov, and Artractylodes japonica Koidzumi, was recorded in “Dongeuibogam.” The present study investigated the anticancer potential of SGT in AGS human gastric carcinoma cells. The results indicated that SGT treatment significantly inhibited the growth and viability of AGS cells in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death, as evidenced by the formation of apoptotic bodies, in addition to chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation, and the accumulation of annexin-V positive cells. The induction of apoptotic cell death by the SGT treatment was associated with up-regulation of Fas protein expression, truncation of Bid, and down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein. The SGT treatment also effectively induced the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, which was associated with the activation of caspases (caspase-3, -8, and -9) and degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. However, a pan-caspase inhibitor significantly blocked the SGT-induced apoptosis and growth suppression in AGS cells. This study suggests that SGT induces caspase-dependent apoptosis through an extrinsic pathway by upregulating Fas, as well as through an intrinsic pathway by modulating Bcl-2 family members in AGS cells. The results suggest that SGT may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the control of human gastric cancer cells. However, further studies will be needed to confirm the potential of SGT in cancer prevention and therapy in an in vivo model and to identify biological active compounds of SGT.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1227-1234
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• 2019

Prunus mume, also known as maesil, is a popular fruit consumed in East Asia (Korea, Japan, and China). It contains high amounts of organic acids, minerals, and polyphenols and has been used as a medication for fever, vomiting, and detoxification. In this study, the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of solvent fractions from maesil were evaluated using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assays, morphological evaluations, Hoechst 33258 staining, and western blotting. Addition of the maesil methanol fraction (MMF) and the maesil butanol fraction (MBF) significantly and dose-dependently decreased the cell viability of HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Colony-forming assays confirmed that the MMF and MBF treatments decreased colony numbers when compared with untreated control cells. Treatment of HT-29 cells with MMF and MBF caused a distortion of the cell morphology to a shrunken cell mass. Treatment with MMF and MBF also dose-dependently increased nuclear condensation and the formation of apoptotic bodies in HT-29 cells. Treatment with MMF and MBF significantly and dosedependently increased the expression of Bax (a pro-apoptotic protein), caspase-3, and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and decreased the expression of Bcl-2 (an anti-apoptotic protein). MMF significantly and dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation induced by bisphenol A, an environmental hormone. Therefore, MMF may have potential use as a functional food and as a possible therapeutic agent for the prevention of colon cancer.