• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.706-711
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• 2022

Broiler chickens are exposed to various stresses throughout their lives, and those stresses affect their well-being and meat quality. Therefore, the farm breeding system is critical for reducing stress in broilers and improving animal welfare. This study was conducted to evaluate the difference between general farms and animal welfare farms and to evaluate feather corticosterone as an index for measuring stress. Samples of 28-day-old broilers (blood, feathers, and muscle) were collected from slaughter-houses, and corticosterone, along with HSP70, glycogen, and L-lactate, were extracted from feathers and serum as indicators of broiler stress levels and energy metabolism. The analysis results confirmed a significantly (p<0.01) higher feather cortisone level in the general farm group than in the welfare farm group, but no significance was detected for serum corticosterone. HSP70 levels did not differ in muscles and feathers. Glycogen levels were significantly higher in the general farm group than in the welfare farm group (p<0.01), but L-lactate levels showed no difference. Our results suggest that feather corticosterone can be used as an indicator to evaluate stress differences between general farms and animal welfare farms and that long-term stress can be assessed.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.157-167
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• 2002

This study was performed to investigate what effect the taste and quality of drugs would have on the cold and heat mechanisms of human body. We administered Hwangryeunhaedok-tang composed of bitter-tasted, cold-qualified drugs and Gungangbuza-tang composed of spice-tasted. hot-qualified drugs, respectively to the mice 1 hr before exposure to heat stress or cold stress. Plasma corticosterone level of mice was measured. The results were as follows: 1. The elevated corticosterone level in the mice exposed to heat stress was significantly decreased after administration of Gungangbuza-tang but there was no decrease after administration of Hwangryeunhaedok-tang. 2. The elevated corticosterone level in the mice exposed to cold stress was significantly decreased after administration of Hwangryeunhaedok-tang but there was mild decrease after administration of Gungangbuza-tang. 3. When the doses, 3g/kg and 1g/kg were administerd to mice exposed to heat stress. both dose showed significant decrease of corticosterone level and the dose. 3g/kg was more effective. However, in the mice exposed to cold stress, the dose, 3g/kg showed mild decrease and 1g/kg showed significant decrease. These data suggested that HW decreased the plasma corticosterone level in the mice exposed to cold stress and GB also decreased the plasma corticosterone level in the mice exposed to heat stress. In conclusion, our study revealed that the taste and quality of drugs controled the cold and heat mechanism of human body.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.233-239
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• 2014

The present study was designed to investigate the effect Hypericum Perforatum (HP), on behavioral changes, corticosterone, TNF-${\alpha}$ levels and tryptophan metabolism and disposition in bilateral ovariectomized rats compared to $17{\alpha}$-ethinylestradiol. Behavioral analysis by measuring immobility time in forced swimming test and open field test, serum and hippocampal corticosterone and TNF-${\alpha}$ along with hippocampal kynurenine/tryptophan ratio were determined in mature ovariectomized rats treated orally either by HP at three different doses 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day or by $17{\alpha}$-ethinylestradiol $30{\mu}g/kg/day$ for 30 days. Ovariectomized rats showed significant increase in immobility time in the forced swimming test. Along with elevation in serum and hippocampal TNF-${\alpha}$ and corticosterone levels associated with significant increase in hippocampal kynurenine/tryptophan ratio. Immobility time in the forced swimming test was decreased in rats treated by different doses of HP in a dose dependent manner and $17{\alpha}$-ethinylestradiol with no concomitant changes in the open field test. Only Rats treated with HP exhibited significant decrease in the elevated serum and hippocampal TNF-${\alpha}$ and corticosterone, which couldn't explain the associated insignificant effect on hippocampaus kynurenine/tryptophan ratio in comparison to ovariectomized untreated rats. It is concluded that increased tryptophan metabolism toward kynurenine secondary to elevated corticosterone and TNF-${\alpha}$ might be one of the pathohphysiological mechanisms that could explain depression like state observed in this rat model. Further, the observed attenuating effect of HP on TNF-${\alpha}$ and corticosterone could contribute in its antidepressant effect in this animal model by other ways than their effects on tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism pathway.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.97-112
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• 2002

In order to investigate the effect of Sagoonja-Tang, Samool-Tang and Yookmijihwang-Tang against the cold, heat and immobilization stress, each formula was injected intragastically to mice exposed to forced cold water swimming($4^{\circ}C$), forced hot water swimming($42^{\circ}C$) and immobilization stress before measuring the change of plasma corticosterone level of mice. The results were as follows: 1. One hour after each Sagoonja-Tang, Samool-Tang, Yookmijihwang-Tang with the dose of 1g／kg, 3g／kg each were administered to mice, we put cold stress($4^{\circ}C$) on mice for 3min. Then those prescriptions didn't show any significant effect on plasma corticosterone level. however, Yookmijihwang-Tang(1g/kg) showed a significant increase(p〈0.05), and Samool-Tang(3g/kg) showed a small increase. 2. One hour after Samool-Tang, Sagoonja-Tang and Yookmijihwang-Tang with the dose of 1g／kg, 3g／kg each were administerd, mice exposed to heat stress($42^{\circ}C$) for 3 min. Samool-Tang(1g/kg) and Yookmijihwang-Tang(lg/kg) showed significant decrease of corticosterone level(p〈0.01, p〈0.05) but Sagoonja-Tang didn't change it. In the case of the dose of 3g/kg, only Samool-Tang decreased corticosterone level(P〈0.01), but Sagoonja-Tang, Yookmijihwang-Tang didn't make significant effect on plasma corticosterone level of the mice exposed to heat stress($42^{\circ}C$ ). 3. Those mice which exposed to immobilization stress one hour after Sagoonja-Tang, Samool-Tang, Yookmijihwang-Tang with the dose of 1g/kg and 3g/kg didn't show effective decrease of corticosterone level. However, Sagoonja-Tang(3g/kg), Samool-Tang(lg/kg, 3g/kg) showed the effect of mild increase of corticosterone level rather than decrease. These data revealed that the effect-variation of prescriptions depended on the kinds of stress and the dose of prescriptions had a different effect on therapy.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.884-892
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• 2020

Corticosterone is known as a biological stress index in many species including birds. Feather corticosterone concentration (FCC) has increasingly been used as a measure for chronic stress status in broiler chickens. As sample preparation is the first step of analytical process, different techniques of feather matrix disruption need to be validated for obtaining better result in analysing corticosterone extraction. The current study was a validation of pulverizing the feather by bead beater (BB) and surgical scissors (SS) processing prior to corticosterone extraction in feather of broiler chickens. The type of feather processing prior to the hormone extraction may alter the final output. Thereby, finding a standard method according to laboratory facilities is pivotal. This study carried out to determine the effects of feather pulverization methods on the extraction amount of corticosterone in broiler chickens. Feathers were sampled from four weeks old Ross 308 broiler chickens (n = 12 birds). All broiler chickens were kept under the same environmental condition and had access to feed and water. Feather samples were assigned to one of the following processing methods 1) using a BB for pulverizing and 2) using a SS for chopping into tiny pieces. Each sample was duplicated into two wells during enzyme immunoassay (EIA) analysis to improve the accuracy of the obtained data. The results showed lower standard errors and constant output of FCC by using the BB method compared with the SS method. Overall comparison of FCC showed a significantly higher (p < 0.001) amount of the FCC in the BB compared with the SS. Overall, using the BB method is recommended over the SS method for feather processing due to the ability to homogenize a large number of samples simultaneously, ease of use and greater extraction of feather corticosterone.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2022.09a
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• pp.119-119
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• 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may be stressful for people. Public health actions, such as social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety. As a result, there is a growing interest towards various materials to relieve stress. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the anti-stress effects of ethanol extract of Ziziphus jujuba in PC12 cells treated with corticosterone and its underling mechanisms. Furthermore, the viability of the cells, the apoptosis of the cells, the level of phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (p-ERKs) expression were measured by MTT assay, LDH assay, Hoechst staining assay and western blotting. Our results showed that the extract of Ziziphus jujuba reversed corticosterone-induced damage in PC12 cells, which increased cell viability, decreased LDH release, and attenuated corticosterone-induced apoptosis as compared with the corticosterone-treated group. Therefore, these data suggest that the extract of Ziziphus jujuba could be a good candidate for development as a functional food supplement in the improve the anti-stress effect.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2016

Endotoxemia induces production of inflammatory mediators and acute phase proteins, leading to multiorgan injury and systemic inflammation. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation and glucocorticoids (GCs) release modify endotoxemia-induced inflammatory responses. In the present study, we investigated whether pre-exposure of GCs influences endotoxin-induced production of inflammatory mediators in hepatocytes. Hepa1c1c-7 cells were pretreated with low concentrations of corticosterone for 24 h and then cultured without corticosterone in the presence or absence of LPS. Our results demonstrated that LPS alone significantly enhanced production of IL-6 and CRP but reduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) compared to controls. Combination of corticosterone pretreatment and LPS significantly upregulated production of IL-6, IL-$1{\beta}$, and VEGF but downregulated CRP compared to those in LPS alone. These findings suggest that in low concentration of corticosterone-preexposed hepatocytes, endotoxemia may induce upregulation of IL-6, IL-$1{\beta}$, VEGF and but downregulation of CRP.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.273-284
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• 1992

It is well known that phenytoin (PHT), a commonly prescribed anticonvulsant, has teratogenicity in experimental animals and human. The major malformation induced by PHT in mouse is cleft palate. The mechanisms of the embryotoxic effects of PHT are unknown. However, PHT and synthetic glucocorticoids share several features with respect to their teratogenicity, and it was known that PHT increased maternal corticosterone level. Therefore PHT-induced cleft palate may be mediated indirectly by elevated maternal corticosterone. Recently it was reported that secalonic acid Dinduced cleft palate and elevated endogenous corticosterone level, and that such effects were antagonized by DMSO. The purpose of this work was to investigate whether the elevated maternal corticosterone is associated with the teratogenicity of PHT in the ICR mouse fetuses by treatment with PHT or PHT plus DMSO. PHT (74mg/kg, BW) was daily administered intraperitoneally on day 10~12 of gestation with and without DMSO(2ml/kg, BW), and the fetal malformation was observed on day 18. Maternal serum corticosterone and fetal PHT levels were determined by HPLC. The results are summarized as follows. 1)The percentage of cleft palate incidense in fetuses following treatment with PHT on day 10~12 of gestation was 51.7%. 2)There was a significant decrement in the cleft palate incidence in fetuses to 30.8% in the group treated with PHT plus DMSO compared with 51.7% in that with PHT alone. 3) Maternal serum corticosterone levels following treatment with PHT on day 10~12 of gestation increased by 116~343% compared with that of vehicle control. Such effect was antagonized by DMSO. 4)PHT concentration in the fetuses was not affected by DMSO. These results suggest that PHT-induced cleft-palate in fetuses seems to be closely associated with the elevation of maternal corticosterone level.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2005

Stress is known to inhibit granule cell proliferation in the hippocampus. However, recent studies suggest that the commonly used dose of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) is insufficient to label all fractions of granule cells. Furthermore, stress-induced changes in BrdU availability may influence the labeling of newly born cells. To investigate whether changes in BrdU availability affect measurements of stress-induced granule cell proliferation, granule cell proliferation was assessed using injection of high doses of BrdU before and after restraint stress lasting 1 h. In addition, to determine whether stress-induced changes in plasma corticosterone levels were influenced by the BrdU, time-dependent changes in plasma corticosterone levels over 2 h after BrdU injection were compared with total accumulated plasma corticosterone levels [as determined by areas under the curve (AUC)]. Restraint stress significantly reduced the numbers of BrdU-labeled cells and clusters in the granule cell layer (GCL) of rats that received BrdU after stress, and decreases of similar magnitude were observed when the rats were given BrdU before stress. BrdU injection enhanced the stress-induced plasma corticosterone response, but there was no difference between the mean AUCs of plasma corticosterone levels of animals injected with BrdU before or after stress. These observations suggest that restraint stress decreases granule cell proliferation, and that this may be influenced by the extent and duration of plasma corticosterone increases rather than by changes in the availability of BrdU.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.517-523
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• 2018

Elevated levels of cortisol caused by chronic stress may lead to neuron damage in the hippocampus by activating the glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). In cortisol-deficient animals, corticosterone is known to function as a stress hormone. In humans however, corticosterone is considered a precursor of aldosterone and a glucocorticoid with similar properties to cortisol. Recently, many studies have been conducted on the role of cortisol and other synthetic glucocorticoids like dexamethasone in humans, but the exact function of corticosterone is unknown. This study examined the viability of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells treated with various concentrations of corticosterone for 24 and 48 hr via MTT assay. The MTT-assay results showed that corticosterone had an antiproliferation effect on SH-SY5Y cells at higher concentrations (500 and $1,000{\mu}M$), while in lower concentrations ($100{\mu}M$), it showed no antiproliferation effect. Cytotoxicity analysis of extracts from three medicinal crops (Liriope muscari, Schisandra chinensis, and Wolfiporia extensa) revealed that they all possessed deleterious effects on SH-SY5Y cells depending on dosage. However, it was observed that, at a concentration of $500{\mu}g/ml$, Liriope muscari attenuated the corticosterone-induced antiproliferation on SY-SH5Y cells and restored cell growth after 48 hours of treatment. The study examined the synergistic effect of six mixtures each containing $500{\mu}g/ml$ of Liriope and various concentrations of Schisandra (50 or $100{\mu}g/ml$) and Wolfiporia (10, 30, and $50{\mu}g/ml$). The results showed minor growth-restoration activity but less than that of Liriope muscari only, suggesting that Schisandra and Wolfiporia had no additive or synergistic effects.