• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 2011

This study was performed to investigate the physiological activities of stings of Gleditsia sinensis extracts. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring total phenolic contents (TPC), comet assay, and 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (RSA). Anti-diabetic activity was measured by inhibition activities on $\alpha$-glucosidase. Stings of Gleditsia sinensis extracts were prepared by extracting them with methanol and ethanol. The methanolic extracts showed the highest phenol content (1.12 g/100 g gallic acid equivalents). The $\alpha$-glucosidase inhibitory activity of methanol extracts were 17.9% higher, and that of ethanol extracts were 10.3% higher at a concentration of 1 mg/ml. These results indicate that stings of Gleditsia sinensis might be potential candidates as antioxidant and anti-diabetic agents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.162-166
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• 2005

Two flavonoids, 7-O-methyl-3',4'-didehydroxy quercetin (MDQ) and quercetin, isolated from Chinese propolis, which is the generic name for the resinous substance collected by honeybees from various plant sources, were tested for their antioxidant activity and protective effect against radiation-induced DNA damage in mouse lymphocytes. In antioxidant test, both compounds provided a dose-dependent scavenging effect on DPPH radical and a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation in mouse liver. Quercetin showed stronger scavenging and inhibitory effect than MDQ, and it also provided strong inhibition on superoxide anion radical generated in xanthine-xanthine oxidase system, but there was no inhibitory ability for MDQ. In comet assay using single cell gel electrophoresis, MDQ and quercetin showed a protective effect against DNA damage caused by gamma irradiation. They reduced DNA damage to 54% (p<0.01) and 53% (p<0.01) at 25 $\mu$mol, respectively. These results suggest that free radical scavenging seems to be associated with their catechol form on the B ring, and radioprotection appears to be a likely mechanism of antioxidant activity by these flavonoids.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.953-959
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• 2010

We extracted bioactive materials from Codium fragile by enzymatic hydrolysis using four different proteases (Alcalase, Flavourzyme, Neutrase, and Protamex) and seven different carbohydrases (amyloglucosidase (AMG), Celluclast, Dextrozyme, Maltogenase, Promozyme, Termamyl, and Viscozyme), and evaluated their biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and anti-inflammatory effects. All enzymatic hydrolysates showed good DPPH radical scavenging capacities, in particular, Flavourzyme and Promozyme hydrolysates possessed the highest activity. The two hydrolysates also exhibited strong hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity, $Fe^{2+}$ chelating activity, and reducing power in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the two hydrolysates effectively protected DNA damage induced by hydroxyl radical by measuring the conversion of supercoiled DNA to the open circular DNA. All enzymatic hydrolysates also showed high anti-AChE inhibitory activities in a dose-dependent manner, and did not showed any significant cytotoxicity on RAW264.7 cells (p<0.05). In addition, the enzymatic hydrolysates significantly (p<0.05) inhibited lipopolysaccharide induced-nitric oxide production on RAW264.7 cells. These results suggest that the enzymatic extracts from Codium fragile would be good source as an ingredient of functional foods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.796-804
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• 2017

This study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant effect of methanolic extract of Houttuynia cordata (HCME) and to identify a compound having antioxidant effect. The ethyl acetate fraction of HCME showed the highest antioxidant effect in organic solvent fractions. The fraction was then separated into 12 fractions by open column chromatography. Among these fractions, the fraction 10 (Fr. 10) with the highest antioxidant activity was isolated, and its antioxidant effect was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power, TBARS, cell viability, DNA oxidation and DCF fluorescence. The Fr. 10 at a $64{\mu}g/ml$ showed 60% of inhibitory effect similar to that of vitamin C at $10{\mu}g/ml$, compared with blank group. The Fr. 10 at $64{\mu}g/ml$ showed 264% of reducing power, compared with blank group. TBARS assay showed that the Fr. 10 at $64{\mu}g/ml$ had 35.5% of inhibitory effect similar to that of vitamin E at $1,000{\mu}g/ml$, compared with blank group. The Fr. 10 above $32{\mu}g/ml$ displayed cytotoxicity. However, it was observed that the Fr. 10, above $1{\mu}g/ml$ reduced DNA damage. DCF fluorescence assay showed that the Fr. 10 inhibited oxidative stress by $H_2O_2$ in a dose dependent manner. The compound of Fr. 10 was identified to be rutin whose molecular weight is 610 by the IR and LC-MS analyses. Therefore, these results suggest that the rutin of Fr. 10 could use as a natural antioxidant for development of cosmetics and functional foods.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.253-261
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• 2004

Ginsenosides and green tea extracts show a variety of biomedical efficacies such as anti-aging, anti-oxidation and anti-tumor-promotion effects. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been reported to inhibit the UVB-induced apoptosis by increasing the Bcl-2-to-Bax ratio. We have previously shown that ginsenoside Fl protects human HaCaT cells from ultraviolet-B (UVB)-induced apoptosis by maintaining constant levels of Bcl-2 and Brn-3a. Here, we investigate the combined effect of ginsenoside Fl and EGCG on the protection of human HaCaT keratinocyte against UVB-induced apoptosis. When treated individually, although 5 ${\mu}$M ginsenoside Fl and 50${\mu}$M EGCG protected cells from UVB-induced apoptosis, 2${\mu}$M ginsenoside Fl or 10${\mu}$M EGCG treatment showed very little protection effect. However, cotreatement of 2${\mu}$M ginsenoside Fl and 10${\mu}$M EGCG successfully protected HaCaT cells from UVB-induced cell death. As expected, combining ginsenoside Fl and EGCG efficiently prevented UVB-induced decrease of Bcl-2 and Brn-3a expression. In addition, cotreatment with ginsenoside F1 and EGCG prevented the dephosphorylation of Rb, whereas individual treatment with ginsenoside Fl or EGCG failed to prevent the dephosphorylation of Rb even at high concentrations.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.470-478
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• 2005

The objective of present study was to investigate the hepatoprotective and antioxidative effects of onion extracts. Primary cultures of rat hepatocytes were incubated with 1.5 mM tort-butyl hydroperoxide(t-BHP), potent oxidizing agent to liver, for 1 hr in the presence or absence of various concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 or 0.3 mg/ml) of onion extract. Incubation with t-BHP increased glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase(GOT) and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) acitivities and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(TBARS) concentration but decreased 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide(MTT) reduction. Onion extracts at the concentration of 0.05 mg/ml decreased t-BHP-induced GOT and LDH activities. Onion extract at the concentration of 0.1 mg/ml increased t-BHP-induced MTT reduction. Onion extract at the concentration of 0.01 mg/ml decreased t-BHP-induced TBARS concentration. Taken together, onion extracts prevented t-BHP-induced hepatocyte injury and lipid peroxidation. Catalase, glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) and glutathione reductase(GSH-Rd) activities of hepatocytes were significantly decreased by t-BHP. Onion extracts at the concentration of 0.1 mg/ml prevented t-BHP-induced decrease in catalase, GSH-Px and GSH-Rd activities. Onion extracts prevented hydroxyl radical-induced single-strand breakage in dose-dependent manner when plasmid DNA was incubated with various concentrations of onion extracts in the presence of Fenton reagents producing hydroxyl radical. These results demonstrate that onion extracts suppressed t-BHP-induced cytoctoxicity, decreased viability and lipid peroxidation and increased GSH-Px, GSH-Rd and catalase activities. Thus hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of onion extract seem to be due to, at least in part, the increase in antioxidant enzyme activities as well as prevention from hydroxyl radical-induced oxidation, followed by inhibition of lipid peroxidation.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.258-264
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• 2011

The Korean edible mountainous vegetable, byeongpungssam, Cacalia firma Komar. (CFK) is a wild plant found in the intermountain areas in Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate its free radical scavenging activity using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl, 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenozothiazoline- 6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, ferric reducing/antioxidant power assays, an electron spin resonance spectroscopy. We also examined its protective effect against oxidative DNA damage using agarose electrophoresis of ethanol extract of CFK. The protective activity of the extract against the DNA damage induced by HO${\cdot}$ radicals was compared to epicatechin, ascorbic acid and trolox as reference antioxidant compounds. Total phenolic content in the extract was determined spectrometrically according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and calculated as gallic acid equivalents. Total polyphenolic content of the extract was measured in the leaves ($161.53{\pm}1.07{\mu}g/g$) and shoot ($142.45{\pm}0.56{\mu}g/g$). The antioxidant potential of the extracts against some radicals and DNA damage by HO${\cdot}$ radicals showed over 60%, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.95-101
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• 2008

Purpose: Hydrogen peroxide which is one of the reactive oxygen species has been seen to cause various diseases, various cellular disinfections, gene transformation and cell death. The goals of this study were to determine the protective effect of EGCG against $H_2O_2$-induced apoptotic death in conjunctival cell lines. Methods: We measured cell viability by MTT assay and analyzed DNA fragmentation to check up a distinctive feature in cell death and measured the removal ability of free radicals by DPPH free radical scavenging assay and evaluated the oxygen free radical's quantity in the cell by DCFH-DA assay. The mRNA expression in the cell were examined by RT-PCR. Results: Cell viability and free radical scavening activites was significantly increased in dose dependently after cell was exposed to EGCG. And DNA fragmentation and intracellular ROS was decreased. It was showed the mRNA expression which increase of bcl-2, bcl-xL expression and decrease of bax expression. Conclusions: From these results, it suggests that EGCG has an antioxidant effect and protects conjunctival cell lines from the $H_2O_2$-mediated apoptosis through the modulation of the mRNA expression.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.677-683
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• 2008

The antioxidant activities of Wisteria floribunda flowers (WFF) were evaluated. The samples were prepared by extracting separately two different colored flowers (purple and white) with four different solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, and water). The antioxidant properties were evaluated by determining total phenolic contents (TPC), radical scavenging activity (RSA), and reducing power (RP). Water extract from purple WFF and ethanol extract of white WFF showed the highest total phenol contents (491 and 787 ${\mu}M$ gallic acid equivalents), respectively. Water extracts of purple and white WFF also showed higher RSA. In the case of RP, ethanol extract of purple WFF, methanol and water extracts of white WFF showed relatively higher values. The 200 ${\mu}M$ $H_2O_2$ induced oxidative DNA damage in human leukocytes was significantly inhibited with WFF extracts excluding ethanol and acetone extracts of purple flowers. These results suggest that W. floribunda flowers have significant antioxidative activity and protective effect against oxidative DNA damage.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.376-386
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• 2016

Apoptosis induction has been proposed as an efficient mechanism by which malignant tumor cells can be removed following chemotherapy. The intrinsic mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway is frequently implicated in chemotherapy-induced tumor cell apoptosis. Since DNA-damaging agent (DDA)-induced apoptosis is mainly regulated by the tumor suppressor protein p53, and since more than half of clinical cancers possess inactive p53 mutants, microtubule-damaging agents (MDAs), of which apoptotic effect is mainly exerted via p53-independent routes, can be promising choice for cancer chemotherapy. Recently, we found that the apoptotic signaling pathway induced by MDAs (nocodazole, 17α-estradiol, or 2-methoxyestradiol) commonly proceeded through mitotic spindle defect-mediated prometaphase arrest, prolonged Cdk1 activation, and subsequent phosphorylation of Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and Bim in human acute leukemia Jurkat T cells. These microtubule damage-mediated alterations could render the cellular context susceptible to the onset of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis by triggering Bak activation, Δψm loss, and resultant caspase cascade activation. In contrast, when the MDA-induced Bak activation was inhibited by overexpression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins (Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL), the cells in prometaphase arrest failed to induce apoptosis, and instead underwent mitotic slippage and endoreduplication cycle, leading to formation of populations with 8N and 16N DNA content. These data indicate that cellular apoptogenic mechanism is critical for preventing polyploid formation following MDA treatment. Since the formation of polyploid cells, which are genetically unstable, may cause acquisition of therapy resistance and disease relapse, there is a growing interest in developing new combination chemotherapies to prevent polyploidization in tumors after MDA treatment.