• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.805-813
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• 2005

In our previous study, a novel herb mixture (HIM-I) of Angelim gigas radix, Cnidium officinale rhizoma, and Paeonia japonica radix was developed to protect the intestinal and immune systems and promote its recovery against radiation damage. In this study, a new herbal preparation (HemoHIM) with the high immune modulating activity was developed from HIM-I. HIM-I was fractionated into ethanol fraction (HIM-I-E) and polysaccharide fraction (HIM-I-P). And HemoHIM was prepared by adding HIM-I-P to HIM-I. The protective activities against $\gamma$ -irradiation were compared among HemoHIM, HIM-I and the fractions. HemoHIM and HIM-I significantly decreased the radiation-induced DNA damage in vitro, and scavenged hydroxyl radicals in a dose-dependent manner. HemoHIM showed similar activity to HIM-I. In vitro proliferation assay with mouse lymphocytes and bone marrow cells showed that HIM-I-P was remarkably higher than HIM-I and HIM-I-E in cell proliferating activity. HemoHIM showed higher activity than HIM-I and this might be associated with the higher polysaccharide content. The in vivo protective effects of HemoHIM and HIM-I were investigated in $\gamma$-irradiated mice. HemoHIM increased the surviving intestinal crypts to a similar extent compared with HIM-I. In contrast, HemoHIM appeared to be more effective than HIM-I in endogenous spleen colony formation assay. The recovery of white blood cells and lymphocytes in irradiated mice were significantly enhanced by the administration of HemoHIM. Also HemoHIM administration prolonged the survival of irradiated mice. These results showed that the novel herbal preparation, HemoHIM, effectively protected the self-renewal tissues and immune system, and promoted the survival of irradiated mice. Moreover, in comparison with HIM-I, HemoHIM maintained similar activity in the reduction of oxidative damage of self-renewal tissue but exhibited the higher activity in protection and proliferation of immune and hematopoietic cells. These results suggested that HemoHIM might be more effective than HIM-I in immune modulation as well as radioprotection.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2013

Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prx 6) is a member of the thiol-specific antioxidant protein family, which may play a role in protection against oxidative stress and in regulating phospholipid turnover. The aim of this study was to determine whether a human Prx 6/Luc vector was stably expressed and responded to antioxidants in a lung cell line (NCI-H460). To achieve this, the luciferase signal, hPrx 6 mRNA expression, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured in transfectants with a hPrx 6/Luc plasmid after treatment with four antioxidant extracts, including Korea white ginseng (KWG), Korea red ginseng (KRG), Liriope platyphylla (LP), and red Liriope platyphylla (RLP). First, the hPrx 6/Luc plasmid was successfully constructed with DNA fragments of human Prx 6 promoter, amplified by PCR using genomic DNA isolated from NCI-H460 cells, and cloned into the pTransLucent reporter vector. The orientation and sequencing of the hPrx 6/Luc plasmid were identified with restriction enzyme and automatic sequencing. A luciferase assay revealed significant enhancement of luciferase activity in the four treatment groups compared with a vehicle-treated group, although the ratio of the increase was different within each group. The KRG- and LP-treated groups showed higher activity than the KWG- and RLP-treated groups. Furthermore, the luciferase activity against RLP occurred roughly in a dose-dependent manner. However, the level of endogenous hPrx 6 mRNA did not change in any group treated with the four extracts. The SOD activity was in agreement with the luciferase activity. Therefore, these results indicate that the hPrx 6/Luc vector system may successfully express and respond to antioxidant compounds in NCI-H460 cells. The data also suggest that the Prx 6/Luc vector system may be effectively applied in screening the response of hPrx 6 to antioxidant compounds in transgenic mice.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2016

Pink Rot on melon and White Stain Symptom on grape are caused by Trichothecium roseum, one of the most important diseases of grape and melon. These diseases have been occurred in national-wide in Korea and causes irreversible damage on the grape and the melon at harvest season. This research presents the evaluation of the capacity of Bacillus subtillis HK2 to protect both melon and grape against T. reseum and establishes its role as a biocontrol agent. In this study, we isolated a Bacillus strain HK2 from rhizosphere soil, identified it as Bacillus subtillis by 16S rRNA analysis and demonstrated its antifungal activity against T. roseum. Under I-plate assay it was observed that the effect of hyphal growth inhibition was not due to production of volatile compounds. The optimum culture condition of HK2 was found at 30℃ and initial pH of 7.0. Application of HK2 culture suspension reduced 90.2% of white stain symptom on grape as compared to control, resulting in greater protection to grape against T. roseum infestation. Butanol extract of HK2 culture purified using flash column chromatography. The antifungal material was a polar substance as it showed antifungal activity in polar elute. Therefore, our results indicated a clear potential of B. subtilis HK2 to be used for biocontrol of Pink rot in melon and white stain symptom on grape caused by T. roseum.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2004

The human skin is constantly exposed to environmental irritants such as ultraviolet, smoke, chemicals. Free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by these environmental facts play critical roles in cellular damage. These irritants are in themselves damaging to the skin structure but they also participate the immensely complex inflammatory reaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the skin cell protective effect of Juniperus chinensis xylem extract on the UV and SLS-induced skin cell damages. We tested free radical and superoxide scavenging effect in vitro. We found that Juniperus chinensis xylem extracts had potent radical scavenging effect by 98％ at 100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL. Fluorometric assays of the proteolytic activities of matrix metalloproteinase-l(MMP-1, collagenase) were performed using fluorescent collagen substrates. UV A induced MMP-1 synthesis and activity were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gelatin-based zymography in skin fibroblasts. The extract of Juniperus chinensis showed strong inhibitory effect on MMP-1 activities by 97％ at 100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL and suppressed the UVA induced expression of MMP-1 by 79％ at 25 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL. This extract also showed strong inhibition on MMP-2 activity in UVA irradiated fibroblast by zymography. We also examined anti-inflammatory effects by the determination test of proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin 6 in HaCaT keratinocytes. In this test Juniperus chinensis decreased expression of interleukin 6 about 30％. Expression of prostaglandin E$_2$, (PGE$_2$) after UVB irradiation was measured by competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using PGE$_2$ monoclonal antibody. At the concentrations of 5-50 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL of the extracts, the production of PGE$_2$ by HaCaT keratinocytes (24 hours after 10 mJ/$\textrm{cm}^2$ UVB irradiation) was significantly inhibited in culture supernatants (p〈0.05). The viability of cultured HaCaT keratinocytes was significantly reduced at the doses of above 10 mJ/$\textrm{cm}^2$ of UVB irradiation, but the presence of these extracts improved cell viability comparing to control after UVB irradiation. We also investigated the protective effect of this extract in sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)-induced irritant skin reactions from 24 hour exposure. Twice a day application of the extract for reducing local inflammation in human skin was done. Irritant reactions were assessed by various aspects of skin condition, that is, erythema (skin color reflectance) and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). After 5 days the extract was found to reduce SLS-induced skin erythema and improve barrier regeneration when compared to untreated symmetrical test site. In conclusion, our results suggest that Juniperus chinensis can be effectively used for the prevention of UV and SLS-induced adverse skin reactions such as radical production, inflammation and skin cell damage.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.42-61
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• 2005

Objectives:The ginsenoside Rg1 and Rb1, the major components of ginseng saponin, have neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects including promotion of neuronal survival and proliferation, facilitation of learning and memory, and protection from ischemic injury and apoptosis. In this study, to investigate the molecular basis of the effects of ginsenoside on neuron, we analyzed gene expression profiling of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells treated with ginsenoside Rg1 or Rb1. Methods:SH-SY5Y cells were cultured and treated in triplicate with ginsenoside Rg1 or Rb1($80{\mu}M$, $40{\mu}M$, $20{\mu}M$). The proliferation rates of SH-SY5Y cells were determined by MTT assay and microscopic examination. We used a high density cDNA microarray chip that contained 8K human genes to analyze the gene expression profiles in SH-SY5Y cells. We analyzed using the Significance Analysis of Microarray(SAM) method for identifying genes on a microarray with statistically significant changes in expression. Results:Treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with $80{\mu}M$ ginsenoside Rg1 or Rb1 for 36h showed maximal proliferation compared with other concentrations or control. The results of the microarray experiment yielded 96 genes were upregulated(${\geq}$3 fold) in Rg1 treated cells and 40 genes were up-regulated(${\geq}$2 fold) in Rb1 treated cells. Treatment with ginsenoside Rg1 for 36h induced the expression of some genes associated with protein biosynthesis, regulation of transcription or translation, cell proliferation and growth, neurogenesis and differentiation, regulation of cell cycle, energy transport and others. Genes associated with neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation such as SCG10 and MLP increased in ginsenoside Rg1 treated cells, but such changes did not occur in Rb1-group. Conclusion:Our data provide novel insights into the gene mechanisms involved in possible role for ginsenoside Rg1 or Rb1 in mediating neuronal proliferation or cell viability, which can elicit distinct patterns of gene expression in neuronal cell line. Ginsenoside Rg1 have more broad and strong effects than ginsenoside Rb1 in gene expression and related cellular physiology. In addition, we suggest that SCG10 gene, which is known to be expressed in neuronal differentiation during development and neuronal regeneration during adulthood, may have a role in enhancement of activity dependent synaptic plasticity or cytoskeletal regulation following treatment of ginsenoside Rg1. Further, ginsenoside Rg1 may have a possible role in regeneration of injured neuron, promotion of memory, and prevention from aging or neuronal degeneration.