• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.348-365
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• 2010

Artemisia capillaries THUNB is a perennial herb that belongs to the family compositae spp. and the most common plant among the various herbal folk remedies used in treatment of abdominal pain, hepatitis, chronic liver disease, jaundice and coughing in Korea. The object of this study is to observe the dosage-dependent anti-obestic effects of an aqueous extracts of dried aqueous extracts of stems of Artemisia capillaris Thunberg. [Artemisiae capillaris Herba, In-Jin in Korean, INJ] on 45%/Kcal high fat diet (HFD) supplied mice. 45%/Kcal rodent HFD are supplied to ICR mice from 1 week before initiation of INJ administration throughout the 12 weeks, and after the end of 12 weeks of 62.5, 125 and 250 mg/kg/day of INJ administration, the efficacy was divided into five categories 1) hypoglycemic, 2) hepato-protective, 3) nephroprotective, 4) hypolipemic, and 5) anti- obesity effects. The effects were compared to those of simvastatin (for hypolipemic activity), silymarin (for hepatoprotective and free radical scavenger effects) and metformin (for hypoglycemic and related anti-obesity effects). 7 animals per group (8 groups; total 56adapted mice on HFD were selected base on the body weight at 6 days after initiation of HFD supply) were used in this experiment. INJ and all three different reference drugs were directly suspended or dissolved in distilled water, and administered at a volume of 10 mL/kg, once a day for 84 days from 1 week after HFD supply. As results of 91 days of continuous HFD supply, mice showed marked obese states, hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, liver damages and kidney damages. These mean the obesity, diabetes, diabetic hepatopathies, nephropathies and hyperlipemia were induced by HFD supply. After end of 84 days of continuous treatment of three different dosages of INJ, all diabetes related complications were inhibited; relatively favorable anti-obesity, hypolipemic, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic and nephroprotective effects. These favorable effects showed relatively good dose-relations between all three different dosages of INJ treated, and INJ 250 mg/kg showed enough favorable effects on diabetes and related four complications tested as compared with one of each three different references. Otherwise, the efficacy of 62.5 and 125 mg/kg of INJ was somewhat slighter than those of all three reference drugs. Therefore, the suitable effective dosage of INJ is considered as 250 mg/kg/day in the present study. The overall anti-obesity effects of INJ 250 mg/kg-treated group was similar or more favorable than those of metformin 250 mg/kg-treated group, and INJ 250 mg/kg showed slighter hypoglycemic effects with silymarin 100 mg/kg and metformin 250 mg/kg, similar hypolipemic effects with simvastatin 10 mg/kg, and similar hepatoprotective effects with silymarin 100 mg/kg, and similar nephroprotective effects with that of silymarin 100 mg/kg and metformin 250 mg/kg, respectively. Obese, hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, steatohepatitis and related nephropathies induced by HFD supply were dramatically inhibited by 84 days of continuous treatment of all three different dosages of INJ. It is, therefore expected that INJ extracts will be a favorable alternative agent for diet-related diabetes and complications.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.19-28
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• 2003

Sokmyeungtang was the representative prescription for Apoplexy under the rule of Tang and Song dynasty of which the cultures were thriving in the history of China. However, the clinical use of Sokmyeungtang has been gradually reduced since Geumwon dynasty of China because it was misunderstood that the dryness heat drugs of pungent in flavor and warm in property such as Ephedra, Pubescent Angelica Root, Chinese Cassia Tree-Bark, Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root, Prepared Aconite Root, Fresh Ginger, and Wildginger Herb included in the presciption for Apoplexy supplemented heat as damaging Yin flood. In fact, the drugs pungent in flavor and warm in property activate exterior and interior circulation, circulate channels and collaterals, promote blood circulation, and remove blood stasis with the side effect of relieving exterior syndrome with drugs warming channels. When treating Apoplexy with Sokmyeungtang, the cold drugs such as Gypsum, Baikai Skullcap Root, and Pueraria Root are prescribed to suppress fire of pungent dryness and to control excessive heat of people with Apoplexy as reducing the effects of hot drugs causing impairment of Yin. For treatment of Apoplexy, the above drugs accelerate blood and Qi circulation in channels and collaterals and then in necrotic tissue of human body as removing blood stasis. Consequently, these drugs improve disorders of capillary tube circulation. If Sokmyeungtang, an old prescription, is properly understood, it will be substantially helpful to all kinds of treatments in clinical cases

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.343-352
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• 2015

H9 is an ethanol extract prepared from nine traditional/medicinal herbs. This study was focused on the anticancer effect of H9 in non-small-cell lung cancer cells. The effects of H9 on cell viability, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP; ${\Delta}\psi_{m}$), and apoptosisrelated protein expression were investigated in A549 human lung cancer cells. In this study, H9-induced apoptosis was confirmed by propidium iodide staining, expression levels of mRNA were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, protein expression levels were checked by western blot analysis, and MMP (${\Delta}\psi_{m}$) was measured by JC-1 staining. Our results indicated that H9 decreased the viability of A549 cells and induced cell morphological changes in a dose-dependent manner. H9 also altered expression levels of molecules involved in the intrinsic signaling pathway. H9 inhibited Bcl-xL expression, whereas Bax expression was enhanced and cytochrome C was released. Furthermore, H9 treatment led to the activation of caspase-3/caspase-9 and proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase; the MMP was collapsed by H9. However, the expression levels of extrinsic pathway molecules such as Fas/FasL, TRAIL/TRAIL-R, DR5, and Fas-associated death receptor were downregulated by H9. These results indicated that H9 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis by activating intrinsic pathways but not extrinsic pathways in human lung cancer cells. Our results suggest that H9 can be used as an alternative remedy for human non-small-cell lung cancer.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.47-53
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• 1973

Chinae Rhizoma is dried crude roots and rhizomes obtained from Smilax china Linne which belongs to Smilax Genus of Liliaceae Familia, and it has been in wife use as a folk remedy for a long time. But very little systemic studies on its pharmacological actions have been made until now. Furthermore, the effective components except saponin of Chinae Rhizoma have been not known yet. It came to the attention of the authors that Chinae Rhizoma are used as antidiarrhetics in Chinese herb medicine, therefore they attempted to observe the effects of Chinae Rhizoma Alcoholic Extracts (Chinae Rhizoma Ethanol Extract=CREE, Chinae Rhizoma Methanol Extract=CRME) from Smilax china Linne on motility of the isolated rabbit duodenum in this experiment. The results of the study were as follow: 1. The movement of the isolated rabbit duodenum was slowed down and its tonus was relaxed in proportion to the concentration of Chinae Rhizoma Alcoholic Extracts (CREE & CRME). 2. With a concentration of CREE $10^{-4}g/ml$, the contractile effects of acetylcholine $10^{-6}g/ml$, pilocarpine $10^{-5}g/ml$ and physostigmine $10^{-5}g/ml$ were remarkably blocked in the movement of isolated rabbit duodenum. 3. The concentration of the isolated rabbit duodenum induced by barium chloride $10^{-4}g/ml$ was significantly inhibited by CREE $10^{-4}g/ml$. 4. With the administrations of histamine $10^{-5}g/ml$, serotonin $10^{-6}g/ml$ and prostaglandin $A_2\;10^{-6}g/ml$ respectively, contractions were observed in the rabbit duodenum. But, treatment of CREE $10^{-4}g/ml$ inhibited markedly the tonus and motility of the duodenum pretreated with the above drugs. 5. The effects of CREE and CRME were very much alike in this experiment. From the above results, it is concluded that the mechanism of action of Chinae Rhizoma on motility of isolated rabbit duodenum was partially due to cholinergic blocking effect.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.454-463
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• 2017

Ganoderma lucidum has been traditionally used as a medicine for treatment of bronchitis, arthritis, and high blood pressure, and it has been reported to display many biological activities including anticancer and immune activities. Since mushroom mycelium is known to have excellent biological activities together with mushroom fruiting body, studies on biological activities of mushroom mycelium have been actively conducted. Thus, the present study compared the biological activities before and after the cultivation of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium on Atractylodes rhizoma. When the radical scavenging activity was assessed by the DPPH assay, ARGL (ethanol extract of Atractylodes rhizoma mycelium fermented with Ganoderma lucidum) showed radical scavenging activity of 5.58~82.56% at concentrations of $10{\sim}500{\mu}g/assay$, while AR (ethanol extract of Atractylodes rhizoma) showed radical scavenging activity of 5.27~72.08% at the same concentrations. When measured by using the ABTS assay, ARGL showed higher radical scavenging activity than AR, which was consistent with the result obtained by the DPPH assay. In the MTT assay, the cytotoxicity of ARGL against all cell lines was higher than that of AR. In particular, the cytotoxicities of AR and ARGL against Hep3B at a concentration of $400{\mu}g/assay$ were 71.81% and 86.40%, respectively. In addition, the result obtained by the SRB assay was consistent with the result obtained by the MTT assay. According to the results mentioned above, there is a high probability that medicinal herb cultures using mycelium can be used as sources of functional foods since the cytotoxicities against cancer cells and antioxidant activities increased when the mycelium was fermented with Atractylodes rhizoma.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.94-97
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• 1996

Two hundred and eighty eight patients suffering from excessive sweating of palms, soles and axillae etc., visited our Neuro-Pain clinic from November 1991 to March 1996. The sex ratio was 1:1.2. the third decade of age was the major age group. the onset time of hyperhidrosis was prepubertal period (in 95.1% of them). the provocative factors fo excessive sweating were tension and stress from interpersonal relationship. they had the family history (30.9%) and the past history treated with herb medication (56.9%), medicine (30.6%), operation (1.4%), and no treatment (39.6%). We treated 113 patients by sympathetic ganglion block with pure alcohol. the average times of thoracic sympathetic ganglion block were 2.1 (left), 2.4 (right) and those of lumbar sympathetic ganglion block were 1.2 (left), 1.6 (right). Average admission period was 14.7 days. Recurrence rare was 7.1%. Most longstanding effective period was 45 months. We conclude from our results that sympathetic ganglion block is one of the most effective treatments for hyperhidrosis owing to its simple technique and low recurrence rate.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.331-337
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• 2008

This study was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the recovery effects of herbal medicines on acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. In the present study, the recovery effects of 251 herbal medicines on THLE-2 cells that had been damaged by acetaminophen were evaluated using an MTS assay. THLE-2 cells were cultured in 96-well plates and then pretreated with or without 60 ${\mu}M$ acetaminophen (${IC}_{50}$ value: 35.84) for 1 hr. Next, different herbal medicines were added to the wells, after which the cells were reincubated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr. After first round of screening, the candidate herbal medicines were selected based on a recovery rate of greater than 40% and their efficacy were then determined by dose response kinetic analysis. Among these extracts, 8 herbal medicines (Terminalia chebula, Pueraria lobata, Acronychia laurifolia, Lopatherum gracile, Oroxylum indicum, Cynanchum atratum, Senecio scandens, and Sophora flavescens) had a strong recovery effect on acetaminophen-induced damage in THLE-2 cells. Dose response non-linear regression analysis demonstrated that Senecio scandens showed the best recovery rate (98%), and that its ${EC}_{50}$ was 19.54 ng/mL. Additional studies of these herbal medicines should be conducted to determine if they possess novel therapeutic agents for the prevention or treatment of liver disorders.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.389-395
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• 2003

Artemisia is a major edible vegetable in Korea and it has traditionally been used as a herbal medicine for the treatment of coughing, abdominal pain, indigestion, bleeding, jaundice, chronic liver disease and diabetes. However the biological and pharmacological actions of the herb have not been studied well. Recently it is known to possess antibacterial, antihelmintic and antifertility activities. But the effect of Artemisia capillaris extract on carbon tetrachloride($CCl_4$) induced liver damage in dogs have not been reported yet. This study was designed to investigate the effect .of Artemisia capillaris crude juice extract on $CCl_4$ induced liver damage in dogs. 30 clinically healthy dogs were divided into 2 groups: crude Artemisia capillaris juice treated group(CEC group) and carbon tetrachloride($CCl_4$) administerd group. The results are as follows: I. The degree of increase in AST activity and ALT activity in CEC group was lower than that in $CCl_4$ group and the recovery in CEC group was faster than that in $CCl_4$ group. 2. Changes of ALP concentration in CEC group were significant(P < 0.05) but changes of Total-bilirubin concentration were not significant(P < 0.05) in both groups. 3. The recovery of GGT concentration in CEC group was faster than that in $CCl_4$ group. 4. Hematological changes other than MCHC were significant(P < 0.05) in CEC group only and changes of GSH and Met-Hb concentration were significant(P < 0.05) in $CCl_4$ group.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2012

Objectives : The gnarl of Pinus densiflora, called Songjeol in Korea, has been used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of inflammatory-related diseases such as arthralgia, myalgia and bruise. However, the molecular actions and mechanisms have not been clearly investigated. The aim of this study was to clarify the anti-inflammatory activity of Pinus densiflora gnarl pharmacopuncture (PDGP) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Methods : Cytotoxicity was assessed by XTT assay. The amount of nitric oxide (NO) production was determined by nitrite assay. The mRNA expressions of interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were analyzed by RT-PCR. Reactive oxidative species (ROS) generation was measured using the fluorescence microscopy. In addition, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and redox factor-1 (Ref-1) protein expressions were detected by Western blotting. Results : PDGP inhibited NO production and ROS generation in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. At the mRNA level, PDGP suppressed IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6 and COX-2 expression. On the other hand, PDGP induced HO-1 mRNA expression. Furthermore, PDGP suppressed iNOS and Ref-1 protein expression. Conclusions : This result suggests that PDGP can act as a suppressor agent on NO and iNOS through induction of HO-1, and play an useful role in blocking inflammatory responses.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.395-401
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• 2021

Extended inflammation and cytokine production pathogenically contribute to a number of inflammatory disorders. Formosanin C (FC) is the major diosgenin saponin found in herb Paris formosana Hayata (Liliaceae), which has been shown to exert anti-cancer and immunomodulatory functions. In this study, we aimed to investigate anti-inflammatory activity of FC and the underlying molecular mechanism. RAW264.7 macrophages were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or pretreated with FC prior to being stimulated with LPS. Thereafter, the macrophages were subjected to analysis of the expression levels of pro-inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E₂ (PGE), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6, as well as two relevant enzymes, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The analysis revealed that FC administration blunted LPS-induced production of NO and PGE in a dose-dependent manner, while the expression of iNOS and COX-2 at both mRNA and protein levels was inhibited in LPS-stimulated macrophages pre-treated with FC. Moreover, LPS stimulation upregulated mRNA expression and medium release of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, whereas this effect was blocked upon FC pre-administration. Mechanistic studies showed that inhibitory effects of FC on LPS-induced inflammation were associated with a downregulation of IκB kinase, IκB, and p65/NF-κB pathway. Taken together, these data suggest that FC possesses an inflammation-suppressing activity, thus being a potential agent for the treatment of inflammation-associated disorders.