• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.247-254
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• 2018

A This study evaluated the antidepressant effects of the herbal mixture CPAE(Cynanchum wilfordii Hemsley, Phlomis umbrosa Turcz, and Angelica gigas Nakai) using several tests, including a test for serotonin 6($5-HT_6$) receptor activity, the forced swimming test(FST), and tests for corticosterone(CORT) and monoamine levels. CPAE showed antagonistic effects on the $5-HT_6$ receptor in a stable $5-HT_6$ receptor-expressing cell line. We subsequently confirmed the antidepressant effects of CPAE in chronic stress model in mice and explored the underlying mechanisms of its action. Specifically, we observed that CPAE treatment significantly reduced immobility time in the FST and effectively restored abnormal levels of CORT in plasma and of monoamines(serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine) in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. These results suggest that CPAE has significant antidepressant effects.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.99-106
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• 2009

Objectives : The antidepressant effect of the subchronic administration of the methanolic extract of wild ginseng(WG) was investigated compared with that of cultivated ginseng(CG, panax ginseng) extract. Methods : To assess the antidepressant effect of the ginseng extracts, tail suspension test(TST) was executed in mice after daily administration of WG or CG extract for five consecutive days. Results : The WG extract at daily dose of 600mg/kg significantly reduced the total duration of immobility in the TST, whereas there was no significant reduction at daily dose of 300mg/kg WG and 600mg/kg CG. There were no individual differences between experimental groups in open field test (OFT) to evaluate psychostimulant effects of WG or CG extract. In the high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) analysis of the extracts, it was found that WG included four times more ginsenoside Rg1 and Re, three times more Rf, and six times more Rb1 and Rc than CG. Conclusions : It is suggested that WG extract has stronger antidepressant effect than CG extract, which means it includes more antidepressant compounds than CG.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.318-327
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• 2017

Background: A typical sewage treatment plant is designed for organic and nutrient removal from municipal sewage water and not targeted to eliminate micropollutants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and nano-sized metals which become a big concern for sustainable human and ecological system and are mainly discharged from sewage treatment plant. Therefore, despite contaminant removal by wastewater treatment processes, there are still remaining environmental risks by untreated pollutants in STP (sewage treatment plant) effluents. This study performed aquatic toxicity tests of raw wastewater and treated effluents in two sewage treatment plants to evaluate toxicity reduction by wastewater treatment process and analyze concentration of contaminants to reveal potential toxic factors in STP effluents. Methods: Water samples were collected from each treatment steps of two STPs, and acute and chronic toxicity tests were conducted following USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) and OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) guidelines. Endpoints were immobility for mortality and reproduction effect for estrogenicity. Results: Acute $EC_{50}s$ (median effective concentration) of influents for Seungki (SK) and Jungnang (JN) STPs are $54.13{\pm}32.64%$ and $30.38{\pm}24.96%$, respectively, and reduced to $96.49{\pm}7.84%$ and 100%. Acute toxicity reduction was clearly correlated with SS (suspended solids) concentration because of filter feeding characteristics of test organisms. Chronic toxicity tests revealed that lethal effect was reduced and low concentration of influents showed higher number of neonates. However, toxicity reduction was not related to nutrient removal. Fecundity effect positively increased in treated wastewater compared to that in raw wastewater, and no significant differences were observed compared to the control group in JN final effluent implying potential effects of estrogenic compounds in the STP effluents. Conclusions: Conventional wastewater treatment process reduced some organics and nutritional compounds from wastewater, and it results in toxicity reduction in lethal effect and positive reproductive effect but not showing correlation. Unknown estrogenic compounds could be a reason causing the increase of brood size. This study suggests that pharmaceutical residues and nanoparticles in STP effluents are one of the major micropollutants and underline as one of estrogenic effect factors.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2016

Purpose: Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and induces the release of glucocorticoids. Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sucrose, but does not increase blood insulin levels. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of saccharin intake in restraint-induced stress response reduction in rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats had stress induced by restraint for 2 hours/day for 1 week. Saccharin was provided in sufficient amounts to allow them to intake it voluntarily at 0.1% diluted in water. The Y-maze test and forced swim test (FST) were performed to evaluate cognitive function and the depressive behavior of the rats. The protein expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in hippocampal cornu ammonis (CA) 1 was investigated by using immunohistochemistry. Results: It was found that, the percentage of alternation in the Y-maze test was significantly (p<.01) higher in the Stress + saccharin group than in the Stress group. Immobility time in the FST was significantly (p<.01) lower in the Stress + saccharin group than in the Stress group. Also, the positive cells of GR in hippocampus CA1 were significantly (p<.05) lower in the Stress + saccharin group than in the Stress group. Conclusion: This study showed that there was an effect of saccharin intake in restraint-induced stress response reduction in rats.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.667-676
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• 1993

Boprosthetic cardiac valves fail from biological and metabolic as well as mechanical reasons, and the limited durability is the main factor of marked withdrawal in their clinical use. Starting the use of bioprosthetic valves in 1976, up to the end of 1992, the consecutive 178 patients have undergone re-replacement of glutaraldehyde-treated xenograft valves for primary tissue failure [PTF]among the patients who had initial valve replacement at Seoul national University Hospital. The explanted valves were 69 porcine aortic [51 Hancock, 12 Angell-Shiley and 6 Carentier-Edwards] and 141 bovine pericardial [129 standard-profile and 12 low-profile ionescu-Shiley] valwes, with an overall incidence of PTF of 15.2%. The operative mortality rate of re-replacement was 5.1%. Calcific degeneration and tissue damage in relation to calcification were the most frequent modes of PTF on gross examinatin of the explanted valves resulting hemodynamically in valvular regurgitation. The number of Hancocg porcine and the standard-profile Ionescu-Shiley valves in valves in mitral position failed more often from tissue damage [tears, holes, and loss or destruction of cuspal tissue] than calcification [68.3% vs. 39.0%, p<0.01] with resultant regurgitation in 61%, the Ionescu-Shiley valves in the same position in 53%. The tendency of more calcification than tissue damage[71.3% vs. 33.3%, p<0.001]with stenosis in 53%. The tendency of more calcification and immobility of cusps in the latter group was partly explainable by the inclusion of patients of pediatric age. Observation made in this study suggest : many of bioprosthetic valves would fail from calcification and tissue damage : some fail prematurely because of mechanical stress probably owing to the valve design in construction ; andeven those valves escaped early damage would be subject to calcify in the prolonged follow-up period. In conclusion, at the present time, the clinical use of bioprostheticxenograft valves seems to be quite limited until further improvement in biocompatibility and refinement in valve design in manufacture are achieved.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2003

Objective : This study was designed to assess the protective effects of Hwangryeonhaedoktang on the animal model of depression, induced by chronic mild stress(CMS). Method : Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this experiment. The subjects were divided into 3 groups ( 1. CMS-drug: Hwangryeonhaedoktang administered during CMS treatment, 2. CMS-vehicle: water administered, 3. normal ). After 4 weeks of CMS treatment, they were executed forced swimming test(FST), open field test and c-Fos in paraventricular nucleus(PVN) were measured. Result : 1. In FST, immobility behavior decreased significantly in CMS-drug group. 2. There was no difference in the open field test between 3 groups 3. c-Fos expressed cell bodies in PVN were significantly less in CMS-drug than in CMS-vehicle group. Conclusion : These results suggest that Hwangryeonhaedoktang may have protective antidepressant effects in CMS model rats. And these effects could be explained by the elevated stress-copying behaviors which are related with PVN of hypothalamus.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of long- and short-term energy drinks on anxiety-like, depressionlike, and cognitive behavior in adolescent rats. Methods: Adolescent rats (age six weeks) were randomly classified into a control group (CON), a long-term administration group (LT), and a short-term administration group (ST). The LT group was orally administered 1.5 mL/100 g (body weight) of energy drink twice daily for 14 days, the ST group was orally administered for one day, and the control group applied the same amount of normal saline. Later, an open-field test, a forced swim test, novel object recognition test, and an 8-arm radial maze test was conducted to assess the rats' anxiety, depression, and cognitive function. Results: There were different effects in the long- and short-term groups of energy drink administration. In the LT group, anxiety- and depressive-like behavior increased because of increased movement in the side corner and decrease of immobility time. Also, the time to explore novel objects decreased, and the number of correct responses was reduced, indicating a learning and memory function disorder. However, the ST group was not different from the control group. Conclusion: These results indicate that long-term consumption of energy drinks can increase anxiety-like, depression-like behavior, and this can lead to decrease in learning and memory functions. Thus, nurse and health care providers should understand the impact of energy drink consumption in adolescence to provide appropriate practices and education.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.88-96
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• 2020

Stauntonia hexaphylla (SH) and Vaccinium bracteatum (VB) are herbal extracts widely used in food and traditional herbal medicine, and have the ability to perform a wide range of biological activities. We aimed to investigate the effects of the SH and VB combination (SHVB) on mice models of chronic restraint stress (CRS) and pentobarbital-induced sleeping behaviors to elucidate its possible mechanisms of action. CRS-exposed mice treated with SHVB showed significantly decreased immobility time, increased swimming and climbing times in the forced swim test (FST), and increased locomotor activity in the open field test (OFT). SHVB decreased serum CORT levels, but enhanced brain monoamine neurotransmitters. SHVB significantly decreased the sleep latency and increased total sleep duration in pentobarbital-induced sleeping behavior in mice. SHVB showed inhibitory effect on 5-HT_2A receptor-mediated ERK1/2 phosphorylation. These results suggest that SHVB has antidepressant and hypnotic effects by regulating the 5-HT_2A receptor.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.315-320
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• 2010

It has been clinically reported that toluene causes mental depression in humans. However, the detrimental effects of toluene exposure on brain function and the relation between features of mental depression and toluene exposure are poorly understood. This study evaluated depression-like behaviors in adult C57BL/6 mice after administration of toluene, and elucidated the effects of classical antidepressants on the depression-like behaviors. For the estimation of depression-like behaviors, tail suspension test (TST) and forcedswim test (FST) were performed 1, 4 and 16 days after toluene (0~1000 mg/kg bw) treatment. In addition, classical antidepressants such as fluoxetine (FLX, 20 mg/kg bw) and imipramine (IMI, 40 mg/kg bw) were administered 12 h and 1 h before the tests. In the TST and FST, toluene-treated mice exhibited a longer duration of immobility than vehicle-treated mice 1 and 4 days after toluene treatment. The depression-like behaviors were significantly reversed by FLX and IMI. The weight of the adrenal gland and the size of adrenocortical cells were significantly higher in toluene-treated mice compared to vehicle-treated controls. It is suggested that acute toluene exposure of adult mice is sufficiently detrimental to induce depression. In addition, this study has established a mouse model for a depressive state induced by toluene treatment.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.205-214
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• 2016

A drought-tolerant transgenic rice (Agb0103) was developed using a pepper methionine sulfoxide reductase (CaMsrB2) under the control of rice Rab21 promoter with a selection marker, the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) gene. Commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops will require the evaluation of risks associated with the release of GM crops. With the potential problems associated to GM crops safety testing, the investigation of their effects on non-target organisms is necessary for environmental risk research. This study was carried out to assess acute toxicity of a GM crop using the water flea (Daphnia magna) for non-target organism risk evaluation. The effect of acute toxicity on Daphnia magna of Agb0103 rice and a non-GM rice, Ilmibyeo, were investigated at different concentrations (0, 625, 1,250, 2,500, 5,000, and 10,000 mg/L). The Agb0103 rice used for the test was confirmed to express the CaMsrB2/PAT gene by the PCR and ELISA. Daphnia magna feeding tests showed no significant differences in cumulative immobility or abnormal response with either Agb0103 rice or non-GM rice. The 48hr-EC50 values showed no difference between Agb0103 rice (2243 mg/L) and non-GM rice (2694 mg/L). These results suggest that there is no significant difference in toxicity to Daphnia magna between Agb0103 rice and its non-GM counterpart.