• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-11
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study is to analyze Korean patients' characteristics, who were concurrently treated with both Korean herbal medicines and Western chemical medicines using nation-wide database. Method : Using the patients sample data (HIRA-NPS 2018) provided by Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, a group of patients who co-administered Korean herbal and Western medicines was selected, and their basic characteristics, diagnosis, and prescribed chemical medicines were analyzed. Results : Out of the 1,481,921 sample population, 17,629 patients (1.2%) were selected as a concurrent medication group. Compared to the whole sample, the concurrent medication group was composed of more women (65.8% vs. 51.1%), the more elderly people (65 or older years old) (44.5% vs. 14.6%), and the higher prevalence of chronic diseases (49.1% vs. 22.2%). The most frequent diagnosis treated with Western medicines was mental and behavioral disorders, musculoskeletal and circulatory disorders. Frequently used drugs among concurrent medication group were anti-anxiety drugs, gastric ulcer treatment drugs, and senile diseases treatment drugs. Conclusion : The evidence reported in this study is expected to provide herb-drug interaction researchers with important reference to set the priorities of research topics in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.180-187
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• 2004

Objective : This study was undertaken for discovering the characteristics of sleep in ordinary symptoms based on the Sasang Constitution. The result of this study could be helpful to understand and to identify patients such as Taeumin, Soyangin Soeumin or Taeyangin. Methods : There were 1,229 patients (529 men), who answered the questionnaire about their ordinary sleeping patterns. They were diagnosed, including their clinical Sasang Constitution, by the Sasang Constitution specialist at Bundang Oriental Hospital of Dongguk University. By applying the multinomial and binary logistic regression analysis to those collected materials, we can measure the characteristics and the influence of ordinary sleeping patterns to the dependent variable (Sasang Constitution). Results : In order of the item's influence that had decided one's constitution, between Taeumin and Soeumin, Taeumin snored frequently or well more than Soeumin, Soeumin had more dreams and more sleeping times than Taeumin, and Taeumin struggled frequently or well more than Soeumin. Between Soyangin and Soeumin, Soeumin dreams more frequently than Soyangin, Soyangin snored frequently or well more than Soeumin, and Soeumin has more sleeping times than Taeumin. Between Taeumin and Soyangin, Taeumin snored frequently or well more than Soyangin. Between Taeyangin and a group of the other constitutions, Taeyangin felt unwell after sleeping more than the other constitutions, the other constitutions awaked frequently more than Taeyangin during sleeping. Conclusion : This study will be used for identifying patients as Taeumin, Soyangin, Soeumin or Taeyangin by contrast with each other.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.91-102
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• 2012

Metabolomics is the systematic identification and quantification of all metabolites in an organism or biological sample. NMR has been used as a major application tool in plant metabolomics such as quality control, chemotaxonomy, and analysis of genetically modified plants. Herbal medicines are the important therapeutics and are used to manage common diseases such as cold, inflammation, pain, heart diseases, liver cirrhosis, diabetes and central nerve system diseases. Herb plants include various kinds of species such as geranium, mint, and thyme and so on and contain different kinds of metabolites. We performed NMR-based metabolomics study on the seven different species of herb plants using $^1H$ NMR experiments and OPLS-DA to understand the correlation between the classification of herb plants and their metabolite contents. This study showed clear metabolic discrimination among various herb plants. This metabolmics study found several diagnostic NMR signals which are able to be used as bio-markers for identification of the specific herb plants among various species. Clear metabolic discrimination of herb plants suggests three chemotaxonomic groups of herb species.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.87-96
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of single herbal medicines and Korean herbal medicine complex prescriptions for osteoporosis in Korea. We targeted studies published in domestic journals from January 1, 2013 to April 1, 2021. For domestic databases, RISS, NDSL, OASIS, DBpia, KISS, KISTI, and Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal were used. Words such as "osteoporosis", "herbal medicine", "herbal combination prescription" and "herbal" were combined and searched. A total of 32 studies were selected. Among them, 8 studies were conducted exclusively for animal studies, 18 studies were conducted on cell experiments, and 6 studies were conducted on both animal and cell experiments. There were 18 studies using a single herb and 14 studies using a combination of Herbal medicine. As a result of the investigation of a single herb, it was found that 補陽藥 was most widely used, and it was found that it was mainly used in the herbal combination prescription, mainly for 補陽藥, 補氣藥, and 補陰藥. Studies in animal experiments revealed significant results mainly in bone mineral density, serological indicators, and morphological indicators of bone tissue. In the study of cell experiments, the effects were found in factors related to the differentiation of osteoclasts and inhibitors of inflammation. Through the results of this study, we are able to confirm the effective single herbal medicines and herbal medicine complex prescriptions for the treatment of osteoporosis, and it is expected that they will contribute to clinical treatment.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.957-964
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• 2004

Herbal medicines are increasingly used to treat various diseases and lots of studies have been reported that they had benefits in treating and preventing of diseases. But organic toxicity is increasingly recognized as herbal medicines become more popular in industrialized countries. Some herbal products potentially benefit people with lots of diseases, however these benefits remain generally unproved in humans, and a greater awareness for potential adverse effects is required. A herb containing a wide variety of, mostly unknown, substances may well include some with unwanted effects. This review focuses on emerging organic toxicities that have been observed associated with various herbal preparations involving the liver, kidney, and heart, and patterns of organ injury, potential risk factors for organic toxicities. In addition to the potential for organic toxicities, drug drug interactions between herbal medicines and conventional agents may affect the efficacy and safety of concurrent medical therapy. Appropriate reporting and regulatory system to monitor herbal toxicity are required, in conjunction with ongoing scientific evaluation of the potential benefits of phytotherapy.

• 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 Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.123-127
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• 2008

Anti-enterovirus 71 (EV 71) activities of fifteen herb plant species extracts were examined by SRB assay, among which Origanum vulgare and Rosmarinus officinalis (Anna Rosemary) extracts exhibited the activities with $IC_{50}$ of 8.28 and $8.17\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Their 50% cytotoxicity concentrations ($CC_{50}$) were 691.89 and $1104.19\;{\mu}g/mL$, and the therapeutic indices were 83.56 and 135.15, respectively. Amantadine (positive control) showed anti-EV 71 activity with 50% inhibitory concentration and $CC_{50}$ of 4.46 and $145.22\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Addition of the methanol extracts of O. vulgare and R. officinalis (Anna Rosemary) in EV 71-infected Vero cells strongly inhibited the formation of visible cytopathic effects without changing the normal morphology of the cells. These results indicate that methanol extracts of O. vulgare and R. officinalis (Anna Rosemary) may contain antiviral compound inhibiting the EV 71 replication.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.9-18
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• 2018

Objective : Many patients take antihypertensive drugs as well as herbal medicines at the same time in order to treat other symptoms or to keep their well-being. In this study, interactions between herbal medicines and synthetic antihypertensive drugs were analyzed. Methods : To investigate the interaction between herbal medicines and synthetic antihypertensive drugs, three electronic databases, including OASIS, Mediline and Sciencedirect were searched. Experimental and clinical studies on the interaction between herbal medicines and antihypertensive drugs were independently reviewed and included. Results : Analyzing selected studies, twenty herbs were found to interact with antihypertensive drugs. Herbs found to increase the antihypertensive effect were Panax ginseng, Carthamus tinctorius, Magnolia officinalis, Silybum marianum, Scutellaria baicalensis, Schisandra chinensis, Sophora flavescens, Piper nigrum, Curcuma longa, Ginkgo biloba, Juncus effuses and Hydrastis canadensis. In contrast, Commiphora myrrha, Rhodiola rosea, Hypericum perforatum, Eurycoma longifolia, and Daturae metel were found to inhibit the antihypertensive effect. Stephania tetrandra could increase or decrease the effect depending on the type of antihypertensive drug. Epedria sínica was suspected of pharmacodynamic interaction with antihypertensive drug. Glycyrrhiza uralensis has been reported to have serious side effects in combination with antihypertensive drugs. Conclusion : These results imply that when used in combination with herbal medicines and synthetic antihypertensive drugs, proper doses and herbs which are to avoid need to be informed to the patients. Despite concerns about interactions between herbal medicines and synthetic drugs, related research is very limited. More systematic researches are needed to give information on patient safety as well as to guide clinical practice.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.680-688
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• 2016

Sipyukmiryuki-eum (SYMYKE), Danjacheongpi-tang (DJCPT), Jipae-san Ⅰ (JPS Ⅰ), Jipae-san Ⅱ (JPS Ⅱ), and Chungganhaeul-tang (CGHUT) are representative herb-combined remedies used in traditional Korean medicine for treating breast cancer patients, as mentioned in "Dongeuibogam." In this study, we investigated the total phenolic contents (TPCs) and the anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activities of hot water and 70% ethanol extracts of these herbal prescriptions. Among the five herb-combined remedies, the extraction yields of the hot water extracts and 70% ethanol extracts were the highest in JPS Ⅱ (34.30%) and DJCPT (30.50%), respectively. The TPCs of the hot water extracts from the herb medicines were rich in the order of JPS Ⅰ < CGHUT < JPS Ⅱ < SYMYKE < DJCPT. In addition, the 70% ethanol extracts from the herb medicines were rich in the order of JPS Ⅱ < JPS Ⅰ < CGHUT < SYMYKE < DJCPT. Among them, DJCPT and SYMYKE displayed a strong anti-oxidant capability, which was determined using ferric-reducing anti-oxidant power and scavenging of 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) cationic radical activity assays. In addition, anti-microbial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were stronger in the 70% ethanol extracts than in the hot water extracts. Together, these findings reveal a positive relationship between TPCs and their anti-oxidant activities.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.253-260
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• 2008

Comparative study was performed on heavy metal contents among domestic herbal medicines and imported one. The heavy metal contents in 89 samples of 65 types of herbal medicines were measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and mercury analyzer. The mean values of heavy metal contents (mg/kg) for herbal medicines were as follows: Hg, 0.010 (domestic: 0.010, imported: 0.010); Pb, 0.380 (domestic: 0.311, imported: 0.449); Cd, 0.080 (domestic: 0.101, imported: 0.059); As, 2.085 (domestic: 1.845, imported: 2.324); Mn, 31.564 (domestic: 33.844, imported: 29.283); Zn, 15.436 (domestic: 18.703, imported: 12.168); Cu, 3.406 (domestic: 3.374, imported: 3.437); Fe, 134.944 (domestic: 108.327, imported: 161.561). The measured values of Hg, Pb and Cd of domestic and imported herbal medicines showed lower levels than the recommended levels of those in herbal medicines by WHO/PHARM (Pb : not more than 5 mg/kg, Cd : not more than 0.3 mg/kg). This results will he used as a basic data for the future legislation on the regulation and control of heavy metal contents of herbal medicines.