• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.318-322
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• 2014

5-Alpha reductase II, which converts testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), is a crucial enzyme II in benign prostatic hyperplasia. Inhibitory effects of Curcuma longa L. (CL) extracts on 5-alpha reductase II activity were investigated in rat prostate tissue homogenates as well as LNCaP cells expressing human 5-alpha reductase II. Hot water extract (CL-HW) of Curcuma longa L. significantly inhibited 5-alpha reductase activity by over 80% at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/mL$, whereas 20% ethanol extracts (CL-E20) of Curcuma longa L. exhibited significant inhibitory activity from $50{\mu}g/mL$. These results indicated that Curcuma longa L is a potent 5-alpha reductase II inhibitor for benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.129-140
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• 2016

This article reports the development of biodegradable photoluminescent polymer (BPLP)-based nanoparticles (NPs) incorporating either magnetic nanoparticles (BPLP-MNPs) or gadopentate dimeglumine (BPLP-Gd NPs), for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the study is to compare these nanoparticles in terms of their surface properties, fluorescence intensities, MR imaging capabilities, and in vitro characteristics to choose the most promising dual-imaging nanoprobe. Results indicate that BPLP-MNPs and BPLP-Gd NPs had a size of $195{\pm}43nm$ and $161{\pm}55nm$, respectively and showed good stability in DI water and 10% serum for 5 days. BPLP-Gd NPs showed similar fluorescence as the original BPLP materials under UV light, whereas BPLP-MNPs showed comparatively less fluorescence. VSM and MRI confirmed that the NPs retained their magnetic properties following encapsulation within BPLP. Further, in vitro studies using HPV-7 immortalized prostate epithelial cells and human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) showed > 70% cell viability up to $100{\mu}g/ml$ NP concentration. Dose-dependent uptake of both types of NPs by PC3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells was also observed. Thus, our results indicate that BPLP-Gd NPs would be more appropriate for use as a dual-imaging probe as the contrast agent does not mask the fluorescence of the polymer. Future studies would involve in vivo imaging following administration of BPLP-Gd NPs for biomedical applications including cancer detection.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.200-207
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• 2019

Albizzia julibrissin (AJ) is an herbal medicine that shows low toxicity, promotes promoting blood circulation and mitigates the inflammation and has mild side effects. Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common diseases that occurs in older males and often results in lower urinary tract symptoms. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of AJ against BPH using LNCaP cells and Sprague Dawley rats treated with testosterone. Treatment with AJ extract reduced the expression of androgen receptor (AR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in vitro. In vivo, rats were divided into 6 groups: 1 (Normal Control); 2 (Testosterone propionate (TP) alone); 3 (TP + finasteride); 4 (TP + AJ 10 mg/kg); 5 (TP + AJ 50 mg/kg); 6 (TP + AJ 300 mg/kg). The groups treated with AJ showed reduced the relative prostate weights and BPH-related proteins were altered, with decreased AR, PSA and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) observed by western blot. Histopathological analysis revealed the therapeutic effect of AJ, with a decreased thickness of epithelial cells and reduced level of PCNA and $5{\alpha}$-reductase type 2. These results suggest that AJ extract could ameliorate testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2011

In this study, we investigated the antioxidant activities, inhibition activity against ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) and antitumor activity of extract from Acanthopanax senticosus HARMS fruits for development novel functional resources. In order to understand the factors responsible for the potent antioxidant and antihypertensive ability of fruits in A. senticosus, it has been evaluated for anti-oxidative activity using Fenton's reagent/ethyl linoleate system and for free radical scavenging activity using the l,l-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl free radical generating system. The fruits extract of A. senticosus showed higher antioxidant activities than positive control, ${\alpha}$-tocopherol at all concentrations, while fruits extract of A. senticosus showed same degree of radical scavenging activity with positive control, ${\alpha}$-tocopherol. The ability of fruit extracts from A. senticosus to influence the inhibitory activity of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and xanthine oxidase (XOase) has also been discussed. The activity of growth-inhibitory of fruit extracts of A. senticosus was screened by SRB (sulphorhodamine B) method on diverse cancer cells representing different types of cancers. The fruit extracts of A. senticosus showed moderate inhibition on proliferation of LNCaP and MOLT-4F cells and did not inhibit the proliferation of other cancer cells. The fruit extracts of A. senticosus inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells with $GI_{50}$ values ranging from 5 to $10{\mu}g/mL$. This result revealed that the fruit extracts of A. senticosus was expected to be good candidate for development into source of free radical scavengers, antihypertentive, and anti-tumor agent.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.1007-1021
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• 2018

Cancer represents one of the most significant threats to human health on a global scale. Hence, the development of effective cancer prevention strategies, as well as the discovery of novel therapeutic agents against cancer, is urgently required. In light of this challenge, this research aimed to evaluate the effects of several potent bioactive peptides and proteins contained in crocodile white blood cell extract (cWBC) against LU-1, LNCaP, PC-3, MCF-7, and CaCo-2 cancer cell lines. The results demonstrate that 25, 50, 100, and $200{\mu}g/ml$ cWBC exhibits a strong cytotoxic effect against all investigated cell lines ($IC_{50}$ $70.34-101.0{\mu}g/ml$), while showing no signs of cytotoxicity towards noncancerous Vero and HaCaT cells. Specifically, cWBC treatment caused a significant reduction in the cancerous cells' colony forming ability. A remarkable suppression of cancerous cell migration was observed after treatment with cWBC, indicating potent antimetastatic properties. The mechanism involved in the cancer cell cytotoxicity of cWBC may be related to apoptosis induction, as evidenced by typical apoptotic morphology features. Moreover, certain cWBC concentrations induced significant overproduction of ROS and significantly inhibited the $S-G_2/M$ transition in the cancer cell. The molecular mechanisms of cWBC in apoptosis induction were to decrease Bcl-2 and XIAP expression levels and increase the expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-8, and p53. These led to a decrease in the expression level of the cell cycle-associated gene cyclin-B1 and the arrest of cell population growth. Consequently, these findings demonstrate the prospect of the use of cWBC for cancer therapy.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.805-811
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• 2016

The present study was performed to evaluate the anti-oxidant and anti-proliferating activity of the water extract mixture of Cordyceps militaris (CM) and Allium tuberosum (AT). The water extract mixture rate of CM and AT was optimized by means of a sensory evaluation test. The optimized mixture rate were decided at 70% of CM, 30% of AT, and 10% of apple concentrate as an additive. The values of total acidity, pH, sugar contents, and turbidity of the water extract mixture were 0.1%, 4.28, 9.10 °Brix, and 1.48 respectively. The water extract mixture had effective DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power effect, and ABTS radical activity. DPPH radical activities of the water extract and the water extract mixture were 43.2% and 51.7% respectively; their reducing power (OD₇₀₀) was 1.14 and 1.43 respectively; and ABTS^.+ radical activities were 47.1% and 62.2% respectively. Also, the water extract mixture showed a higher anti-proliferating effect than the AT extract on human prostate cancer cells. These results provided experimental evidence that the water extract mixture of CM and AT is a better source of anti-oxidant and anti-cancer ingredients than a single extract of CM. In conclusion, the water extract mixture of CM and AT will be beneficial in development of a functional drink.