• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.124-132
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological activities such as cytotoxicity and anti-inflammation using Manjakani (Quercus infectoria Olivier) extract. Manjakani was extracted from hot DW and 80% ethanol. Cell viability was assessed using MTT assay on RAW 264.7 cells. Also, anti-inflammatory activities were measured through changes in the levels of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), leukotrien B4 (LTB₄), pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α) and transcription factor on LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. The results confirmed that significant cytotoxicity does not appear in the concentration range of 1, 5, and 10 ㎍/㎖ of both extracts of this study. The production of NO was slowed by approximately MDE 37.2% and MEE 43.7% at 10 ㎍/㎖ concentration. Also, level of PGE₂ and LTB₄ was decreased MDE 30.9%/MEE 43.7% and MDE 37.1%/MEE 43.7%. In the case of inflammatory cytokine was reduced to MDE 38.8%/MEE 50.8% for IL-1β, MDE 35.0%/MEE 44.2% for IL-6 and MDE 31.9%/MEE 36.6% for TNF-α at 10 ㎍/㎖ concentration. The mRNA expression of NF-κB, iNOS and COX-2 significantly decreased by MDE 44.0%/MEE 16.0%, MDE 44.0%/MEE 55.0% and MDE 45.0%/MEE 40.0%, respectively, following the 10 ㎍/mL sample treatment when compared to the control. Both extracts were effective in anti-inflammatory activity. In addition, both extracts showed efficient changes of production of NO, PGE₂, LTB₄, pro-inflammatory cytokines and transcription factor. But MEE was found to have a higher inhibitory effect than MDE. In other words, Manjakani was showed significant biological activities showing anti-inflammation without cytotoxicity. These results will be provided as fundamental data for further development of the new health food and therapeutics related to the results above.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2013

Cultured products (callus and exopolysaccharide) were obtained from suspension culture of Aloe vera callus, and the extracts of callus were further prepared with cold water or 60% ethanol solution. The ethanol extract of callus (AC) and exopolysaccharide (ACP) of 10 mg/mL exhibited the relatively higher suppression activity of 43.2-52.1% against hyaluronidase activity. Thus, their anti-inflammatory effects were further investigated using animal cell (Raw 264.7) in vitro. Though AC shows a slight suppression effect of cell survival rate (97%) using MTT assay in the presence of $400{\mu}g/mL$ AC- dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), cell growth promotion was observed in the other samples of lower levels. It indicates that the ethanol extract of Aloe callus rarely affect cell survival rate in the ranges ($200-400{\mu}g/mL$) used in the study. Using Griess reagent, the suppression of NO production by the aloe callus extract was analyzed by measuring the amount of the nitrite produced in Raw 264.7 culture activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). As a result, supplementation of AC-distilled water (DW) and AC-DMSO produced higher levels of NO than the positive control LPS. However, the NO suppression effect by ACP-DW was so intense that lower amount ($80-100{\mu}g/mL$) suppressed NO production to the level of the control. The effect was attributed to the expression of the iNOS. Then, Raw 264.7 cells were stimulated with the LPS and expression of COX-2 protein level was analyzed depending on the Aloe suspension culture product treatment. The results showed that the ACP-DW supplemented medium did not express COX-2 by itself, and LPS stimulated COX-2 expression was slightly decreased. On the other hand, realtime-PCR analysis of the expression of inflammatory cytokine showed that IL-$1{\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ expression was highly suppressed in the ACP- distilled water supplemented medium.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2022

We examined the anti-inflammatory properties of Nostoc commune HCW0811 in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. The anti-inflammatory activity of HCW0811 on viability of treated cells was assessed by measuring the level of expression of NO, prostaglandin E₂ and pro-inflammatory cytokines, namely interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α in HCW0811 treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. HCW0811 was non-toxic to cells and inhibited the production of cytokines in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition its treatment suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner, and concomitantly decreased the protein expressions of inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. Moreover, the levels of the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase family proteins such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, p38, and nuclear factor kappa B were reduced by HCW0811. These findings suggest that the HCW0811 collected from Daejeon National Cemetery have anti-inflammatory effects, and demonstrated its efficacy in cell-based in vitro assays.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.213-220
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• 2023

The most common skin disease, acne, often occurs in adolescence, but it is also detected/observed in adults due to air pollution and drug abuse. One of the causative agents of acne, Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) plays a role in the development of skin acne by inducing inflammatory mediators. Torreya nucifera (TN) is an evergreen tree of the family Taxaceae, having well reported antioxidant, anti-proliferative, liver protection, and nerve protection properties. Improvement of these bioactive properties of natural products is one of the purposes of natural product chemistry and pharmaceuticals. We believe biorenovation could be one improvement strategy that utilizes microbial metabolism to produce unique derivatives having enhanced bioactivity. Therefore, in this study, the C. acnes-induced RAW264.7 inflammation model was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the biorenovated Torreya nucifera product (TNB). The results showed improved viability of TNB-treated cells compared to TN-treated cells in the concentration range of 50, 100, and 200 ㎍/mL. At non-toxic concentrations, TNB inhibited the production of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 by suppression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression. TNB also attenuated the expression of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α induced by C. acnes. Furthermore, TNB inhibited the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway, a transcription factor known to regulate inflammatory mediators. Based on these results, this study suggests the potential of using TNB as natural material for the treatment of acnes and thus, supporting our postulation of biorenovation as an bioactivity improvement strategy.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.446-454
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• 2017

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) and traditional herb has several functional properties and strong biological activities, making it useful as a functional food material. We investigated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of mixed compounds from red garlic and supplementary materials, including ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), doraji (Platycodon grandiflorum), quince (Chaenomeles sinensis), citrus peel (Citri Pericarpium), and mint (Mentha arvensis). The extracts were prepared with water (W) and ethanol (E) at $70^{\circ}C$ (W-70, E-70) and $95^{\circ}C$ (W-95, E-95) for 3 h. The total content of phenolic compounds was the highest in E-70 (608.60 mg/100 g). Alliin, one of the active ingredients in red garlic, was contained at 1.18-1.29 mg/g and 0.81-0.85 mg/g in water and ethanol extract, respectively. Another active ingredient of red garlic, S-allyl-cysteine (SAC) had higher content in the water extract than in the ethanol extracts. DPPH radical scavenging activity was higher in E-70 (15.96-73.65%) at $313-5,000{\mu}g/mL$. ABTS radical scavenging activity was also higher in E-70 (5.71-77.19%) than in the others. The ROS production rate showed the same tendency as the NO production, with more efficacy in E-95. The expression level of iNOS and $IL-1{\beta}$ was decreased in the E-95 significantly at the concentration of $1,000{\mu}g/mL$ compared to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treated group. Based on the above results, the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts of red garlic and supplementary materials were expressed by different useful substances. The contents of these useful substances were different according to the extraction solvent and temperature.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.889-896
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• 2012

Melanin synthesis is catalyzed by tyrosinase. To investigate the whitening effect of Hizikia fusiformis, fractions from ethanol extract of H. fusiformis were prepared by a systematic fractionation procedure with solvents such as methanol, hexane, butanol, and $H_2O$. The ethanol extract and its fractions were then subjected to evaluate the inhibitory effects on the tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis in murine B16F10 melanoma cells. The ethanol extract and aqueous fraction exhibited a whitening effect with no cytotoxicity. The ethanol extract showed the highest whitening effect among the samples. The inhibitory effect of $100{\mu}g/ml$ of ethanol extract was higher than that of $10{\mu}g/ml$ of arbutin, but it was lower than that of $10{\mu}g/ml$ of kojic acid. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of $100{\mu}g/ml$ of methanol, hexane, butanol, and aqueous fractions were similar to those of $10{\mu}g/ml$ of arbutin. The antioxidant activities were examined by comparing the results with that of ascorbic acid as a positive control. The ethanol extract and aqueous fraction showed relatively higher DPPH radical-scavenging activities compared with the other samples. Furthermore, $500{\mu}g/ml$ of ethanol extract and aqueous fraction diminished LPS-induced iNOS expression to 82 and 80%, respectively. These results suggest that ethanol extract and aqueous fraction of H. fusiformis could be used as cosmetic ingredients for whitening and skin protection effects.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2008

Vinclozolin (VCZ) is a systemic fungicide commonly used in fruits, vegetables and the wine industry. VCZ and its metabolites, butenoic acid (M1) and enanilide (M2) derivatives, act as anti-androgens through actions on the androgen receptor. Although there is growing body of evidence that VCZ's action as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) in male reproductive physiology and pathphysiology, no evidence on the VCZ's EDC action in female is available yet. Previously we found that the prepubertal VCZ exposures could effectively delay the onset of puberty in female rats, suggesting the postponed or weakened activities of hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary (H-P-O) reproductive hormonal axis. The present study was performed to examine whether the VCZ administration affects the transcriptional activities of reproductive hormone-related genes in the same animal model. VCZ (10 mg/kg/day) was administered daily from postnatal day 21 (PND 21) through the day when the first vaginal opening (V.O.) was observed. To determine the transcriptional changes of reproductive hormone-related genes in hypothalamus and pituitary, total RNAs were extracted and applied to the semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). As a result, treatment with VCZ significantly lowered the transcriptional activity of nitric oxide synthase-2 (NOS-2) which is known to adjust gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion in the hypothalamus (p<0.01). Similarly, the mRNA levels of KiSS-1, G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) and GnRH were significantly decreased in hypothalamus (p<0.01) from VCZ-treated group. As expected, the transcriptional activities of luteinizing hormone-${\beta}$ (LH-${\beta}$) and follicle stimulating hormone-${\beta}$ (FSH-${\beta}$) in the anterior pituitary from VCZ-treated group were also significantly lower than those from the control group. The present study indicates that(i) the inhibitory effect of VCZ exposure on the onset of puberty in immature female rats could be derived from the reduced transcriptional activities of gonadotropin subunits and their upstream modulators such as GnRH and KiSS-1 in hypothalamus-pituitary neuroendocrine axis, and (ii) these inhibitory effects could be mediated by NO signaling pathway.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2022

In this research, the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiaging, and skin whitening properties of pulp and seed extracts of passion fruit were studied. The result of the primary skin irritation test using a skin-attached patch determined the skin irritation index to be 0.00 for the passion fruit extract. In addition, RAW 264.7 macrophages produce NO by stimulation of lipopolysaccharides, and the application of extracts to this resulted in significantly lower NOs, confirming the excellent anti-inflammatory properties of passion fruit extracts. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl test further confirmed that the passion fruit extract exhibits a good 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate radical scavenging ability of 5.11% and strong antioxidant properties. The presence of collagen type I in the skin is a measure of aging and various skin diseases. The results obtained from the analysis of the activity of human procollagen I alpha 1 confirmed that the passion fruit extract reduces the synthesis of procollagen. In addition, the skin whitening property of the passion fruit extract was confirmed by the melanin inhibition test, and a sample was obtained that contained more than 2% of arbutin, a whitening agent approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which is generally present in the form of a white powder and is used as a functional ingredient. This confirms that the whitening efficacy of the passion fruit extract obtained from nature contributes to the development of functional raw materials for cosmetics and food.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.171-181
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• 2018

Genistein is one of the representative isoflavone compounds isolated from soybeans and has been studied very well for its anti-aging and anti-inflammatory activity through previous studies. However, although genistein exhibits high solubility in organic solvents, it shows low bioavaility due to the low water solubility. In this study, we compared directly the functional difference between genistein and genistein cyclodextrin complex which has the improved water solubility and stability by cell based assay. Cell cytotoxicity experiment were carried out on RAW264.7 with CCK-8 assay and cytotoxicity was appeared from $10{\mu}g/mL$, thereby maximum concentration was set to $10{\mu}g/mL$ in all condition. We discovered that genistein CD complex suppressed NO production and iNOS expression as concentration dependent manner in the condition of LPS rather than genistein. Also, we could understand that genistein CD complex was able to down-regulate mRNA expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as $IL1-{\alpha}$, $IL1-{\beta}$, IL-6, and $TNF-{\alpha}$ as concentration dependent manner in the presence of LPS. In addition, we verified that genistein CD complex increased TEER of HaCaT human keratinocyte cells as concentration dependent pattern and stimulated cell division and migration rather than genistein in cell migration assay. Thus, it is expected that it can be used as an effective cosmetic raw material for improving atopic dermatitis or skin barrier if clinical studies on skin regeneration and skin barrier of the genistein CD complex are carried out.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.469-477
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• 2013

This study investigated effect of extract containing quercetin-3-O-${\beta}$-D-glucuronopyranoside from Rumex Aquaticus Herba (ECQ) against chronic gastritis in rats. To produce chronic gastritis, the animals received a daily intra-gastric administration of 0.1 ml of 0.15% iodoacetamide (IA) solution for 7 days. Daily exposure of the gastric mucosa to IA induced both gastric lesions and significant reductions of body weight and food and water intake. These reductions recovered with treatment with ECQ for 7 days. ECQ significantly inhibited the elevation of the malondialdehyde levels and myeloperoxidase activity, which were used as indices of lipid peroxidation and neutrophil infiltration. ECQ recovered the level of glutathione, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and expression of SOD-2. The increased levels of total NO concentration and iNOS expression in the IA-induced chronic gastritis were significantly reduced by treatment with ECQ. These results suggest that the ECQ has a therapeutic effect on chronic gastritis in rats by inhibitory actions on neutrophil infiltration, lipid peroxidation and various steps of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation.