• Korean Deer Journal
• /
• no.14
• /
• pp.12-21
• /
• 1991

Several experiments were carried for the purpose of establishing the basis for the quality evaluation of deer horn. Deer horn originated from China, New Zealand, Soviet and Alaska were used as objectives and some constituents involved in deer horn were as

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.299-310
• /
• 2023

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex disorder characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver in the absence of excessive alcohol consumption. It is one of the most common liver diseases worldwide, affecting approximately 25% of the global population. It is closely associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Moreover, NAFLD can progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which can cause liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there are no approved drugs for the treatment of NAFLD. Therefore, the development of effective drugs is essential for NAFLD treatment. In this article, we discuss the experimental models and novel therapeutic targets for NAFLD. Additionally, we propose new strategies for the development of drugs for NAFLD.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2024

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are an inherent aspect of drug use. While approximately 80% of ADRs are predictable, immune system-mediated ADRs, often unpredictable, are a noteworthy subset. Skin-related ADRs, in particular, are frequently unpredictable. However, the wide spectrum of skin manifestations poses a formidable diagnostic challenge. Comprehending the pathomechanisms underlying ADRs is essential for accurate diagnosis and effective management. The skin, being an active immune organ, plays a pivotal role in ADRs, although the precise cutaneous immunological mechanisms remain elusive. Fortunately, clinical manifestations of skin-related ADRs, irrespective of their severity, are frequently rooted in immunological processes. A comprehensive grasp of ADR morphology can aid in diagnosis. With the continuous development of new pharmaceuticals, it is noteworthy that certain drugs including immune checkpoint inhibitors have gained notoriety for their association with ADRs. This paper offers an overview of immunological mechanisms involved in cutaneous ADRs with a focus on clinical features and frequently implicated drugs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.31 no.12
• /
• pp.1632-1642
• /
• 2021

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It affects about 10 million people each year and is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. About 2 to 3 billion people (equivalent to 1 in 3 people in the world) are infected with latent tuberculosis. Moreover, as the number of multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant, and totally drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis continues to increase, there is an urgent need to develop new anti-tuberculosis drugs that are different from existing drugs to combat antibiotic-resistant M. tuberculosis. Against this background, we aimed to develop new anti-tuberculosis drugs using probiotics. Here, we report the anti-tuberculosis effect of Pediococcus acidilactici PMC202 isolated from young radish kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food. Under coculture conditions, PMC202 inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis. In addition, PMC202 inhibited the growth of drug-sensitive and -resistant M. tuberculosis- infected macrophages at a concentration that did not show cytotoxicity and showed a synergistic effect with isoniazid. In a 2-week, repeated oral administration toxicity study using mice, PMC202 did not cause weight change or specific clinical symptoms. Furthermore, the results of 16S rRNA-based metagenomics analysis confirmed that dysbiosis was not induced in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid after oral administration of PMC202. The anti-tuberculosis effect of PMC202 was found to be related to the reduction of nitric oxide. Our findings indicate that PMC202 could be used as an anti-tuberculosis drug candidate with the potential to replace current chemical-based drugs. However, more extensive toxicity, mechanism of action, and animal efficacy studies with clinical trials are needed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
• /
• 2022.05a
• /
• pp.276-278
• /
• 2022

All drugs have a specific action in the body, and in many cases, drugs are combinated due to complications or new symptoms during existing drug treatment. In this case, unexpected interactions may occur within the body. Therefore, predicting drug-drug interactions is a very important task for safe drug use. In this study, we propose a deep learning-based predictive model that learns using drug information documents to predict drug interactions that may occur when using multiple drugs. The drug information document was created by combining several properties such as the drug's mechanism of action, toxicity, and target using DrugBank data. And drug information document is pair with another drug documents and used as an input to a deep learning-based predictive model, and the model outputs the interaction between the two drugs. This study can be used to predict future interactions between new drug pairs by analyzing the differences in experimental results according to changes in various conditions.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.104-107
• /
• 2023

The Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea has implemented various social security programs to ensure a basic standard of living and raise overall quality of life for all citizens. The Korean social security system provides social insurance, public assistance, and social welfare services. To achieve adequate drug benefits, the Drug Management Department of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) implement drug management duties including drug listing, upper price limit setting, scope of benefits, and post-factum management. When a manufacturer or an importer wants to apply for National Health Insurance (NHI) coverage of the drug that has obtained safety and efficacy approval, the pharmaceutical benefit assessment committee of HIRA evaluates the drug's clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness to determine whether or not to include the drug into the benefit package. The benefit standards for a listed drug (ingredient) are set either for the whole permitted range or a part of range with conditions. To increase the coverage rate for new drugs, the listed drugs are regularly reviewed for their value. The status of listed drugs can be adjusted or eliminated from the benefit package if the clinical efficacy turns out to be insignificant. Therefore, through these pharmaceutical management procedures, high-quality drugs are provided at reasonable prices, which save healthcare expenditure by price determination and selective coverage in consideration of economic evaluation.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.40-59
• /
• 2005

The objective of this paper is to examine what impact the newly introduced Purchasing Price Reimbursement System, where insurance drugs are reimbursed at the prices as they were purchased by medical care providers under the maximum allowable cap, has upon the health insurer's financing situation. The impact of the Purchasing Price Reimbursement System is considered to be confined mainly to the inpatient department among three drug reimbursement fields such as inpatient department, out-patient department and pharmacy. Hypothesis was set and tested in this study for each of three components of inpatient drug reimbursement in health insurance, i.e. average price level, composition of drugs and their overall volume. Drug price level calculated in this study from 403 selected reimbursement drugs according to the Laspayres methodology revealed faster decline under the new Purchasing Price Reimbursement System than previously by $1.53\%$ on the annual average basis. However, additional 1.4 percent financial burden in the ratio of the total inpatient reimbursement was owed by the health insurer. This was analysed to be a combined result of both 2.0-3.1 percent of reduced reimbursement due to drug price decline and 3.4-4.5 percent of additional reimbursement due to drug volume increase. These results suggest that recalling the Purchasing Price Reimbursement System would not have so much impact upon the health insurer's financial situation given that the current compulsory separation between doctor's prescribing and pharmacist's dispensing is irrevocable.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.241-247
• /
• 2016

Natamycin is a widely used antifungal antibiotic. For natamycin biosynthesis, the gene pimE encodes cholesterol oxidase, which acts as a signalling protein. To confirm the positive effect of the gene pimE on natamycin biosynthesis, an additional copy of the gene pimE was inserted into the genome of Streptomyces gilvosporeus 712 under the control of the ermE* promoter (p_ermE*) using intergeneric conjugation. Overexpression of the target protein engendered 72% and 81% increases in the natamycin production and cell productivity, respectively, compared with the control strain. Further improvement in the antibiotic production was achieved in a 1 L fermenter to 7.0 g/l, which was a 153% improvement after 120 h cultivation. Exconjugants highly expressing pimE and pimM were constructed to investigate the effects of both genes on the increase of natamycin production. However, the co-effect of pimE and pimM did not enhance the antibiotic production obviously, compared with the exconjugants highly expressing pimE only. These results suggest not only a new application of cholesterol oxidase but also a useful strategy to genetically engineer natamycin production.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.931-937
• /
• 2018

Glycosyltransferases (GTs) from microbes are an emerging and rich source for efficient glycol-transformation of natural/unnatural compounds. Here, we probed the catalytic capability and substrate promiscuity of BmmGT1 from marine-derived Bacillus methylotrophicus B-9987. The regioselectivity of BmmGT1 on macrolactin A (1) was explored by optimization of the reaction conditions, in which a series of O-glycosylated macrolactins (1a-1e) were generated, including two new di/tri-O-glucosyl analogs (1b and 1e). Furthermore, BmmGT1 was able to catalyze the glycosylation of the thiol (S-) or amine (N-) sites of phenolic compounds (2 and 3), leading to the generation of N- (2a) or S-glycosides (3a and 3b). The present study demonstrates that BmmGT1 could serve as a potential enzyme tool for O-, N-, or S-glycosyl structural diversification of compounds for drug discovery.

• CELLMED
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.20.1-20.23
• /
• 2021

Background: The pandemic COVID-19 caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-COV-2 has spread like a forest fire. This disease may have serious consequences for pregnant women. Presently, no specific drugs or vaccines exist to battle this disease and researches are underway. Unani medicine has a unique role in prevention and management during epidemics. Here, we reviewed the overview of COVID-19 infection and pregnancy, concept and practices in Unani medicine for flu-like epidemics in general and pregnancy, and safety of Unani drugs for the prevention and treatment of mild symptomatic cases of COVID-19 during pregnancy. Methodology: Unani classical texts and pharmacopoeia were meticulously explored for concepts and practices for flu-like epidemic diseases. Further, we browsed scientific databases such as PubMed, Scopus and others for an overview, epidemics and Unani medicine, effectiveness and safety of Unani drugs in COVID-19 and pregnancy. Results: Unani medicine includes prevention and management of flu-like epidemic include quarantine and isolation, aromatic herbal drugs fumigation and spraying for environmental disinfection, ilaj bid tadbir for health promotion and use of health-protecting drugs and symptom-specific drugs in general and related to pregnancy. Lahsun, asalussus, behidana, banafsha, zanjabeel, unnab, etc are in use since antiquity for the prevention and treatment of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic pregnant women during infectious and epidemic diseases. Conclusion: Currently, the aforementioned plants are proven for antiviral, antioxidant, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities, probably useful in the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, scientific studies have provided new insight into the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of Unani medicines that are safe in pregnancy.