• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.369-378
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• 2023

Smilax sieboldii is one of the Smilax species. A number of Smilax plants have multiple physiologically-active components and anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant effects. Antiobesity effects induced by Smilax sieboldii have not been reported. In this study, we investigated the effects and molecular mechanisms of anti-obesity activity of 70% ethanol Smilax sieboldii extract (SSE). The anti-obesity effect of SSE was determined using 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We confirmed that SSE was not cytotoxic to murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, we evaluated SSE dose-dependently decreased the accumulation of lipids via an Oil Red O assay and triglyceride assay. These anti-obesity activities of SSE were mediated by the inhibition of adipogenesis-related marker genes (peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ, CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein α, and SREBP1c) and lipogenesis-related marker genes (fatty acid synthase and aP2). These results suggest that SSE has the potential to exert anti-obesity and anti-hyperlipidemia effects by regulating adipogenic transcription factors and inhibiting the expression of adipogenic markers.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2024

Objectives: Ephedrae herba (EH) and Coicis semen (CS) has been frequently prescribed for the treatment of obesity. However, effects of combinational extracts of these two herbs on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of EH and CS on lipid accumulation and glucose absorption in free fatty acids (FFAs) or palmitic acid (PA)-treated HepG2 cells. Methods: Five samples of EH and CS were extracted by combination ratios (S1=0:100, S2=25:75, S3=50:50, S4=75:25, S5=100:0). Oil Red O staining was used to measure lipid accumulation in FFAs-induced steatosis cells. Intracellular triglycerides and total cholesterol levels were measured in FFAs-induced steatotic HepG2 cells. In PA-treated cells, intracellular 2-NBDG was detected using a fluorescence microplate reader and flow cytometry. Phosphorylation of key metabolism-related factors of AMP-activated protein kinase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase, expression of key lipid synthesis-related factors carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 alpha (CPT1α), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and CCAAT enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPα) were confirmed by western blot. Results: Treatment of EH-CS combination in the FFAs-induced steatotic HepG2 cells significantly reduced lipid accumulation. As the relative ratio of Ephedrae herba increased, the lipid-lowering effects of the combination were increased. However, S1 and S5 of Ephedrae herba and Coicis semen did not significantly reduce triglycerides and total cholesterol induced by FFAs. However, the combination of Ephedrae herba and Coicis semen restored glucose absorption in PA-induced HepG2 cells. Major makers of SREBP1, PPARγ, C/EBPα, and CPT1α expression tended to decrease with EH ratio. Conclusions: The EH-CS combination has advantages over sole EH and CS extracts in improving lipid and glucose metabolism in liver steatosis models.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.267-274
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• 2006

To understand the changes in plasma levels of sex steroids in the wild Japanese eel Anguilla japonica during artificially maturing process, eels received weekly intraperitoneal injections of a water-in-oil (W/O) type emulsion with Freund`s incomplete adjuvant containing salmon pituitary extract (SPE; 20 mg pituitary powder/fish) were examined. In the weekly Eel's Ringer-treated control wild eels, the body weight (BW) changes of fish decreased slowly during the experiment period. Plasma testosterone (T), $estradiol-17{\beta}\;(E_2)$ and $17a,20{\beta}-dihydroxyprogesterone$ (DHP) levels did not change significantly at the end of the experiment. In the weekly SPE-treated silver eels, however, rapid increase in BW changes occurred after 6 to 10 weeks, and the oocytes of all fish were observed to be in the migratory nucleus stage. Furthermore, significant increase in sex steroid hormones (T and $E_2$) levels occurred from 6 weeks. In the weekly SPE-treated yellow eels, the BW changes of fish increased slowly at 6 weeks and then increased. In these fish, the oocytes were at the tertiary yolk globule stage even at the end of the experiment. Plasma sex steroid hormones profiles revealed individual variability in SPE-treated yellow eels. Plasma T and $E_2$ levels significantly increased at 8 weeks and after 6 weeks, respectively, in SPE-treated yellow eels. In the weekly SPE-treated wild eels (silver and yellow eels), however, plasma DHP levels did not change significantly during the experiment period. In silver eel, final maturation could be induced by weekly administration of SPE using W/O type emulsion.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2008

An ideal anti-bacterial medication for oral infection requires selective effect on pathogens causing dental caries and periodontal disease but not on normal flora. In addition, it should be less toxic for human and even for environment. This study was to seek such a natural anti-bacterial medication and thus anti-bacterial effect of Hamamelis virginiana was evaluated. Many recent researches on the anti-bacterial effect of natural plant extract and essential oil have reported that natural products can be used as medication for prevention and restrainment of dental caries, halitosis and periodontitis. It has been also reported that Hamamelis virginiana has anti-bacterial effect on Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Capnocytophaga gingivalis, Veilonella parvula, Eikenella corrodens, Peprostreptococcus micros, and Actinomyces odontolyticus. This study evaluated anti-bacterial effect of Hamamelis virginiana on Streptoccoccus mutans, Haemophylus actinomycetemcomitans, and Klebsiella pneumoniae to expand its anti-bacterial effect on other important oral pathogens and eventually to develop its oral care products or apply to clinical purpose. In this study, anti-bacterial tests for antibiotic disk susceptibility, minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration were performed to evaluate anti-bacterial effect of Hamamelis virginiana against Streptoccoccus mutans, Haemophylus actinomycetemcomitans, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The results showed that Hamamelis virginiana has anti-bacterial effect on all pathogen strains tested in this study and furthermore Hamamelis virginiana possesses bactericidal effect other than bacteriostatic effect on Streptoccoccus mutans, Haemophylus actinomycetemcomitans, Klebsiella pneumoniae. This study indicates that a natural anti-bacterial medication for oral diseases can be developed using Hamamelis virginiana.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.302-308
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extraction yield and quality stability as to the oleoresin process with large amount of onion at one time. The first mixed-product is raw onion juice which was reduced the compression and concentrated by Brix 70% mixed together wit the residue which was extracted and concentrated by ethanol, the second product manufactured by the same method above after the autoclaving with onion, and the other product is made by grinding by 50mesh to freeze-dried onion. Each of yields were 7.3, 9.1 and 0.8% and each of total sugar content was 616.4, 712.3 and 150.3mg/g. Therefore the product extracted by ethanol from freeze-dried onion was very low in yield and total sugar content. By the index of the overall odor intensity, contents of total pyruvate were 1,733.7, 520.6, and 2,716.5$\mu\textrm{g}$/g for each product. As a result, oleoresin onion processing that desired to use raw onion was remarkable for odor recovery. For the homogenous mixture with concentrate of onion juice and ethanol extract were emulsified by the addition of 2% of PGDR(polyglycerol condensed ricinoleate) and agitation(10,000rpm, 30 minutes). At this time, interfacial tension was 1.9 dyne/cm and the formation of emulsion was for 96.2% when left over 24hours in 6$0^{\circ}C$. When it was to be centrifuged(2,000$\times$G, 80 minutes) after emulsification, the volume of emulsion level without seperation was 92.6%, and very high in emulsification stability. The induced heating-oxidize with soy bean oil and sesame oil added to 1% of onion oleoresin, induction-time extension effect appeared with antioxidant activity that was applicable for 80.8~82.2% as to the effect of addition of 0.02% BHA.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.814-821
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• 2014

As a natural plant ingredients, glasswort (Salicornia herbacea L.) contains various physiological activities, mainly anti-oxidative and anti-diabetic activities. However, only a few studies have been carried out on its anti-adipogenic effect. This study investigated the anti-obesity effects of Salicornia herbacea L. on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. As adipogenesis of preadipocytes to adipocytes involves proliferation and differentiation of cells, we treated three concentrations (125, 250, and $500{\mu}g/mL$) of Salicornia herbacea L. water extracts (SLW) in both pre-processing and post-processing stages. When 3T3-L1 adipocytes were differentiated and dyed with Oil Red O, adipocytes size and the value of relative Oil Red O staining were reduced by all concentrations of SLW in post-processing stage. Following adipogenic differentiation, the concentration of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) in the cell supernatant significantly increased upon treatment with $125{\mu}g/mL$ of SLW and further rose at concentrations of 250 and $500{\mu}g/mL$ during post-processing stage. There was no significant difference in glycerol production upon SLW treatment. Leptin production significantly decreased at all SLW concentrations during post-processing stage, whereas peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-${\gamma}$ (PPAR-${\gamma}$) and adiponectin secretions were significantly enhanced. Overall results showed that SLW might have an anti-adipogenic effect via enhancement of TNF-${\alpha}$ production, which causes dedifferentiation and inhibits lipid accumulations in adipocyte. Furthermore, SLW might prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as it reduces leptin secretion and enhances production of both PPAR-${\gamma}$ and adiponectin. However, further research is needed to elucidate the exact mechanism and bioactive compounds of glasswort.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.279-309
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• 2009

Greenhouse gas emissions should be precisely forecast to reduce the emissions from industrial production processes. This study calculated the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries using the Input-Output tables 2003 and statistical data on the amount of energy use. This study had some limitations in drawing study findings because overseas data were used given the lack of domestic data. Other limiting factors included the oil distribution problems in the oil refinery sector, re-review of carbon neutral, and insufficient consideration of waste treatment. Nonetheless, this study is very meaningful since the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries were calculated. Specifically, this study considered from the zero-waste perspective the effects of waste, which attract interest worldwide since coke gas and gas from the steel industry are obtained as byproducts for the first time in Korea. According to the results of the analysis of $CO_2$ emission intensity per industry, typical industries whose indirect $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include crude steel making, Remicon, steel wire rods & track rail, cast iron, and iron reinforcing rods & bar steel. These industries produce products using the raw materials produced in the industrial sector whose $CO_2$ emission intensity is high. The representative industries whose direct $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include cement, pig iron, lime & plaster products, andcoal-based compounds. These industries extract raw ore from nature and refine them into raw materials that are useful in other industries. The findings in this study can be effectively used for the following case: estimation of target $CO_2$ emission reduction level reflecting each industrial sector's characteristics, calculation of potential emission reduction of each policy to reduce $CO_2$ emissions, identification of a firm's $CO_2$ emission level, and setting of the target level of emission reduction. Moreover, the findings in this study can be utilized widely in fields such as System of integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting(SEEA) and Material Flow Analysis(MFA) as the current topic of research in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.297-305
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• 2022

The goal of this study was to evaluate the anti-obesity effect of radish leaf extracts (MU-C) and radish leaf extracts with 3% citric acid (MU-CA) in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced C57BL/6 mice. The effects of radish leaf extracts on adipogenesis were also investigated using 3T3-L1 adipocytes. As determined by Oil red O staining, MU-C inhibited adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Four-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were fed an HFD for 6 weeks and then treated with radish leaf extracts (500 mg/kg, p.o.) for 6 weeks. Then, the serum levels of Aspartate aminotransferase, Alanine aminotransferase, Total cholesterol, Triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the mice were measured using an automatic chemical analyzer and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Administration of MU-C significantly reduced the fat weight when compared with HFD controls. As confirmed by histopathologic analysis, adipose tissue size markedly decreased in mice treated with MU-C. Therefore, this study could provide a basis for investigating the clinical use of MU-C as an agent for preventing obesity.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.227-234
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• 2014

The anti-inflammatory effect of Sargassum micracanthum water extract (SMWE) was investigated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response in this study. The murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 cells were used and MTT assay was performed to measure the cell proliferation ability. The secretion of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-$1{\beta}$ was measured in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells by ELISA. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and nuclear transcription factor-kappa B p65 protein was studied by immunoblotting. The Balb/c mice were used for an acute toxicity test, and imprinting control region mice were purchased to evaluate a croton oil-induced ear edema. As a result, there was no cytotoxicity in the macrophage proliferation treated with SMWE compared to the control. NO levels decreased with increasing concentration of SMWE and were inhibited over 50%. Moreover, the secretion of IL-6, TNF-${\alpha}$, and IL-$1{\beta}$ was suppressed in a dose-dependent manner, especially, IL-$1{\beta}$ inhibition activity was over 50% at 50 ${mu}g$/mL. The formation of ear edema of mice was reduced at the highest dose tested compared to that in the control. Moreover, in acute toxicity test, no moralities occurred in mice administered 5,000 mg/kg body weight of SMWE over 2 weeks observation period. These results suggested that SMWE may have significant effects on inflammatory factors and be potential anti-inflammatory therapeutic materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1385-1389
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• 2004

For the development of better Gulbi processing, brine salting method was applied for the Yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis). The changes of moisture contents, salt contents, and total microbial numbers in Yellow croaker were measured following different brine concentration (20, 30%), temperature (5, 25, 35$^{\circ}C$), and soaking time (1, 6, 12, 24 hours) by brine salting method. Rate of salt penetration into Yellow croaker muscle increased as higher brine concentration and higher dipping temperature. When compared to commercial products of Gulbi by dry-salting method, the moisture and salt contents in Yellow croaker showed similar values after treated with 20% brine at $25^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour. The weight of Yellow croaker increased about 4% when immersed it in 20% brine at 5$^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. There was no weight change at $25^{\circ}C$ dipping temperature and reduced 7% of weight at 35$^{\circ}C$ dipping temperature. At 30% brine concentration, the weight of Yellow croaker reduced 1%, 9%, and 13% on weight at 5$^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$, and 35$^{\circ}C$, respectively. Total microbial counts in Yellow croaker muscle soaked at 30% brine showed 1 log lower numbers than 20%. The muscles had about 1 log higher microbial numbers than the treated brine solution. An ethanol extract of onion peel added to brine for giving better color and for preventing oxidation on Gulbi lipid. The treated group showed higher Land b values on Gulbi surface as well as antioxidant effect on the extracted oil.