• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.382-385
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• 2002

It is well known that the Petasites japonicum have been used for a long time in traditional medicine for the treatment of allergic diseases such as lacquer poisoning and asthma. Anti-allergic actions of Petasites japonicum extracts were asessed by testing their effects on the degranulation of mast cells. For this, hexosaminidase released (degranulation marker) from RBL-2H3 cells(mast cell line) was used. At the concentration of 300 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL of the methanol, ethylacetate and hot water extract, the degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells were inhibited 83.33, 69.75 and 35.4%, respectively. These results suggest that the Petasites japonicum could be provide a effective resource for the control of allergic diseases.