• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2024

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease characterized by hepatic fat accumulation, while nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an advanced form of NAFLD characterized by hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, and liver injury, resulting in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Given the evidence that ginseng and its major bioactive components, ginsenosides, have potent anti-adipogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-fibrogenic effects, the pharmacological effect of ginseng and ginsenosides on NAFLD and NASH is noteworthy. Furthermore, numerous studies have successfully demonstrated the protective effect of ginseng on these diseases, as well as the underlying mechanisms in animal disease models and cells, such as hepatocytes and macrophages. This review discusses recent studies that explore the pharmacological roles of ginseng and ginsenosides in NAFLD and NASH and highlights their potential as agents to prevent and treat NAFLD, NASH, and liver diseases caused by hepatic steatosis and inflammation.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.257-279
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• 2009

Plants of genus Dioscorea have long been served as important carbohydrate-stuffed foods in the tropical and subtropical regions, and utilized as traditional herb medicines to enhance digestive function, improve anorexia, and treat diarrhea in oriental countries. It is known that around 600 species of Dioscorea are distributed in the world including 107 species in Asia, but actually utilized Dioscorea species are restricted to small numbers. Phytochemical investigations for Dioscorea species have revealed a number of chemical components such as sapogenins, saponins, phenanthrenes, stilbenes, diterpenes and purine derivatives. According to recent pharmacological studies, Dioscorea species possess significant antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities as well as anticancer, antidiabetic, cholesterol-lowering and hypolipidemic effects. Here, seven Dioscorea species (D. batatas, D. japonica, D. bulbifera, D. opposita, D. tokoro, D. nipponica and D. alata), mainly distributed and used in Korea, China, and Japan, are reviewed to provide their botanical, phytochemical and pharmacological properties were described.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.347-360
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• 1994

The general and some pharmacological actions of DWP 301 were investigated in animals and the following results were obtained. In central nervous system, DWP 301 had no effects on the pentobarbital induced anaesthesia, rotarod test, traction test, analgesic action, anticonvulsant action in mice and body temperature in rat. But DWP 301 showed a little decrease of locomotor activity at a dose of 3,000 mg/kg. From these results, DWP 301 was considered to have little pharmacological effect on the central nervous system. Furthermore, DWP 301 had no influences on the normal blood pressure and heart rate. DWP 301 showed no effect on the isolated guinea pig ileum, trachea, right atrium, and nonpregnant rat uterus. But, in the isolated guinea pig vas deference, DWP 301 had showed inhibitory effect on the contractions produced by norepinephrine. DWP 301 showed rise of gastric juice pH and decrease of urine volume. Also, DWP 301 had no effect on the gastrointestinal motility and blood aggregation. From these results, it is concluded that the general pharmacological effect of DWP 301 are similar to or weaker than M and AGA.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 2021

Since ancient times, various herbal medicines have been used in folk medicine to treat a variety of diseases. While the majority of drugs belong to the Kingdom of Plantae, some drugs from the Kingdom of Animalia are listed in various Materia medica of alternative medicines. Animal-derived drugs are mentioned in the Unani system of Medicine (USM) and have been used successfully to treat a variety of diseases. Marjān (Corallium rubrum) is a vital marine drug of animal origin that has been used in USM since ancient times and continues to be used today. It possesses a variety of beneficial pharmacological properties, including tonic effects on the heart, brain, stomach, and eyes, pregnancy protection, expectorant, and hemostyptic properties. It is used to treat hemoptysis, palpitation, bleeding piles, hemiplegia, heart failure, and general weakness. It is also an ingredient in a variety of Unani formulations with pharmacological significance. Unani physicians expanded the uses of Marjan and successfully used it to treat a variety of new diseases. There is a dearth of scientific research on its pharmacological and medicinal properties. The urgent need is to validate the Unani claims about its beneficial cardiac and nervine actions, as well as other significant actions mentioned in the Unani literature.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.597-603
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• 2015

Synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-250 in 'herbal incense' also called 'spice' were first introduced in many countries. Numerous synthetic cannabinoids with similar chemical structures emerged simultaneously and suddenly. Currently there are not sufficient data on their adverse effects including neurotoxicity. There are only anecdotal reports that suggest their toxicity. In the present study, we evaluated the neurotoxicity of two synthetic cannabinoids (JWH-081 and JWH-210) through observation of various behavioral changes and analysis of histopathological changes using experimental mice with various doses (0.1, 1, 5 mg/kg). In functional observation battery (FOB) test, animals treated with 5 mg/kg of JWH-081 or JWH-210 showed traction and tremor. Their locomotor activities and rotarod retention time were significantly (p<0.05) decreased. However, no significant change was observed in learning or memory function. In histopathological analysis, neural cells of the animals treated with the high dose (5 mg/kg) of JWH-081 or JWH-210 showed distorted nuclei and nucleus membranes in the core shell of nucleus accumbens, suggesting neurotoxicity. Our results suggest that JWH-081 and JWH-210 may be neurotoxic substances through changing neuronal cell damages, especially in the core shell part of nucleus accumbens. To confirm our findings, further studies are needed in the future.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.288-295
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• 2017

The incidence of polypharmacy-which can result in drug-drug interactions-has increased in recent years. Drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters are important polypharmacy modulators. In this study, the effects of bosentan and rifampin on the expression and activities of organic anion-transporting peptide (OATP) and cytochrome P450 (CYP450) 2C9 and CYP3A4 were investigated in vitro. HEK293 cells and primary human hepatocytes overexpressing the target genes were treated with bosentan and various concentrations of rifampin, which decreased the uptake activities of OATP transporters in a dose-dependent manner. In primary human hepatocytes, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 gene expression and activities decreased upon treatment with $20{\mu}M$ $bosentan+200{\mu}M$ rifampin. Rifampin also reduced gene expression of OATP1B1, OATP1B3, and OATP2B1 transporter, and inhibited bosentan influx in human hepatocytes at increasing concentrations. These results confirm rifampin- and bosentan-induced interactions between OATP transporters and CYP450.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 2007

The objective of this review is to propose the Korean practice guideline for pharmacological treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For making the guideline, the authors used the evidence-base approaches derived from a detailed review of literature including wide range of controlled clinical trials, studies of side effects of drugs, toxicological reports, and meta-analyses published in United States and Europe, as well as inside Korea. The review committee composed of experts in ADHD inkoreahasreviewedtheparameter. The practice parameter for pharmacological treatment describes the use of stimulants, atomoxetine, modafinil, bupropion, tricyclic antidepressants, and alpha-adrenergic agonists and their side effects. The recommendations of pharmacological treatment are proposed at the end of the article.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.131-139
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• 2019

Introduction: Mastalgia is the most common benign breast disorder during the fertility period of women. So far a wide range of natural or complementary medicines is used to cure mastalgia. Sanitary organizations need complete and suitable details to help women, for making the proper decision for alternative treatment based on the evidence. The aim of the present study is to introduce medicinal plant-based treatments about mastalgia and summarizes clinical trials about this disorder. Method: The articles were provided using mixture of keywords including cyclic pain, breast, treatment, therapeutics, therapy, clinical trial, herbal, drug, mastalgia and all the probable terms, in national and international databases SID, Iran Medex, Magiran, PubMed, Scopus, Medline, Science direct and Cochrane library, in both Persian and English languages. All cross-sectional and review articles about herbal treatment of mastalgia until 2018 November were studied. Results: Nineteen articles from all of the available articles (45 cases) and a sample size about of (1987 cases) were included in our study. The articles were clinical trials. The results revealed that mastalgia could be healed by Nigella sativa, Vitex agnus-castus, curcumin, Hypericum perforatum, Citrus sinensis, wheat germ, and Ginkgo biloba. Conclusion: Most of the evaluated medicinal plants possessing antioxidant compounds with anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, exhibited healing effects in the treatment of mastalgia. Thus, medicinal plants can be considered in the treatment of mastalgia; however, further investigations are needed to obtain more details about their probable side effects.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.471-482
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• 2021

We aimed to provide evidences for developing non-pharmacological intervention in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment(MCI) by integrated literature review. The final 16 papers were selected as a result of an integrated literature analysis. All of them are focused on strengthening cognitive activities, while Korean studies have often merged emotional activities such as music therapy and laughter therapy rather than physical activities such as exercise therapy, international studies have combined physical activities rather than emotional activities. The effects of non-pharmacological intervention differed according to the outcome variables. The primary variables were cognitive function and depression, and secondary variables were found to have effects on physical function, activities of daily living (ADL), and self-efficacy. This study contributes to a multidisciplinary approach that can be applied in the clinical field through the development of various non-pharmaceutical intervention for the prevention of dementia in the older adults with MCI.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.184-190
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• 2020

This study was performed to find antibacterial substances contained in Scutellariae Radix (SR) using a systems pharmacological analysis method and to establish an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Analysis of the main active ingredients of SR was performed using Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) Database and Analysis Platform. 36 active compounds were screened by the parameter values of Drug-Likeness (DL), Oral Bioavailability (OB), and Caco-2 permeability (Caco-2), which were based on the drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion indicators. The UniProt database was used to obtain information on 159 genes associated with active compounds. The main active compounds with antibacterial effects were wogonin, β-sitosterol, baicalein, acacetin and oroxylin-A. Target proteins associated with the antibacterial action were chemokine ligand 2, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, caspase-8,9 and mitogen-activated protein kinase 14. In the future, systems pharmacological analysis of traditional medicine will be able to make it easy to find the important mechanism of action of active substances present in natural medicines and to optimize the efficacy of medicinal effects for combinations of major ingredients to help treat certain diseases.