• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2017

This study investigated the antioxidant activities of distilled water, ethanol and methanol extracts of Plunus mume flower buds (PFB). The various solvent extracts of PFB were evaluated for their total polyphenol, flavonoid, reducing power and free radical scavenging activities by FRAP and DPPH analysis. The ethanol extract of PFB contained significantly higher amounts of total polyphenols (145 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (25.43 mg QE/g) than methanol (132 and 25.42) and distilled water (113.6 and 18.04). Among solvent extracts of PFB, the ethanol extract showed the highest antioxidant activities. The 100% ethanol extract of PFB contained significantly higher amounts of total polyphenols and flavonoids than 70% and 50% ethanol extracts. Moreover, the 100% ethanol extract of PFB showed high efficacy in DPPH radical scavenging activity and in collagenase inhibition activity. This results suggest that 100% ethanol extract of PFB has the most effective antioxidant capacity compared to the methanol and water extracts tested in the present study. Thus, it can be applied for the effective extraction of functional material from PFB for usage of cosmeceutical and/or food industries.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.327-333
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• 2007

The present study was carried out to evaluate the physiological effects of mushroom supplementation on blood glucose levels, lipid profile, and antioxidant enzyme activities in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Subjects were randomized into either a control group or mushroom supplementation group. Mushroom supplementation was provided 3 times a day for 4 weeks. We found that total dietary fiber intake was about 2.5 times higher (30.3 g vs. 12.3 g) in subjects receiving mushroom supplementation than in the control group. Two groups maintained the same food intake and amount of activity, exercise during the supplementation. We observed no difference in age, height, weight, BMI (body mass index), blood pressure between the groups. Nutrient intake did not differ appreciably between the two groups, except for fiber intake, during the supplementation. Fasting blood glucose levels and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose levels were significantly lower in those ingesting mushroom than in controls. Furthermore, the concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were decreased significantly in the mushroom supplementation group. Small changes were observed in the concentration of total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol of those supplemented with mushroom, but these changes were not statistically significant. Activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase with mushroom supplementation were higher than in controls, but and glutathione peroxidase activity was not affected. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance of mushroom group were lower than control group, but were not significant. We conclude that addition of mushroom influences glycemic control and may be effective in lowering blood lipids and improving antioxidant enzyme activities. Accordingly, such effects may reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, to confirm these effects and to make dietary recommendations for patients with type 2 diabetes, further studies are necessary.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1615-1621
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• 2005

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are widely implicated in the aging process and age-related diseases. The present study was carried out to investigate scavenging activities of Junglans sinensis extract and its subfraction using fluorescent probes, DCF-DA, DAF-2 and DHR 123. Jungians sinensis was washed and crushed. The crushed Junglans sinensis was extracted 3times, each time with 3 volumes of methyl alcohol at $60^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. The extract was filtered and evaporated under a reduced pressure using a rotary evaporator to yield 16 g. Scavenging activities of $ONOO^-$ was measured by Kooy' method and ROS was measured by DCFDA assay. Junglans sinensis had the marked scavenging activites of $ONOO^-$, NO and $O_2^-$. Junglans sinensis scavenged $ONOO^-$ through electron donation and dose-dependently inhibited the nitration of bovine serum albumin by $ONOO^-$. Junglans sinensis also had ROS scavenging activity. Especially, ethylacetate fraction of Junglans sinensis showed the most effective scavenging activities for ROS and RNS. These results suggest that Junglans sinensis might be developed as an effective ROS and RNS scavenger Therefore, Junglans sinensis might be used as a preventive agent for the aging and relevant to aging of illness.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.350-356
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• 2008

Etiological studies of diabetes and its complications showed that oxidative stress might play a major role. Therefore, many efforts have been tried to regulate free oxygen radicals for treating diabetes and its complications. Cheonghyul-san has been known to be effective for the antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic and antiobesitic prescription, and composed of four crude herbs. In male ob/ob mouse with severe obesity, hyperinsulinemia, hypergiycemia, hyperlipidemia, the acting mechanisms of Cheonghyul-san were examined. Mice were grouped and treated for 5 weeks as follows. Both the lean (C57/BL6J black mice) and diabetic (ob/ob mice) control groups received standard chow. The experimental groups were fed with a diet of chow supplemented with 7.5, 15 and 30 mg Cheonghyul-san per 1 kg of body weight for 14 days. The effects of Cheonghyul-san extract on the ob/ob mice were observed by measuring the serum levels of glucose, insulin, lipid components, and the kidney levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), MDA+HAE, GSH and also the enzyme activities involved in polyol pathway. Cheonghyul-san lowered the levels of serum glucose and insulin in a dose dependent manner. Total cholesterol, triglyceride and free fatty acid levels were decreased, while the HDL-cholesterol level was increased, in Cheonghyul-san treated groups. Renal aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase activities were increased in the ob/ob mice, whereas those were inhibited in the Cheonghyul-san-administered groups. Cheonghyul-san inhibited the generation of ROS in the kidney. Finally, MDA+HAE level was increased and the GSH level was decreased in the ob/ob mice, whereas those were improved in the Cheonghyul-san-administered groups. The results suggested that Cheonghyul-san exerted the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic activities by regulating the activities of polyol pathway enzymes, scavenging ROS, regulating the MDA+HAE and GSH levels in the ob/ob mice.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.128-132
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological functionalities of 60 wild mushroom methanol extracts. We determined their fibrinolytic and ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory activities. Among them, 11 mushrooms showed fibrinolytic activity. In particular, Armillaria sp. showed the greatest enzyme activity (4.2 plasmin units/ml) in a fibrin plate assay. The fibrinolytic activities of Amanita virosa. Gymnophilus sp. and Lepista nuda were 2.3, and the activities of Amanita citrina and Cortinarius alboviolaceus were 2.1 and 2.0 plasmin units, respectively. In a ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory activity test, Naematoloma fasciculare showed the greatest inhibitory activity at 98.5%. The ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory activities of Suillus luteus and Gomphidius maculatus were 66.6% and 61.5%, respectively. This study suggests that both Armillaria sp. and N. fasciculare can be used as candidates for the development of new medicine effective to cardiovascular diseases and biofunctional food.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1996

The variation in the enzyme activities of human liver usually represents the particular physiological conditions of each individuals. Thus, we investigated the variation in the activities of SOD, HR and LPO of (1) non-exposed workers (56 subjects), and (2) exposed workers to DMF (43 subjects) in synthetic leather process. Serum levels of enzyme activities of exposed workers (AST:$30.26{\pm}20.041$U/L, ALT:$32.72{\pm}23.393$U/L, GGT:$28.47{\pm}18.635$ U/L, ALP:$81.77{\pm}34.879$ U/L)were slightly higher than those in nonexposed workers (AST:$24.00{\pm}9.441$ U/L, ALT:$23.89{\pm}18.305$U/L, GGT:$21.95{\pm}17.970$U/L, ALP:$70.84{\pm}24.678$U/L), but only the level of ALT was statistically significant (p< 0.05). Serum levels of LDH, TRF and CHOL in non-exposed workers were slightly higher than those of exposed workers. However, they were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Serum levels of HR and LPO of the exposed workers appeared to be reduced, but not those of the non-exposed workers. The SOD activities of exposed workers were also slightly higher than those of non-exposed workers, but the results were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The level of HR was increased with age, but the SOD level was not. These results suggest that the intermittent exposure to DMF at time-weighted average (TWA) level (10 ppm/$m^3$) has affected on the activities of enzymes such as AST, ALT, TRF, but not on the generation of HR, activity of SOD. However, if high dose of DMF was used, there would be severe effects for the generation of HR and LPO.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.649-660
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• 2021

In this study, soybean pods of 45 soybean landraces (or varieties) were classified as yellow (19 samples), black (23 samples), or black in green (3 samples) based on soybean seed coat color. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were measured, and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, and estrogen-like activities were assessed. Total polyphenol and flavonoid content ranges were 24.13-108.03 mg GAE/g and 3.31-72.02 mg CE/g, respectively, and were highest in the black group followed by the yellow group and were least in the black in green group, while ABTS and DPPH activities followed the order black in green > black > yellow. Estrogen-like and estrogen receptor-α activity ranges were 29.06-35.58 pg/mL and 7.05-10.13 pg/mL and were followed the order yellow > black > black in green and black in green > yellow > black, respectively. Nitric oxide (NO) inhibitory and UCP-1 activities followed the same order as estrogen receptor-α activities. Our findings suggest that soybean pods are excellent sources of antioxidants and high-quality functional materials.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2019

Background: Various Schisandra chinensis (SC) varieties grow in diverse regions in Korea. However, there is no valid scientific evidence of these varieties. This study aimed to select the excellent resources in terms of the growth characteristics, antioxidant activities, and analysis of the active compounds of the SC collection. Method and Results: In total, 154 resources of SC were collected from various regions of Korea. The growth characteristics were measured by the number of fruit bunches, fruit number, and weight of 100 fruits. The antioxidant activities were investigated by analyzing the total flavonoid and total polyphenol contents and the radical scavenging activity of DPPH and ABTS. Schizandrin A, schizandrin c, gomisin a, and gomisin N were analyzed by HPLC. Each resource showed different growth characteristics. Among the antioxidative effects, the highest 20 resources showed high antioxidant activities in selected 29 resources. Analysis of the SC lignan index showed that all resources contained more than 1.16% of active compounds. Conclusions: All of the selected 29 SC resources were shown to have excellent growth characteristics, antioxidant activities, and bioactive compound richness. Especially, SC-004, SC-007, and SC-154 showed the best growth characteristics, and SC-22, SC-40, and SC-45 showed the best antioxidant activities and bioactive compound richness.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.573-584
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• 2021

Background and objective: This study was conducted with 10 men and women in their 50s-60s to investigate the effect of agro-healing activities on the improvement of mental health. Methods: The experimental group participated in total 8 sessions of agro-healing activities, once a week for 2 hours each, at a care farm in Wanju-gun. Physiological measurements were taken with an electroencephalogram (EEG), Salivettes samples, and blood pressure before and after the activities. Results: As a result of analyzing the changes in brainwaves of the experimental group before and after agro-healing activities, relative slow alpha (RSA), relative fast alpha (RFA), and ratio of alpha to high beta (RAHB), the indices of stability and relaxation, increased after the program with statistical significance. Also, the ratio of SMR to theta (RST) of the attention index increased on the right frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and left occipital lobes, and relative low beta (RLB) increasd on the frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and occipital lobes after the program with statistical significance. The sympathetic nervous system activity, which is a stress index, decreased after the program, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system activity, which is a relaxation index, increased, showing statistical significance (p < .05). As a result of analyzing the changes in blood pressure after the program, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure decreased from prehypertension to normal blood pressure, showing statistical significance. SThese results indicate that participating in agro-healing activities at a care farm for the 50-60s helps reduce stress and improve stability and relaxation as well as attention. Conclusion: Thus, developing and applying customized agro-healing programs for participants will have a positive effect on brain activity and psychophysiological improvement by relieving tension and stress. However, there are limitations in generalizing the results of this study since most of agro-healing farms have low accessibility that leads to a low level of participants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1315-1328
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• 2004

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of octadecadienoic acid with two conjugated double bonds. Of more than a dozen isomers of CLA found naturally in dairy and meat products from ruminants, c-9, t-11 and t-10, c-12 are the two isomers with known physiological importance, including anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antilipogenic, and antiatherosclerotic effects. Positive effects of CLA on immune function and bone modeling have also been reported. In spite of the compelling findings in tissue cultures and experimental animal models, its effect, dose, and mechanism of action vis-à-vis specific isomers remains speculative. Results obtained from animal models are inconclusive and conflicting at times in humans, where the research data is limited. It appears that there is a long way to go before CLA could be accepted unequivocally as having definite effects in any or all of these physiological states and how such effects actually occur in humans. The objective of this review is to critically examine the available literature on potential health benefits of CLA observed in cell culture, animal models, and human subjects, wherever possible and to a certain extent the mechanism of action associated with these biological activities.