• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.63-71
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• 2011

Objectives : The aim of this study is to develop the system and evaluate the optical analytical technique that reflects acupoint pigmentation and extravasated blood by cupping. Methods : We designed the system able to express XYZ coordinate on local skin color. To evaluate measurement-accuracy, we compared with 24 Color Checker Chart by standardized Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. After confirming the performance of system, we experimented with cupping which was 80 kPa negative pressure for 1 minute on left/right BL13. The X, Y and Z values were converted to R, G and B, $L^*$, $a^*$ and $b^*$, Erythema Index (E.I.), and Melanin Index (M.I). We compared and analyzed two cases on before/after cupping. Results : The R, G and B values which were converted by X, Y and Z values had high linearity as a high level of R-square (R: 0.969, G: 0.996, and B: 0.992). Moreover, we confirmed that it was possible to quantitatively analyzed the change in skin color by cupping using R, G, B, $L^*$, $a^*$, $b^*$, E.I., and M.I. Conclusions : Therefore, we proposed the new analytical technique for objectifying the oriental medical diagnostic method using cupping and optical sensing technique.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.189-193
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• 2012

Oral pigmentation has numerous etiologies. It can be associated with congenital diseases and syndromes, certain acquired diseases, and systemic medications. Pigmented lesions caused by serious disease such as melanoma should be diagnosed correctly, because it would be fatal. For appropriate differential diagnosis, clinicians should know about the etiologies causing oral pigmentation and take patients history carefully. Biopsies would be necessary for histopathological findings. Close follow up for clinical symptoms are also necessary. In this case report, we presented a case of oral hyperpigmentation in Asian patient who was receiving pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination therapy for hepatitis C virus infection.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1348-1354
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• 2003

The feeding value of high-oil corn fed to Taiwan Country (TC) chicken was examined by measuring apparent metabolizable energy (AME), growth performance, sexual maturity, carcass characteristics, and plasma pigmentation. In a completely randomized design, 870 sex-intermingled one-wk-old chicks were assigned to one of 30 floor pens, 29 birds per pen, and each pen randomly assigned to one of five dietary treatments. The experiment was ended when birds were 16 wk of age. The five dietary treatments varied in main fat sources, which were corn oil (CO), high-oil corn (HOC), lard (LRD), whole soybean (WSB) and yellow corn (YC), respectively. All the diets were formulated isonitrogenously, isocalorically, and of equal lysine and methionine contents except YC, in which equal amounts of YC replaced HOC. The results indicated that feed conversion in HOC was 8% higher (p<0.05) than YC whereas the calculated AME of HOC was only 3.5% to 4.0% higher than that of YC. No significant differences were observed in body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio and ME efficiency for body weight gain among CO, HOC, LRD, and WSB. No significant differences existed in both skin and muscle pigmentation of breast among the five dietary treatments. No significance differences existed in plasma carotenoid content measured at various ages among the five dietary treatments except that birds fed with HOC had less (p<0.05) plasma carotenoids at 16 wk-old. The results indicate that if the price of high-oil corn is no more than 1.05 times that of yellow corn, the dietary cost per kg of body weight gain for TC chickens fed diets containing high-oil corn will be less, although their body weight may be lighter compared to chickens fed diets formulated with other fat sources.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.215-220
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• 2007

One of the important functions of skin is protection from harmful environments. Many studies have explored how to prevent skin from wrinkling and the occurrence of pigmentation changes. Skin wrinkling and pigmentation changes could be caused by unusual disruption of connective tissue, the formation of free radicals and ultraviolet radiation. In this study, extracts obtained from 254 different kinds of Jeju medicinal plants were screened for inhibitory effects on tyrosinase and elastase, and for free radical scavenging effects. Four herbs, Phormium tenax, Morus bombycis, Morus alba, and Cudrania tricuspidata, were potent inhibitors of tyrosinase ($IC_{50}$ values 4.62, 5.46, 8.17, and 64.17 ${\mu}g$/mL, respectively). Aleurites fordii [$IC_{50}$: 5.29 ${\mu}g$/mL, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)], Distylium racemosum ($IC_{50}$: 6.14 ${\mu}g$/mL), Acer palmatum ($IC_{50}$: 5.44 ${\mu}g$/mL), and Spiraea salicifolia ($IC_{50}$: 5.25 ${\mu}g$/mL) showed good antioxidative effects. Furthermore, Distylium racemosum ($IC_{50}$: 7.51 ${\mu}g$/mL), Diospyros kaki ($IC_{50}$: 15.1 ${\mu}g$/mL), Cornus macrophylla ($IC_{50}:$ 16.59 ${\mu}g$/mL), and Psidium guajava ($IC_{50}$: 40.25 ${\mu}g$/mL) exhibited potent inhibitory effects on elastase. These results suggest that medicinal plants possessing several biological activities may be potent inhibitors of the processes involved in pigmentation increases and aging. Further investigations will focus on in vivo assays and on the chemical identification of the major active components responsible for whitening and anti-aging activity in the screened efficacious extracts.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.186-196
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• 2020

Objectives : This study is to report a case of chronic allergic contact dermatitis, treated with Korean medicine, primarily focused on Oryeong-san. Methods : A 43-year-old female has suffered from dermatitis in axillary, lower abdominal, inguinal and popliteal area for more than 10 years. She was diagnosed with chronic allergic contact dermatitis accompanied by skin symptoms such as severe pruritus, erythema, skin pigmentation, papules and lichenification, and by decreased quality-of-life. She received Korean medicine treatment including herbal medicine, acupuncture and herbal external medication for 4 months. Results : The skin symptoms such as pruritus, erythema, skin pigmentation, papules and lichenification were remarkably improved. Also, the NRS of pruritus changed from 10 to under 1, and the DLQI score changed from 29 to 6. Conclusions : This case report suggests that Korean medicine, especially Oryeong-san may have a role in treating skin symptoms such as pruritus, erythema, skin pigmentation, papules and lichenification in the patients diagnosed with chronic allergic contact dermatitis. Also, the improvement of skin symptoms treated with Korean medicine may result in quality-of-life improvement in those patients.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.279-285
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• 2015

Hyperpigmentation on face is a highly anxiety-producing symptom, especially for women from the aspect of beauty. Pigmentation of the skin is related to the amount of melanin that provides protection against UV radiation. In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy is a non-invasive imaging tool allowing visualization of the skin without tissue alteration, by placing a microscopy directly on the living skin. The aim of this study was to develop the new evaluation method of whitening effects using in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy and to validate other instruments for measuring skin colors, and UV-induced hyperpigmentation was elicited on the inside skin of the forearm. It suggested that the new method for whitening effects using the confocal microscopy was useful to evaluate the de-pigmentation products and to easy for understanding to customers.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.170-175
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• 2011

Exposure to the sun, ultraviolet radiation, and oxidative stress are the chief etiologic factors responsible for melasma. The ingredients of Korean red ginseng powder, which include ginsenoside and phenolic compounds, have antioxidative effects and reduce ultraviolet B-induced pigmentation. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Korean red ginseng powder in patients with melasma. In 25 female patients, 3 g of Korean red ginseng powder was orally administered for a 24 week period. The level of pigmentation and erythema were determined and clinical improvement was evaluated by the melasma area and severity index (MASI), melasma quality of life scale (MELASQoL), and patient- and investigator-rated global improvement scale. After 24 weeks, the MASI score decreased from 8.8 to 5.6, and MELASQoL showed improvement in 91% of patients (p<0.05). The mean level of pigmentation decreased from 184.3 to 159.7 and erythema levels decreased from 253.6 to 216.4 (p<0.05). Additionally, 74% of the patients showed some improvement in both patient- and investigator-rated global improvement scales at week 24. Korean red ginseng powder was well tolerated by most of the patients. In conclusion, Korean red ginseng powder showed good tolerability and beneficial effects in patients with melasma. The use of Korean red ginseng would be counted as a useful adjunctive therapy for patients with melasma.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.160-164
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• 2021

Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a group of rare genetically heterogeneous disorders, characterized by hypopigmentation of the eyes, skin, and hair, which result in ocular abnormalities and a risk of developing skin cancer. Currently, there is no ophthalmologic procedure or drug that prevents the clinical features of OCA. Here, we report a new type of OCA in two, unrelated Korean families with the same OCA2 mutation. Affected individuals in this study are different from those of previous reports in two aspects: an inheritance pattern and clinical presentation. All reported patients with OCA have shown an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, while our patients showed an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. Small amounts of pigment can be acquired with age in OCA, but there is no substantial variation from adolescence to adulthood in this regard. A case where the patient attained normal pigmentation levels has never been reported. However, our patients displayed completely normal pigmentation in their late twenties. Whole exome sequencing and in-silico analysis revealed a novel mutation, OCA2 c.2338G>A p.(G780S) (NM_000275) with a high likelihood of pathogenicity. Sanger sequencing of p.G780S identified the same mutation in the affected individuals, which was not found in the family members with normal phenotype. We hypothesize that OCA2 G780S not only acts as a pathogenic variant of OCA but also induces pigmentation by enhancing the melanogenesis gene expression of other modifier genes, such as SLC45A2 and TPC2. These findings may provide further understanding of melanin biosynthesis and new treatment methods for OCA.

• Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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• 2003.09b
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• pp.73-86
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• 2003

Endothelins secreted from keratinocytes are intrinsic madiators for human melanocytes in UVB-induced pigmentation. Antimelanogenic ingredient, 1,2-Ο-diferulylglycerol(SM709) isolated from bamboo extract inhibited the melanin synthesis of Bl6F10 melanoma cells by 62%. To understand the cellular mechanism of antimelanogenic activity of SM709 in human melanocytes, the effects of SM709 on the ET-l-induced $Ca^{2+}$ mobilization were investigated. ET-l receptors in human melanocytes were characterized by using specific antagonist and found that ET-l increased intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ by activating ET-B receptor. SM709 completely blocked the ET-l-induced intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ increase and its inhibitory effect showed dose- and time- dependent manners. To investigate the role of SM709 on intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ store, when the $Ca^{2+}$ store was partially depleted by thapsigargin; a specific inhibitor of ER-type $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase, caffeine-induced $Ca^{2+}$ mobilization did not changed in the presence or absence of SM709, suggesting that SM709 has no effect on the $Ca^{2+}$ store. It is known that LPA receptor and P$_2$ receptor are linked to InsP$_3$ second messenger system. When these receptors in melanocytes were activated by LPA and ATP, the intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ signaling was observed even in the presence of SM709. From the above results, it can be suggested that SM709 has an antimelanogenic activity by antagonizing the ET-B receptor, resulting in subsequent intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ signaling, in UV induced pigmentation.nduced pigmentation.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.487-495
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• 2022

Pycnogenol is used as a dietary supplement based on various medical research studies suggesting health benefits. In recent years, it has also been used in cosmetic products, but the clinical research on its dermatologic effects has been insufficient. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of pycnogenol topically applied to skin of individuals with acne in their teens and twenties. Cosmetics containing 0.2% pycnogenol were applied to a group of 11 clinical subjects for 6 weeks and their skin conditions were assessed. The group that used cosmetics with pycnogenol showed decrease in P-Acnes, acne causing bacteria, phorphyrin index, a metabolite, and the pigmentation and redness index. This study confirms that pycnogenol extract is effective dermatologically in decreasing acne bacteria and reducing redness and pigmentation of skin affected by acne.