• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.1-16
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• 2005

Objectives: To find out the effects GGTl, an antiobestic drug widely used in clinics, has on the blood-antiobestic index and the toxicity index using the data from the hGHTg obese male rats. We looked closely into both of the two indices because GGTl antiobestic effect can happen not only by pharmacological action, but also by its toxicity. Also, we verified the difference in effect between GGTl and reductil (sibutramine), which has been approved by the FDA of the United States. Methods: After performing the experiments for 8 weeks on the hGHTg obese male rats divided into three groups: the control group, the GGTl group, and the reductil (RD) group, we anesthetized the rats with Diethyl ether and took a 3ml blood sample from the heart. Then, after coagulating the blood in room temperature by using the plasma separator, we centrifuged it for 25 minutes in 3,000rpm using the high-speed refrigerated centrifuge. We kept the separated plasma in a deep freezer at $-80^{\circ}C$, and repeatedly measured the antiobestic index and the toxicity index twice using the hematology biochemistry analyzer. Also, in order to judge the indirect toxicity index, we separated liver from kidney and observed them. Results: When we looked at the results of the analysis of covariance on the measuring elements related to the antiobestic index (TC, HDL, LDL, TG, and GLU), there was no significant difference among the groups in all measuring elements. Also, the results of the analysis of covariance on the two roups (RD group and GGTl group) showed that the p-values had no significant difference under the level of significance 0.05. When we looked at the result of the analysis of covariance on the measuring elements related to the toxicity index (GOT, GPT, GGT, CREA, UA, ALB, and TP), we could see that the p-values in GPT, ALB, and TP have a significant difference among the groups. Also, the results of the analysis of covariance about the measuring elements related to the toxicity index on both groups, RD group and GGTl group, showed no significant difference in the p-values of all of the measuring elements in the two groups, RD and GGTl group. Conclusions: In conclusion, through this experiment, the safety of GGTl has been approved, and although the verification on its medical effect has not been clearly approved, when we consider the fact that it belongs to the same group as reductil, an antiobestic drug approved by the FDA of the United States, we could indirectly verify that GGTl has an antiobestic effect. We believe that when doing a sample design for a future experiment, it needs to be performed on a greater sample size based on the power analysis that needs to be performed primarily in experiments, and a more accurate verification is needed through more systematic experiment plans.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.133-141
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• 2010

The protective effect of a mixed powder from solid-cultured and liquid-cultured Lentinus edodes mycelia (2:1, w/w) (designate LED) on the carbon tetrachloride ($CCl_4$)- and ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity of male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat was investigated. In the $CCl_4$-induced rat hepatotoxicity experiment, rats of 4 groups (6 rats/group) were administere with Normal (0.2 ml distilled water), Control (0.2 ml distilled water), LED (LED 200 mg/kg BW + 0.2 ml distilled water), and Silymarin (200 mg/kg BW + 0.2 ml distilled water), p.o., daily for 2 weeks. Afterwards, all groups except for the Normal group were subjected to abdominal injection with $CCl_4$ ($CCl_4$ : corn oil, 1:1 v/v; 0.5 ml/kg BW). For the ethanol- induced rat hepatotoxicity experiment, rats were divided into 5 groups (5 rats/group): Normal; Pair-fed control (PFC); Control (ethanol); LED (ethanol + LED 200 mg/kg BW); and Silymarin (ethanol + silymarin 200 mg/kg BW). Rats of the Normal and PFC groups were fed a basal liquid diet, and rats of the Control, LED, and Silymarin groups were fed a liquid ethanol diet containing LED or Silymarin. Eight weeks later, blood and liver samples were collected to analyze biomarkers. In $CCl_4$-induced SD rats, LED elevated hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH peroxidase) activities and thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) were reduced, resulting in the reduction of glutamate-oxalate transaminase (GOT), glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) activities in plasma. Similar results of these enzymes and biochemical markers in both liver tissues and plasma were seen in ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity of SD rats. In addition, elevated alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and reduced expression of cytochrome p450 mixed monooxygenase enzyme (CYP2E1) were seen in liver tissues from ethanol-treated rats by LED treatment. These effects of LED were similar to those of Silymarin. In in vitro experiments, LED showed antioxidant activity in a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) system and mouse liver mitochondria system induced by NADPH/$Fe^{2+}$ and cumine hydroperoxide (CuOOH). These results indicate that LED protected SD rat hepatotoxicity, induced by $CCl_4$ and ethanol, through its antioxidative activity and might be useful as a material for protection from hepatoxicity in humans.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.1459-1466
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• 2010

This study was performed to identify the association between the metabolic syndrome and the biochemical measurements and nutrient intakes. A total of 1,431 people (533 males, 898 females) aged over 45 years living in Andong rural area participated in this study in 2003. Plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), $\gamma$-glutamyl transferase ($\gamma$-GT) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels in metabolic syndrome were significantly higher than those in normal group. In multiple logistic regression, those biochemical measurements were found to be positively associated with the metabolic syndrome as the adjusted odds ratios (OR) 1.839 (p<0.001) by AST, 2.302 (p<0.01) by ALT, 2.143 (p<0.001) by $\gamma$-GT, and 1.874 (p<0.001) by TBARS. We also found that the increased level of those measurements tended to be strongly associated with high triglyceride among the metabolic syndrome components. However, the nutrient intakes between the metabolic syndrome and the normal group were not significantly different. Also, we could not find any nutrient intakes significantly associated with the metabolic syndrome, except high carbohydrate intake (>70% of kcal) compared to normal intake (55~70% of kcal) showed OR 0.781 (p<0.05). In analyzing the association of nutrient intakes with metabolic syndrome components, we found that the calorie intake was negatively associated with abdominal obesity (OR 0.696, p<0.05) and high fat intake (>25% of kcal) was positively associated with low HDL-cholesterol (OR 1.864, p<0.05). This study revealed that the biochemical measurements, such as plasma AST, ALT, $\gamma$-GT, and TBARS, are associated with metabolic syndrome, but considering the nutrient intakes, we suggest that further studies are needed to identify the associations.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.225-235
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the potential of freeze-dried persimmon powder (Diospyros kaki Thumb.) to protect against dyslipidemia induced by a high-fat/cholesterol diet (HFD) in a rat model. Methods: Fifty Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: normal control (NC), high-fat/cholesterol control (HC), tannin in HFD (HT, 1% of diet), immature persimmon in HFD (HI, 7% of diet), and mature persimmon in HFD (HM, 7% of diet). Tannin was used as a positive control. Biochemical, molecular, and histopathological changes were observed in the blood and liver. Results: We confirmed that a high fat/cholesterol diet successfully induced dyslipidemia, which was characterized by significantly altered lipid profiles in the plasma and liver. However, oxidized low-density lipoprotein levels, histopathological damage in the liver, and hepatic triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in all HT, HI, and HM groups compared to those in the HF group. In contrast, plasma apolipoprotein B level was significantly reduced only in the HT and HM groups, whereas reduction of the LDL-C level was detected only in the HI group. Although HF-induced sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) gene expression was significantly reduced in all treated groups, downstream gene expression levels varied among the different groups; significant reduction of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMGCR) gene expression was detected only in the HI group, whereas cholesterol $7{\alpha}$-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) gene expression was significantly elevated only in the HM group. Conclusion: Taken together, the data suggest that protection of LDL oxidation and hepatic lipogenesis might be, at least partly, attributed to tannin in persimmons. However, the identified mechanisms varied up to the maturation stage of persimmon. In the case of immature persimmon, modulation of FAS and HMGCR gene expression was prominent, whereas in the case of mature persimmon, modulation of CYP7A1 gene expression was prominent.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.222-227
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• 2008

This study examined the chemical composition of lotus root and functionally evaluated a fermented lotus root drink. Electron-donating ability using DPPH along with nitrite-scavenging ability were used to compare the antioxidative activities of unfermented and fermented lotus root drinks. The electron-donating abilities of the unfermented lotus root drink (1%) and fermented lotusroot drink (1%) were 22.55% and 23.88%, respectively. At pH 6.0, the nitrite-scavenging abilities of the unfermented lotus root drink and the fermented lotus root drink (100%) were 27.64% and 40.3%, respectively, and their scavenging ability increased in a dose-dependent manner at all pH values. In order to study the anti-obesity effects of the two drinks, male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups (A: basal diet, B: high fat diet, C: high fat diet+unfermented lotus root drink, D: high fat diet+fermented lotus root drink). Net weight gains were not significantly different among the four groups. Plasma total cholesterol concentrations significantly decreased in the groups receiving the unfermented and fermented lotus root drinks. Also, plasma total lipid and triglyceride contents were lower in the groups receiving the unfermented and fermented lotus root drinks as compared to the high fat diet group; however, the differences among the three groups were not significant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.42-56
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• 2005

Hyperlipidemia is one of the risk factors for coronary artery disease. Despite of epidemiological evidence that tea consumption is associated with the reduced risk of coronary heart disease, experimental studies designed to show that drinking tea affects blood lipid concentration or oxidative stress have been unsuccessful. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether functional tea (three servings/day) supplement with medical nutrition therapy (MNT) lead to a beneficial outcomes in mildly hyperlipidemic adults. From February to October, 2003, the 43 hyperlipidemic (23 men, 20 women) subjects (total cholesterol$\geq$200 mg/dL or triglyceride$\geq$150 mg/dL) admitted to K Medical Center were studied. Subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups; placebo tea (PT), half dose of functional tea (HFT), full dose of functional tea (FFT). During 12 weeks of study period, the subjects were given placebo or functional tea daily with MNT. Anthropometric measurements, blood chemical analysis including lipid levels, total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels, and dietary assessment were carried out at the beginning and end of experiment. The effects of functional tea were compared with the placebo in randomized clinical trial study. The placebo was prepared to match with the functional tea in color and taste. After the 12 weeks of MNT, the subjects had regular and balanced meal pattern. Consumption of foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat, salty foods, fried foods, and instant foods decreased significantly in all three groups (p<0.05). Intake of energy and cholesterol also decreased (p<0.05). Drinking three servings per day (390 mL/day) of functional tea significantly reduced the levels of blood triglyceride (HFT, 42.5%; FFT, 29.4%), total cholesterol (HFT, 8.5%; FFT, 13.7%), and atherogenic index (HFT, 14.6%; FFT, 21.7%). Whereas no changes were found in the LDL-, HDL-cholesterollevels, and LDL/HDL ratio. Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) concentration decreased significantly (p<0.05) in functional tea groups (HFT, 14.9%; FFT, 14.1%). SOD increased significantly (p<0.05) in HFT (8.3%). GSH-Px increased significantly (p<0.05) in FFT (12.8%). In conclusion, the MNT improved the dietary habits, in addition, functional tea supplement decreased blood lipid levels and Hcy, and increased SOD and GSH-Px levels. These results indicate that functional tea consumption may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease via improving blood lipid levels and antioxidant status.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.522-529
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• 2014

Sea tangle (Laminaria japonica) is well known as having anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic effects in animals as well as in humans. In this study, we evaluated the effects of sea tangle-added patty on postprandial blood glucose and lipid profiles in borderline-hypercholesterolemic (cholesterol ${\geq}200$ mg/dL) adults. Eleven subjects voluntarily participated in the experiment, and each subject provided written consent. Experimental patty (E) was made by adding 2.25 g of sea tangle powder as a substitution to 1.125 g each of pork and chicken. In the first week, 200 g of Control patty (C) was provided to each subject, who had fasted more than 12 hours. In the second week, the same amount of E patty was supplied under the same conditions. Serum glucose levels increased significantly less at 30, 60, and 120 min after consumption of E patty compared to the levels at all time points after eating C patty. Thus, the change in the area under curve (${\Delta}AUC$) of serum glucose levels through 120 minutes was lower when consuming E patty compared to C patty. Although serum C-peptide concentrations were not significantly different at all time points between the two patties, the ${\Delta}AUC$ of serum C-peptide concentrations through 120 minutes was lower when consuming E patty compared to C patty. However, there were no differences in serum levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and HDL-C at 30, 60, 120, 180, and 240 min between the two patties. Further, each ${\Delta}AUC$ of these lipid levels through 240 minutes was not significantly different between the two patties. The results indicate that sea tangle-added patty may decrease postprandial plasma glucose concentrations and reduce insulin secretion, although it might not ameliorate serum lipid profiles in adults with borderline-hypercholesterolemia.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.1648-1657
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• 2014

In this study, the hepatic lipid-lowering effects and related mechanism of action of sujeonggwa were examined in hypercholesterolemia-induced apoprotein E knockout (apo E ko) mice. Sujeonggwa drink was prepared with cinnamon, ginger, and sugar by modifying the traditional recipe of sujeonggwa. Sugar was partially substituted with either stevia or short chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS) in order to reduce the calorie content of sujeonggwa, which was measured by descriptive analysis. Apo E ko mice (n=42) were induced to have hypercholesterolemia (plasma total cholesterol concentration >1,000 mg/dL) by administration of a high cholesterol diet for 4 weeks, followed by division into six groups. Experimental groups were orally administered water as a vehicle (normal group), sugar solution (control group), commercially available 'V' sujeonggwa drink (positive control group), or three different types of sujeonggwa drinks (S-sugar, S-stevia, and S-scFOS group) for 6 weeks while high cholesterol diet was provided to all animals. Compared to the control group, concentrations of hepatic triglycerides, total cholesterol, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and reactive oxygen species in S-sugar, S-stevia, S-scFOS were significantly reduced (P<0.05), indicating that sujeonggwa had inhibitory effects on hepatic lipid accumulation. Protein expression levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and its transcription factor, sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1 responsible for triglyceride synthesis, as well as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) and its transcription factor, SREBP-2 responsible for cholesterol synthesis, were also reduced in S-sugar, S-stevia, and S-scFOS groups (P<0.05). These benefits of sujeonggwa were even greater in S-stevia and S-scFOS compared to S-sugar. The beneficial effects of S-stevia on regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism were slightly greater than those of S-scFOS although the differences were not significant. In conclusion, sujeonggwa drinks, especially functional sujeonggwa drinks in which sugar was partially substituted with stevia or scFOS, inhibited hepatic lipid accumulation via suppressing FAS and HMGCR protein expression through down-regulation of SREBP-1 and 2.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.118-124
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• 2018

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with fruiting body of Agaricus brasiliensis (AB) mushroom on the lipid profiles of serum and histological patterns of liver of high cholesterol-fed rats. Five-week-old, female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided into three groups of 8 rats each, including a normal control-diet (NC) group, a high-cholesterol diet (HC) group, and a group fed high-cholesterol diet supplemented with 5 % powder of Agaricus brasiliensis fruiting bodies (HC+AB). Total serum cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglyceride (TG) concentrations in the HC+AB group were significantly reduced when compared with those in the HC group. Body weight in the HC+AB group was significantly lower than that in the HC group, whereas no adverse effects were observed on the levels of plasma albumin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, glucose, and total protein. In the HC+AB group, liver enzyme activities related to liver function, such as GOT and GPT, presented values lower than those in the HC group and were very similar to the ones in the NC group. Excretion of total lipid and cholesterol in feces in the HC+AB group was significantly higher than that in the NC and HC groups, indicating that mushroom feeding inhibits the absorption of lipid cholesterol in the intestine. Liver histopathological analyses revealed that rats fed with HC diet developed fat liver disease, whereas only small amounts of fat were deposited in the livers of the HC+AB group. In conclusion, the results suggest that fruiting body powder of A. brasiliensis provides health benefits to high-cholesterol-fed rats by lowering body weight and the risk of atherogenic lipid profile.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 2010

The current study was performed to develop natural bio-active substances as additives for the production of high quality broiler chickens. A total of 120 male 3 day-old broiler chicks were randomly allocated to CON (control), GK2.5 (ginkgo leaf 2.5%), GK5.0 (ginkgo leaf 5.0%), PK2.5 (pumpkin 2.5%) and PK5.0 (pumpkin 5.0%) of five groups in cages (24 birds per group). All birds were fed corresponding diets from 3 to 35 d of age and determined growth performance and biological parameters including blood biochemical profiles, antioxidant status and intestinal microflora. During the entire feeding trial, GK5.0 and PK5.0 groups resulted in a significantly (P<0.05) higher FCR than GK2.5 and PK2.5 groups. Plasma triglyceride significantly (P<0.05) increased in GK5.0 group compared with the other groups, and the level of alanine transaminase (ALT) increased (P<0.05) in GK5.0 and PK5.0 groups compared with that in PK2.5 group. Dietary addition of ginkgo leaf and pumpkin significantly (P<0.05) increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the small intestine. Also, the addition of 2.5% ginkgo leaf significantly (P<0.05) increased the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) in the liver. Futhermore, muscle GST activity significantly (P<0.05) enhanced by dietary addition of ginko leaf and pumpkin. However, the level of lipid peroxidation (MDA) in the small intestine and muscle turned to be higher (P<0.05) in PK5.0 group. The colony forming units (CFU) of E. coli in intestinal digesta significantly (P<0.05) decreased in both ginko leaf and pumpkin supplemented groups compared with CON group. In conclusion, dietary addition of 2.5% ginko leaf and pumpkin as dietary sources can be applicable for the production of high quality broiler chickens.