• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.481-489
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• 2005

Lonicerae Flos has antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus, streptococci, pneumococci, Bacillus dysenterii, Salmonella typhi, and paratyphoid. It is an antiviral agent. The herb has a cytoprotective effect against $CCl_{4}-induced$ hepatic injury. It has antilipemic action, interfering with lipid absorption from the gut. Nowadays this herb is used mainly in the treatment of upper respiratory infections, such as tonsillitis and acute laryngitis. It is also used in the treatment of skin suppurations, such as carbuncles, and to treat viral conjunctivitis, influenza, pneumonia, and mastitis. Lonicerae Flos is dried flower buds of Lonicera japonica, L. hypoglauca, L. confusa, or L. dasystyla. But, for the most part, we use whole plant of Lonicera japonica, as a flower bud of it. And, little is known of the original copy of effects of whole plant, except for the 'Bon-Cho-Gang-Mok', which is written the effects of flower of Lonicera japonica are equal to effects of leaves and branch of it. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of flower and whole plant of Lonicera japonica on the regulatory mechanism of cytokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) for the immunological activities in Raw 264.7 cells. In Raw 264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to mimic inflammation, flower and whole plant of Lonicera japonica water extracts inhibited nitric oxide production in a dose-dependent manner and abrogated iNOS and COX-2. Flower and whole plant of Lonicera japonica water extract did not affect on cell viability. To investigate the mechanism by which flower and whole plant of Lonicera japonica water extract inhibits iNOS and COX-2 gene expression, we examined the on phosphorylation of inhibitor ${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and assessed production of $TNF-{\alpha}$, $interleukin-1{\beta}$ $(IL-1{\beta})$ and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Results provided evidence that flower and whole plant of Lonicera japonica inhibited the production of $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and activated the phosphorylation of inhibitor ${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ in Raw 264.7 cells activated with LPS. These findings suggest that flower and whole plant of Lonicera japonica can produce anti-inflammatory effect, which may play a role in adjunctive therapy in Gram-negative bacterial infections, respectively.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.346-353
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• 2002

Purpose : Penicillin- and multidrug-resistant S. pneumoniae poses a serious threat to clinicians because the rate of resistance of S. pneumoniae to penicillin in Korea has surged up to the world's highest level. This study was performed to assess the carriage rate, serogroups and antimicrobial susceptibility of S. pneumoniae isolated from oropharynx in children. Methods : From March to July 1998, 209 children under 5 years of age were recruited from five day care centers. The carriage rate for pneumococci was obtained. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined with the E-test and agar dilution methods. Serogrouping was performed on 48 of the pneumococcal isolates by the Quellung reaction. Results : The carriage rate of S. pneumoniae was 30.1%. Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were available for 59 of the isolates. Sixty-six percent of isolates were not susceptible to penicillin, and multidrug-resistance was observed in 76.3% of the isolates. A high proportion of the penicillin-resistant strains showed associated resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, erythromycin, and oxacillin. The most prevalent oropharyngeal serogroups were 19, 6, 3, 23, and 29. Resistance of the pneumococcal isolates to penicillin was different according to the serogroups. All of the strains of serogroup 19, 23, and 29 was resistant to penicillin but 87.5% of serogroup 3 strains were susceptible to penicillin. Conclusion : The resistance rate of S. pneumoniae isolated from oropharynx in children was very high to penicillin and other antimicrobial agents. For the reduction of the drug-resistant rate of S. pneumoniae, clinicians should be required to be more judicious in their use of antimicrobial agents.