• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.284-291
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• 2007

Purpose : Theophylline has recently been reported to have concurrent anti-inflammatory effects at low therapeutic plasma concentrations which are below the doses at which significants, clinically useful bronchodilatation is evident. Sustained-release formulation in capsule and dry syrup forms were developed to reduce its adverse effects and improve its clinical effects. We compared the therapeutic effects of theophylline dry syrup and capsules in children with mild asthma. Methods : Ninety children with mild asthma were randomized to receive either theophylline dry syrup (n=44) or theophylline capsules (n=46); 4 mg per kilogram of body weight, twice a day, for 12 weeks. Baseline and serial measurements of daytime and nighttime asthma symptom score were performed. Compliance scores, drug swallowing scores, and drug usability scores were measured every 4 weeks. Each scoring was rated on a scale of 0-4. Serum theophylline concentration were measured at 4 and at 12 weeks. To examine the anti-inflammatory effect of theophylline on asthma, Serum eosinophilic cationic protein as a marker of airway inflammation caused by eosinophil was measured 12 weeks pre- and post-administration. Results : The daytime and nighttime asthma symptom scores of the two groups after 4 weeks significantly improved over the baseline score. Daytime and nighttime asthma symptom scores in the dry syrup group were statistically lower at all time points except for the nighttime symptom scores at 4 weeks. Compliance scores, drug swallowing scores, and drug usability scores in the dry syrup group were significantly higher at the end time point. Only in the dry syrup group was the serum ECP at the end time point statistically lower than baseline. Conclusion : Low-dose sustained-release theophylline may be safe and effective in bronchial asthma and this effect may be mediated by its anti-inflammatory action mechanisms. Especially, when used in children with asthma, dry syrup formulation is recommended because of its higher compliance than capsule formulation.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.235-241
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• 2021

Sogunjung-tang (SGJT) is traditional herbal prescriptions used to treat abdominal pain. In this study, we evaluated the effect on inflammation and gastritis through SGJT formulation development. SGJT composition herbal medicine was boiled in water at 95~100℃ for 3 hours and then concentrated. Sogunjung-tang mix soft extract (STM) was prepared using pharmaceutical excipients such as purified water, sodium benzoate, β-cyclodextrin and CMC-Na. Anti-inflammatory experiment was conducted using STM and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 cells. Cell survival was measured by MTT method. Nitric oxide (NO) was measured using griess reagents, and pro inflammatory cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and RT-PCR. Also, we verified STM validity in acute gastritis using the ICR mouse. STM was administered oral for three days. And 150 mM HCl in 60% ethanol was oral administered 0.5 mL one hour after the last drug administration. Mice were sacrificed 1 hour after 150 mM HCl in 60% ethanol administration. The gastric mucosa was visually observed. STM were not toxic in RAW 264.7 cells. Treatment of STM inhibited the production of NO and inflammatory cytokine at the protein and mRNA levels. Also, in the acute gastritis model with the mouse, the treatment of STM improved gastric mucosal bleeding and edema. In summary, it was confirmed that the treatment of STM exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-gastritis effects. Therefore, we suggest that STM may provide a preclinical evidence for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory and gastritis diseases.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Sargassum horneri is an edible brown alga that grows in the subtidal zone as an annual species along the coasts of South Korea, China, and Japan. Recently, an extreme amount of S. horneri moved into the coasts of Jeju Island from the east coast of China, which made huge economic and environmental loss to the Jeju Island. Thus, utilization of this biomass becomes a big issue with the local authorities. Therefore, the present study was performed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of crude polysaccharides (CPs) extracted from S. horneri China strain in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. MATERIALS/METHODS: CPs were precipitated from S. horneri digests prepared by enzyme assistant extraction using four food-grade enzymes (AMG, Celluclast, Viscozyme, and Alcalase). The production levels of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ and interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ were measured by Griess assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor (NF)-${\kappa}B$, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were measured by using western blot. The IR spectrums of the CPs were recorded using a fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectrometer. RESULTS: The polysaccharides from the Celluclast enzyme digest (CCP) showed the highest inhibition of NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells ($IC_{50}$ value: $95.7{\mu}g/mL$). Also, CCP dose-dependently down-regulated the protein expression levels of iNOS and COX-2 as well as the production of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$, compared to the only LPS-treated cells. In addition, CCP inhibited the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ p50 and p65 and the phosphorylation of MAPKs, including p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase, in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, FT-IR analysis showed that the FT-IR spectrum of CCP is similar to that of commercial fucoidan. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that CCP has anti-inflammatory activities and is a potential candidate for the formulation of a functional food ingredient or/and drug to treat inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.255-262
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• 2011

Method using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the determination of pregabalin in plasma samples. Acquisition was performed by monitoring the transitions: m/z 160.1${\rightarrow}$142.2 for pregabalin and m/z 423.2${\rightarrow}$207.1 for losartan (as an internal standard). After cold acetonitrileinduced protein precipitation of the plasma samples, separation was performed with C18 column by isocratic mobile phase consisted of 10 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile (15:85, v/v). Results were linear over the concentration ranged from 0.1 to $10{\mu}g$/mL and the correlation coefficients (r) were $\geq0.99$. Intra- and inter-day precisions were $\leq6.02$ and $\leq11.04%$, respectively, and intra- and inter-day accuracies were 96.60-101.09 and 98.10-102.60%, respectively. This validated method was successfully applied to a bioequivalence study of two formulations of pregabalin, Daewoong pregabalin capsule (Daewoong Pharm. Co., Ltd.) and Lyrica$^{(R)}$ capsule (Pfizer Korea Ltd.) in twenty eight healthy Korean volunteers. The subjects received a single oral dose of each formulation (150 mg as pregabalin) in a randomized $2{\times}2$ crossover study and plasma samples were obtained from each subject at predetermined time intervals. Then, the pharmacokinetic parameters ($AUC_{0-t}$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$) were calculated and statistically analyzed to assess the differences between two formulations. The 90% confidence intervals for the log-transformed data were acceptable range of log 0.8-log 1.25 (e.g., log 1.0048-log 1.0692 for AUC0-t, log 0.9142-log 1.0421 for $C_{max}$). Thus, $AUC_{0-t}$ and $C_{max}$ met the criteria of the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) for bioequivalence test indicating that Daewoong pregabalin capsule was bioequivalent to Lyrica$^{(R)}$ capsule.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.130-148
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• 2008

Objective : This study was designed to investigate the effect of the water extract of Gamisamgibopae-tang(GMSGBPT), an oriental herbal formulation, on the growth of NCI-H460 and A549 human non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines. Methods : Cytotoxicity and cell morphology were evaluated by MTT assay and inverted microscope, respectively. Apoptosis was detected using agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometer. The expression levels of mRNAs and proteins of target genes were determined by RT-PCR and western blot analyses, respectively Result and Conclusion : We found that exposure of A549 cells to GMSGBPT resulted in the growth inhibition in a dose-dependent manner as measured by MTT assay, but GMSGBPTdid not affect the growth of NCI-H460 cells. The anti-proliferative effect of GMSGBPT treatment in A549 cells was associated with morphological changes, formation of apoptotic bodies and DNA fragmentation, and flow cytometry analysis confirmed that GMSGBPT treatment increased the populations of apoptotic-sub G1 phase. Growth inhibition and apoptotic cell death by GMSGBPT were connected with a up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (WAF1/CIP1) mRNA and protein in a tumor suppressor p53-independent fashion. However GMSGBPT treatment did not affect other growth regulation-related genes such as early growth response-1 (Egr-1), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-activated gene-1 (NAG-1), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenases (COXs), telomere-regulatory factors in A549 orNCI-H460 cells. Taken together, these findings partially provide novel insights into the possible molecular mechanism of the anti-cancer activity of GMSGBPT.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the major complications of chronic hyperglycaemia affecting normal kidney functioning. The ayurvedic medicine curcumin (CUR) is pharmaceutically accepted for its vast biological effects. Objectives: The Curcuma-derived diferuloylmethane compound CUR, loaded on Poly (lactide-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles was utilized to combat DN-induced renal apoptosis by selectively targeting and modulating Bcl2. Methods: Upon in silico molecular docking and screening study CUR was selected as the core phytocompound for nanoparticle formulation. PLGA-nano-encapsulated-curcumin (NCUR) were synthesized following standard solvent displacement method. The NCUR were characterized for shape, size and other physico-chemical properties by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy studies. For in vivo validation of nephro-protective effects, Mus musculus were pre-treated with CUR at a dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. and NCUR at a dose of 25 mg/kg b.w. (dose 1), 12.5 mg/kg b.w (dose 2) followed by alloxan administration (100 mg/kg b.w) and serum glucose levels, histopathology and immunofluorescence study were conducted. Results: The in silico study revealed a strong affinity of CUR towards Bcl2 (dock score -10.94 Kcal/mol). The synthesized NCUR were of even shape, devoid of cracks and holes with mean size of ~80 nm having -7.53 mV zeta potential. Dose 1 efficiently improved serum glucose levels, tissue-specific expression of Bcl2 and reduced glomerular space and glomerular sclerosis in comparison to hyperglycaemic group. Conclusion: This study essentially validates the potential of NCUR to inhibit DN by reducing blood glucose level and mitigating glomerular apoptosis by selectively promoting Bcl2 protein expression in kidney tissue.