• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.111-122
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• 2019

The mulberry tree (Morus alba L.) has been traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat inflammatory diseases. We investigated the effects of bioconversion on different components of the mulberry tree, and determined changes in the physiological activities. Ethyl acetate-soluble fractions of five different segments (fruit, Mori Fructus; leaf, Mori Folium; twig, Mori Ramulus; root, Mori Cortex; and mistletoe, Loranthi Ramulus) of the mulberry tree show enhanced anti-oxidant effects in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylvenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays, and enhanced anti-inflammatory effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 macrophages, after being treated with a crude enzyme extract from Aspergillus kawachii, in the following order of activity: Mori Folium>Mori Cortex>Mori Ramulus>Mori Fructus>Loranthi Ramulus. Ethyl acetate- soluble fraction of mulberry leaves (Mori Folium) that underwent bioconversion was most effective, and was devoid of any cytotoxicity. The fraction was also effective against mRNA expression of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, $interleukin-1{\beta}$, and interleukin-6. In addition, the fraction was effective in LPS-induced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and IKK, and $I{\kappa}B$ degradation, followed by translocation of the nuclear $factor-{\kappa}B$ from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Thus, bioconversion increased the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of the mulberry leaf.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2021

Eisenia bicyclis is known to have secondary metabolites exhibiting various biological activities. In a preliminary study, the n-hexane fraction obtained from the ethanolic extract of E. bicyclis showed higher anti-inflammatory activity than the ethyl acetate and butyl alcohol fractions based on the inhibition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 cells. Using this fraction (E. bicyclis hexane fraction, EHF), we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying its anti-inflammatory effect in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Pretreatment of the cells with up to 50 ㎍/mL EHF significantly inhibited NO and prostaglandin E₂ production as well as their responsible enzyme proteins and mRNAs, in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). Similarly, EHF markedly reduced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α as well as their mRNA levels. Nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) was strongly suppressed by EHF treatment. EHF significantly reduced the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt in LPS-stimulated cells. Moreover, EHF reduced ear edema in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced mice. These results indicate that EHF contains potent anti-inflammatory compounds, which may be used as a dietary supplement for the prevention of inflammatory diseases.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.209-218
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• 2021

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of Bifidobacteria growth promoter BE0623 and a dietary fiber supplement, which included Bifidobacterium lactis BB12, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Bifidobacterium lactis. In fermented milk containing BE0623, the viable cell count of Bifidobacteria significantly increased by about 45 to 75 times compared to the control, and the titratable acidity increased, whereas the pH decreased. All fractions obtained by isolating BE0623 had Bifidobacteria growth effect. Acacia dietary fiber is a pale yellow powder. It has a viscosity of 60 to 100 cPs and a pH between 4.1 and 5.0. Its general components are less than 10% moisture, more than 90% dietary fiber, and less than 4% ash. The optimal addition ratio of Bifidobacteria growth promoting material was determined to be 0.05%. The general components of the manufactured fermented milk were carbohydrate 17.85%, protein 3.63%, fat 3.00%, and dietary fiber 2.95%. During storage of the fermented milk for 24 days, its titratable acidity, viscosity, and sugar content all met the criteria. In addition, the viable cell counts of Bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the fermented milk were 1.7 × 10⁸ CFU·mL^-1 and 1.5 × 10⁷ CFU·mL^-1, respectively, and Escherichia coli was negative. There was no significant difference between the control group and the treatment group in the sensory evaluation of sweet, sour, weight, and flavor, and the preference for the treatment group was excellent. The acceptability of the fermented milk of the treated group according to the storage period was excellent in terms of color, flavor, and appearance.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2022

Dissolved organic matter (DOM), which changes according to various factors, is ubiquitously present from natural environments to engineered treatment systems. Only limited information is available regarding the environmental functions of DOM after bulk analyses are only applied for characterization. In this paper, latest DOM analytical techniques are briefly introduced, which include fluorescence excitation-emission matrix with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), size-exclusion chromatography with an organic carbon detector (SEC-OCD), carbon/nitrogen stable-isotope ratio, and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectroscopy (FT-ICR-MS). Recent examples of using advanced analyses to interpret the phenomena associated with DOM occurring in natural and engineered systems are presented here. Through EEM-PARAFAC, different components like protein-like, fulvic-like, and humic-like can be identified and tracked individually through the investigated systems. SEC-OCD allows researchers to quantify different size fractions. FT-ICR-MS provides thousands of molecular formulas present in bulk DOM samples. Lastly, carbon/nitrogen stable-isotope ratio offers reasonable tools for tracking the sources in environments. We also discuss the advantages and weakness of the above-mentioned characterizing tools. Specifically, they focus on single environmental factors (different sourced-DOM and interaction of sediment-pore water) or simple changes after individual treatment processes. Through collaboration with the advanced techniques later, they help the researchers to better understand environmental behaviors in aquatic systems and serve as essential tools for addressing various pending problems associated with DOM.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.265-273
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated whether Korean mistletoe (Viscum album L. var. coloratum) has anti-inflammatory effects that play key roles in the regulation of pathological mechanism of atopic dermatitis (AD). Four kinds of fractions, hexane (HX), ethyl acetate (EA), butanol (BU), and methylene chloride (MC), were used and RAW264.7 mouse macrophages and RBL-2H3 rat basophils were used to measure various inflammatory markers. EA significantly decreased mRNA expression and protein secretion levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-4 but HX did not affect these markers. In addition, BU decreased mRNA expressions of IL-4 and IL-6 whereas MC decreased IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA expressions. As a result, Korean mistletoe can show anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the secretion of cytokines related to AD, so it is thought that it will be possible to develop functional cosmetics related to this.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.249-257
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• 2022

Objectives : Aquilaria crassna is a traditional herbal medicine, which is used to treat allergies, diabetes, neurological diseases. Recently, Aquilaria crassna extracts have been reported in anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, various solvents fraction of Aquilaria crassna were investigated on various physiological activities. Methods : According to the polarity, the solvents fraction of Aquilaria crassna were confirmed through TLC, and the activities of the extracts were confirmed in anti-diabetes, anti-obesity, whitening, anti-gout, and anti-inflammation. Results : TLC results showed that ACM and ACM/E have similar patterns and most of the components were transferred to ACM/E. Treatment with ACM and ACM/E fraction were significantly decreased the generation of NO in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophage cells. Analysis of biological activities such as α-glucosidase, protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP1B), tyrosinase, xanthine oxidase (XO) and pancreatic lipase inhibition, showed that ACM and ACM/E have more inhibitory effects than other fractions. Conclusions : Therefore, the results of the present study clearly demonstrate that Aquilaria crassna and its constituents might be beneficial in the prevention or treatment of immune-regulating effects.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.79-85
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• 2013

Objectives : This study was aimed at producing emulsion by using butanol fractions of Sanguisorbae radix(SRA-B) which have high antioxidative and anti-inflammatory actions, and then evaluating stabilities of the emulsion. Methods : We measured antioxidant efficacy of SRA-B by using DPPH assay. Also, we checked the expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) by using the Western blot to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of SRA-B3. We prepared emulsion containing SRA-B3(E-SRA-B3) and analysed its particle size distribution under a microscope. Also, we performed the test for stability of the emulsion. Results : SRA-B3 showed the highest efficacy in electronic donating abilities' activity. The Western blot's results indicated that the protein expression's amount of iNOS and COX-2 in macrophage stimulated by LPS were reduced by SRA-B3 treatment. The average particle size of E-SRA-B3 was $5{\sim}6{\mu}m$ in diameter and was $6.7{\mu}m$ in a view of the particle distribution. For a period of a observation, E-SRA-B3 has not made particular changes with storage temperature. It was observed that E-SRA-B3 could preserve its stable condition without a particular difference of viscosity during 28 days. Conclusions : From the above results, it was confirmed that SRA-B3 has potentiality enough to be applied to industrialization and could be utilized as antioxidative natural materials and anti-inflammatory cosmetics.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.131-138
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• 2019

Objective : Sparassis crispa has been recognized for its therapeutic value since the late 20th century because of its high β-glucan content. Since then, researches have been conducted on the pharmacological effects but most of these are individual studies on the effects of β-glucan from S. crispa and the comprehensive reviews are lacking. The purpose of this study was to review the compounds composition and pharmacological effects of S. crispa. Methods : This review analyzes the papers about chemical and nutritional composition and pharmacological effects of S. crispa. The data in this review is based on selected papers after reviewing all studies containing the keyword "sparassis crispa" for PubMed, NDSL, and J-Stage published before February 2019. Results : S. crispa is composed of protein, lipids, and carbohydrates. Most of the compounds are carbohydrates and the highest content is β-glucan. More than 40% of the dried fruiting body of S. crispa is composed of β-glucan. In addition, it contains polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids and phthalide-based compounds. Broad spectrum of its pharmacological actions have been established which include immunomodulatory, anticancer, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, antiobesic and neuroprotective effects. Conclusion : The most studied fields have been shown to have immunomodulatory and anticancer effects by inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells and angiogenesis and increasing hematopoitic responses. Unique structure and characteristic of high molecular weight β-glucan are considered to have high immunomodulatory effects of S. crispa. And low molecular fractions or phthalides of S. crispa also have antioxidant, immunomodulatory and anticancer effects.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.644-653
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• 2024

Considering the emergence of various infectious diseases, including the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), people's attention has shifted towards immune health. Consequently, immune-enhancing functional foods have been increasingly consumed. Hence, developing new immune-enhancing functional food products is needed. Pinus densiflora pollen can be collected from the male red pine tree, which is commonly found in Korea. P. densiflora pollen extract (PDE), obtained by water extraction, contained polyphenols (216.29 ± 0.22 mg GAE/100 g) and flavonoids (35.14 ± 0.04 mg CE/100 g). PDE significantly increased the production of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) but, did not exhibit cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7 cells. Western blot results indicated that PDE induced the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. PDE also significantly increased the mRNA and protein levels of cytokines and the phosphorylation of IKKα/β and p65, as well as the activation and degradation of IκBα. Additionally, western blot analysis of cytosolic and nuclear fractions and immunofluorescence assay confirmed that the translocation of p65 to the nucleus after PDE treatment. These results confirmed that PDE increases the production of cytokines, NO, and ROS by activating NF-κB. Therefore, PDE is a promising nutraceutical candidate for immune-enhancing functional foods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1406-1415
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• 2018

Based on the antioxidative effects in organic solvent fractions obtained from the main methanolic extract of Houttuynia cordata Thunb, the cytoprotective effects by oxidative-stress were here analyzed. Regarding the antioxidant activity of organic solvent fractions, the electron-donating ability of DPPH increased in a dose-dependent manner, and $ED_{50}$ exhibited the highest concentration at $175{\mu}g/ml$ in the Hc-EtOAc fraction. The cell viability of Hc-EtOAc fractions on $H_2O_2$-induced HaCaT cell death ($IC_{50}$) increased in a concentration-dependent manner and a visible cell survival rate of 74% was observed at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/ml$. Meanwhile, the gene expression patterns in HaCaT cells treated with $100{\mu}g/ml$ of the Hc-EtOAc fraction for 6 and 24 hr were identified with microarray analysis. The genes involved in signal transduction, cell division, antioxidant activity, and epithelial cell proliferation were found to be 2-fold up-regulated genes in HaCaT cells following the Hc-EtOAc fraction treatment. Especially, proinflammatory cytokines (IL1B, TNF, and IL6) were identified as involved in antioxidant activity based on the expression patterns of the HaCaT cells, and pathway analysis indicated that TLR4 might be considered an upstream regulator of these genes. In order to verify the activity of IL1B, TNF, and IL6, qRT-PCR showed that the expression increased more than 2 times in HaCaT cells treated with at least $100{\mu}g/ml$ of the Hc-EtOAc fraction. The activity of the upstream regulator TLR4 protein was also increased by the Hc-EtOAc fraction. As a result, the antioxidative activity of the Hc-EtOAc fraction is predicted to pass from TLR4 through cytokines such as IL1B, TNF, and IL6.