• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.655-661
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• 2007

Malignant melanoma is rare in Asians and one of the poorer prognostic diseases. Malignant melanoma accounts for only a small ratio of all skin cancers, but it causes the greatest number of skin cancer - related deaths worldwide. Melanoma incidence has continued to increase worldwide and in Korea, like other countries, the number of patients has increased compared with previous cancer incidence data. In this case report, we describe a case of a malignant melanoma patient who showed neck node metastasis (right supraclavicular area) after wide excision of facial melanoma 2 years before the diagnosis of relapse. The patient refused to get conventional western medical treatment including chemotherapy and the size of cancer increased over the 5 months of clinical follow-up. After 4 months of traditional Korean medical treatment using allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes(A-RVS), however, the size of cancer mass decreased and the patient showed no side effects. Further study will be needed in order to determine the long-term effect of allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes on patients with malignant melanoma.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2011

Skin contact allergy (SCA) is not life-threatening, but a large number of people have been suffered from the reactions caused by various kinds of chemicals and products. Thus, in this study, radiation technology was employed to improve the traditional herb addition method on the SCA reduction of Rhus verniciflua sap (RVS). Rhus verniciflua has traditionally been used as an herbal medicine plant, but its urushiol derivatives are known as a major allergen for the SCA. The present study was commenced to assess the allergenicity of both gamma-irradiated and non-irradiated RVS by using guinea-pig maximization test (GPMT) in order to probe the mechanism of an SCA. In the acute dermal irritation assays, non-irradiated RVS caused erythema, but the irradiated RVS did not provoke any erythema on the abdominal skin of the guinea pigs. From the result of the GPMT, urushiols, the main chemical components of RVS, were identified as an extreme skin sensitizer, and the removal of urushiols by irradiation extremely reduced the erythema. These results suggest that radiation technology is a novel method to reduce SCA through the removal of urushiols of RVS.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.71-78
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• 2019

Objective : The purpose of the study was to identify expression profiling of miRNAs associated with cancers after treating allergen-removed Rhus Verniciflua Stokes and allergen-removed Rhus Verniciflua Stokes fumigaed Angelica gigas on leukemia cell lines. Methods : miRNA expression has been analyzed using miRNA array method through denaturation and hybridization after isolating the total RNA from leukemic cell line treated with 100 ㎍/㎖ of aRVS and aRVS-A each. Microarray expressions were interpreted as 'significant' on miRNAs when decreased less than 0.5 fold or increased more than 1.5 fold compared with the control group. Results : Among 158 miRNAs in total, 32 miRNAs were significantly presented in miRNAs expression. miRNA has been activated with a variety of genes for predicted targets, and the overexpressed miRNAs were categorized according to proliferation and metastasis of cancer in this study. The findings were reported that seven miRNAs (let-7b, miR-193a-5p, 296-3p, 26a, 22, 124a, 92b) showed significant expressions on proliferation and growth, seven miRNAs (miR-193a-5p, 26a, 200c, 183, 124a, 198, 210) presented meaningful expressions on invasion and metastasis, two miRNAs (let-7b, miR-210) were highly expressed on angiogenesis, five miRNAs (let-7b, miR-26a, 181d, 181c, 296-5p) related with apoptosis, and six miRNAs (let-7b, miR-200c, 183, 370, 124a, 191) were associated with prognosis of cancer and early diagnostic factors for cancer. Conclusion : The mechanism of miRNA takes a role in diagnosis, treatment, and prognotic factors for cancer as well. This study suggested that further detailed research on overexpression of specific miRNA should be carried out continuously in the future.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.855-863
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• 1999

To develop new natural antioxidants, antioxidative activity of ethanol (75%) extracts from 50 edible or medicinal plants were examined on lard and palm oil by Rancimat method ($120^{\circ}C$, 20 L/hr). The extracts from Rhus verviciflua STOKES showed comparatively strong antioxidative activity on test. Of the solvents used for extraction, chloroform extract exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity. AI (antioxidant index: induction period of oil containing extract/induction period of control oil) of chloroform extract was higher than that of commercial antioxidant, such as BHT, BHA and ${\delta}-tocopherol$. Free phenolic acid fraction (200 ppm) of the chloroform extract from 75% EtOH extract of Rhus verniciflua STOKES (RCF) showed stronger activity than that of BHT, BHA, and ${\delta}-tocopherol$ at the same concentration. RCF-11 and RCF-13 fractions separated by silicagel column chromatography from the RCF showed stronger activity than other fractions by the Rancimat method.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.374-379
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• 2020

The white-spotted flower chafer (Protaetia brevitarsis) larva is one of the insects widely-used for edible and medicinal purposes in Eastern Asia. As a result of increasing demand for P. brevitarsis, massrearing systems in domestic farms have become necessary. However, the mass-rearing of larvae under confined rearing conditions could provide conditions unsuitable for preventing entomopathogenic diseases. Metarhizium anisopliae is the strongest fatal entomopathogenic fungus against P. brevitarsis. For inhibition of M. anisopliae, we used a Rhus verniciflua Stokes extract that has antifungal components. We investigated the inhibitory effect of the R. verniciflua extract at 1%, 5%, and 10% concentrations. The results showed that a 1% R. verniciflua extract added to sawdust produced a significantly low P. brevitarsis mortality rate. Moreover, extract-treated groups were heavier and had a shorter larval period than those of the untreated group. Consequently, we suggest that using an R. verniciflua extract can reduce the P. brevitarsis fatality rate from entomopathogenic fungi (e.g. M. anisopliae), resulting in more effective mass-rearing systems for P. brevitarsis.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2013

Rhus verniciflua Stokes (Anacadiaceae) is a plant that is native to East Asian countries, such as Korea, China, and Japan, and it has been found to exert various biological activities including antioxidative, anti-aggregatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, and apoptotic effects. Sulfuretin is one of the major flavonoid component isolated from the heartwood of R. verniciflua. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), produced via dental adhesive bleaching agents and pulpal disease, can cause oxidative stress. In the present study, we isolated sulfuretin from R. verniciflua and demonstrated that sulfuretin possesses cytoprotective effects against hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced dental cell death. $H_2O_2$ is a representative ROS and causes cell death through necrosis in human dental pulp (HDP) cells. $H_2O_2$-induced cytotoxicity and production of ROS were blocked in the presence of sulfuretin, and these effects were dose dependent. Sulfuretin also increased heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protein expression. In addition, to determine whether sulfuretin-induced HO-1 expression mediated this cytoprotective effect, HDP cells were cotreated with sulfuretin in the absence or presence of SnPP, an inhibitor of HO activity. Sulfuretin-dependent HO-1 expression was required for suppression of $H_2O_2$-induced HDP cell death and ROS generation. These results indicate that sulfuretin-dependent HO-1 expression was required for the inhibition of $H_2O_2$-induced cell death and ROS generation. In addition, sulfuretin may be used to prevent functional dental cell death and thus may be useful as a pulpal disease agent.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.98-103
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• 2014

Objectives: Advanced malignant melanoma (MM) has a poor prognosis, with an expected 2-year survival rate of 10 to 20%. It has long been recognized as an immunogenic tumor, and is worse for elderly patients. Many studies have suggested that herbal treatments improve immune functions, but few clinical studies have reported on this topic. Patients and History: We present two cases of female patients (72 and 77 years old, respectively) with advanced MM. The 72-year-old female patient was, at first, diagnosed with MM with multiple bone metastases. She received resection of the primary lesion, but refused further chemotherapy. The 77-year-old female patient was diagnosed with cutaneous MM of the left heel, with suspicion of sentinel node lymphadenopathy; however, she also refused any conventional treatment due to old age. Course of Therapy and Results: Both patients were exclusively treated with standardized allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua stokes (aRVS) extract combined with Bojungikki-tang (BT, Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang in Chinese or Hochu-ekki-to in Japanese). Both patients are still alive and doing well (Feb. 2014), demonstrating that the 72-year-old patient has lived for 27 months and the 77-year-old patient has lived for 31 months without disease progression since the aRVS and BT administration. Conclusion: We suggest that the combination of aRVS extract and BT could be a candidate for overcoming the cancer's immunoediting process especially for elderly MM patients intolerant of conventional treatment.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.156-160
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• 2008

The methanolic extract of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS-T) and its fractions (RVS-H, RVS-C, RVS-E and RVS-B) showed significant neuroprotective activity against glutamate-induced toxicity in primary cultures of rat cortical cells. RVS-B, which showed the most potent neuroprotective activity, was further fractionated to yield RVS-B5. Treatment of cortical cells with the RVS-T, RVS-B and RVS-B5 reduced the cellular ROS level and restored the reduced activities of glutathione reductase and SOD induced by glutamate. Although, the activity of glutathione peroxidase was not virtually changed by glutamate, RVS-B5 increased the glutathione peroxidase activity. In addition, these three tested fractions significantly restored the content of GSH which was decreased by glutamate insult in our cultures. Taken together, it could be postulated that RVS extract, in particular its fraction RVS-B5, protected neuronal cells against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity through acting on the antioxidative defense system.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.527-531
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• 2001

In order to isolate antioxidant substances from Rhus verniciflua (RV) , the dried stem bark was extracted with water. The crude water extracts was purified by using HPLC method with a DEAE (anionic type) , CN and ODS column. The purified compound remained stable at pH 3.0∼6.0. but unstable above pH 6.5. It was stable at 100$^{\circ}C$ for 4 hours, but still had about 80% of residual activity after treatment at 100$^{\circ}C$ for 5 hours. In antimicrobial test, no inhibition was observed against Gram-positive and negative bacteria. This compound was stronger than that of commercial antioxidant showed that DPPH test, such as BHT, BHC at the same concentration (20 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml) .

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.34 no.4 s.135
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• pp.339-343
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• 2003

We investigated the effects of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) on high fat diet- induced obesity in C57BL/6 that received ad libitum exposure to a high fat diet for 8 weeks. Male C57BL/6 mice weighing $20.1{\pm}0.95\;g$ were divided into four groups and the body weight and food intake were weighed for 8 weeks. After the administration of RVS extract, the liver, subcutaneous and retroperitoneal adipose tissue in the mice were weighed and common blood count in whole blood and biochemical parameters in plasma were measured. It was founded that body weight increase was significantly suppressed by the oral administration of RVS extract in group with high fat diet. Weight of subcutaneous adipose tissue and concentration of triglyceride in plasma from mice which were administrated RVS extract were lower than obesity control group. These results suggest that RVS extract may effect on inhibition of diet-induced obesity.