• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.373-380
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• 2000

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of goat milk and fermented goat milk on reproductive function and stamina of male rodent. Methods: Experiment I: Male ICR mouse was divided into four groups. Group 1 none-treated control; Group 2 received saline; Group 3 received cow milk 10 ml/kg per day for 15 days; Group 4 received goat milk 10 ml/kg per day for 15 days. The cauda epididymal sperm motility and testicular sperm production were investigated. Experiment II: Male SD rat was divided into three groups. Group 1 received saline; Group 2 received goat milk 10 ml/kg per day for 28 days; Group 3 received fermented goat milk 10 ml/kg per day for 28 days. The cauda epididymal sperm motility and testicular sperm production were also investigated. The concentration of testosterone in serum at 1 and 3 weeks after treatment was determined using Immulite 2000 kit. Testes, epididymis, prostate, and seminal vesicle were weighed. Experiment III: Male ICR mouse was divided into four groups. Group 1 none-treated control; Group 2 received saline; Group 3 received goat milk 10 ml/kg per day for 4 weeks; Group 4 received fermented goat milk 10 ml/kg per day for 4 weeks. After treatment, the mouse was forced to swim to test for stamina. Results: In Experiment I, the cauda epididymal sperm motility after in vitro culture for 1 or 3 h was significantly (p<0.05) higher in cow milk and goat milk than in the control and saline. There was no significant difference in the cauda epidymal sperm motility between cow and goat milk. The testicular spermatid number was significantly (p<0.01) higher in goat milk (222.8${\times}10^6$) than in the control (108.6), saline (98.2), and cow milk (118.2). In Experiment II, the cauda epididymal sperm motility after in vitro culture for 1 h was significantly (p<0.05) higher in fermented goat milk than in saline and goat milk. There was no significant difference in the cauda epidymal sperm motility between saline and goat milk but goat milk showed slightly higher sperm motility than saline. After in vitro culture for 3 h, the cauda epididymal sperm motility was significantly (p<0.01) higher in fermented goat milk and goat milk than in saline. The testicular spermatid number was significantly (p<0.05) higher in goat milk than in saline, and significantly (p<0.01) higher in fermented goat milk than in saline. And the serum testosterone levels of rats administered with goat milk or fermented goat milk were increased but were no significant difference among three groups. Also the prostate weight was significantly (p<0.05) increased in the goat and fermented goat milk. In Experiment III, the swimming time in the goat milk and fermented goat milk groups was significantly (p<0.01) longer than in the control and saline. There was no significant difference in the swimming time between goat and fermented goat milk but the fermented goat milk showed slightly longer swimming time than the goat milk. Conclusion: The cauda epididymal sperm motility, the testicular spermatid number and stamina were improved when the mice and rats were drunk with goat milk or fermented goat milk.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1415-1421
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of an L-arginine supplementation and regular exercise training on NF-${\kappa}B$, TNF-${\alpha}$, iNOS, Cav-1, eNOS and Ang II in the aortas of D-galactose (D-gal) induced aging rats. The male Strague-Dawley rats were treated with a D-galactose aging inducing agent; the D-gal injection (50 mg/kg) was given intraperitoneally for 12 wk. Experimental groups were divided into five groups: (1) Young control group (Y-Con, n=8), (2) Aging control group (A-Con, n=8), (3) Aging exercise group (A-Ex, n=8), (4) Aging exercise group with L-arginine supplementation group (A-Ex+A, n=8), and (5) Aging with L-arginine supplementation group (A-A, n=8). The exercise consisted of running on a treadmill for 60 min/day at 20 m/min for 6 day/wk, at 0% gradient for 12 wk. The L-arginine supplementation was given orally at a dose of 150 mg/kg/day for 12 wk. The findings of this study were as follows: 1. NF-${\kappa}B$, TNF-${\alpha}$, iNOS, Cav-1 and Ang II proteins in the aortas of D-gal induced rats were significantly increased, however, L-arginine supplementation and regular exercise resulted in a significant inhibition in the expression of NF-${\kappa}B$, TNF-${\alpha}$, iNOS, Cav-1 and Ang II proteins. 2. eNOS protein in the aortas of D-gal induced rats was significantly decreased, however, L-arginine supplementation and regular exercise resulted in a significant increase in the expression of eNOS proteins. In conclusion, the findings of the present study reveal that L-arginine supplementation alone or regular exercise alone or in combination with L-arginine supplementation for 12 wk increases anti-inflammatory effects by decreasing NF-${\kappa}B$, TNF-${\alpha}$, and iNOS protein expressions within the aortic tissue. In addition, L-arginine supplementation alone or regular exercise alone or in combination with L-arginine supplementation may prevent endothelial function by up-regulation of eNOS protein in the aortas of D-gal induced aging rats.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.310-318
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate anti-arthritis activity using natural eggshell membrane (NEM). Methods: NEM was administered at 52 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg to SD-Rat, where arthritis was induced by monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) at 3 mg. NO production in serum was measured using Griess reagent. Cytokines including IL-$1{\beta}$, and IL-6 were measured by Luminex and $PGE_2$, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, $LTB_4$, and hs-CRP were measured by ELISA. The cartilage of patella volume was examined and 3-D high-resolution reconstructions of the cartilage of patella were obtained using a Micro-CT system. Results: Production of NO, IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, $PGE_2$, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, $LTB_4$, and hs-CRP in serum was decreased, respectively, in comparison with control. The cartilage of patella volume increased significantly. In addition, the NEM group showed a decrease in the cartilage of patella, synovial membrane, and transformation of fibrous tissue. Conclusion: The results for NEM showed significant anti-arthritis activity. These results may be developed as a raw material for new health food to ease the symptoms mentioned above.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.296-302
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• 2002

This study was designed to investigate the effects of a butanol extract of pine needles (Pinus densiflora Sieb et Zucc) on lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in rats. Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into four groups over a 45 days study period: the control group on a basic diet, and three experimental groups on three different dietary levels of the butanol fraction, specifically 25 mg (BuOH-25), 50 mg (BuOH-50), and 100 mg (BuOH-100) butanol fraction/kg body weight/day, thereby 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.1% of butanol extract of pine needles was added to basic diet respectively. At the end of the experimental period, body weights and food intakes were food intakes were not different among the four groups. Total and LDL-cholesterol levels were markedly decreased in the BuOH-25, BuOH-50, and BuOH-100 groups, respectively, as follows: 12.8%, 19.1% and 21.6% reductions in total cholesterol; and 10.2%, 15.6% and 23.7% reductions in LDL-cholesterol. However, HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly increased (by approximately 20%) in the serum of the BuOH-100 group only, compared with the control and other experimental groups. Atherogenic indices were also markedly decreased in the three experimental groups, by 24.8%, 30.4% and 36.2%, for each of the BuOH-25, BuOH-50, and BuOH-100 groups, respectively, compared with the control group. The levels of the hydroxyl radical (·OH) and of lipid peroxide (LPO) in the serum of the three experimental groups were significantly reduced, by 9.8%, 19.7% and 21.2%; and by 13.3%, 13.3% and 16.7%, for the BuOH-25, BuOH-50, and BuOH-100 groups, respectively Significant increases in serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) were observed in the BuOH-50 and BuOH-100 groups; specifically, 12.1% in the BuOH-50 group and 23.3% in the BuOH-100 group, compared with the control group. Significant increases in catalase (CAT) avtivities, of 24.7% in the BuOH-50 group and 29.2% in the BuOH-100 group, were also observed, compared to the control group. These results suggest that a butanol extract of pine needles could inhibit chronic degenerative disease through improving lipid metabolism, and could also effectively modulate the aging process attenuating oxidative stress.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.385-398
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• 2002

The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether stromal cells supporting specific microenvironment for hematopoiesis of bone marrow are affected by toxicants and therapeutic drugs such as antibiotics and anticancer drugs and whether laminin-1 is associated with such effects. SD rats were intraperitoneally injected with 75 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide which is widely used to treat infant's solid tumor, leukemia and myeloma and sacrificed after 3 days, 1 week, 3 weeks or 5 weeks of injection. The bone marrow extracted and paraffin-sectioned was analyzed using immunohistochemical staining. A part of tissues was subjected to electron microscopy following reaction with rabbit anti-laminin antibody, biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG conjugated with 12 nm gold particles, and staining with uranyl acetate. 1. The bone marrow tissue at day 3 post injection with cyclophosphamide displayed dilated venous sinus, partial necrotic death, and decreased number of hematopoietic cells. Laminin-1 was intensively stained in the reticular and adipose tissues. 2. Up to 5 weeks post injection, laminin-1 was stained at a low level in the stromal tissue of bone marrow and the number of hematopoietic cell was increased. 3. Deposition of the gold particle which represents laminin-1 expression was observed at the highest level in the stromal cells of bone marrow obtained 3 days after injection, and decreased after 1 to 5 weeks. These results suggest that stromal cells which play a role in supporting microenvironment for bone marrow hematopoiesis augment induction of laminin-1 expression and activation upon administration of cyclophosphamide.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.373-383
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• 2011

Tributyltin (TBT) is one of endocrine disrupters which are known as having similar function to sex steroid hormone inducing apoptosis in various tissues of rodents. Recently, it has been reported that TBT induces apoptosis in thymus causing the decreased thymic function, but little is known about the mechanism. To elucidate the mechanism, three-week-old SD female rats were orally administrated with TBT 1, 10, and 25 mg per body weight (kg) and sesame oil as a control for 7 days. On day 8, the thymi were obtained and weighed, and then the number of thymocytes was counted. We also performed H&E staining, TUNEL assay, and Annexin V flow cytometric analysis to examine the apoptosis rates and the structure in the thymus. Next, we investigated the adipogenesis and apoptosis-related mRNA expression levels in the thymi by real-time PCR. The thymic weight and the number of thymocytes were decreased by TBT in a dose-dependent manner. As a result of the H&E staining, the boundary between cortical and medullary area was blurred in the thymi of TBT treated rats compared to those of controls. In the results of TUNEL assay and Annexin V flow cytometric analysis, apoptosis rates in the thymus were increased after TBT treatment. The expression levels of thymic epithelial cell marker genes such as EVA, KGF, AIRE, and IL-7 were significantly decreased in the thymi of TBT treated rats, but $PPAR{\gamma}$, aP2, PEPCK, and CD36 were significantly increased. The expression of $TNF{\alpha}$ and TNFR1 as apoptosis-related genes also was significantly increased after TBT treatment. The present study demonstrates that TBT can increase the expression of adipogenesis and apoptosis-related genes leading to apoptosis in the thymus. These results suggest that the increased adipogenesis of thymus by TBT exposure might induce apoptosis in the thymus resulting in a loss in thymic immune function.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2007

Ethane 1,2-dimethane sulfonate(EDS), a toxin which specifically kills Leydig cells(LC), has been widely used to prepare the reversible testosterone(T) depletion rat model. In the present study, we monitored the gene expression profiles of pituitary gonadotropins, LH and FSH, up to 7 weeks after EDS injection. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats($300{\sim}350\;g$ B.W.) were injected with a single dose of EDS(75 mg/kg i.p.) and sacrificed on weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Total RNAs were purified from each pituitary, and the message levels of common alpha subunit($C{\alpha}$) of pituitary glycoprotein hormones, LH beta subunit($LH{\beta}$), FSH beta subunit($FSH{\beta}$) and GnRH receptor(GnRH-R) were evaluated by semi-quantitative RT-PCRs. The message levels of $C{\alpha}$ increased sharply during weeks 1-4, then return to the control level on week 5. The mRNA levels of $LH{\beta}$ were elevated after week 2, reached the peak at week 4, then declined to the control level after week 5. The message levels of $FSH{\beta}$ were elevated after week 2, reached the peak at week 3, then declined to the nadir at week 5. Similarly, the mRNA levels of GnRH-R were elevated after week 2, reached the peak at week 3, then gradually declined to the control level after week 5. The present study indicated that EDS treatment could induce reversible alterations in the transcriptional activities of gonadotropin subunits and GnRH-R in the anterior pituitary from male rats. EDS injection model might be useful to understand the mechanism of hormonal regulation of hypothalamus- pituitary neuroendocrine axis in male rats.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.1411-1416
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• 2011

In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity activity of Aceriphyllum rossii ethanol extract on rat fed a high fat diet. Male SD rats were divided into four groups. Group 1 was the control. Group 2 was fed a high-fat diet. Group 3 was the positive control, fed a high-fat diet supplemented with Garcinia Cambogia extracts. Group 4 was fed a high fat diet supplemented with ethanol extracts of Aceriphyllum rossii (EEAR). Precisely 166 mg/kg of powdered Garcinia Cambogia extracts was used for Group 3. Also, 250 mg/kg of EEAR was used for Group 4. The Body weight increased Group 2, but decreased Group 4. The serum total cholesterol in Group 2 increased by 15.26% when compared to Group 1, but only increased 5.29% in Group 3 and 4.29% in Group 4. The liver and mesenteric adipose tissue weights of Group 2 increased compared to Group 1, whereas they decreased in Group 3 and Group 4. As a result of measuring the concentration of triglycerides in extracted livers, Group 2 showed a significant increase compared to the Group 1, and Groups 3 and 4 showed significant decrease compared Group 2. These results suggest that Aceriphyllum rossii ethanol extracts may be useful as an anti-obesity agent.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.1016-1023
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to identify the inhibitory effect of hepatic toxicity and liver lipid metabolism after administration of Artemisia capillaris and Paecilomyces japonica. Along with the control, SD rats were divided into ethanol treated group with subgroups of 6% Artemisia capillaries (6A), 4% Artemisia capillaris+2% Paecilomyces japonica (4A2P), 3% Artemisia capillaris+3% Paecilomyces japonica (3A3P), 2% Artemisia capillaris+4% Paecilomyces japonica (2A4P) and 6% Paecilomyces japonica (6P). In this study we also intended to verify the optimum ratio of Artemisia capillaris and Paecilomyces japonica which can reduce hepatotoxicity. Artemisia capillaris and Paecilomyces japonica reduced cholesterol and triglyceride levels which were increased by ethanol. Total-cholesterol level was decreased the most in the groups of 4A2P and 3A3P. On the other hand, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was enhanced significantly (p<0.05). Malondialdehyde (MDA) activity was decreased significantly (p<0.05) in the subgroup of 6A and 4A2P. When the ratio of Artemisia capillaris and Paecilomyces japonica was 2:1, the improvement of the rat serum and liver lipid metabolism and the alleviation of hepatic damage by ethanol were the most effective in this study. Therefore, it can be considered that the symptoms of severe chemically induced hepatotoxicity could be reduced by Artemisia capillaris and Paecilomyces japonica administration.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.10
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• pp.1102-1111
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• 2008

Purpose : Resveratrol, extracted from red wine and grapes, has an anti-cancer effect, an antiinflammatory effect, and an antioxidative effect mainly in heart disease and also has neuroprotective effects in the adult animal model. No studies for neuroprotective effects during the neonatal periods have been reported. Therefore, we studied the neuroprotective effect of resveratrol on hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonatal rats via anti-apoptosis. Methods : Embryonic cortical neuronal cell culture of rat brain was performed using pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 18 days of gestation (E18) for the in vitro approach. We injured the cells with hypoxia and administered resveratrol (1, 10, and $30{\mu}g/mL$) to the cells at 30 minutes before hypoxic insults. In addition, unilateral carotid artery ligation with hypoxia was induced in 7-day-old neonatal rats for the in vivo approach. We injected resveratrol (30 mg/kg) intraperitoneally into animal models. Real-time PCR and Western blotting were performed to identify the neuroprotective effects of resveratrol through anti-apoptosis. Results : In the in vitro approach of hypoxia, the expression of Bax, caspase-3, and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, indicators of the level of apoptosis, were significantly increased in the hypoxia group compared to the normoxia group. In the case of the resveratrol-treated group, expression was significantly decreased compared to the hypoxia group. And the results in the in vivo approach were the same as in the in vitro approach. Conclusion : The present study demonstrates that resveratrol plays neuroprotective role in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage during neonatal periods through the mechanism of anti-apoptosis.