• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.49-56
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• 2015

Objectives: Anaphylactic shock can be fatal to people who become hypersensitive when bee venom pharmacopuncture (BVP) is used. Thus, sweet bee venom (SBV) was developed to reduce these allergic responses. SBV is almost pure melittin, and SBV has been reported to have fewer allergic responses than BVP. BVP has been administered only into acupoints or intramuscularly, but we thought that intravenous injection might be possible if SBV were shown to be a safe medium. The aim of this study is to evaluate the intravenous injection toxicity of SBV through a single-dose test in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Methods: Male and female 6-week-old SD rats were injected intravenously with SBV (high dosage: 1.0 mL/animal; medium dosage: 0.5 mL/animal; low dosage: 0.1 mL/animal). Normal saline was injected into the control group in a similar method. We conducted clinical observations, body weight measurements, and hematology, biochemistry, and histological observations. Results: No death was observed in any of the experimental groups. Hyperemia was observed in the high and the medium dosage groups on the injection day, but from next day, no general symptoms were observed in any of the experimental groups. No significant changes due to intravenous SBV injection were observed in the weights, in the hematology, biochemistry, and histological observations, and in the local tolerance tests. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm that the lethal dose of SBV is over 1.0 mL/animal in SD rats and that the intravenous injection of SBV is safe in SD rats.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.8-20
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• 2015

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacopuncture in the treatment of acute peripheral facial paralysis (APFP) through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to assess the clinical evidence for pharmacopuncture as a treatment for PFP. Methods: Literature was searched using databases. The search terms used were "pharmacopuncture," "sweet BV," "apipuncture," "apitoxin," "injection acupuncture," and "herbal acupuncture" in English and "bongchim," "bongyakchim," and "yakchim" in Korean. The RevMan 5.2 program was used for meta-analysis. Results: In all, 1902 studies were screened and the full texts of 219 articles were reviewed. Of these, nine studies were included in the systematic review and nine studies were included in the meta-analysis. Treatments utilizing bee venom, sweet bee venom (SBV), Soyeom, Calculus Bovis Fel Ursi Moschus (BUM), Hominis Placenta, and Suseunghwagang (SSHG) were observed in nine RCTs. In the forest plot, the diamond favors the PA treatment against the control treatment. (95% CI: 0.34 [0.08, 0.60], Z = 2.57, P = 0.01), which Our meta-analysis in RevMan 5.2 confirmed the significant efficacy of PA in treating APFP. Conclusion: Our systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that treatments using Soyeom, bee venom, and BUM are effective in APFP and they reduce the duration of postauricular pain occurring at the acute stage of APFP. However, due to small effect size, further investigation is needed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.79-97
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• 2010

Background: Peripheral nerve injuries are commonly encountered clinical problems and often result in severe functional deficit. Bee venom acupuncture has traditionally been used to treat several inflammatory diseases and chronic pain conditions. Objectives: The aims of this study were to compare the effects of bee venom (general bee venom, BV) and sweet bee venom (allergen-removed bee venom, SBV) acupuncture on the recovery rate of locomotor function, the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the sciatic nerve, and the expression of c-Fos in the brain following sciatic crushed nerve injury in rats, and to evaluate differences due to administration areas. Method: Walking track analysis, Western blot for BDNF and tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB), and immunohistochemistry for c-Fos were performed. In this study, comparative analyses of the effects of BV and SBV acupuncture in relation to administration sites, contralateral side or ipsilateral side, were conducted. Results: In the present result, sciatic function index (SFI) in walking track analysis significantly decreased following sciatic crushed nerve injury. The expressions of BDNF and TrkB in the sciatic nerve increased after induction of sciatic crushed nerve injury. C-Fos expression in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN) also increased. BV and SBV acupuncture treatment improved the SFI in walking track analysis. Treatment with SBV at 1mg/kg showed more potent enhancing effect on SFI compared to BV. Treatment with 1mg/kg BV or 1mg/kg SBV acupuncture suppressed the BDNF and TrkB expression in the sciatic nerve. BV and SBV acupuncture treatment also suppressed c-Fos expression in the PVN and vlPAG regions. Treatment with SBV at 1mg/kg showed more potent suppressing effect on c-Fos expression compared to BV when injected into the contralateral side of the injured nerve. Generally we could not find significant difference in the effects between contralateral side and ipsilateral side of the injured nerve. Conclusion: We have shown that BV and SBV acupuncture treatment can be used as the effective therapeutic modality to ameliorate the symptoms of sciatic crushed nerve injury.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2009

Objectives : This study is to report the effect of Pharmacopuncture therapy on a patient suffering from the pain and cold intolerance of hand caused by Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon. Methods : We had treated the patient diagnosed as Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon by Sweet BV and CF pharmacopuncture. We injected Sweet BV and CF into acupuncture points on both hands - Sweet BV into Baxie (EX-UE9), CF into Naegwan ($PC_6$) and Daereung ($PC_7$). And then we evaluated her symptoms by VAS (Visual Analog Scale). Results : Clinical symptoms about Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon were remarkably improved by Sweet BV and CF Pharmacopuncture. Conclusion : Therefore, we concluded that pharmacopuncture therapy - Sweet BV, CF etc. - may be useful to treat Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.74-77
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report a case of a plexiform neurofibroma (PNF) in the pelvic region treated with sweet bee venom (SBV) and mountain ginseng pharmacopuncture (MGP). Methods: A 16-year-old girl was diagnosed as having PNFs, neurofibromatosis type 1, 10 years ago and she had surgery three times to remove the benign tumors, but the growth of the PNFs continued. She has been treated in our clinic with SBV and MGP two times per month from March 2010 to April 2014. SBV was injected intra-subcutaneously at the borders of the PNFs in the pelvic region, and MGP was administrated intravenously each treatment time. Results: The growths of the PNFs occurred rapidly and continued steadily before treatment. Since March 2010, she has been treated in our clinic, and the growths of the PNFs have almost stopped; further-more, the discomfort of hip joint pain has been reduced, and her general condition has improved. Conclusion: We cautiously conclude that SBV and MGP treatment has some effects that suppress the growth and the spread of the PNFs in this patient.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.54-62
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• 2020

Objectives : Acute low back pain syndrome causes pain and poor quality of life. There are various studies of SBV (Sweet bee venom) pharmacopuncture, but few have identified the therapeutic effects for patients unable to walk due to acute back pain. This case series report three cases of acute low back pain syndrome treated with SBV pharmacopuncture combined with Korean Medicine (KM) treatments. Methods : Three acute low back pain syndrome patients with no other acute abnormalities in the imaging were treated by KM treatments including SBV pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine and physical therapy. The improvement of symptoms was evaluated using Numerical rating scale (NRS), Oswestry disability Index (ODI), EuroQol-5 dimension index (EQ-5D) and EuroQol-visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS). Results : Patients who were unable to walk due to acute back pain were able to walk. There were significant improvements of NRS, ODI, EQ-5D and EQ-VAS after treatment. The patients experienced an average 90% decrease in low back pain after inpatient KM treatment for about 8 days. NRS decreased by an average of 78.9%, ODI decreased by an average of 49.4%, and EQ-VAS increased by an average of 92.6%. In the case 1, EQ-5D decreased in all categories, but in the case 2, it decreased in all categories except for pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, but in the case 3, it decreased in all categories except anxiety/depression. There was no serious side effect after treatment of SBV pharmacopuncture. Conclusions : KM treatments including SBV pharmacopuncture may be effective for acute low back pain syndrome patients. However, randomized controlled trials are needed in the future to confirm the clinical effects of these interventions.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.140-151
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• 2021

The aim of this study is to report the effectiveness of a traditional Korean medicine treatment for oculomotor nerve palsy induced by traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. A 54-year-old male patient with oculomotor nerve palsy induced by traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage after a traffic accident was treated with Korean medicine, including acupuncture, electroacupuncture, sweet bee venom pharmacoacupuction, moxibustion, and herbal medicine. The effect of treatment on symptoms - ptosis, and eye movement - was evaluated using a ratio of eye opening and eye movement between the paralyzed eye and the normal eye. After 41 days of treatment, the clinical symptoms had improved. The ptosis and eye movement started to show improvement from day 20; at the time of discharge, ptosis had improved by more than 50%, and eye movement showed some improvement as well. This study suggests that Korean medicine may be an effective treatment for oculomotor nerve palsy induced by traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.15-21
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the current trends in research on pharmacopuncture in Korea since 2007. Methods: A literature review was performed by using the search engines 'Science and Technology Society Village', 'Korean Studies Information Service System', 'National Discovery for Science Leaders', and 'Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System' in Korea from January 2007 to December 2013. Searched key words were 'pharmacopuncture', 'herbal acupuncture', 'aqua-acupuncture', and 'bee venom'. Finally, we selected 457 papers, including Korean experimental studies and clinical studies. Selected papers were classified according to year of publication, type of pharmacopuncture, disease & topic, research type and the publishing journal. Results: One hundred fifty pharmacopunctures were studied in 457 papers. Single compound pharmacopuncture was the most studied pharmacopuncture in experimental studies while animal-based pharmacopuncture was the most studied pharmacopuncture in clinical studies. Bee venom placed first among the various pharmacopunctures, followed by placenta, sweet bee venom, mountain-ginseng, and anti-inflammatory pharmacopunctures. Experimental research on pharmacopuncture has fallen since 2007 when 55 papers were published. However, clinical research has been increasing steadily. In clinical studies, case reports were numerous than randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Musculoskeletal diseases were the most frequently-treated diseases in studies on pharmacopuncture; among the musculoskeletal diseases, rheumatoid arthritis was the most frequently-treated disease in experimental studies and low back pain was the most frequently-treated condition in clinical studies. Since 2007, 45 different journals have published studies on pharmacopuncture, with the Journal of the Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine Society having the largest number of papers on pharmacopuncture and the Journal of Pharmacopuncture the second largest number. Conclusion: The trends in research on pharmacopuncture published in studies from 2007 to 2013 were similar to those in studies published before 2006. Many studies on pharmacopuncture focused on bee venom and musculoskeletal diseases. Additional studies on diverse types of and indications for pharmacopuncture are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.202-210
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary purple sweet potato(Ipomoea batatas) powder on serum lipid levels and antioxidative enzymes in normal and pretective effect on hepatotoxicity rats induced by carbon tetrachlolide. Four groups of rats (3-week-old inbred Sprague-Dawley male rats) were normal rats fed control diet(C), induced hepatotoxicity rats fed control diet(EC), normal rats fed purple sweet potato diet(P), and induced hepatotoxicity rats fed purple potato sweet diet(EP). Rats were induced by single injection of 50% carbon tetrachlolide(0.1 mL/100 g B.W., i.p.). The rats were fed ad libitum each of the experimental diet for 5 weeks. After 5 weeks the rats were sacrificed and activities of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation products were determined in their liver homogenates. But serum concentrations of lipid was not significant in all groups. Serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT/GPT) and aspartate aminotransferase(AST/GOT) of the EC and EP groups were heigher than the C and P groups. The hepatic glucose 6-phosphatase(G6Pase) activity of the group fed purple potato diet(P) was lower than the other groups(p<0.05). However, The glutathione peroxidase(GPx) activities was not statistically different between the groups. Renal glutathione S-transferase(GST) activity of the EC and EP groups were lower than the C and P groups(p<0.05). In conclusion, these results suggest that purple sweet potato is believed to be possible protective effect on hepatotoxicity rats induced by carbon tetrachlolide.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.218-222
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• 1997

Twelve varieties of yellow sweet potatoes were measured for carotenoids content to assess their potential as a source of natural food colorant. Benihayato variety had the highest content of carotenoids (20.2 mg/100 g fr wt) but other varieties ranged with $4.6{\sim}16.7\;mg/100\;g$ fr wt. Hunter's +a-values (redness) increased linearly $(R^{2}=0.826)$ with carotenoids content of yellow sweet potatoes. Absorption spectrum of carotenoids extracted from the Benihayato variety was similar to that of standard ${\beta}-carotene$ indicating that carotenoids in yellow sweet potato are mostly composed of ${\beta}-carotene$.