• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 1989

Deer horn has been used in oriental medicine and folk remedy. It has had much effects on 'health and tonic efficacy' But this word, 'health and tonic efficacy', is very obscure in modern sense This report attempts to investigate their scientific and objective effects among many papers. The biochemical components of antler are composed of pentoses, hexoses, acid mucopolysaccharides, free and ester fatty acids, glycolipids, phospholipids, prostaglandins, sterols, protein and peptides, free amino acids, minerals, hormones etc. Deer horn extract especially increases body weight gain and feed efficiency, and it stimulates the ability of spermatogenesis of animal. However, a few papers have reported concerning the toxicity and side effects of antler.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.241-245
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• 2013

Aging is the single most important risk factor that increases susceptibility to many forms of diseases. As such, much effort has been put forward to elucidate the mechanisms behind the processes of aging and to discover novel compounds that retain anti-aging activities. Korean red ginseng has been used for a variety of medical purposes in eastern countries for several thousands of years. It has been shown that Korean red ginseng affects a number of biological activities including, but not limited to, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-diabetic pathways. However, few studies have been performed to evaluate its anti-aging effects with an in vivo system. Here Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model organism demonstrates that Korean red ginseng tonic extends lifespan, increases resistance to starvation stress and prevents weight gain. This data suggest that Korean red ginseng may regulate organisms' metabolism in favor of extending lifespan.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 1990

The role of cervical proprioceptors in the control of body posture was studied in bilaterally labyrinth-ectomized, decerebrate cats. The animals were suspended on hip pins with the neck extended horizontally. With this placement the EMG activities of extensor and flexor muscles of the upper extremities were observed by means of sinusoidal head rotator. The rotator can induce two kinds of neck movement: The one is 'pitch' which describes a rotatory neck motion to transverse axis of the body and mainly occurs at skull-C1 (atlantooccipital) joint and the other is 'roll', side-to-side relation of the neck to longitudinal axis, whose center is C1-C2 (atlanto-axial) joint. The following results were obtained. 1) Responses of EMG activity were closely dependent on the rotatory range of the neck. And the EMG activity was not changed during sustained neck torsion, eliciting a typical tonic neck reflex. 2) On pitching movement, the head-up rotation produced the excitation of bilateral triceps muscles, whereas the head-down rotation produced the inhibition. And the response of bilateral biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 3) On rolling movement, the side-up rotation of the head produced the excitation of ipsilateral triceps muscles and the inhibition of contralateral ones. And the response of biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 4) The minimum requirement of motion to evoke EMG activities in the upper extremities was $3.2^{\circ}{\sim}12.5^{\circ}$. These results have shown that the cervical proprioceptors produce tonic discharge on the upper brachial muscles, regulate the EMG activities of those muscles, and are very sensitive to neck rotation. And it can be stated that the cervical proprioceptors may play an important role in the control of body posture and movement.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2012

$Kochujang$ is a fermented paste originated from in and $Kochujang$ sauce is a nutritionally and functionally improved version of $Kochujang$ with additions of beef and tonic herbal extracts. The optimization of the ingredient ratios in the manufacturing of $Kochujang$ sauce was investigated using central composite design and response surface methodology. The amount of beef ($X_1$) and the amount of tonic herbal extract ($X_2$) were chosen as the independent variables. The dependent variables consisted of the properties and sensory evaluation scores The examined physicochemical properties included water activity, pH, color, viscosity, and soluble solids. The sensory evaluation attributes were color, flavor, taste, texture, and overall acceptability. Among them, the selected dependent variables were the sauce viscosity ($Y_1$) and the overall acceptability ($Y_2$) of the sauce. The optimal conditions for the independent variables were $X_1$= 9.7% and $X_2$= 14.1%. In addition, the predicted values of the multiple response optimal conditions were $Y_1$= 331000 (cP) and $Y_2$= 7.1 (points), and the actual experimental values were $Y_1$= 3316667 (cP) and $Y_2$= 7 (points).

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2008

Although many studies show that thromboxane $A_2\;(TXA_2)$ has the action of gastrointestinal (GI) motility using GI muscle cells and tissue, there are no reports on the effects of $TXA_2$ on interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) that function as pacemaker cells in GI tract. So, we studied the modulation of pacemaker activities by $TXA_2$ in ICC with whole cell patch-clamp technique. Externally applied $TXA_2\;(5{\mu}M)$ produced membrane depolarization in current-clamp mode and increased tonic inward pacemaker currents in voltage-clamp mode. The tonic inward currents by $TXA_2$ were inhibited by intracellular application of GDP-${\beta}$-S. The pretreatment of ICC with $Ca^{2+}$ free solution and thapsigargin, a $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase inhibitor in endoplasmic reticulum, abolished the generation of pacemaker currents and suppressed the $TXA_2$-induced tonic inward currents. However, chelerythrine or calphostin C, protein kinase C inhibitors, did not block the $TXA_2$-induced effects on pacemaker currents. These results suggest that $TXA_2$ can regulate intestinal motility through the modulation of ICC pacemaker activities. This modulation of pacemaker activities by $TXA_2$ may occur by the activation of G protein and PKC independent pathway via extra and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ modulation.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.460-468
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• 2022

Objective: In this case report, we address the case of a 22-year-old man complaining of generalized tonic-clonic seizures due to drug-resistant epilepsy. Methods: A patient was treated with Korean medicine, including herbal medication, Shihogyeji-tang (SGT), and acupuncture. We evaluated improvements in symptoms using the Korean version of the Epilepsy Self-Efficacy Scale and quality of life. Results: After 37 days of Korean medicine treatment, there were improvements in the patient's quality of life and self-efficacy in seizure control. Conclusions: This case report suggests that SGT and acupuncture might be effective in drug-resistant epilepsy via action on neurons. SGT showed excellent tolerability for drug-resistant epilepsy patients. Our experience provides evidence that SGT and acupunctue may be used as alternative treatment options when antiepileptic drugs do not work in epilepsy patients.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.503-510
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• 2009

To elucidate the mechanism of cyclic nucleotides, such as adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), in the regulation of human gastric motility, we examined the effects of forskolin (FSK), isoproterenol (ISO) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on the spontaneous, high $K^+$ and acetylcholine (ACh)-induced contractions of corporal circular smooth muscle in human stomach. Gastric circular smooth muscle showed regular spontaneous contraction, and FSK, ISO and SNP inhibited its phasic contraction and basal tone in a concentration-dependent manner. High $K^+$ (50 mM) produced sustained tonic contraction, and ACh $(10\;{\mu}M)$ produced initial transient contraction followed by later sustained tonic contraction with superimposed phasic contractions. FSK, ISO and SNP inhibited high $K^+$-induced tonic contraction and also ACh-induced phasic and tonic contraction in a reversible manner. Nifedipine $(1\;{\mu}M)$, inhibitor of voltage-dependent L-type calcium current $(VDCC_L)$, almost abolished ACh-induced phasic contractions. These findings suggest that FSK, ISO and SNP, which are known cyclic nucleotide stimulators, inhibit smooth muscle contraction in human stomach partly via inhibition of $VDCC_L$.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.425-432
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• 2016

In addition to classical synaptic transmission, information is transmitted between cells via the activation of extrasynaptic receptors that generate persistent tonic current in the brain. While growing evidence supports the presence of tonic NMDA current ($I_{NMDA}$) generated by extrasynaptic NMDA receptors (eNMDARs), the functional significance of tonic $I_{NMDA}$ in various brain regions remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that activation of eNMDARs that generate INMDA facilitates the ${\alpha}$-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-proprionate receptor (AMPAR)-mediated steady-state current in supraoptic nucleus (SON) magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs). In $low-Mg^{2+}$ artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF), glutamate induced an inward shift in $I_{holding}$ ($I_{GLU}$) at a holding potential ($V_{holding}$) of -70 mV which was partly blocked by an AMPAR antagonist, NBQX. NBQX-sensitive $I_{GLU}$ was observed even in normal aCSF at $V_{holding}$ of -40 mV or -20 mV. $I_{GLU}$ was completely abolished by pretreatment with an NMDAR blocker, AP5, under all tested conditions. AMPA induced a reproducible inward shift in $I_{holding}$ ($I_{AMPA}$) in SON MNCs. Pretreatment with AP5 attenuated $I_{AMPA}$ amplitudes to ~60% of the control levels in $low-Mg^{2+}$ aCSF, but not in normal aCSF at $V_{holding}$ of -70 mV. $I_{AMPA}$ attenuation by AP5 was also prominent in normal aCSF at depolarized holding potentials. Memantine, an eNMDAR blocker, mimicked the AP5-induced $I_{AMPA}$ attenuation in SON MNCs. Finally, chronic dehydration did not affect $I_{AMPA}$ attenuation by AP5 in the neurons. These results suggest that tonic $I_{NMDA}$, mediated by eNMDAR, facilitates AMPAR function, changing the postsynaptic response to its agonists in normal and osmotically challenged SON MNCs.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.555-561
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• 2020

TWIK-related two-pore domain K⁺ channel-2 (TREK-2) has voltage-independent activity and shows additional activation by acidic intracellular pH (pH_i) via neutralizing the E³³² in the cytoplasmic C terminal (Ct). We reported opposite regulations of TREK-2 by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP₂) via the alkaline K³³⁰ and triple Arg residues (R^355-357); inhibition and activation, respectively. The G³³⁴ between them appeared critical because its mutation (G³³⁴A) endowed hTREK-2 with tonic activity, similar to the mutation of the inhibitory K³³⁰ (K³³⁰A). To further elucidate the role of putative bent conformation at G³³⁴, we compared the dual mutation forms, K³³⁰A/G³³⁴A and G³³⁴A/R^355-7A, showing higher and lower basal activity, respectively. The results suggested that the tonic activity of G³³⁴A owes to a dominant influence from R^355-7. Since there are additional triple Arg residues (R^377-9) distal to R^355-7, we also examined the triple mutant (G³³⁴A/R^355-7A/R^377-9A) that showed tonic inhibition same with G³³⁴A/R^355-7A. Despite the state of tonic inhibition, the activation by acidic pH_i was preserved in both G³³⁴A/R^355-7A and G³³⁴A/R^355-7A/R^377-9A, similar to the R^355-7A. Also, the inhibitory effect of ATP could be commonly demonstrated under the activation by acidic pH_i in R^355-7A, G³³⁴A/R^355-7A, and G³³⁴A/R^355-7A/R^377-9A. These results suggest that the putative bent conformation at G³³⁴ is important to set the tug-of-war between K³³⁰ and R^355-7 in the PIP₂-dependent regulation of TREK-2.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.25-34
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• 2016

Objectives : Historical study on application of Kyungohkgo, one of the most popular tonic medicine, and suggestion of modernistic method through it Methods : Investigated effect and its range of Kyungohkgo in original texts of Korean medicine, and researched studies on medical action and treatment effect of Kyungohkgo nowaday. Results : Kyungohkgo has "replenish essence and marrow(補精益髓)" as a major effect, and various original text suggested that Kyungohkgo can be used as antioxidant tonic medicine, treatment of respiratory disease like tuberculosis and medicine for bone disease controling hormone. Several research about these subjects has been progressed recently. However, the most of these researches is not an in-depth study about virtues in original texts, but deduced from effects of Kyungohkgo, and there are some studies experimented with Kyungohkgo that has not followed its own formula. Conclusions : It is required to discuss new application based on understanding effect and is range of Kyungohkgo. It could be thought that using for skin disease based on t theory of "lung presides skin and hair", chronic pulmonary disease based on treatment of cough(咳嗽), and disease of uterine and bone based on "replenish essence and marrow(補精益髓)".