• Title/Summary/Keyword: Toxic substances

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Panax notoginseng inhibits LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediators in microglia (삼칠근(三七根)의 LPS에 의해 활성화된 뇌신경교세포(腦神經膠細胞)로부터의 염증매개물질(炎症媒介物質) 생성억제효과(生成抑制效果))

  • Jung, Hyo-Won;Park, Yong-Ki
    • The Korea Journal of Herbology
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.93-101
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    • 2006
  • Objectives : Increasing evidence has linked chronic inflammation to a number of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease(AD), Parkinson's disease(PD) and Huntington's disease(HD) in the inflammatory process. Uncontrolled activation of microglia may directly toxic to neurons by releasing various substances such as inflammatory cytokines ($TNF-{\alpha}$, $IL-1{\beta}$ and IL-6), NO, PEG2 and superoxide. In this study, the immunomodulatory effects of the herbal extract Panax notoginseng on cultured BV2 microglial cells and primary microglia were investigated to address potential therapeutic or toxic effects. Notoginseng radix extracts extracted from the root of the plant using Methanol. Methods : Cells were stimulated with LPS and treated with notoginseng at different concentrations. Results : Notoginseng significantly decreased LPS-induced production of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and IL-6 by the cultured microglial cells in a dose-dependent manner. The activation of iNOS mRNA and secretion of nitric oxide(NO) in microglial cells were inhibited in microglial cells in a dose-dependent manner by notoginseng. Conclusion : These results indicate that notoginseng inhibits LPS-induced activation of microglial cells and demonstrates notoginseng possess anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties in vitro.

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Saururus chinenesis Extracts Scavenge Reactive Oxygen Species and Modulate Nitric Oxide Production in Raw 264.7 Macrophages

  • Oh, Jang-Hee;Shon, Hee-Kyoung;Oh, Moon-You;Chung, An-Sik
    • Toxicological Research
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.117-127
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    • 2002
  • Saururus chinensis Baill has been used in Korean folk medicine for the treatment of various diseases such as edema, Jaundice, and furuncle. The components of this plant were extracted into four fraction. Among the four fraction, hexane and ethyl acetate fraction were highly toxic to 3T3 mouse embryo fibroblast and Raw 264.7 mouse macrophage, but n-butanol and residue fraction did not show any toxic effect to those cell lines. n-Butanol and residue fraction exhibited antioxidant effects on hydro-gen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and superoxide anion directly in vitro and in the 3T3 fibroblasts. All the four fractions inhibited lipid peroxidation measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation. In addition, n-butanol and residue fraction showed inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide production, and also down-regulated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA transcription 6 h after LPS stimulation in Raw 204.7 cells. Only n-butanol fraction, which mainly consists of flavonoids, inhibited NF-kB activation by decreasing IkBa degradation 90 min after LPS stimulation. horn the results, it is suggested that this plant could be a good candidate material for drug development based on its antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory constituents.

Enviromental Application of Plasma Technology

  • Lee, Won-Ju
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2014.02a
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    • pp.119.1-119.1
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    • 2014
  • Toxic waste disposal: Many people think that when toxic waste is dumped into the ocean or into the air, it disappears. This belief is incorrect. Rather than disappearing, it accumulates over time and slowly destroys the environment. Ultimately, it leads to the destruction of human race. Plasma is environmentally friendly: Plasma is environmentally friendly because it is created and disappears. When plasma is formed on the earth, you need certain conditions such as accelerating electrons by an electrical discharge or a particle accelerator. When this is gone, plasma completely disappears, leaving no impact on the environment. Plasmas produce radicals: Even if plasma density is low at atmospheric pressure, many radicals (excited states of molecules) are created. These radicals are chemically very aggressive. So instead of using harmful chemicals, plasma can be utilized for less of an impact on the environment. Plasma can reach very high temperatures: Plasma is also useful because when you control the density, you can easily reach high temperatures up to $5000{\sim}6000^{\circ}C$ at atmosphere pressure. Because of this heat and the chemical aggressiveness of the plasma, there are many green applications for plasma technology. Pulsed power technology: Pulsed electric field for extraction, drying and killing bacteria. Treatment of biological tissue by pulsed electric fields: Extraction of substances from cells: Sterilisation, Medical applications, Growth stimulation, Food preparation. Each application has its specialities, especially with respect to pulse shape and electric field strength.

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Acute Toxicity of Heavy Metals, Tributyltin, Ammonia and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons to Benthic Amphipod Grandidierella japonica

  • Lee, Jung-Suk;Lee, Kyu-Tae;Park, Gyung-Soo
    • Ocean Science Journal
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    • v.40 no.2
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    • pp.61-66
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    • 2005
  • Benthic amphipod, Grandidierella japonica widely inhabits the Korean coastal waters and is developed as a standard test species for sediment toxicity tests. We exposed G. japonica to various pollutants including 4 kinds of inorganic metals (Ag, Cd, Cu and Hg), tributyltin [TBT], ammonia and 7 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds (acenaphthene, chrysene, fluoranthene, fluorene, naphthalene, phenanthrene and pyrene) to estimate the no observed effect concentration (NOEC) and the median lethal concentration (LC50) of each pollutant during the 96-hour acute exposure. Among all tested pollutants, TBT was most toxic to G. japonica, and Rg was most toxic among inorganic metals. The toxicity of pyrene to G. japonica was greatest among PAH compounds, followed by fluoranthene, phenanathrene, acenaphthene, fluorene and naphthalene. The toxicity of PAH compounds was closely related to their physico-chemical characteristics such as $K_ow$ and water solubility. G. japonica responded adequately to pollutant concentrations and exposure durations, and the sensitivity of G. japonica to various inorganic and organic pollutants was generally comparable to other amphipods used as standard test species in ecotoxicological studies, indicating this species can be applied in the assessment of environments polluted by various harmful substances.

Effects of Harmaline and Harmalol on Dopamine Quinone-induced Brain Mitochondrial Dysfunction

  • Han, Eun-Sook;Lee, Chung-Soo
    • Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.152-158
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    • 2002
  • The present study elucidated the effect of $\beta$-carbolines (harmaline and harmalol) on brain mitochondlial dysfunction caused by the tyrosinase-induced oxidation of dopamine. Harmaline, harmalol and antioxidant enzymes (SOD and catalase) attenuated the dopamine-induced alteration of membrane potential, cytochrome c release and thiol oxidation in mitochondria. In contrast, antioxidant enzymes failed to reverse mitochondrial dysfunction induced by dopmnine plus tyrosinase. $\beta$-Carbolines decreased the damaging effect of dopamine plus tyrosinase against mitochondria, except no effect of harmalol on thiol oxidation. Antioxidant enzymes decreased the melanin formation from dopamine in the reaction mixture containing mitochondria but did not reduce the formation of dopamine quinone caused by tyrosinase. Both harmalol and harmaline inhibited the formation of reactive quinone and melanin. Harmalol being more effective for quinone formation and vise versa. The results indicate that compared to MAO-induced dopamine oxidation, the toxic effect of dopamine in the presence of tyrosinase against mitochondria may be accomplished by the dopamine quinone and toxic substances other than reactive oxygen species. $\beta$-Carbolines may decrease the dopamine plus tyrosinase-induced brain mitochondrial dysfunction by inhibition of the formation of reactive quinone and the change in membrane permeability.

Studies on Toxic Metabolites Occurring in Foods(I) Screen test of Aflatoxin in Some Korean Fermented Soybean Foods (식품중(食品中) 유독성(有毒性) 대사산물(代謝産物)에 관(關)하여(제(第) 1 보(報)) 수종(數種)의 한국(韓國) 대두발효식품중(大豆醱酵食品中)에 Aflatoxin 유무(有無)의 검색(檢索)에 관(關)하여)

  • Lee,, Tai-Young;Lee,, Sang-Kyu
    • Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.78-84
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    • 1969
  • An attempt has been made to investigate the possible occurrence of aflatoxins, a group of micotoxin which are toxic metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus, and aflatoxin like substances in fungal fermented soybean products such as meju and soybean paste. Chloroform extracts from 15 samples which has been defated with petroleum ether are subjected to separations with thin-layer chromatography on silica gel washed with methanol prior to film coating, improves the chromatographic separation and ultraviolet absorption spectral identification. In addition to fluorescencing spot having an Rf value which is same as aflatoxin $B_1$, many of the fluorescencing spots have been occurred in every sample examined. Each fluorescencing spot is scratched and the ethanol extracts are subjected to further separation with thin-layer chromatography. Each fluorescence substance is eluted with ultra violet transparent absolute ethanol and the ultraviolet absorption spectra are checked. None of the absorption curve of eluates shsow accordance with the curve of aflatoxin. 2, 4-Dinitrophenyl hydrazine reagent, Tollen's reagent and ninhydrin reagent are applied on the chromatogram- The data show that aflatoxin is not present in any of the fungal preparations examined.

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A Study on Development of Database for the Characteristics of Hazardous Chemicals (유해화학물질 특성정보 데이터베이스 구축 연구)

  • Han, Jong-Yup;Song, Ki-Sup;Kang, Sung-Hyun
    • Journal of Information Management
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.1-19
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    • 1997
  • A late-comer in the marine affairs, development of ways for efficient access and utilization of information on marine environmental conservation and pollution prevention is important. The properties and removal methods of toxic chemicals have been entered into the database for 1,000 substances. The database of toxic chemicals for pollution and spills has also been fortified for the following terms: general characteristics, health hazard and response, fire hazard and response, chemical reactivity, physico-chemical properties, and other properties. The information and data running in this database are easily accessible via Internet and Korean telecommunications companies; it is also available KRISTAL databases.

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Development on the Selection of Green Construction Materials for Residental Safety (거주자 안전을 고려한 친환경 건축재료 선정 시스템개발)

  • Song, Hyuk;Chung, Woo-Yang
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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    • v.20 no.4 s.72
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    • pp.63-70
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    • 2005
  • It has been used so many kinds of architectural materials and interior products in current building construction, and use of composite architectural materials is increasing with the development of chemical technology. As the green architecture has become the center of public interest, much effort is conducted in advanced countries on the LCA point of view, such as restriction of architectural materials that emitting pollution substances, developing of Non-Toxic architectural materials, and recycling of used materials, etc. with the cooperation of related organizations, material manufacture companies, and construction companies. Because the kinds of materials to be used in building constructions are so various, there might be some possibility of personal and subjective choice at the time of materials selection resulting the missing the requirements of building components and the choice of harmful materials to human. One way to resolve the material problem is to present the green architectural materials which coincide with the quality performance at service and not harmful to man and nature. At this point of view, this study aims to develop the material classification model by investigating the major labelling system about green architectural materials in both domestic and abroad and to implement an efficient material selection system by making a powerful database of environmental standard and quality basis of building requirements.

Electronic Temperature and Density of Mixed Gases in Inductively Coupled Plasma Lighting System (Ne:Xe) (Inductively Coupled Plasma 광원 시스템의 Ne:Xe 혼합가스의 전자온도 및 전자밀도 특성)

  • Choi, Yong-Sung;Gu, Hal-Bon;Lee, Jin;Lim, Jong-Yeol;Lee, Kyung-Sup
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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    • 2006.12a
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    • pp.91-95
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    • 2006
  • In whole world consciousness of environment maintenance have increased very quickly for the end of the 20th century. To use and disuse toxic substances have been controled at the field of industry. Also the field of lighting source belong to environmental control. And in the future the control will be strong. In radiational mechanism of fluorescence lamp mercury is the worst environmental problem. In radiational mechanism of fluorescence lamp mercury is the worst environmental problem root. In the mercury free lighting source system the Xe gas lamp is one type. And the Ne:Xe mixing gas lamp improvements firing voltage of Xe gas lamp. Purpose and subject of this study are understand, efficiency, ideal of Ne:Xe plasma which mercury free lamp. Before ICP was designed, basic parameters of plasma, which are electron temperature and electron density, were measured and calculated by langmuir probe data. Property of electron temperature and electron density were confirmed by changing ratio of Ne:Xe.

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A Understanding of Dietary Supplements and Functional Foods in the Occident (서양의 식이보충제와 기능성 식품에 대한 인식)

  • Seo, Min-Jun;Park, Jin-Han
    • The Journal of Dong Guk Oriental Medicine
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    • v.11
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    • pp.41-51
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    • 2008
  • Dietary supplements are used by more than one-half of the adult US population. By contrast, herbal products in Germany are carefully regulated by the same standards as drugs, and efforts are under way to standardize their regulation in the entire European Union. Most herbal users do not inform their physicians that they are taking these supplements, and most physicians do not inquire. Although some herbal products have clinically proven benefits, it is increasingly apparent that many contain potentially toxic substances, particularly in relation to interactions with drugs. Hence, it is essential that practicing physicians develop a working knowledge of herbals-specifically, about claims for their usage and potential or proven efficacies and toxicities-and that they incorporate such knowledge into the evaluation and management of their patients. By contrast, functional foods-integral components of the diet that are understood to contribute added health benefits-are the subject of intense and widespread research in food and nutritional science. Examples include many polyphenolic substances, carotenoids, soy isoflavones, fish oils, and components of nuts that possess antioxidant and other properties that decrease the risk of vascular diseases and cancer. Practicing physicians are advised to stay abreast of these emerging findings in order to best advise their patients on the value of health-promoting diets in disease prevention.

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