• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2023

The aim of this study is to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of the water extract of Aurantii fructus immaturus (WAF), in diabetic models using enzyme, cells and mice, and to suggest a putative mechanism explaining its antidiabetic effect. In an enzyme model using the enzyme α-glucosidase, WAF had no significant effect on α-glucosidase, as compared with acarbose, an antidiabetic drug. Nonetheless, WAF was capable of reducing the blood glucose levels during oral sucrose tolerance test and oral glucose tolerance test, implying that there would be other antidiabetic pathways in no relation to inhibition of α-glucosidase. In cell models using RIN-m5f β-cells and L6 myotubes, WAF, at its non-cytotoxic doses, augmented the secretion of insulin in RIN-m5f β-cells stimulated with 5 mM glucose. In addition, it enhanced the cellular uptake of glucose in L6 myotubes stimulated with deprivation of glucose for 12 h. Therefore, it is most likely that WAF may exert its antidiabetic effects, at least in part, by enhancing insulin secretion and glucose uptake. Meanwhile, in diabetic mice induced with peritoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ), WAF significantly improved fast blood glucose levels, glycosylated hemoglobin levels, body weight loose, blood pressure, and diabetic adverse effects on functions of the kidney and the liver. Taken together, the water extract of Aurantii fructus immaturus may ameliorate diabetes in mice injected with STZ, at least in part, by enhancing insulin secretion and glucose uptake.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2017

Purpose: To report the clinical results from surgical treatment for clavicle shaft fracture by percutaneous intramedullary fixation with Steinmann pins. Materials and Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2014, the medical records of 135 patients who underwent percutaneous intramedullary fixation with Steinmann pins were reviewed. The mean follow-up periods were 15 months. The functional results were evaluated with The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score and Constant score. The clinical results were evaluated with the shortened length of the clavicle, length of surgical wound, operation time and Kang's criteria. Results: The mean bone union period was 11.6 weeks (8-16 weeks). The mean DASH score was 11.8. The mean Constant score was 91.2. The mean shortened length of the clavicle was less than 20 mm. The mean length of surgical wound was 1.2 cm (0.7-1.5 cm). The mean operation time was 18 minutes (10-35 minutes). Using Kang's criteria, 131 out of 135 patients (97.0%) showed good results. Complications included were 3 pin migrations and 2 non-unions. Conclusion: Percutaneous intramedullary fixation with Steinmann pins showed good results for treating clavicle shaft fracture.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.561-571
• /
• 2023

Background: Escalating evidence shows that ginseng possesses an antiaging potential with cognitive enhancing activity. As mountain cultivated ginseng (MCG) is cultivated without agricultural chemicals, MCG has emerged as a popular herb medicine. However, little is known about the MCG-mediated pharmacological mechanism on brain aging. Methods: As we demonstrated that glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is important for enhancing memory function in the animal model of aging, we investigated the role of MCG as a GPx inducer using GPx-1 (a major type of GPx) knockout (KO) mice. We assessed whether MCG modulates redox and cholinergic parameters, and memory function in aged GPx-1 knockout KOmice. Results: Redox burden of aged GPx-1 KO mice was more evident than that of aged wild-type (WT) mice. Alteration of Nrf2 DNA binding activity appeared to be more evident than that of NFκB DNA binding activity in aged GPx-1 KO mice. Alteration in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was more evident than that in acetylcholine esterase activity. MCG significantly attenuated reductions in Nrf2 system and ChAT level. MCG significantly enhanced the co-localization of Nrf2-immunoreactivity and ChAT-immunoreactivity in the same cell population. Nrf2 inhibitor brusatol significantly counteracted MCG-mediated up-regulation in ChAT level and ChAT inhibition (by k252a) significantly reduced ERK phosphorylation by MCG, suggesting that MCG might require signal cascade of Nrf2/ChAT/ERK to enhance cognition. Conclusion: GPx-1 depletion might be a prerequisite for cognitive impairment in aged animals. MCG-mediated cognition enhancement might be associated with the activations of Nrf2, ChAT, and ERK signaling cascade.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.407-414
• /
• 2009

A simultaneous determination method for cholesterol, lanosterol and desmosterol was developed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Urine was enzymatically hydrolyzed with ${\beta}$-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase. Samples were prepared using extractions with a mixture of ethyl acetate-hexane (2:3, v/v), followed by derivatization with a mixture of MSTFA/TMSI/TMCS (100:2:5 v/v/v). All analyses were performed using GC/MS in selective ion monitoring mode. Good linearities ($r^2=0.998{\sim}0.999$) in calibration curve and a satisfactory recovery (80.0%~113%) were achieved. Accuracy and precision values within ${\pm}15%$ in the concentration range of 5 to 200 ng/mL were also observed for all compounds. The developed method was applied to pravastatin-treated (70 and 250 mg/kg/day for 7 days, oral) hyperlipidemia rats. Those sterols were significantly lower in drug-treated rats compared to the controls, which justifies the drug efficacy. Therefore, these results indicate that the developed method was successfully applied to examine statin drug efficacy with urine sample.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2023.04a
• /
• pp.31-31
• /
• 2023

Mung bean(Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek var. radiata) is a legume that originated in India. It is the third most cultivated legume in Korea after soybean and adzuki bean. Recently, the use of mung bean seeds and sprouts in trendy foods such as rice noodles and Chinese-style stir-fry is expanding thereby increasing its demand. Subsequently, improvement of mung bean varieties is also being actively conducted. In this study, the important agricultural characteristics of 324 mung bean germplasm were recorded and statistically investigated. Seeds of the mung bean germplasm were cultivated at an experimental field located in the National Agrobiodiversity Center (Jeonju, Korea) and 10 quantitative agricultural traits were investigated. Basic statistics, correlation analysis, and principal component analysis were then performed. The results showed significant variations of the quantitative traits among the germplasms (p < 0.05). The days to flowering, maturity, and growth were in the ranges of 31~80, 22~72, and 57~110 days with means of 45, 47, and 92 days, respectively. The highest frequency (f = 192) was for lodging score with 11~50%, while simultaneous maturity (f = 182) was below 50%. Other quantitative traits related to yield including the number of seeds per pod (CV = 10.9%), number of pods per plant (CV = 41.2%), and one-hundred seeds weight (CV = 36.6%) also showed significant variations. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations between the days to maturity and one-hundred seeds weight (r = 0.41) and the days to growth and simultaneous maturity (r = 0.39). In contrast, one-hundred seeds weight was negatively correlated to the number of pods per plant (r = -0.41) and the days to flowering (r = -0.29). Similarly, the days to growth and the number of pods per plant had a negative association with each other (r = -0.29). The principal component analysis revealed the number of days to maturity as the most influential variable along the first principal component (23.7%). In general, this study revealed wide variations in quantitative traits among the studied mung bean germplasm, which could provide several options for cultivar development.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2022.09a
• /
• pp.74-74
• /
• 2022

본 연구는 붉나무의 기능성 성분의 산업화 활용을 위한 고품질의 붉나무 1년생 용기묘 대량생산을 위해 실시되었다. 붉나무 1년생 용기묘의 묘목품질의 향상을 위해 다양한 농도의 시비처리하여 우량묘 생산에 적합한 시비수준을 구명하고자 하였다. 시비실험은 무시비구 포함하여 수용성 복합비료 (N:P:K=20:20:20, v/v)를 1,000mg·L^-1, 2,000mg·L^-1, 3,000mg·L^-1 수준으로 실시하였다. 시비처리는 붉나무 용기묘의 간장과 근원경 생장은 1,000mg·L^-1 시비처리구에서 생장이 가장 좋게 나타났으며 시비수준이 증가할수록 감소하는 경향을 보였다. 뿌리형태 특성분석에서도 전체뿌리길이, 투영단면적, 표면적 및 뿌리부피가 간장과 근원경 생장과 동일한 경향을 보이는 것으로 조사되었다. 건물 생산량은 부위별 잎, 줄기, 뿌리 및 전체가 모두 1,000mg·L^-1 시비처리구에서 가장 높았으며, 그 이상의 시비수준에서는 점점 감소하는 경향을 보였다. H/D(Hight/Root collar diameter)율은 전체가 3.82(무시비구) ~ 4.90, T/R(Top/Root)율은 전체가 0.56(1,000mg·L^-1 시비처리구) ~ 0.82로 조사되었다. 시비처리 에 의한 붉나무의 LWR(Leaf dry weight ratio)은 무시비구, SWR(Shoot dry weight ratio)은 3,000mg·L^-1 시비처리구, 그리고 RWR(Root dry weight ratio)은 1,000mg·L^-1 시비처리구에서 유의적 차이를 보이며 높게 나타났다. 묘목품질지수(QI)의 경우 1,000mg·L^-1 시비처리구에서 12.13으로 다른 시비수준들보다 월등히 높았다. 본 실험의 결과를 종합하면, 뿌리발달이 좋은 우량한 붉나무 생산에 적절한 시비수준은 1,000mg·L^-1 정도인 것으로 판단된다.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2023.04a
• /
• pp.25-25
• /
• 2023

As the demand for processing potatoes increases, imports of raw potatoes and potato products are increasing, so it is necessary to expand potato production as raw materials for processing in Korea. Potato varieties for processing that can be grown in fall have been developed, but research on cultivation technology and processing quality management technology to improve chip processing quality is very insufficient. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the optimal harvest time by investigating the quantity and chipping characteristics of potato chips during autumn cultivation. As the test varieties, the chip processing varieties "Saebong", "Eunsun", and "Geumnaru" were used, and the potato cultivation site was the Seocheon-gun Test field (214 Gaeya-ri) of the Chungcheongnam-do. The test treatment was at harvest time after spring cultivation, and the potatoes were harvested at 70, 80, 90, and 100 days after sowing based on the sowing time. The investigation items were potato productivity (total yield, yield of standard processing, and number of tubers) and chip-processing characteristics (chip color, dry matter content, glucose content, etc.). As a result of examining the yield characteristics according to the harvest time, statistical significance was not found according to the treatment. The total yield (ton/ha) was 27.5 to 30.5, and there was no significant difference depending on the time of 70 to 100 days after harvest. The standard quantity for processing (yield of 81-250g potatoes per unit) also showed a similar trend. In chipping characteristics according to harvest time, statistical significance was high in specific gravity and glucose content. The specific gravity was highest at 1.077 at 70 days after harvest, and the glucose (mg/dL) content was the lowest at 37.5 at 80 days after harvest. Statistical significance was not recognized, but chip color (L value) was the highest at 64.4 at 70 days after harvest. Therefore, it is judged that the optimal harvesting time for chip processing is 70 to 80 days after sowing.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
• /
• v.68 no.3
• /
• pp.147-166
• /
• 2023

Seed color is controlled by several genes and is a key trait in determining the metabolite content and biological activities of legume genotypes. In this study, 296 adzuki bean accessions, including 159 grey, 99 red, and 38 white adzuki beans, were grown in Korea. Variations in total phenolic content (TPC), total saponin content (TSC), DPPH^• scavenging activity, ABTS^•+ scavenging activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were assessed and were reported to be in the ranges of 1.52-8.24 mg GAE/g, 14.36-114.22 mg DE/g, 0.23-12.84 mg AAE/g, 1.05-17.66 mg TE/g, and 0.59-13.14 mg AAE/g, respectively, with a wide variation across adzuki beans. Except for DPPH^• scavenging activity, the average values declined in the order gray > red > white adzuki beans, each demonstrating a significant variation (p < 0.05). White adzuki beans, which showed low metabolite content and antioxidant activity, were clearly separated from the gray and red genotypes using principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses. Moreover, TPC, TSC, and antioxidant activities were strongly correlated, regardless of seed color. Overall, the diversity of the TPC, TSC, and antioxidant activity in a broad population of adzuki bean genotypes was determined. Furthermore, this study found that seed color variation in adzuki beans had a significant effect on the metabolite content and antioxidant activity. Superior accessions with high levels of TPC, TSC, and antioxidant activity were also discovered and could be used for functional plant breeding and human consumption. The findings of this study may be useful for understanding the relationship between seed coat color and metabolite concentration in adzuki beans, paving the way for molecular-level analyses.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.185-193
• /
• 2023

Objectives This study was conducted to find out the correlation between lumbar malposition and lumbar disc herniation. Methods Among the patients who visited Gwangju Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine from January 2019 to January 2021, taking 92 patients under age 60 who had the records of X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images as the research subjects, Cobb's angle was measured in anterior-posterior (AP) view and lateral (LAT) view, the number of displacements was scored by listing categories defined by The Korean Society of Chuna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves. The degree of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation was expressed as a percentage according to the method of Kato, etc., and the correlation between each factor was analyzed. Results AP curvature and MRI herniation index showed significant positive correlation in L4-L5 level but there was no significant difference in L5-S1 level. LAT curvature and MRI herniation index had no correlation in L4-L5 level, but there was a significant negative correlation in L5-S1 level. Malposition score and MRI herniation index had a significant positive correlation in L5-S1 level, whereas there was no correlation in L4-L5. Conclusions As a result of the study, AP curvature and MRI herniation index showed a significant positive tendency in L4-L5 lumbar spine, and LAT curvature and MRI herniation index showed a significant negative tendency in L5-S1 lumbar spine. Malposition score and MRI herniation index were found to have a significant positive tendency in L5-S1 lumbar spine.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.22 no.10
• /
• pp.1719-1729
• /
• 2021

Objective: Emphysema and small-airway disease are the two major components of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We propose a novel method of quantitative computed tomography (CT) emphysema air-trapping composite (EAtC) mapping to assess each COPD component. We analyzed the potential use of this method for assessing lung function in patients with COPD. Materials and Methods: A total of 584 patients with COPD underwent inspiration and expiration CTs. Using pairwise analysis of inspiration and expiration CTs with non-rigid registration, EAtC mapping classified lung parenchyma into three areas: Normal, functional air trapping (fAT), and emphysema (Emph). We defined fAT as the area with a density change of less than 60 Hounsfield units (HU) between inspiration and expiration CTs among areas with a density less than -856 HU on inspiration CT. The volume fraction of each area was compared with clinical parameters and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). The results were compared with those of parametric response mapping (PRM) analysis. Results: The relative volumes of the EAtC classes differed according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stages (p < 0.001). Each class showed moderate correlations with forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) and FEV₁/forced vital capacity (FVC) (r = -0.659-0.674, p < 0.001). Both fAT and Emph were significant predictors of FEV₁ and FEV₁/FVC (R² = 0.352 and 0.488, respectively; p < 0.001). fAT was a significant predictor of mean forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% and residual volume/total vital capacity (R² = 0.264 and 0.233, respectively; p < 0.001), while Emph and age were significant predictors of carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (R² = 0.303; p < 0.001). fAT showed better correlations with PFTs than with small-airway disease on PRM. Conclusion: The proposed quantitative CT EAtC mapping provides comprehensive lung functional information on each disease component of COPD, which may serve as an imaging biomarker of lung function.