• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.22 no.8
• /
• pp.1071-1076
• /
• 2012

To investigate the antimicrobial and anti-halitosis effects of Alnus firma extracts and gallic acid (GA) isolated from A. firma, we measured their antimicrobial activities against oral pathogens and their inhibitory effects on the cell adhesiveness and acid production of oral pathogens. In addition, the levels of volatile sulfur compounds were determined by using oral chroma. The dichloromethane (DCM) fraction has broad antimicrobial activity, and the ethylacetate (EA) fraction showed a relatively high level of antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromons gingivalis. Especially, the GA and DCM fractions had significant inhibitory effects on the attachment and acid production of S. mutans and Streptococcus salivarius, respectively. The 2% MeOH extract of A. firma showed a significant inhibitory effect on the production of volatile oral compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl sulfide, which can cause bad breath and halitosis. Two percent GA also had a significant inhibitory effect on the production of hydrogen sulfide. Our study showed that the active fractions and GA of A. firma could be suitable resources for development as a natural antibiotic agent for the treatment of infectious oral diseases.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.152-157
• /
• 2005

In a course of searching for biofungicide to control crisphead lettuce bottom rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani, we have isolated an antagonistic bacterium from lettuce rhisophere soil. A total of 702 bacterial isolates were isolated and tested for in vitro growth inhibition of R. solani. Seven strains appeared to have strong antagonistic effect against R. solani in in vitro growth inhibition assay. In the pot experiments, a strain BW-13 showed the most potent disease control effect on the both lettuce seedlings and adults plants. Therefore, the BW-13 was selected as a biocotrol candidate against crisphead lettuce bottom rot. Based on its morphology, physiological characteristics, and 165 rRNA gene analysis, the BW-13 was finally identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. This study indicated that S. maltophilia BW-13 could be used as a biocontrol agent to control crisphead lettuce bottom rot.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.41-49
• /
• 2009

Cement concrete pavement has become more common in Korean highway systems. However, as its service period increases, there are some technical problems occurs and no clear solution is available primarily due to the lack of active researches. This research, hence, aims to develop a new mix proportion that may provide better strength and durability with extended service life. Based on a variety of literature reviews, the experimental variables were determined as unit cement content, S/a ratio and W/C ratio. From the experimental works, it is recommended to increase the unit cement content up to 375kg/$m^3$, 400kg/$m^3$ and 425kg/$m^3$. The target slump and air content were set 40mm and 5%, respectively. The maximum size of coarse aggregate was decided to be 25mm because of the easiness of supply in the field. The reduction of W/C ratio was necessarily required and decreased to 0.4 which was proven not to cause any mixing problem with the increased unit cement contents along with polycarbon-based high range water reducing agent. In addition, it was known that the S/a ratio could be reduced to 0.34. The lowered S/a might be possible because of the increased cement paste and hence increased cohesiveness and workability.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.607-614
• /
• 2015

Cancers are the largest cause of mortality and morbidity all over the world. Cordycepin, an adenosine analog, is a major functional component of the Cordyceps species, which has been widely used in traditional Oriental medicine. Over the last decade, this compound has been reported to possess many pharmacological properties, such as an ability to enhance immune function, as well as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer effects. Recently, numerous studies have reported interesting properties of cordycepin as a chemopreventive agent as well. There is an accumulating body of experimental evidences suggesting that cordycepin impedes cancer progression by promoting apoptosis, inducing cell cycle arrest, modulating intracellular signaling pathways, and inhibiting invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. In many cancer cell lines, cordycepin inhibits growth and cell cycle progression by inducing arrest of the G2/M phase, resulting from the inhibition of retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation and induction of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. To induce apoptosis, cordycepin activates the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways, which promotes reactive oxygen species generation and the downstream activation of kinase cascades. Cordycepin also can activate alternative pathways to cell death such autophagy. In addition, cordycepin can inhibit the pro-metastatic processes of cancer cell detachment, migration, and invasion through a variety of mechanisms, including the nuclear factor-kappa B and activated protein-1 signaling pathways. In this review, we summarized the variety of action mechanisms by which cordycepin may mediate chemopreventive effects on cancer and discussed the potential of this natural product as a promising therapeutic inhibitor of cancer development.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.7
• /
• pp.834-839
• /
• 2017

Propolis is a natural product collected from plants by honey bees product used extensively in traditional medicine for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anti-cancer effects. Propolis exhibits a broad spectrum of biological activities because it is a complex mixture of natural substances. Ovarian cancer is the second most common newly diagnosed cancer from all cancers among women in Korea and the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies. While most ovarian cancer patients initially respond to surgical debulking and chemotherapy, patients later succumb to the disease. Thus, there is an urgent need to test novel therapeutic agents to counteract the high mortality rate associated with ovarian cancer. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer properties and the active mechanism of Australian propolis in human epithelial ovarian cancer A2780 cells. Our data revealed that propolis showed a cytotoxic activity in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis for cell cycle arrest and apoptosis using propidium iodide staning and annexin V-FITC indicated that propolis could induce cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner on human epithelial ovarian cancer cells. These results suggest that the Australian propolis is potential alternative agent on ovarian cancer prevention and treatment.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.10
• /
• pp.1130-1136
• /
• 2017

Traditionally, the larvae of Allomyrina dichotoma (AD), a species of the rhinoceros beetle, have been widely used for their antidiabetic, antihepatofibrotic, antineoplastic, and antiobesity effects. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization has reported on the possibility of using edible insects in human dietary supplements in the future. However, despite the growing interest in insect-based bio-active products, the biological activities of these products have rarely been studied. Previously, we reported that AD larvae inhibit the in vitro differentiation of adipocytes via transcription factor downregulation. In this study, our objective was to evaluate the effects of a hot-water extract of AD larvae on allergy and inflammation. To investigate the inhibitory effect of the extract on allergic reactions, we measured the levels of ${\beta}-hexosaminidase$, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ ($TNF-{\alpha}$), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) after activation of RBL-2H3 cells using Compound 48/80. In addition, the inhibitory effect of the extract on inflammation was determined using Raw 264.7 cells after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. The extract significantly inhibited the ${\beta}-hexosaminidase$, $TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-4, and COX-2 levels in RBL-2H3 cells. Furthermore, it effectively inhibited the inflammatory cytokine IL-6, nitric oxide, and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in LPS-stimulated Raw 264.7 cells. These results suggest that AD larval extract can be potentially developed as an antiallergic and anti-inflammatory therapeutic agent.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.252-258
• /
• 1972

Methods of separating yeast cells from oil-water-cell emulsion and subsequent purification of the recovered yeast have been studied. In addition, the results of preliminary feeding experiments in which a yeast grown on gas oil was incorporated into chick rations are reported. According to the present study, it appears that the recovery of the yeasts would be easier at pH 9, since the emulsion is relatively more unstable. A class of surface active agent at a concentration of 0.3% was found to facilitate the separation of the yeast from the emulsion. The use of electrolytes such as NaCl and KCl were found to be most effective in breaking the emulsion. Solvent treatment using iso-propyl alcohol and its azeotropic mixture with hexane at $58^{\circ}C$ are particularly suitable for purification of the yeast. In the feeding experiment it was found that 5 percent of the fishmeal in the control ration could be replaced by the yeast with no adverse effect on performance. However, when 8 percent of the fish meal in the control ration was replaced by the yeast, some effect on live-weight gain of the chicks was observed.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.77-83
• /
• 2010

The fructus of Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge (CBF) has been used as medicinal and food source in worldwide. In this study, antimicrobial activity of the methanol extract and its sequential organic solvent fractions of CBF against different pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida sp., were investigated. The methanol extract of CBF was active against various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and the ethylacetate and butanol fractions of CBF showed strong antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhimurium, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli and various multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa with minimal inhibitory concentration of 1.0~7.5 mg/mL. Also the fractions showed anti-Candida activity against C. albicans, C. kruseis and C. geochares. The methanol extract of CBF and its solvent fractions, except n-hexane fraction, did not show any hemolytic activity against human red blood cell up to $500\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The hemolysis in n-hexane fraction at $500\;{\mu}g/mL$ was less than 9.9%. Our results suggest that the CBF could be developed as a potent antibacterial agent, especially for multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.32 no.4 s.59
• /
• pp.227-231
• /
• 2006

Wrinkle formation is mainly attributed to the environmental factors such as UV rays, air pollution, smoking and stress etc. Especially, UV rays induce premature skin aging which is characterized by deep wrinkle, leathery dryness etc. Recently, researches on the wrinkle formation and its prevention have been the main theme in cosmetics fields. We have studied the various plant extracts having anti-wrinkle effects and finally showed that Noni (Morinda citrifolia) extracts have the efficacy of promoting the type I collagen synthesis in normal human fibroblast, using PICP assay. We purified one active compound from Noni extracts and identified its structure. It was identified as 6,7-Dimethoxy-2H-1-Benzopyran-2-one; scopoletin by $^1H-NMR,\;^{13}C-NMR,$ IR, Mass analysis. Scopoletin increased collagen synthesis in a dose dependent manner (89.5% at $0.2{\mu}g/mL$). In order to verify the anti-aging effectiveness of the cream containing 3% noni extracsts, we performed the in vivo test with some female volunteers for 12 weeks. It reduced the signs of aging, especially face wrinkles. From these results, we conclude that the noni extracts could be used as an useful anti-wrinkle agent.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.655-663
• /
• 2002

Liver fibrosis is a prepathological state wherein damaged liver tissues in chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis, are not repaired to normal tissues, but converted to fibrous tissue. 5-(2-Pyrazinyl)-4-methyl-1,2-dithiol-3-thione (oltipraz), a cancer chemopreventive agent, is effective against a wide variety of chemical carcinogens. Recently, we reported that oltipraz inhibits liver fibrogenesis (Kang et al., 2002). In the present study, the effects of oltipraz in combination with dimethyl-4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylene dioxybiphenyl-2,2'-dicarboxylate (DDb) on dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrogenesis were assessed in rats. Oltipraz (30 mg/kg body weight, po, 3 times per week for 4 weeks) was found to inhibit the increases in plasma ALT, AST and bilirubin by DMN, whereas DDB (30 mg/kg body weight, po, 3 times per week for 4 weeks) attenuated the increases in the plasma ALT and bilirubin. The lowered plasma protein and albumin contents in DMN-treated rats were completely restored by oltipraz, but not by DDB. DDB decreases liver cell injury and inflammation through inhibition of nuclear factor-kB. DMN increased the accumulation of liver collagen, as indicated by the increase in the 4-hydroxyproline content in liver homogenates, which was reduced by treatment with oltipraz, but not by DDB. Given the differential effect between oltipraz and DDB, the potential enhancement of antifibrotic efficacy by the drugs was assessed in the animal model. Despite the minimal effect of DDB on DMN-induced fibrogenesis, DDB (5-25 mg/kg), administered together with oltipraz (25-5 mg/kg), showed an additive protective effect against hepatotoxicity and fibrosis induced by DMN, which was shown by the blood chemistry parameters and histopathological analysis. The adequate composition ratio of oltipraz to DDB was 5:1. These results provide information on the pharmaceutical composition, comprising of oltipraz and DDB as the active components, for the treatment and/or prevention of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.