• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.331-347
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• 2022

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of major skin inflammatory diseases characterized by excessive Th2-mediated immune responses. Recent evidence provides that interlukin-13 (IL-13) plays the role of a key Th2 cytokine that drives the inflammation underlining AD. Due to adverse effects of commercially available synthetic drugs, the need for treatments based on natural products is gaining much attention. Sargassum horneri is an edible brown algae known for beneficial bioactivities including anti-inflammation. We investigated if polyphenol-rich S. horneri extracts (SHE) could suppress AD-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice and if that involved inhibition of the infiltration of Th2-mediated cytokine IL-13. We observed markedly increased infiltration of IL-13 positive cells in AD-like skin lesions of mice but SHE treatments decreased it. Also, the dermal expression of IL-13 was sufficient to cause inflammatory responses in mice skin resembling human AD. SHE suppressed the dermal infiltration of inflammatory cells where IL-13 plays a crucial role in skin tissues and in the recruitment of inflammatory cells. Furthermore, it was confirmed that SHE reduced T cell, dendritic cell, and macrophage populations in spleen. Moreover, SHE decreased the collagen deposition in skin and ear dermis resulting in reduced fibrosis that occurs in AD due to excessive collagen. Taken together, our results reveal that SHE suppressed the infiltration of inflammatory cells into skin dermis by decreasing the infiltration of IL-13 positive cells. Therefore, SHE could be taken as a useful therapeutic agent to alleviate AD.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1807-1811
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• 2010

In order to evaluate estrogenic compounds in brown algae, an in vitro test system for the verification of estrogenic activity was applied. Fractions from ethanol extracts of each brown alga were prepared by a systematic fractionation procedure with solvents such as $H_2O$, hexane, butanol and methanol. Aqueous fractions of brown algae showed the highest estrogenic activities. Estrogenic activities of $500\;{\mu}g/ml$ aqueous fractions of Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria japonica showed almost the same strength as that of $10^{-7}\;M$ standard solution ($17{\beta}$-estradiol). Furthermore, estrogenic activities of $500\;{\mu}g/ml$ aqueous fractions of Ecklonia stolonifera and Porphyra suborbiculate represented higher activities than that of $10^{-8}\;M$ $17{\beta}$-estradiol. These observations suggest that aqueous fractions of all these brown algae are expected to possess estrogenic compounds and could be developed as estrogenic agents for postmenopausal disorder.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2006

In this study, bioactive components such as polyohenols, flavonoids and tocopherols were determined in cultured polar microalgae (Fragilariopsis pseudonana, Chaetoceros neogracile, Stellarima microtrias, Porosiara pseudodenticular). Antioxidant activity of methanol extracts of polar microalgae was also investigated. ${\alpha}-Tocopherol$ contents in Fragilariopsis pseudonana were almost two times higher than those of Chaetoceros neogracile in. The antioxidant activity of methanol extracts of Fragilariopsis pseudonana methanol extracts determined by ABTS assay was higher than other algae. Total polyphenol contents of methanol extracts also showed a similar trend as antioxidant activity. The protective activity against oxidative damages induced by glutamate in PC 12 cells was shown in only Chaetoceros neogracile.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1042-1047
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• 2018

The red algae Gracilaria vermiculophylla is widespread on seashores worldwide and has been used as food in Asian countries. Previous studies have reported that extracts of Gracilaria red algae have beneficial anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The present study examined the anti-senescence effects of Gracilaria vermiculophylla extracts (GV-Ex) in replicatively senescent human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs). GV-Ex pretreatment improved the cellular viability of hBM-MSCs that had been injured by oxidative stress. These effects of GV-Ex were confirmed by MTT assay and immunoblot analysis using the apoptotic proteins p53 and cleaved caspase-3. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were examined in long-term cultured Passages 17 (P-17) mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and compared to P-7 MSC. The ROS accumulation was greater in the P-17 than in the P-7. However, these increased ROS levels in the P-17 were decreased significantly after treatment with GV-Ex, and restoration of the levels of the anti-oxidant enzymes SOD1, SOD2, and CAT was also observed under these conditions. In addition, P-17 hBM-MSC treated with GV-Ex had decreased levels of the senescence proteins p53, p21, and p16. The results show that the ability of P-17 hBM-MSC to differentiate into osteocytes and adipocytes was improved by GV-Ex treatment, suggesting that GV-Ex ameliorates the functional decline of senescent stem cells.

• ALGAE
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.111-119
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• 2013

Marine microalgae are a promising source of organisms that can be cultured and targeted to isolate the broad spectrum of functional metabolites. In this study, two species of cyanobacteria, Chlorella ovalis Butcher and Nannchloropsis oculata Droop, one species of bacillariophyta, Phaeoductylum tricornutum Bohlin, and one species of Dinophyceae, Amphidinium carterae (Hulburt) were cultured and biomasses used to evaluate the proximate comical compositions. Among the determined proximate chemical compositions of the cultured marine microalgae, the highest content of crude proteins and lipids were exhibited in P. tricornutum and A. carterae, respectively. Solvent-solvent partition chromatography was subjected to fractionate each of the cultured species and separated n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions. Nitric oxide production inhibitory level (%) and cytotoxicity effect on lipo-polysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages were performed to determine the anti-inflammatory activity. N. oculata hexane and chloroform fractions showed significantly the strongest anti-inflammatory activity at $6.25{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ concentration. The cancer cell growth inhibition (%) was determined on three different cell lines including HL-60 (a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line), A549 (a human lung carcinoma cell line), and B16F10 (a mouse melanoma cell line), respectively. Among the extracts, C. ovalis ethyl acetate and A. carterae chloroform fractions suppressed the growth of HL-60 cells significantly at 25 and $50{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ concentrations. Thus, the cultured marine microalgae solvent extracts may have potentiality to isolate pharmacologically active metabolites further using advance chromatographic steps. Hence, the cultured marine microalgae can be described as a good candidate for the future therapeutic uses.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.526-532
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• 2013

In this study, we investigated the effect of 88 marine algae extracts on melanin synthesis to develop new whitening agents. Among varieties of marine algae tested, the ethyl acetate extracts from Endarachne binghamiae (EB), Scytosiphon lomentaria, Sargassum yezoense, Ecklonia cava and Sargassum fusiforme inhibited melanin synthesis in melan-a cells. EB treatment showed the strongest inhibitory activity in melanin synthesis, compared with that of other extracts. EB-mediated inhibition of melanin synthesis appeared to be associated with inhibition of ${\alpha}$-glucosidase-dependent glycosylation of tyrosinase in melan-a cells. In addition, EB treatment did not affect mushroom tyrosinase or cell-extracted tyrosinase activity in vitro. Taken together, our findings suggest that anti-browning effect of EB on skin is mediated through regulation of ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity and subsequent inhibition of tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis, and further development of EB as a potential agent for skin whitening.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.698-704
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• 2020

Although various biological extracts derived from the resources from Jeju are currently being developed for cosmetic materials, few studies using Brown algae from Jeju have been conducted. This study identified materials with high antioxidant levels and examined their whitening effects to assess their feasibility as potential cosmetic resources. Brown algae from Jeju (Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey) Suringar, Laminaria japonica, Ecklonia cava, Hizikia fusiforme (Harvey) Okamura (HF), and Sargassum fulvellum (Turner) C. Agardh (SF) were processed using a supercritical fluid system at 50℃ and 400 bar, and their total phenol content, antioxidant activity, tyrosinase inhibition, and primary skin irritation were measured. Of all the samples, only SF using the supercritical fluid system (SFS) displayed concentration-dependent behavior for the total phenol content (p<0.05). Among the samples, the antioxidant activity of SFS was significantly higher (p<0.05) and the one increased at higher concentrations (p<0.05). On the other hand, tyrosinase was inhibited to a greater extent with HF than the others. The primary skin irritation tests showed that none of the samples were skin irritants. This study confirmed the feasibility of using Phaeophyceae from Jeju as potential cosmetic materials, where the samples can be selected and utilized based on the required physicochemical properties.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.333-338
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• 2012

Lichens are a symbiosis between fungi, algae and cyanobacteria. Our group recently studied the antioxidant properties of some bacterial species isolated from Arctic lichens and we confirmed that they possess high antioxidant activities. In this paper, we investigated the antioxidant capacity of 5 microorganisms newly isolated from 4 Arctic lichen species, Cladonia sp., Sterocaulon sp., Umbilicaria sp. and Cetraria sp., using various solvent extractions. We carried out 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethyl benzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) free radical scavenging activity test and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Also total phenolic and flavonoid content assays were performed. Among the bacterial culture extracts of the tested lichen-microorganisms, ethyl acetate extracts of Burkholderia sordidicola S5-B(T) had not only a high antioxidant activity (72.9%) when compared with the ascorbic acid used as the control (51.3%) in the DPPH assay, but also a high amount of phenolic content as well as flavonoid content. As a result, these lichen-microorganisms may be potentially useful sources of natural antioxidants.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.799-804
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• 2003

In order to verify the occurrence of an estrogenic compound in natural products, the estrogenic activity was measured using an in vitro detection system. For this system, human breast cancer cell line MCF7 was transfected using an estrogen responsive CAT reporter plasmid. Estrogenic activities of photosynthetic algae spirulina and sea lettuce were evaluated using this system. Estrogenic activities of a $500\mug/ml\; and\; 50 \mug/ml$ ethanol extracts of spirulina were as much as that of $10^{-8}$M standard solution (17$\beta$-estradiol) and activity of $5\mug/ml$ ethanol extract of spirulina was as much as that of $10^{-10}$ M standard solution. However, no significant estrogenic activity was observed using sea lettuce extract. Estrogenic activities of marine animals, such as star fish and shrimp, were also evaluated using this system, however, no significant estrogenic activity was observed in these extracts. In this result, it is confirmed that spirulina extract possesses estrogenic compound.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2017

Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) is a cyanobacterium species that can form harmful algal blooms in freshwater bodies worldwide. The use of pine needle extract (PNE) to control nuisance algae by allelopathic inhibition will be environmentally friendly and promising. PNE removed successfully upto 98% of M. aeruginosa at the following optimal conditions: pH 7, $25^{\circ}C$ of temperature, 100 rpm of mixing rate, 5 min of mixing time. These results was indicated that the amount of 1 g/L PNE was removed 1g dryweight/L of M. aeruginosa. The kinetic data showed substrate inhibition kinetics and maximum growth rate was obtained when the M. aeruginosa was grown in medium containing 0.5 g/L of initial concentration of PNE. Different substrate inhibition models were fitted to the kinetic data and found the Luong model was best. The model predicted kinetic parameters were in agreement with the experimental findings. The natural extract, PNE, can be a promising inhibition due to its high efficiency and low dose requirements.