• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.153-158
• /
• 2017

Background: Hominis placenta (HP) is used in Korean medicine to tonify qi and blood, and enrich yin and tonify yang. HP has been reported to have therapeutic effects. Methods: A survey of international and Korean electronic databases was conducted using the search terms "hominis placenta pharmacopuncture" and "hominis placenta extract". The search was limited to material published up to May 31, 2017. Results: A total of 83 studies were included in this systematic review: 50 were clinical studies, 25 were basic studies, and 8 were other types of study. Among clinical studies, the most frequently treated disease groups were musculoskeletal diseases and nervous system diseases. In vitro studies were conducted mainly on anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-cell necrosis models. Most of the in vivo studies were performed in rheumatoid arthritis or diabetic complications models. Conclusion: HP pharmacopuncture has effects in the treatment of various diseases. Further large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to improve the level of evidence for HP pharmacopuncture. It would be helpful if future in vitro and in vivo studies could identify the mechanism of action of HP pharmacopuncture.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.27 no.1 s.65
• /
• pp.184-195
• /
• 2006

Objectives : Betula Platyphylla(BP) is a traditional analgesic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory herb used in Chinese 1medicine. However, no information is available to explain its action. In this study. we investigated the anti-inflammatory 1effects of BP to elutidate the molecular pharmacological activity in the ethanol extract of BP(BPE). Methods : We performed WTS assay in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages with BPE. Nitrite was measured by Griess assay, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in LPS induced RAW264.7 macrophages with BPE. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) were determined by Western blot. Activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kB) was measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Results : BPE significantly suppressed production of nitric oxide (NO) and PGE2 in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. The maximal inhibition rate of NO and PGE2 production by BPE was ca. 88.8% and 93% at the concentration of $100{\mu}g/ml$ (non-cytotoxic concentration), respectively. BPE also decreased iNOS protein and COX-2 protein in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages. EMSA demonstrated that BPE inhibited the DNA binding activity of the NF-kB. Conclusions : These results suggest that BPE inhibits NF-${\kappa}B$-mediated gene expression and downregulates inflammatory mediator production in RAW264.7 macrophages.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.227-232
• /
• 1985

Previously, we had reported that the electrical stimulation of peripheral nerve with stimlatory parameters of 20 V strength and 2 Hz frequency for 60 min resulted in reducing the pain reaction. The present study was performed to evaluate if the pain reaction was affected by the peripheral nerve stimulation with different stimulatory parameters in the decerebrated cat. The flexion reflex was used as an index of the pain reaction. The reflex was elicited by stimulating the sural nerve (stimulus strength of 20 $V\;\times\;0.5$msec) and recorded as a compound action potential from the motor nerve innervated to the posterior biceps femoris muscle. The common perneal nerve was selected as a peripheral nerve on which the electrical stimulation of various intensities and frequencies was applied. The results are summarized as follows : 1) The peripheral nerve stimulation with 100 mV strength, regardless of frequencies, did not affect the pain reaction induced by the sural nerve stimulation. 2) When the stimulus of 1V intensity and slow frequency (2 Hz) was applied to the peripheral nerve for 30 min or 60 min, the pain reaction was significantly reduced comparing to the control. However, this reduced pain reaction by the peripheral nerve stimulation was not reversed by the injection of naloxone (0.02 mg/kg) 3) High frequency stimulus (60 Hz) of 1V intensity for 30 or 60 min did not show any effects of affecting the pain reaction. These results suggest that the stimulus of relatively high intensity (at least 1V) and low frequency (2 Hz) is needed to elicite the analgesic effect by the peripheral nerve stimulation. By the 1V stimulus, $A\delta$ nerve fiber is activated. Therefore, an $A\delta$ or smaller nerve fibers must be activated for showing analgesia by the peripheral nerve stimulation. However, the mechanism of analgesia by the $A\delta$ nerve activation alone was not related to the endogeneous morphine system since the reduced pain reaction by the $A\delta$ fiber activation alone was not reversed by the treatment of naloxone.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.88-95
• /
• 1986

Clinically, subhypnotic doses of barbiturates have been known to elicit hyperalgesia. In this experiment, effect of acute or chronic phenobarital treatment on the response to pain in rat was reevaluated by hot-plate method. To elucidate its mechanism, changes of ${\beta}-endorphin$ contents and [3H]-morphine binding of the rat midbrain as well as functional opiate receptor in vas deferens were also measured. Intraperitoneal injection of sub anesthetic dose phenobarbital induced initial hyperalgesia followed by successive analgesia, while chronic phenobarbital-treatment decreased reactivity to pain. Naloxone (10mg/kg, i.p.) markedly shortened hot plate latency period, and significantly inhibited the analgesic action of phenobarbital. Single dose of phenobarbital did not affect ${\beta}-endorphin$ contents and [3H]-morphine binding in rat mid brain, but in the chronic phenobarbital-treated groups, ${\beta}-endorphin$ contents was increased, while Bmax of opiate receptor binding was decreased. Moreover, very significant correlations among responses to pain, changes of ${\beta}-endorphin$ contents and opiate receptor binding were observed. However, Kd values of opiate receptor bindings were not changed in all preparations. In the chronic phenobarbital-treated vas deferens preparations, ID50 of morphine was increased witb concomittant decrease of maximum effect. But $pA_2 $, value for naloxone was not changed. From these results, it is suggested that phenobarbital can produce analgesia due to changes of ${\beta}-endorphin$ contents as well as functional opiate receptors by receptor regulation.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.141-148
• /
• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate on the application of the yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) lasers for acupoints irradiation. Methods : We conducted a systematic search for peer-reviewed studies published from inception to November 2023, in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science in English, Science ON, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS) and Research Information Sharing Service (RISS) in Korean, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang in Chinese, and Japan Science Technology Information Aggregator, Electronic (J-STAGE) and Citation Information by NII (CiNii) in Japanese. Inclusion criteria were original articles including clinical and experimental studies related with YAG lasers for acupoints including Ashi or meridian sinews. Results : Among the 8 selected studies, there were 7 studies on human subjects and 1 study on animals, 7 studies on Nd:YAG (1,064 nm) laser, and 1 study on Er:YAG (2,940 nm) laser. A total of 16 acupoints were used, 15 of which were in the face and 1 of which was located in the foot. In addition, there were two studies using Ashi. 4 studies looked at the effect of pain relief, 2 studies looked at safety, 1 study looked at changes in blood flow, and 1 study looked at the effect of skin care. There were no reported adverse events, and the YAG laser was confirmed to be safe and effective in pain relief, beautifying the skin, and increasing blood flow. Conclusions : We suggest that high intensity YAG lasers can be applied to laser acupuncture or laser moxibustion. YAG lasers are considered to be worth using for various clinical indications of Korean medicine because of photobiomodulation effects, analgesic action, and deep penetration depth. Further scientific research and clinical evidences should be warranted.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.2 s.62
• /
• pp.95-104
• /
• 2005

Objectives: This was a double blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study for evaluation of safety and effective dose finding of Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ in patients with chest pain and discomfort. Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ are composed of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix (丹蔘), Notoginseng Radix (三七根) and Borneolum (龍腦). Major effects of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix and Notoginseng Radix are vasodilatation, sedation and analgesic action. Borneolum has an antibacterial effect, and can stimulate the central nervous system. All of these substances are oriental herbs that have been used for a long time in east Asia. Cardiotonic Pills fi received Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA and 40 million people in the world take this pill. We performed a phase IV clinical study to confirm its efficacy and safety in patients who have probable cardiogenic or psychogenic chest pain or chest stifling. Methods: This study was planned for a multi-center clinical trial including four university hospitals of oriental medicine in Korea. This was the first time to evaluate the 'planning treatment according to diagnosis (辨證施治)' of chest pain or chest discomfort according to oriental medical guidelines. The patients who were included in this trial were adult volunteers from 20 to 70 years old who had chest pain or chest discomfort more than twice during a recent month, and we received written consent to participate in this study from all of them. After administration of Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ for 8 weeks, number of occurrences, duration, appearance and degree of chest pain or chest discomfort was observed and degree of symptoms (severity of illness, global improvement) were measured using a patient's global assessment composite scale. Results: In the patient's global assessment scale, the severity of illness of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ group (n=25) was 14/25=0.56 but of the placebo group (n=25) was 7/25=0.28 (p-value=0.0449). This result indicates Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$have a positive effect on the symptoms of chest pain and discomfort. However, the global improvement of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$group was 23/25=0.92, and of the placebo group was 22/25=0.88 (p-value=0.6374). The total symptom score of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ group was $1.68\pm20.06$, and of the placebo group was $16.76\pm72.l4$(p-value=0.2285). The number of symptom events of the Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ group was $72\pm29.78$, and of the placebo group (n=25) was $10.80\pm38.42$ (p­value=0.3660). We could not find any effects on the other factors examined besides the severity of illness, beyond the difference of standard deviations. Conclusions: Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ significantly reduced chest pain and chest discomfort in patients. Therefore, we expect that Cardiotonic Pills$^{(R)}$ will be helpful for patients with chest pain and chest discomfort not only caused by heart disease but also by other diseases.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.209-215
• /
• 2006

Zaltoprofen, (2-(10,11-dihydro-10-oxodibenzo[b,f]thiepin-2-yl)propionic acid) is an NSAID with powerful anti-inflammatory effects as well as an analgesic action on inflammatory pain. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two zaltoprofen tablets, $Soleton^{\circledR}$ (CJ Corp.) and SCD Zaltoprofen (Samchundang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), according to the guidelines of the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The release of zaltoprofen from the two zatoprofen formulations in vitro was tested using KP Vlll Apparatus ll method with various dissolution media. Twenty six healthy male subjects, $23.2{\pm}2.26$ years in age and$64.7{\pm}8.08$ kg in body weight, were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After a single tablet containing 80 mg as zaltoprofen was orally administered, blood samples were taken at predetermined time intervals and the concentrations of zaltoprofen in serum were determined using HPLC with UV detector. The dissolution profiles of two formulations were similar in all tested dissolution media. The pharmacokinetic parameters such as $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ were calculated, and ANOVA test was utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and untransformed $T_{max}$. The results showed that the differences between two formulations based on the reference drug, $Soleton^{\circledR}$ were 6.33, 5.91 and 17.7% for $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and untransformed $T_{max}$, respectively. There were no sequence effects between two formulations in these parameters. The 90% confidence intervals using logarithmically transformed data were within the acceptance range of log 0.8 to log 1.25 (e.g.,log $1.01{\sim}1og\;1.11$ and log $0.928{\sim}1og\;1.18$ for $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$, respectively). Thus, the criteria of the KFDA bioequivalence guideline were satisfied, indicating SCD Zaltoprofen tablet was bioequivalent to $Soleton^{\circledR}$ tablet.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
• /
• v.1 no.1 s.1
• /
• pp.17-36
• /
• 1965

Besides it's all important analgesic action, morphine has, among others, hyperglycemic effect, though not important clinically, which is believed to be resulted from augmented glycogenolysis in the liver and muscles due to the increased liberation of epinephrine from the adrenal medulla upon the stimulation of the posterior part of hypothalamus. It is known that adrenergic blocking agents are acting inhibitory to this sort of hyperglycemia. Much, however, should as yet be studied for the drugs which affect central nervous system and release of endogenous catecholamine as far as their effects on hyperglycemia are concerned. Much is still not known about the effect of ginseng, which has been highly regarded in the Herb Medicine, as far as it's influence on the blood sugar is concerned. Author investigated the effects of chlorpromazine, reserpine and ginseng on epinephrine induced, and morphine-induced hyperglycemiae. Animals used in this experiment were healthy albino rabbits weighing approximately 2.0 kg of body weight and were all fasted for 24 hours, before the experiment undertaken. Blood sugar determination was carried out by Nelson-Somogy method. Results obtained are summarized as follows; 1. The groups of rabbits administered intravenously with epinephrine 0.02 mg/kg, and 0.05 mg/kg, showed marked and transient hyperglycemia within 15 minutes after injection. The maximal rate of elevation in blood sugar to the control level, were 28% and 57% respectively. The blood sugar returned to the control level within 3 hours. Thus, the hyperglycemic responses were paralleled with epinephrine doses. 2. The hyperglycemic responses by morphine were different according to the doses. The groups of rabbits in which 4 mg/kg of morphine was administered, did not show any hyperglycemic effect, but, in which 10 mg/kg of morphine administered, showed severe hyperglycemic effect, resulting in the maximal level within 2 hours after injection. The maximal rate of increasing in blood sugar ,level was 88%. Compared .with epinephrine-injected groups, morphjne-injected groups showed more persistent hyperglycemic effect, but returned to control blood sugar .level in 6 hours after injection. 3. The intravenous injection of chlorpromazine 2 mg/kg and 8 mg/kg evoked a slight, and persistent hyperglycemia. The maximal rate of increasing in blood sugar level were 15% and 23% respectively. These hyperglycemia gradually returned to the normal level in 5 or 6 hours after injection. Thus, the intensity of response was paralleled with the dose of chlorpromazine. 4. The intravenous injection of reserpine 0.2 mg/kg and 0.5mg/kg, showed the most persistent but steady elevation of blood sugar level in this experiments, resulting in the maximal level in 5 hours after injection. The maximal rate of increasing of blood sugar level were 18% and 39% respectively. 5. The blood sugar level from 24 hours to 30 hours after intraperitoneal administration of reserpine 1.0mg/kg, did not show statistically significant difference, compared with control groups. 6. The oral administration of ginseng extract 15 ml/kg did not. show any :change in blood sugar level. 7. The intravenous administration of epinephrine 0.05 mg/kg or morphine 4 mg/kg to the group pretreated with ginseng extract 15 ml/kg $20{\sim}30$ minutes before the experiment, evoked more marked hyperglycemic effect than the non-pretreated group. 8. The intravenous administration of epinephrine 0.02 mg/kg, morphine 4 mg/kg, or morphine 10 mg/kg to the groups pretreated with reserpine 0.2 mg/kg or 0.5 mg/kg $20{\sim}30$ minutes before experiment, produced more marked and persistent hyperglycemic effects than the groups injected with single epinephrine or morphine injection. 9. When epinephrine 0.05 mg/kg or morphine 10 mg/kg administered intravenously to the groups pretreated with the intraperitoneal administration of reserpine 1 mg/kg 24 hours before experiment morphine-induced hyperglycemia was inbibited, but epinephrine-induced hyperglycemia was augmented. 10. When epinephrine 0.05mg/kg or morphine 10 mg/kg administered intravenously to the groups pretreated with chlorpromazine, 2 mg/kg, 4 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg $20{\sim}30$ minutes before the experiment, morphine-induced hyperglycemia was inbibited, but epinephrine-induced hyperglycemia was more persistent.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.53-73
• /
• 2002

It has been reported that degranulation of mast cells in rats, rabbits and dog was observed after dosing xylazine hydrochloride(Xh) which has been widely used as sedative, analgesic and muscular relaxant. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to examine the relations between Xh and histamine release and to identify the action of ${\alpha}$-adrenoceptors which exists on the suface of mast cells. 1. The content of histamine within serum was measured with HPLC by performing the O-phthalaldehyde(OPA) fluorescent derivation. The pretreatment method had a little modification from the conventional method. The pretreament was carried out in the following method. 0.2$m\ell$ of serum and 1$m\ell$ of butanol were added to mixed together and then the liquid was centrifugally separated at 4$^{\circ}C$ and 2,000 rpm for 3 minutes. 0.4$m\ell$ of 0.1N HCl and 1.6$m\ell$ of heptane were added to 0.8$m\ell$ of supernatant taken from the liquid, and they were mixed together. This mixture was also centrifugally separated at 4$^{\circ}C$ and 2,000 rpm for 5 minutes. The supernatant was thrown away and the OPA fluorescent derivation was carried out with 0.2$m\ell$ of the lower liquid then, 5 minutes after mixing 400${\mu}\ell$ of 0.1N HCl, 120${\mu}\ell$ of 1N NaOH and 40${\mu}\ell$ of 0.1% OPA in the 0.2$m\ell$ of the lower liquid,120${\mu}\ell$ of 3.57N H$_3$PO$_4$ was added to the mixed liquid, and the liquid, was mixed again and syringe-filtered. Then, the measurement was done with HPLC in the 30 : 70(ν/ν) ratio of 0.004M KH$_2$PO$_4$: CH$_3$CN, flow rate of 1.0$m\ell$/min., and a wavelength of λex= 350nm and λem=444nm at the column temperature of 27$^{\circ}C$, using the fluorescence detector. 2. The content of histamine in each laboratory animal appeared to be higher in such an order as rabbit, rat, guinea pig, dog, Korean indigenous goat, swine, Korean indigenous cattle, Holstein, and mouse, of which the individual mean values${\pm}$standard deviation were 2.0668 ${\pm}$ 0.6049. 0.4999 ${\pm}$ 0.2278, 0.4241 ${\pm}$ 0.1974, 0.1054 ${\pm}$ 0.0556, 0.1028 ${\pm}$ 0.0276, 0.0972 ${\pm}$ 0.0513, 0.0872 ${\pm}$ 0.0373, 0.0717 ${\pm}$ 0.0379, and 0.0706 ${\pm}$ 0.0366, respectively. 3. The content of histamine was measured at the moments of 15-, 30-, 60-, 120-minutes after inoamuscular injection of 20mg/100kg Xh into two to 4 years old Holstein weighing 600∼700kg. The result showed that there was a significant increase at the times of 30- and 90-minutes after injection(p<0.05). 4. Intramuscular injection of 3mg/10kg Xh was given to crossbred pug dogs weighing 2.5∼4.3kg. The content of histamine was measured at the times of 30-, 60-, 90- and 120-minutes after injection. The result revealed that there was a significant increase at the times of 60-and 90-minutes after injection(p<0.05). 5. Intramuscular injection of 10mg/$m\ell$∼25mg/$m\ell$ Xh in concentration of 0.1$m\ell$ was applied to Korean indigenous goat over 5 months old. Then, the content of histamine was measured at the times of 15-, 30-, 60- and 90-minutes after injection. A significant increase was shown at the times of 30- and 60-minutes after injection(p<0.05). 6. The content of histamine was measured at the moments of 30- and 60-minutes after intramuscular injection of 0.1-0.2$m\ell$ Xh (20mg/$m\ell$) into male rabbits weighting 2.5-4kg. A significant increase was found at the moment of 60 minutes after injection(p<0.001). 7. After administering Xh to the mast cell taken from the abdominal cavity of mouse, the content of histamine was measured. The result showed that the higher the concentration, the more significantly the content of histamine was increased(p<0.05). 8. Compound 48/80 was administered in concentration of 5$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ and 10$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ to the mast cell picked from the abdominal cavity of mouse. The result showed that there was a significant increase in the content of histamine in case of the concentration of 10$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$(p<0.05). It was found to be about 10,000 to 500,000 times stronger than the Xh. 9. After premedication of 1mg/kg of yohimbine hydrochloride as ${\alpha}$$_2$-adrenergic antagonist to rabbits, the Xh was administered to them. The result was that the value of histamine within serum was decreased significantly(p<0.001). 10. After premeditation of 1mg/kg of prazosin hydrochloride as ${\alpha}$$_1$-adrenergic antagonist to rabbits, the Xh was administered to them. It was found that the value of histamine within serum was decreased significantly(p<0.005). 11, Prazosin hydrochloride and yohimbine hydrochloride as ${\alpha}$$_1$-adrenergic antagonist, respectively, and ${\alpha}$$_2$-adrenergic antagonist were administerd. In this case, the value of histamine within serum was decreased significantly(p<0.0001). As the results, when the Xh is administered to various kinds of animals, the amount of histamine release within serum is increased. In view of the results so far achieved, it is concluded that Xh acted on both a$_1$-adrenoreceptor and ${\alpha}$$_2$-adrenoreceptor induces the degranulation of mast cell.