• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.405-413
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• 2013

Monocyte chemotactic protein-3 (MCP-3), a chemokine that is in a superfamily of structurally related small chemotactic cytokines involved in leukocyte trafficking, is regarded as a key factor in atherogenesis. In this study, we examined the changes in atherogenic parameters including hepatic lipid accumulation and oxidative balance in MCP- 3-overexpressing transgenic mice (MCP-3 mice) under atherogenic conditions. To induce an extreme atherogenic condition, mice were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet for 12 weeks. The body weight and food intake were not changed by MCP-3 overexpression in the aorta. On a HFHC diet, the MCP-3 mice had higher plasma levels of total cholesterol and a higher atherogenic index compared with wild-type mice, although there were no differences in the plasma HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Furthermore, an increase in lipid accumulation was observed in the aortas as well as the livers of the HFHC diet-fed MCP-3 mice compared with wild-type mice. The activities of antioxidant enzymes increased in the livers of the HFHC diet-fed MCP-3 mice, whereas supplementation with antioxidants, naringin and hesperidin, reversed the activities of the hepatic antioxidant enzymes in HFHC diet-fed MCP-3 mice, indicating that there might be more oxidative damage to the tissues in the HFHC diet-fed MCP-3 mice leading to progression towards atherosclerosis and hepatic steatosis. Microarray analyses of the aorta revealed atherosclerosis-, PPARs-, lipoprotein receptor, and apolipoprotein-related genes that were affected by the HFHC diet in MCP-3 mice. These findings suggest that aortic MCP-3 overexpression may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and hepatic steatosis under atherogenic conditions.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.261-271
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• 2011

Chemical radiation protection is an important strategy to protect living beings against the deleterious effects of radiation. In the present study, the radioprotective effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Panax ginseng extract (PGR-HAE) was studied on radiation-induced deleterious alterations in Swiss albino mice. Oral administration of such extract (25 mg/kg b wt/day/animal) for 5 consecutive days, half an h. before whole-body exposure to 6 Gy gamma radiation, enhanced the 30 days survival and also inhibited the radiogenic sickness, weight loss and life shortening. PGR-HAE ameliorated radiation induced depletion in blood constituents at different necropsy intervals between 12 h to 30 d, and significantly increased the number of femoral spleen colony forming units that survived after irradiation. Furthermore, it checked depletion of glutathione and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione S-transferase) as well as elevation of lipid peroxidation (LPO) level in blood and liver. The significant reduction in the yield of LPO demonstrates that PGR-HAE protects the membranes against radiation-induced oxidative damage. These findings conclude that such plant extract provides significant radioprotection, and it may be potentially valuable in the prevention of injuries caused during planned and unplanned radiation exposure.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.17
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• pp.83-88
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• 2001

Most reactive oxygen species (ROS) are free radicals and implicated in the development of a number of disease processes including artherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, aging and cancer. ROS are byproducts of a number of in vivo metabolic processes and are formed deliberately as part of nor-mal inflammatory response. On the other hand, ROS are generated either as by products of oxygen reduction during xenobiotic metabolism or are liberated as the result of the futile redox cycling of the chemical agents including several chemical carcinogens. A better understanding of the mechanisms of free radical toxicity may yield valuable clue to risks associated with chemical exposures that leading to the development of chronic diseases including cancer. The molecular biology of ROS-mediated alterations in gene expression, signal transduction and carcinognesis is one of the important subjects in free radical toxicology. Epidemiological studies suggest that high intake of vegetables and fruits are associated with the low incidence of human cancer. Many phytopolyphenols such as tea polyphenols, curcumin, resveratrol, apigenin, genistein and other flavonoids have been shown to be cancer chemopreventive agents. Most of these compounds are strong antioxidant and ROS scavengers in vitro and effective inducers of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutatse, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in vivo. Several cellular transducers namely receptor tyrosine kinase, protein kinase C, MAPK, PI3K, c-jun, c-fos, c-myc, NFkB, IkB kinase, iNOS, COX-2, Bcl-2, Bax, etc have been shown to be actively modulated by phyto-polyphenols. Recent development in free radical toxicology have provided strong basis for understanding the action mechanisms of cancer chemoprevention.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2006

The present study describes carbohydrate metabolism, macro-element utilization and antioxidant defenses in response to an ozone dose (100 ppb, 8d) in two rice varieties. Tolerant (cv. Jinpumbyeo) and sensitive (cv. Chucheongbyeo) varieties of rice were grown in growth chamber for 30 days after sowing. Concentrations of chloroplast pigments and non-structural carbohydrates as well as activity of antioxidant enzymes were determined to evaluate the resistance against ozone stress. Ozone caused the decrease in chlorophyll a and carotenoid contents, and also resulted in faster decomposition of non-structural carbohydrate in leaf blade and leaf sheath. The contents of nitrogen and potassium in leaves were visibly decreased in cv. Chucheongbyeo with an increase in ozone exposure, but not in cv. Jinpumbyeo. Enzymatic antioxidants against ROS in both varieties responded in the order of POD, SOD and CAT, and their capacity was stronger in cv. Jinpumbyeo.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.133-137
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• 2004

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of genistein, daidzein, and quercetin on the antioxidative systems of normal rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into seven groups and treated with flavonoids at either 2 or 20 mg/day or through vehicle for four weeks. Lipid peroxidation in the liver was inhibited significantly following administration of quercetin. Genistein and daidzein did not have significant effects except in rats treated with 20mg daidzein/day. Genistein and daidzein treatment did not affect the content of $\alpha$-tocopherol in the serum and liver, while quercetin caused a slight increase. In hepatic glutathione and its related enzymes, genistein and daidzein treatment tended to cause a decrease in $\alpha$-tocopherol content, although no significant difference was found. However, quercetin treatment significantly decreased the content of glutathione together with the activity of glutathione reductase in all doses in the liver but there was no significant difference in the brain. Interestingly, daidzein treatment in the brain at 2mg/day significantly increased glutathione (27.1% p＜0.05) compared with the control group, while at 20mg/day glutathione decreased significantly (26.6%, p＜0.05). In conclusion, genistein has not antioxidant effects. Daidzein quercetin may have the capacity to produce not only antioxidants but also have adverse effects including the production of pro-oxidants. Therefore, people should consider consumption at a high dosage.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.422-433
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to evaluate their effects as the meat antioxidant and on the antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase(SOD) and catalase during the refrigeration storage of ground beef, respectively. Ground beef loin was treated by three natural antioxidants(pycnogenol, catechin, ${\alpha}$-tocopherol) and the synthetic antioxidant(BHT) at the level of 0.01%(w/w) of total fat. Samples were refrigerated at $4{\sim}6^{\circ}C$ for 3, 5, 7 and 10 days to evaluate the color and the pH as the quality parameters, TBA value and fatty acid composition as the parameters of lipid peroxidation, and the activities of SOD and catalase. This study showed that catechin and pycnogenol were excellent in terms of meat color, pH and delaying lipid peroxidation and also maintained the activity of in vivo SOD and catalase better than ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and BHT. These results suggested that the duration of the refrigeration of ground beef may be prolonged up to 10 days in catechin and pycnogenol treated ones in terms of the lipid peroxidation, but 5 days of refrigeration will be more adequate if considering the microbial safety as food, too.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4185-4197
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• 2016

Chronic arsenicosis is a major environmental health hazard throughout the world, including India. Animals and human beings are affected due to drinking of arsenic contaminated ground water, due to natural mineral deposits, arsenical pesticides or improperly disposed arsenical chemicals. Arsenic causes cancer with production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are neutralized by an elaborate antioxidant defense system consisting of enzymes and numerous non-enzymatic antioxidants. Dietary antioxidant supplements are useful to counteract the carcinogenesis effects of arsenic. Oyster mushroom lectins can be regarded as ingredients of popular foods with biopharmaceutical properties. A variety of compounds have been isolated from mushrooms, which include polysaccharides and polysaccharopeptides with immune-enhancing effects. Lectins are beneficial in reducing arsenic toxicity due to anticarcinogenetic roles and may have therapeutic application in people suffering from chronic exposure to arsenic from natural sources, a global problem that is especially relevant to millions of people on the Indian subcontinent.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.42-49
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• 2009

Objectives: To summarize and make a reference number of herbal plant-derived antioxidant researches worldwide. Methods: We surveyed all papers of antioxidant-focused studies using plants in PubMed database as "herbal plant AND antioxidant" of Default Tag "Title". The type of materials used in the studies, formation of experiments, frequency of herbal plants studied and their actions, and main study subjects were analyzed. Results: The number of studies on herbal plant-related antioxidant effects have increased worldwide since 2000. Studies have been performed using mainly single plant and single compounds for medical disorders such as immunity, heart/blood, liver, and central nerve functions. The list of plants frequently includes SalviamiltiorrhizaBge.,GinkgobilobaL., ScutellabaicalensisGeorgi.,and so on. Most of these plants have strong effects against oxidative stress and also against free radicals and increase the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Conclusion: This study produced an overview of previous research on antioxidant-focused herbal plants. This result will provide useful information for the field of Korean traditional medicine for the development of drugs related to antioxidants.

• BMB Reports
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2017

Previously, we reported that vitamin C facilitates the CpG demethylation of Foxp3 enhancer in $CD4^+Foxp3^+$ regulatory T cells (Tregs) by enhancing the activity of a DNA demethylase ten-eleven-translocation (Tet). However, it is not clear whether vitamin C affects other helper T cell lineages like T helper type 17 (Th17) cells which are related with Tregs. Here, we show that the expression of interleukin-17A (IL17) increases with the treatment of vitamin C but not with other antioxidants. Interestingly, the upregulation of IL17 was not accompanied by DNA demethylation in Il17 promoter and was independent of Tet enzymes. Rather, vitamin C reduced the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9me3) in the regulatory elements of the Il17 locus, and the effects of vitamin C were abrogated by knockdown of jumonji-C domain-containing protein 2 (jmjd2). These results suggest that vitamin C can affect the expression of IL17 by modulating the histone demethylase activity.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2014

The present study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant defense system of cinnamaldehyde in normal, diabetic rats and its possible protection of pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells against its gradual loss under diabetic conditions. In vitro free radical scavenging effect of cinnamaldehyde was determined using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-dipicrylhydrazyl), superoxide radical, and nitric oxide radical. Streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats were orally administered with cinnamaldehyde at concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight for 45 days. At the end of the experiment, the levels of plasma lipid peroxides and antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, ceruloplasmin, catalase, superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione and glutathione peroxidase were determined. A significant increase in the levels of plasma glucose, vitamin E, ceruloplasmin, and lipid peroxides and significant decrease in the levels of plasma insulin and reduced glutathione were observed in the diabetic rats. Also the activities of pancreatic antioxidant enzymes were altered in the STZ-induced diabetic rats. The altered enzyme activities were reverted to near-normal levels after treatment with cinnamaldehyde and glibenclamide. Histopathological studies also revealed a protective effect of cinnamaldehyde on pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells. Cinnamaldehyde enhances the antioxidant defense against reactive oxygen species produced under hyperglycemic conditions and thus protects pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells against their loss and exhibits antidiabetic properties.