• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1 s.69
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• pp.137-147
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• 2007

Objective : The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidative effects of Carthami Flos extract. Methods : Total antioxidant status was examined by total antioxidant capacity(TAC) and total antioxidant response(TAR) against potent free radical reactions. The effect of Carthami Flos extract was examined far details of total phenolic content concentration at which 1,1-dipheny1-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging activity was inhibited, the inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation, and the effect on reactive oxygen species(ROS) generation. Results : TAC of Carthami Flos extract at the concentration of 5 mg/ml was 1.84 mM Trolox equivalent. 2. TAR of Carthami Flos extract, on the other hand, couldn't be determined due to interference from unidentified compounds. 3. Total phenolic content of Carthami Flos extract at the concentration of 5 mg/ml was 2.01 mM gallic acid equivalent. 4. Concentration of Carthami Flos extract at which DPPH radical scavenging activity was inhibited by 50% was 6.43 mg/ml as compared to 100% by Pyrogallol solution as a reference. 5. The inhibitory effect of the extract on lipid peroxidation was examined using rat liver mitochondria induced by FeS04/ascorbic acid. Carthami Flos extract at the concentration of 10 ms/ml slightly but significantly decreased TBARS concentration. The extract continued to prevent lipid peroxidation in a dose-dependent manner. 6. The effect of Carthami Flos extract on reactive oxygen species(ROS) generation was examined using a cell-free system induced by hydrogen peroxide/FeS04. Addition of 1 mg/ml of Carthami Flos extract significantly reduced dichlorofluorescein(DCF) fluorescence. Carthami Flos extract caused concentration-dependent attenuation of the increase in DCF fluorescence, indicating that the ektract significantly prevented ROS generation in vitro. Conclusion: : Antioxidant efffcts of Carffami ffor extract seem to be due, at least in part, to the prevention offree radical-induced oxidation, fellowed by inhibition of lipid peroxidation.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.126-136
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• 2013

This study was conducted in order to investigate the association between hypertension and oxidative stress-related parameters and to evaluate these parameters in subclinical hypertensive patients and normotensive subjects living in Korea. We attempted to determine whether oxidative stress-related parameters would differ between two groups of 227 newly-diagnosed, untreated (systolic blood pressure (BP) ${\geq}$ 130 mmHg and diastolic BP ${\geq}$ 85 mmHg) and 130 normotensive subjects (systolic BP < 120 mmHg and diastolic BP < 80 mmHg). General characteristics of the subjects were collected using a simple questionnaire. From subjects' blood, degree of DNA damage in lymphocytes, the activities of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, level of plasma total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP), glutathione, and anti-oxidative vitamins, as well as plasma lipid profiles and conjugated diene (CD) were analyzed. Evaluation of the associations of oxidative stress-related parameters with blood pressure of the subjects was performed using Pearson partial correlation and multivariate logistic regression analysis after adjusting for confounding factors. Several oxidative stress-related parameters were higher in subclinical hypertensive patients than in normotensive subjects. Plasma levels of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, ${\beta}$-carotene, TRAP, and activity of GSH-px were significantly lower in subclinical hypertensive patients than in normotensive subjects. Increased levels of DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol were observed in subclinical hypertensive patients. These results confirm an association between blood pressure and oxidative stress-related parameters and suggest that the pathogenic role of oxidative stress in hypertension might be significant.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.540-545
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• 2022

Betulin is a triterpenoid natural product contained in several medicinal plants including Betulae Cortex. These medicinal plants have been used for controlling diverse inflammatory diseases in folk medicine and betulin showed anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticancer activities. In this study, we tried to examine whether betulin exerts a regulative effect on the gene expression of MUC5AC mucin under the status simulating a pulmonary inflammation, in human airway epithelial cells. Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated with betulin for 30 min and then stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 24 h or the indicated periods. The MUC5AC mucin mRNA expression and mucin glycoprotein production were measured by reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. To elucidate the action mechanism of betulin, effect of betulin on PMA-induced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) signaling pathway was also investigated by western blot analysis. The results were as follows: 1) Betulin significantly suppressed the production of MUC5AC mucin glycoprotein and down-regulated MUC5AC mRNA expression induced by PMA in NCI-H292 cells. 2) Betulin inhibited NF-κB activation stimulated by PMA. Suppression of inhibitory kappa B kinase (IKK) by betulin led to the inhibition of the phosphorylation and degradation of inhibitory kappa B alpha (IκBα), and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. This, in turn, led to the down-regulation of MUC5AC glycoprotein production in NCI-H292 cells. These results suggest betulin inhibits the gene expression of mucin through regulation of NF-kB signaling pathway, in human airway epithelial cells.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.59-67
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• 2023

Purpose : Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is recognized as an important cellular response in metastatic proceduresand characterized by loss of cellular polarity as well as gain of mesenchymal features, which enables migration and invasion. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common primary carcinomas in the liver and exhibits a poor prognosis due to frequent extrahepatic metastasis. Taraxacum officinale has been used for a long time in oriental medicine because of its various pharmacological activitiessuch as anti-rheumatic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticarcinogenic activities. In this study, the anti-metastatic activity of T. officinale water extract (TOWE) and ethanol extract (TOEE) was investigated through the regulation of EMT in the Huh7 cells. Methods : The effects of TOWE and TOEE on migratory and invasive activities were investigated by wound healing and in vitro invasion assays. Western blot analysis was also applied to analyze protein expression levels associated with EMT and their upstream transcription factors in Huh7 cells. Results : TOWE and TOEE treatment potently inhibited migration and invasion of Huh7 cells compared to the untreated group. Both extracts treatment inhibited protein expression levels of N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, and vimentin while E-cadherin was significantly accelerated. In addition, the activated status of transcription factors, Snail, nuclear factor (NF)-κ B, and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox (ZEB)1 was also inhibited with statistical significance. In comparison to both extracts, TOEE more potently attenuated migration, invasion, and EMT markers as well as their transcription factors in Huh7 cells than TOWE, which means that TOEE might possess more functional phytochemicals than TOWE. Conclusion : Consequently, TOWE and TOEEattenuated metastatic activity of hepatocellular carcinoma through the regulation of EMT markers and their transcription factors in Huh7 cells, which means that T. officinale might be a promising strategy for a chemopreventive agent against HCC metastasis.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.750-758
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• 2009

Smoking is associated with an increased incidence of numerous cancers and other degenerative diseases. It has been suggested that high consumption of fruits and vegetables may give some protection. Especially carrot is the most important source of dietary ${\beta}$-carotene. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether carrot juice supplementation to smokers have different or superior effect of compared to the effect supplementing purified ${\beta}$-carotene. The study was conducted in a randomized and placebo-controlled design, after a depletion period of 14 days, 48 smokers were supplemented either carrot juice (n = 18), purified ${\beta}$-carotene (n = 16) or placebo (n = 14). Each group was supplemented for 8 weeks with approximately 20.49 mg of ${\beta}$-carotene/day and 1.2 mg of vitamin C/day, as carrot juice (300 mL/day) or purified ${\beta}$-carotene (1 capsule/day). Plasma vitamin C, vitamin E and ${\beta}$-carotene level were significantly increased after carrot juice and ${\beta}$-carotene supplementation. These results suggest that carrot juice containing ${\beta}$-carotene or ${\beta}$-carotene itself have similar antioxidative potentials by increasing the antioxidant potential in smokers. Therefore, we suggest moderate dose of vitamin supplementation (amount of two servings of vegetable intake) may help to replenish the decreased oxidative stress levels in smokers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2008

This study investigated the anti-hypertensive effect of Phyllostachys pubescens culm extract (PCE) by examining its effects on renal angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition and blood pressure using the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) system. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured weekly for 8 weeks. Also, total antioxidant capacity and protein oxidation of tissues were examined by plasma Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity assay (TEAC) and hepatic protein carbonyl values, respectively. Twenty male SHR were randomly divided into four groups: PCE50, PCE100, and PCE500 (50, 100, and 500 mg of PCE per kilogram bodyweight daily, respectively), and control group. At week 2, the SBP in all PCE groups appeared to be significantly lower than the control (p<0.05), whereas the DBP were not different until week 4 (p<0.05). At week 8, SBP in the PCE500 was lower by 20% than the control. PCE groups considerably suppressed ACE dose-dependently compared with the control. Plasma TEAC and hepatic protein carbonyl values indicated increased antioxidative activity due to the PCE feed. No adverse effect was observed on the liver of SHR as there was no difference for the GOT and GPT values among the groups. Results of this study suggest that ACE inhibition may be one possible mechanism for the blood pressure lowering effect of PCE; thus, long term consumption of PCE may be beneficial in preventing high blood pressure along with the increased antioxidative status.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.568-577
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidative capacity of ethanol extracts from Rumex crispus L. The concentration of R. crispus L. extract at which DPPH radical scavenging activity was inhibited by 50% was 2.15 mg/mL, which was lower than that of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol (0.43 mg/mL), as compared to 100% by pyrogallol as a reference. Total antioxidant status was examined by total antioxidant capacity against ABTS radical reactions. Total antioxidant capacities of R. crispus L. extract at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mg/mL were 0.47 and 2.33 mM Trolox equivalents, respectively, which were higher than those of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol. Superoxide scavenging activities of R. crispus L. extract at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mg/mL were 21.5 and 78.9%, respectively, which were not significantly (p>0.05) different from those of catechin. Oxygen radical absorbance capacities of R. crispus L. extract at concentrations of 20 and 100 ${\mu}g/mL$ were 62.5 and 156.4 ${\mu}M$ Trolox equivalents, respectively, which were lower than those of ascorbic acid. Cupric reducing antioxidant capacities of R. crispus L. extract at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mg/mL were 0.28 and 1.88 mM Trolox equivalents, which were similar or significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, respectively. R. crispus L. extract prevented supercoiled DNA strand breakage induced by hydroxyl radical and peroxyl radical. Total phenolic contents of R. crispus L. extract at concentrations of 0.5 and 5 mg/mL were 0.58 and 3.85 mM gallic acid equivalents, respectively. R. crispus L. extract at concentration of 0.1 and 0.5 mg/mL inhibited 0.2 mM tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced cytotoxicity by 38.5 and 63.5%, respectively, in HepG2 cell culture system. Thus, strong antioxidant and cytotoxicity-inhibiting effects of R. crispus L. extract seem to be due to, at least in part, the prevention from free radicals-induced oxidation as well as high levels in total phenolic contents.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.149-158
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidative capacity of ethanol extracts from Sanguisorbae officinalis L. root (Sanguisorbae radix) in vitro. The concentration of Sanguisorbae radix extract at which DPPH radical scavenging activity was inhibited by 50% was 0.33 mg/mL, which was similar to $IC_{50}$ of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol (0.40 mg/mL), as compared to 100% by pyrogallol as a reference. Total antioxidant status was examined by total antioxidant capacity against ABTS radical reactions. Total antioxidant capacities of Sanguisorbae radix extract were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol. Superoxide scavenging activities of Sanguisorbae radix extract were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of catechin. Oxygen radical absorbance capacities of Sanguisorbae radix extract were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of ascorbic acid. Cupric reducing antioxidant capacities of Sanguisorbae radix extract were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol. Sanguisorbae radix extract prevented supercoiled DNA strand breakage induced by hydroxyl radical and peroxyl radical. Total phenolic contents of Sanguisorbae radix extract at concentrations of 0.5 and 5 mg/mL were 0.50 and 3.33 mM gallic acid equivalents, respectively. Sanguisorbae radix extract at concentration of 0.01, 0.1 and 0.5 mg/mL inhibited 0.2 mM tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced cytotoxicity by 33.8, 79.1 and 96.9%, respectively, in HepG2 cell culture system. Thus, strong antioxidant and cytotoxicity-ihnibiting effects of Sanguisorbae radix extract seem to be due to, at least in part, the prevention from free radicals-induced oxidation as well as high levels in total phenolic contents.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1162-1162
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• 2001

Whereas NIR spectroscopy has been applied in agriculture for more than 20 years, few studies refer to those plant substances occurring only in smaller amounts. Nevertheless there is a growing interest today to support efficiently activities in the production of high-quality medicinal and spice plants by this fast and non-invasive method. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to develop new NIR methods for the reliable prediction of secondary metabolites found as valuable substances in various plant species. First, sophisticated NIR methods were established to perform fast quality analyses of intact fennel, caraway and dill fruits deriving from single-plants [1]. Later on, a characterization of several leaf drugs and the corresponding fresh material has been successfully performed. In this context robust calibrations have been developed for dried peppermint, rosemary and sage leaves for the determination of their individual essential oil content and composition [2]. A specially adopted NIR method has been developed also for the analysis of carnosic acid in the leaves of numerous rosemary and sage gene bank accessions. Carnosic acid is an antioxidative substance for which several health promoting properties including cancer preservation are assumed. Also some other calibrations have been developed for non-volatile substances such as aspalathin (in unfermented rooibos leaves), catechins (in green tea) and echinacoside (in different Echinacea species) [3]. Some NIR analyses have also been successfully performed on fresh material, too. In spite of the fact that these measurements showed less accuracy in comparison to dried samples, the calibration equations are precise enough to register the individual plant ontogenesis and genetic background. Based on the information received, the farmers and breeders are able to determine the right harvest time (when the valuable components have reached their optimum profile) and to select high-quality genotypes during breeding experiments, respectively. First promising attempts have also been made to introduce mobile diode array spectrometers to collect the spectral data directly on the field or in the individual natural habitats. Since the development of reliable NIRS methods in this special field of application is very time-consuming and needs continuous maintenance of the calibration equations over a longer period, it is convenient to supply the corresponding calibration data to interested user via NIRS network. The present status of all activities, preformed in this context during the last three years, will be presented in detail.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.1156-1166
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• 2020

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of compound organic acid calcium (COAC) on growth performance, hepatic antioxidant status and intestinal barrier of male broilers under high ambient temperature (32.7℃). Methods: Nine hundred healthy one-d-old Cobb-500 male broiler chicks were randomly assigned into three groups with six replicates of 50 birds each. A basal diet supplemented with 0% (control), 0.4% and 0.8% COAC, respectively were fed to birds for 6 weeks. All treatments were under high ambient indoor temperature of 32.7℃, and had a constant calcium and available phosphorus ratio. Results: The results showed that, compared with control, the average daily gain of broilers in 0.4% and 0.8% was significantly increased and the ratio of feed to gain in in 0.4% and 0.8% was significantly decreased at 1 to 21, 22 to 42 and 1 to 42 days of age (p<0.05). Compared with control, 0.8% COAC slightly decreased (p = 0.093) the content of malondialdehyde in liver at 42 days of age while 0.4% COAC significantly decreased (p<0.05) the activity of alkaline phosphatase. Furthermore, 0.4% COAC significantly enhanced the intestinal barrier function via increasing jejunal and ileal ocln transcription, promoting jejunal mucin 2 transcription at 42 days of age (p<0.05), and decreasing jejunal toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) and ileal TLR-15, inducible nitric oxide synthase compared with control group (p<0.05). Whereas, no significant differences on the transcription of interleukin-1β in jejunum and ileum were observed among three treatments (p>0.05). Overall, heat stress caused by high natural environment temperature may induce the damage to hepatic antioxidation and intestinal barrier. Conclusion: Dietary inclusion of COAC can improve the tolerance of broilers to thermal environment through the modification of antioxidative parameters in liver and the mRNA expression of genes in intestinal barrier, resulting in an optimal inclusion level of 0.4%.