• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.12
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• pp.533-537
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• 2014

Purpose: Obesity is related to systemic inflammatory processes causing cardiovascular complications. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), CD40 ligand (CD40L), P-selectin are newly described mediators of inflammation and have a significant effect in atherosclerosis. Adiponectin has shown anti-inflammatory effects in adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between adiponectin and inflammatory mediators in children and adolescents. Methods: Fifty children or adolescents, twenty two with a body mass index (BMI) over 95th percentile, and twenty eight with a BMI below 75th percentile were included in the study. Serum soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1), P-selectin, CD40L, lipid profiles, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, glucose and insulin were measured to evaluate associations with adiponectin. Comparison of these variables was performed between the obese and the nonobese group. Results: We found a adiponectin to be significant lower and sICAM-1 significant higher in the obese group compared to the nonobese group, but there were no significant differences in P-selectin and soluble CD40L. Adiponectin was negatively associated with ICAM-1 and P-selectin in the obese group. Conclusion: Negative associations of adiponectin with ICAM-1 and P-selectin in obese children and adolescents suggest that serum adiponectin level may represent the inflammatory status.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.70-75
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• 2004

1. Objectives The Purpose of this study was to evaluate whether use of Sasang -Bang with western medication may injury the liver and the kidney function. We clinically studied the change Liver function test and BUN/Cr in patients who were hospitalized in Hana oriental Medical center for more than 1 month. 2. Methods The subjects were 33 patients admitted in Hana Oriental Medical center. All patients had been checked Liver Function Test and BUN/Cr three times every 2 weeks. 3. Results Aspartate Aminotransferase(AST), Alanine Aminotransferase(ALT), Gamma-Glutamyl transferase(GGT), Total billirubin, BUN, Creatine didn't change, compared with previous 2 weeks and 4 weeks. 4. Conclusions This study suggests that even though there are few toxic Sasang-Bang, in general, herbal medications with western medications which are prescribed by oriental medicine doctors should be carefully administered not to hurt liver and kidney function.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.46-51
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• 2012

We analyzed the concentration of Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT), total protein (TP), albumin, total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride in sera of patients (n=455) aged 60 years and older with hyperglycemia (${\geq}120mg/dL$ in serum). The average concentration of biochemicals in patient group was compared with those in reference group. Our data showed that the average concentrations of AST and TC in sera of senior patients with hyperglycemia were significantly increased by 27.5% (P<0.05) and 82% (P<0.05) in total group, 38.5% (P<0.05) and 75.0% (P<0.05) in sixty years' group, 16.0% (P<0.05) and 89.7% (P<0.05) in seventy years' group and 27.0% (P<0.05) and 79.5% (P<0.05) in eighty years' group, respectively. Patients with hyperglycemia showed a significant decrease in albumin level by 6.7% (total group, P<0.05), 4.5% (sixty years' group, P<0.05), 8.9% (seventy years' group, P<0.05) and 4.5% (eighty years' group, P<0.05), respectively. In conclusion, the high concentration of glucose in the senior patients with hyperglycemia may be a cause of severe liver function and lipid metabolism disorder.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2013

This study was designed to elucidate the effect of fermented blackberry drinks (BD) on alcohol metabolism and hangover in alcohol-treated rats. We showed that the administration of BD increased the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) in alcohol-treated rats. Moreover, the administration of BD reduced the serum alcohol and acetaldehyde concentrations in alcohol-treated rats. Furthermore, the administration of BD attenuated the levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in alcohol-treated rats. Taken together, these results suggest that BD plays an important role in alcohol metabolism and liver function by reducing blood alcohol and acetaldehyde through the activation of ADH and ALDH in alcohol-treated rats and could be used as a functional anti-hangover drinks.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1282-1288
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• 2016

Artemisia, a plant widely used as traditional herbal medicine in many countries, has drawn attention of the researchers. And its extracts or compounds are known to have an efficacy of antioxidant, anti-diabete, anti-cancer, anti-inflammation and neuroprotection. Sumaeyaksuk is a variant of the Artemisia argyi and major constituents are eupatilin and jaceosidin. This study was performed to investigate the effects of the sumaeyaksuk aqueous extract on inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. To examine the potential hepatoprotective properties of sumaeyaksuk extract, cell viability, as well as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels, alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) activities, were measured. Cytotoxic activity of extracts on HepG2 cells was measured by MTT assay. Sumaeyaksuk extract did not induce cytotoxicity at concentrations of $0{\sim}400{\mu}g/mL$. NO and ROS levels significantly decreased with increasing concentration of the extract. The secretion levels of M-CSF and IL-8 were suppressed by sumaeyaksuk extract in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, ALT (75.4%) and AST (61.6%) levels significantly decreased in sumaeyaksuk extract-treated cells at $400{\mu}g/mL$. These results suggested that the sumaeyaksuk extract attenuates the LPS-induced hepatotoxicity resulting from regulation of inflammatory factors and could potentially be used as a hepatitis therapeutic agent.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.801-805
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• 1996

This study was performed to investigate the effect of serum enzyme activities in rats after administration of aluminum compound. Seventy five male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups consisting of control, $250\;ppm\;AlCl_3,\;500\;ppm\;AlCl_3,\;250\;ppm\;Al_2(SO_4)_3$ and $500ppm Al_2(SO_4)_3$ groups and kept on the diet for 2 weeks. The weight gain increased from 0.53 to 3.35% in $AlCl_3$ adiministration groups but decreased from 2.82 to 6.16% in $Al_2(SO_4)_3$, administration groups as compared to control group. As compared to control group, activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and aspartate amino transaminase (AST) in serum increased 29.43 to 57.68% and 0.68 to 9.97% in $AlCl_3$ adiministration groups, and 74.60 to 29.33% and 21.04 to 24.79% in $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ adiministration groups, respectively. However, alanine amino transminase (ALT) decreased from 12.69 to 25.42% in $AlCl_3$ adiministration groups and from 24.32 to 39.62% in $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ administration groups. Cholinesterase activity increased from 28.98 to 12.73% as compared to control group by administration of $AlCl_3$ and decreased from 3.93 to 14.48% by administration of $Al_2(SO_4)_3$.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.535-543
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• 1998

In the present study, we designed and constructed new microdialysis probe in order to improve the efficacy and accuracy of microdialysis method. In addition, extracellular concentrations of GABA, glutamate, aspartate and glycine were monitored with new designed probe in the lateral portion of the ventrocaudal periaqueductal gray using unanesthetized and unrestrained rats. Furthermore, the effect of opiates on release of these amino acids, especially GABA, was analyzed by measuring their concentration in PAG dialysates following veratridine administration in the presence of systemic morphine. The results were summerized as follow : 1. The damaging rates of 1.0mm or 1.5mm window probe were 12.5% or 42.8%, respectively. In the group using 1.5mm window probe, the damaging area was extended into mesencephalic aqueduct because of microdialyzing pressure. 2. Because of the unique design of our probes with an opening facing one side, dialysis occurs in a hemisphere($600{\mu}m$ in mediolateral direction and $100{\mu}m$ in opposite side of the dialysis probe) around the opening rather than in a spherical shaped configuration which is typical of most commercially available probe designs. 3. Glutamate, taurine and glycine were present in the highest concentration in the dialysate sample obtained before treatment with veratridine, whereas, aspartate and GABA were present in the lowest concentration. 4. The concentration of all 5 amino acids increased significantly following $75{\mu}m$ veratridine perfusion into lateral ventrocaudal PAG. 5. There was no significant difference between basal and peak amino acid concentrations according to window sizes. 6. Morphine had no effect on baseline concentrations of amino acids in dialysates obtained from the lateral PAG as compared to saline treated controls. However, following veratridine treatment, morphine selectively affected GABA release in the lateral ventrocaudal PAG as compared to saline treated controls. These results suggest that GABAergic interneurons in the PAG are inhibited by opioids. Therefore, endogenous enkephalins or endorphins may directly inhibit intrinsic GABAergic intemeurons and block their tonic inhibition of PAG-NMR projection neurons. Moreover, new designed probes demonstrate improved efficiency and accuracy in collecting samples as compared to commercial types of microdialysis probes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1464-1469
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• 2016

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of red ginseng by-product (RGB) on the laying performance, blood biochemistry, and microbial population in laying hens. A total of 120 Hy-Line Brown laying hens (75 weeks old) were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 dietary treatments with 4 replicates per treatment. A commercial-type basal diet was prepared, and 2 additional diets were prepared by supplementing 5.0 or 10.0 g/kg of RGB to the basal diet at the expense of corn. The diets were fed to hens on an ad libitum basis for 4 weeks. There were no differences in feed intake, egg weight, and feed conversion ratio during 4 weeks of the feeding trial. However, hen-day egg production was significantly greater (p<0.05) for the RGB treatment groups than that for the basal treatment group. There were no differences in triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase during the 4-week feeding trial. However, RGB supplementation increased (p<0.05) the serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM content compared with basal treatment group. The total cholesterol was lower (p<0.05) in the RGB treatments groups than that in the basal treatment group. The intestinal Lactobacillus population was greater (p<0.05) for the RGB treatments groups than that for the basal treatment group. However, the numbers of Salmonella and Escherichia coli were not different among dietary treatments. During the entire experiment, there was no significant difference in egg quality among all the treatments. In conclusion, in addition to improving hen-day production, there were positive effects of dietary RGB supplementation on serum immunoglobulin and cholesterol levels in laying hens.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1157-1163
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• 2017

This study, analyzed the general and minerals composition of kamut and investigated its effect on blood components in mice fed a high fat diet. The content of each general component of kamut was as follows: $11.02{\pm}0.75%$ water, $13.16{\pm}1.28%$ crude protein, $1.85{\pm}0.19%$ crude fat, and $1.97{\pm}0.13%$ ash. The leptin level was the highest in the HF group($30.00{\pm}0.00ng/mL$) when compared to the control group. There was a significant decrease of $23.65{\pm}5.54ng/mL$ in the HFK group when compared to the HF group (p<0.05). The blood LDL-cholesterol concentration was the lowest in the control group at $10.00{\pm}2.00mg/dL$. The level was highest in the HF group at $28.00{\pm}0.00mg/dL$ when compared with the other groups (p<0.05). The aspartate transaminase (AST) level was significantly higher in the HFK group ($179.33{\pm}173.88U/L$) than in the control ($61.00{\pm}12.73U/L$) and HF groups ($132.00{\pm}0.00U/L$). According to the results of this study, the consumption of kamut lowers the blood LDL-cholesterol level more than the consumption of wheat flour. Additionally, kamut contains antioxidant substances such as selenium and zinc, which are thought to contribute to vascular health and thus aid in maintaining good health. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a variety of health foods using kamut; it should be used as a functional food for the maintenance of good health.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.12-16
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• 2018

Purpose: To differentiate adenoviral pharyngoconjunctival fever (PCF) from acute Kawasaki disease (KD) using laboratory tests before results of virus-real time polymerase chain reaction and ophthalmologic examination are obtained. Methods: Baseline patient characteristics and laboratory measurements were compared between 40 patients with adenovirus infection and 123 patients with KD. Results: The patients with adenovirus infection were generally older than those with KD (median: 3.9 years vs. 2 years, P=0.000). White blood cell and, platelet count, and aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels showed significant differences between the 2 groups, but the C-reactive protein (CRP) levels did not ($6.8{\pm}3.0mg/dL$ vs. $8.3{\pm}5.8mg/dL$, P=0.126). In the adenovirus infection group, the CRP levels were <1, <3, <10, and ${\geq}10mg/dL$ in 2 (5%), 3 (7.5%), 30 (75%), and 5 patients (12.5%), respectively. The cutoff NT-proBNP level was 265 pg/mL. Discrepancy was defined as CRP and NT-proBNP levels of ${\geq}3$ or <3 mg/dL, and <265 or ${\geq}265pg/mL$, respectively. Among the 35 patients with adenovirus infection whose CRP levels were ${\geq}3mg/dL$, 29 (82.9%) showed a discrepancy. Conversely, of the 103 patients with KD whose CRP levels were ${\geq}3mg/dL$, 83 (80.6%) showed no discrepancy. Between the groups, a significant difference in discrepancy rate was observed (P=0.000). None of the patients with adenovirus infection had CRP and NT-proBNP levels of <3 mg/dL and ${\geq}265pg/mL$, respectively. Conclusion: With a sensitivity of 82.9% and a specificity of 80.6%, CRP and NT-proBNP levels may differentiate between adenoviral PCF and acute KD.