• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.352-358
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• 2020

Red yeast rice has been extensively used as a food and traditional medicine for thousands of years in Korea. Monascus produces many secondary metabolites during its growth, including pigments, monacolins, and γ-aminobutyric acid. Some metabolites, specifically monacolin K, γ-aminobutyric acid, and dimerumic acid, have been reported to lower cholesterol and blood pressure because of certain antioxidant effects. This study investigated the total phenolic content of ethanol extract from red yeast rice fermented with Monascus sp. BHN-MK and its anti-inflammatory effect on LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. To assess its anti-inflammatory effect, the inhibitory activity of the ethanol extract on LPS-induced NO production and expression levels of iNOS and COX-2 proteins in macrophage cells were measured. Its total polyphenol content was higher than that of ordinary non-fermented rice. Its NO production inhibition activity was comparable to that of the negative control group treated with LPS at a concentration of 400 ㎍/ml. Western blot revealed a significant decrease in the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 protein expression at concentrations of 400 and 800 ㎍/ml, respectively. Red yeast rice ethanol extracts exerted the strongest anti-inflammatory effects. The results indicate that red yeast rice could be used as a functional cosmetic and anti-inflammatory material.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.504-511
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• 2010

Diabetes is a disease that contains a high concentration of glucose in blood and due to defects in either insulin secretion or insulin action. Although the distinctive causes and factors of diabetes have not been clarified, the genetic factors are suggested as a main susceptibility until now. SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism), as the most common genetic variation, has an influence on personal susceptibility for diseases. A nonsynonymous SNP, which changes the amino acid of the protein and its function, is especially important. Therefore, this study hypothesized that there are associations between specific SNPs of the targeted genes. Transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) and fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) genes were selected as target genes from the results of genome-wide association and other related research studies. Second, four nonsynonymous SNPs (three in TCF7L2 and one in FTO gene) were selected as target SNPs by using public database of NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The recruited personnel was classified into three subgroups of diabetes, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and normal groups. The individual genotypes of each group were analyzed by resequencing. None of genetic variations at four targeted SNP sites was revealed in all samples of this study. However, this study found two new SNPs that were not reported in TCF7L2 gene. One is synonymous SNP, which is heterozygous of C/T and no amino acid change of asparagine/asparagines, was located at c1641 and found in one normal person. Another is nonsynonymous SNP, which is heterozygous of G/A, was located at c1501 and found in two samples. This new discovered nonsynonymous SNP induce the amino acid change from alanine to threonine. Moreover, this new nonsynonymous SNP was found among two persons, one of whom was a diabetes patient and the other one was a person at boundary between IFG and normal, suggesting that this variant might be associated with IFG or diabetes. Even if there is a limitation of sample number for statistical power, this study has an importance due to the discovery of new SNPs. In the future study, a large sample number of diabetes cohort will be needed to investigate the frequency and association with new discovered SNP.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.158-164
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• 2012

Inhibiting the bioactivities of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) results in significant inhibition of neovessel formation during tumor angiogenesis. To investigate the potential effect of phloroglucinol as an EPC inhibitor, we performed several in vitro functional assays using $CD34^+$ cells isolated from human umbilical cord blood (HUCB). Although a high treatment dose of phloroglucinol did not show any cell toxicity, it specifically induced the cell death of EPCs under serum free conditions through apoptosis. In the EPC colony-forming assay (EPC-CFA), we observed a significant decreased in the small EPC-CFUs for the phloroglucinol group, implying that phloroglucinol inhibited the early stage of EPC commitment. In addition, in the in vitro expansion assay using $CD34^+$ cells, treatment with phloroglucinol was shown to inhibit endothelial lineage commitment, as demonstrated by the decrease in endothelial surface markers of EPCs including $CD34^+$, $CD34^+/CD133^+$, $CD34^+/CD31^+$ and $CD34^+/CXCR4^+$. This is the first report to demonstrate that phloroglucinol can inhibit the functional bioactivities of EPCs, indicating that phloroglucinol may be used as an EPC inhibitor in the development of biosafe anti-tumor drugs that target tumor angiogenesis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.512-519
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• 2018

Phthalates widely used in the manufacture of plastics have deeply penetrated into our everyday lives. Recently, a concern over the toxicity of phthalates on thyroid, has been raised but in most of cases, the doses employed were unrealistically high. To investigate the effects of phthalates on thyroid, we investigated the effects of the repeated oral exposure to low to high doses (0.3, 3, 30 and 150 mg/kg) di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) from weaning to maturity for 90 days in juvenile rats on the thyroid. The histological examination revealed that DEHP significantly induced hyperplasia in the thyroid from the doses of 30 mg/kg, which was confirmed with Ki67 staining. In line with this finding, increased mRNA expression of thyrotropin releasing hormone (Trh) was observed in the thyroid of female at 0.3 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg as determined by RNAseq analysis. Moreover, significantly increased expression of parathyroid hormone (Pth) in the female at 0.3 mg/kg, and thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyroid hormone responsive (Thrsp) in the male at 0.3 mg/kg were noted in the blood, of which changes were substantially attenuated at 150 m/kg, alluding the meaningful effects of low dose DEHP on the thyroid hormone regulation. Urinary excretion of mono-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (MEHP), a major metabolite of DEHP was determined to be 4.10 and 12.26 ppb in male, 6.65 and 324 ppb in female at 0.3 and 30 mg/kg DEHP, respectively, which fell within reported human urine levels. Collectively, these results suggest a potential adverse effects of low dose phthalates on the thyroid.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 1976

The concentrations of some components of the serum in a liver function test were determined in samples of 74 apparently healthy dairy cattle, imported from foreign countries in Jeonnam district, during the periods of June to September of 1975 and July to August of 1976. The ranges, mean concentrations and activities of the SGOT, SGPT, SALP, thymol turbidity, total protein, serum albumin, serum globulin, A/G ratio, total bilirubin and total cholesterol were investigated in this work. This results obtained in the survey were summarized as follows: 1. The SGOT activities obtained from Holstein cows ranged from 57 to 129 Sigma Frankel units/ml, with a mean of $96.5{\pm}19.38$ S.F. units/ml. 2. The SGPT activities obtained from Holstein cows ranged from 5 to 49 Sigma Frankel units/ml, with a mean of $21.27{\pm}9.52$ S.F units/ml. 3. The alkaline phosphatase activities of serum obtained from Holstein cows ranged from 0.3 to 3.8 Sigma Frankel units/ml, with a mean of $1.88{\pm}0.94$ S.F. units/ml. 4. The thymol turbidity of serum obtained from Holstein cows ranged from 0.2 to 4.4 Shank Hoagland units/ml, with a mean of $1.69{\pm}0.30$ S.H units/ml. 5. The total serum protein values of Holstein cows ranged from 5.9 to 8.6g/100ml with a mean of $7.17{\pm}0.65g/100ml$. 6. The serum albumin values of Holstein cows ranged from 2.5 to 4.3g/100ml with a mean of $3.24{\pm}0.28g/100ml$. 7. The serum globulin values of Holstein cows ranged from 2.9 to 5.8g/100ml with a mean of $4.02{\pm}0.72g/100ml$. 8. The A/G ratio of serum obtained from Holstein cows ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 with a mean of $0.78{\pm}0.12$. 9. The total bilirubin of serum obtained from Holstein cows ranged from 7.2 to 0.8mg/100ml, with a mean of $0.32{\pm}0.11mg/100ml$. 10. The total cholesterol of serum obtained from Holstein cows ranged from 50.5 to 240.6mg/100ml with a mean of $135.70{\pm}57.44mg/100ml$. 11. There was little difference in the concentrations of the various serum components between cow groups by birth countries and total cow group, except for SGOT activities, serum alkaline phosphatase activities, thymol turbidity of the Holstein cows from New Zealand.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.257-262
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• 2012

Currently, various treatments available for alleviating hair loss and combination treatments are commonly used, which are frequently questionable and in effective. We aimed to investigate the synergistic effect regarding the combination of oral herbal composition and topical hair tonic on anagen induction and hair restoration in a shaving model of C57BL/6 mice. Seven-week old mice were trimmed by electric clippers and treated with oral herbal composition and topical hair tonic either alone or in combination. The combination treatment showed the highest hair growth promoting effect. Moreover, it significantly improved total blood antioxidant capacity and reduced lipid peroxidation and triglyceride level, which was not observed in the topical hair tonic treated group. These results suggest that the combination of oral herbal composition and topical hair tonic has a synergistic hair growth promoting effect and such synergism may be the result of the differing hair regrowth mechanisms concerning treatments.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.180-185
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• 2003

Rats(Sprague-Dawley) were randomly assigned to the following four groups, control, exercise only, exercise and the intake of DNA, exercise, and the intake of DNA plus crude catechin. 0.4% of DNA from salmon egg and 0.1% crude catechins from Puerariae thunbergiana roots were fed to the rats. The exercise group was exercised in a treadmill at 20 m/min speed for 6 wks. Body weight and body fat weight of 4 groups were investigated, and the body fat composition and antioxidant activity were evaluated by measuring the weight of organs and biochemical test. After 6 wks, body weight did not show any significant differences among those 4 groups, but body fat weight in exercised groups was significantly decreased. The weight of liver, epididymal adipose tissue(E.A.T) and perirenal adipose tissue(P.A.T) were significantly decreased in groups of exercise only, exercise and the intake of DNA, exercise and the intake of DNA plus crude catechin(p<0.05). Phospholipid, cholesterol and triglyceride levels of serum were decreased by exercise, but HDL-cholesterol level of serum was significantly increased(p<0.05). GOT, GPT and glucose levels in serum were slightly decreased by crude catechin, but serum NEFA levels were significantly increased by crude catechin(p<0.05). Results indicated that excercise with the intake of crude catechin would be helpful for the functional development of the compositions in blood lipid.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.1006-1012
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• 2017

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate effects of zinc (Zn) bearing palygorskite (ZnPal) supplementation on growth performance, hepatic mineral content, and antioxidant status of broilers at early age. Methods: A total of 240 1-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were allocated into 5 treatments with 6 replicates of 8 chicks each. Birds in 5 treatments were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0 (Control group; Analyzed Zn content: 81 mg/kg), 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg/kg Zn as ZnPal for 21 days, respectively. Blood, liver and intestinal mucosa were collected at 21 days of age. Results: Treatments did not affect growth performance of broilers during the 21-day study (p>0.05). The contents of hepatic Zn and magnesium (Mg) were linearly increased (p<0.001) by ZnPal supplementation. ZnPal inclusion linearly (p = 0.007) reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in serum. The activity of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in liver increased linearly (p = 0.001) with concentration of ZnPal in diet. ZnPal inclusion linearly (p = 0.036) and quadratically (p = 0.005) increased T-SOD activity, and linearly (p = 0.012) increased copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) activity in jejunal mucosa. The maximum responses of hepatic and jejunal antioxidant enzymes activities (T-SOD and Cu/Zn SOD) were found when supplementing the basal diet with 60 mg/kg Zn as ZnPal. Furthermore, ZnPal supplementation quadratically (p = 0.001) increased Cu/Zn SOD activity in ileal mucosa, and its maximum activity was observed in the diet supplemented with 20 mg/kg Zn as ZnPal. Conclusion: ZnPal supplementation did not alter growth performance of broilers. Dietary ZnPal inclusion could increase concentrations of hepatic trace minerals (Zn and Mg) and inhibit lipid peroxidation by reducing serum MDA accumulation, with the optimal dosage of Zn from ZnPal being 80 mg/kg diet (analyzed Zn content in the diet: 165 mg/kg), and 60 mg/kg Zn as ZnPal (analyzed Zn content in the diet: 148 mg/kg) was the optimum dosage for broilers to achieve maximum antioxidant enzyme activities.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.384-394
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• 2004

This study was carried out to monitor the response of ovaries and cyst according to treatment with GnRH or combination of GnRH and $PGF_2{\alpha}$ in dairy cows with ovarian follicular cysts. Thirty cows were diagnosed as having follicular cysts by rectal palpation, ultrasonography and progesterone (P4) assays. Ten cows were treated with GnRH (control), and the other twenty were treated with $PGF_2{\alpha}$ at 10 days after GnRH treatment. All the animals were re-examined by ultrasonography and blood was collected for the measurement of plasma P4 concentration at day 0 (the day of treatment), day 7, day 10, day 13, day 24 and day 34, respectively. In 30 cows that were diagnosed with follicular cysts, mean plasma P 4 concentrations on day -II and day -I were 0.3 ng/ml and 0.4 ng/ml. On day 10 increased as 2.7$\pm$0.2 ng/ml. Mean cystic wall thickness by ultrasonography on day -11 and day -I were 2.1 mm and 2.2 mm. In 9 cows responded on luteinization of cystic wall, cystic wall thickness was 3.9$\pm$0.5 mm at day 10 after GnRH treatment. The responses of ovaries until day 10 after GnRH treatment included development of corpus luteum in the ovary bearing the cyst or in the contralateral ovary (12 cows), luteinization of cystic wall (6 cows) and clouding of the anechoic antrum of cysts (2 cows). The ovarian responses according to the combination of GnRH and $PGF_2{\alpha}$ included regression of the corpus luteum (12 cows), increase (1 cow) and no change (1 cow) of cyst size until last examination, and complete disappearance on day 13 (6 cows), 23 (6 cows) and 34 (4 cows). Combination treatment group of GnRH and $PGF_2{\alpha}$ showed a higher pregnancy rate within 100 days after initial treatment (40.0 vs 65.0%) and shorter intervals from the treatment to conception (45.4$\pm$25.8 vs 53.5$\pm$31.4 days) compared with control. It was concluded that the administration of $PGF_2{\alpha}$ following GnRH treatment is effective in shortening the interval from treatment to conception in cows with follicular cyst. Also, this study suggested that the response of the cyst according to treatment revealed various types. Therefore, veterinarians should pay attention to monitor of the response of cystic ovaries after treatment, specially no change, slowly decrease or increasement of cyst size after treatment.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2006

Objective: To investigate whether polymorphism of Catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT) gene is associated with the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in Korean women. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six PCOS patients and eighty four controls were enrolled. Blood samples were collected from the patients diagnosed according to the 2003 revised criteria of the Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM-sponsored PCOS consensus workshop group. Age matched women with regular menstruation from same geographic region were recruited as control subject. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of PCR products were done to determine all individuals' genotype. Results: In women with $COMT^{LL}$ genotype, there was decreased PCOS risk and this difference was statistically significant (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.11~0.51). Conclusion: The results suggest that the $COMT^{LL}$ genetic polymorphism might be associated with PCOS risk in Korean women.