• Toxicological Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 1990

Effect of red ginseng treatment on experimentally induced hyperkeratosis was investigated by light microscopic observation scanning electron microxcope (SEM) examination, epidermal enzyme activities nd lipid contents. Both light microscopic observation and SEM examination showed that hexadecane induced epidermal hyperplasia, hypertrophy and hyperkeratosis by increasing the numbers as well as the sizes of epidermal cells including desquamating horny cells. The superficial horny cells were protruded around the base of hair shaft. Among red ginseng components, only saponin treatment inhibited epidermal hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis by reducing the thickness of epidermis and arranging the cornified cells. Saponin from korean red ginseng inhibited abnormally increased epidermal LDH, ICD and G6PDH activities and reduced the contents of epidermal lipids induced by hexadecane. It seems that red ginseng saponin has preventive effect on experimental hyperkeratosis possibly by controlling the enzyme activities involved in epidermal cellular metabolism, resulting in reduced amounts of abnormal epidermal lipids.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.99-103
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• 1999

Corni Fructus extracts were investigated for antimicrobial and antioxidative activities. In the methanol, ethanol, water extracts from Corni Fructus, antimicrobial activity of the water extract was stronger than the others. Antimicrobial activities were strong against microorganisms such as Streptococcus mutans, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli and Escherichia coli O-157, the activity against Escherichia coli O-157 was the strongest of all the microorganisms. The growth of all the microorganisms were completely inhibited to 48 hours in the 150${\mu}\ell$ per $m\ell$ of culture media. the shape of E. coli O-157 treated with Corni Fructus water extract was expended and its cellular surface was collapsed severely. When Corni Fructus water extract of 200${\mu}\ell$ was treated, hydrogen donating effect was more than 90%, and antioxidative activity using linoleic acid was similar to 0.1% BHT at the concentration of 50${\mu}\ell$.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.77-83
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• 2001

For defining the possibilities of the commercial mass liquid culture of Cordyceps sinensis, the pharmacological activities of mycelia were analyzed. The mycelium of C. sinensis consists of carbohydrate (5.1%) and fat (1.3%), and contains a low content of protein (0.7%) and ash (0.5%), and 92.4% moisture. The molecular sugar ratio of carbohydrate was composed mainly of glucose, mannose (1.0 : 0.9), in addition a small amount of galactose and arabinose (0.2 : 0.1). The cellular materials of mycelia were fractionated into ethylacetate (EA), MeOH (M) and hot-water extract fraction (HW). HW fraction showed the most potent intestinal immune system modulating activity, anti-coagulant activity, and anti-complementary activity, and M fraction had the inhibition activity of radical generation as effective as genistine. These results reveal that the mycelium of liquid cultured C. sinensis showed pharmacological activities and could be used for commercial purpose.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.57-58
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• 2001

Biosurfactant has antibiological activities. Due to its low toxicity, biosurfactant can be applied to human health care products. Posseing the antibiological activities as well as the surfactant properties implies that biosurfactant can be widely used in the cosmetic industry. In this presentation, applications of biosurfactant have been reviewed including the antimicrobial activities of sophorolipid. Sophorolipid, a biosurfactant produced from Candida bombicola ATCC 22214, showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus xylosus, Streptococcus mutans, and Propionibacterium acne at 4, 1, 1, 0.5 ppm as MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration). Also 100 ppm of sophorolipid inhibited 50% of cell growth of plant pathogenic fungus, B. cinera. However, sophorolipid showed no effect on the Escherichia coli., indicating its selective antimicrobial activity depending on the cell wall structure. Treatment of B. subtilis with sophorolipid increased the leakage of intracellular enzyme, malate dehydrogenase, indicating the possible interaction of sophorolipid with cellular membrane. Between lactone-type and acid-type sophorolipid, the former showed higher antimicrobial activity.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.6-10
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• 1998

A plasmid vector containing two reporter genes, mer-lux and lac-GFP, was transformed to both Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida. Their cellular activities and biofilm characteristics were investigated in flow-cell units by measuring bioluminescent lights and fluorescent levels of GFP. Bioluminescence was effective to monitor temporal cell activities, whereas fluorescent level of GFP was useful to indicate the overall cell activities during biofilm development. The light production rates of E. coli and P. putida cultures were dependent upon concentrations of HgCl2. Mercury molecules entrapped in P. putida biofilms were hardly washed out in comparison with those in E. coli biofilms, indicating that P. putida biofilms may have higher affinity to mercury molecules than E. coli biofilms. It was observed that P. putida expressed GFP cDNA in biofilms but not in liquid cultures. This may indicate that the genetic mechanisms of P. putida were favorably altered in biofilm conditions to make a foreign gene expression possible.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.783-789
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• 2016

Afflicted neurons in various neurodegenerative diseases generally display diverse and complex pathological features before catastrophic occurrence of massive neuronal loss at the late stages of the diseases. This complex nature of neuronal pathophysiology inevitably implicates systemwide changes in basic cellular activities such as transcriptional controls and signal cascades, and so on, as a cause. Recently, as one of these systemwide cellular changes associated with neurodegenerative diseases, epigenetic changes caused by protein toxicity have begun to be highlighted. Notably, recent advances in related techniques including next-generation sequencing (NGS) and mass spectrometry enable us to monitor changes in the post-translational modifications (PTMs) of histone proteins and to link these changes in histone PTMs to the specific transcriptional changes. Indeed, epigenetic alterations and consequent changes in neuronal transcriptome are now begun to be extensively studied in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this review, we will discuss details of our current understandings on epigenetic changes associated with two representative neurodegenerative diseases [AD and polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases] and further discuss possible future development of pharmaceutical treatment of the diseases through modulating these epigenetic changes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.786-790
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• 2006

Cellular components of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis (heat-killed whole cells, cytoplasm, and cell walls) were tested for their in vivo immunopotentiating activity. Peritoneal macrophages from mice orally administered with heat-killed whole cells exhibited significantly greater phagocytic activity than the groups administered with cell-wall fraction or cytoplasm fraction. The cytotoxicity of natural-killer cells was the highest in the group administered with whole cells, and the production of cytokines ($IFN-\gamma$, IL-2, and IL-12) in spleen cells was significantly higher, when cellular components were injected, and it tended to be higher in the cell-wall and cytoplasm groups than in the whole-cell group. Interestingly, the cytokine production of Peyer's patch cells was high, when cytoplasm fractions were administered. These results demonstrate that whole cells and cytoplasm and cell-wall fractions of L. lactis ssp. lactis have immunopotentiating activities, which are related to the stimulation of Peyer's patches.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1829-1832
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• 2013

In the present study, investigations were carried out to screen the anticancer activities of fenugreek seed oil against cancer cell lines (HEp-2, MCF-7, WISH cells), and a normal cell line (Vero cells). Cytotoxicity was assessed with MTT and NRU assays, and cellular morphological alterations were studied using phase contrast light microscopy. All cells were exposed toi 10-1000 ${\mu}g/ml$ of fenugreek seed oil for 24 h. The results show that fenugreek seed oil significantly reduced the cell viability, and altered the cellular morphology in a dose dependent manner. Among the cell lines, HEp-2 cells showed the highest decrease in cell viability, followed by MCF-7, WISH, and Vero cells by MTT and NRU assays. Cell viability at 1000 ${\mu}g/ml$ was recorded as 55% in HEp-2 cells, 67% in MCF-7 cells, 75% in WISH cells, and 86% in Vero cells. The present study provides preliminary screening data for fenugreek seed oil pointing to potent cytotoxicity against cancer cells.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.83-88
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• 2001

A cell culture system of poplar (Populus alba x P.glandulosa) was established to test four different methods for evaluation of cellular stresses. Two different kinds of stresses were given to the cultures by adding either Pb(NO$_3$)$_2$ or paraquat and the cellular responses were monitored during a week period. While fresh weight reduction was observable in two days after the treatment of Pb(NO$_3$)$_2$, such changes were apparent only in later stage in paraquat treated cultures. Cells in paraquat treated cultures in the first 3 days showed no alteration in fresh weight as compared to untreated cultures, but had their MTT reducing activities completely inhibited. Neither Evans blue staining nor ion conductivity of the medium was consistent with fresh weight changes of the cultures. Overall, cell clumps formed during suspension culture appeared to interfere with staining and washing reactions and thus cause the assays unreliable. Among the four methods examined, fresh weight changes and MTT reducing activity appeared to be the most reliable and consistent.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.93-109
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• 1992

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate both the immunomodulatory effect of evening primrose(EP) oil and the effects of EP oil on immunoregulation by cyclophosphamide in mice. EP oil at doses of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 ml/kg were orally administered to ICR male mice once daily for 28 consecutive days. Cyclophosphamide was injected intraperitoneally to ICR mice with a single dose of 5 mg/kg at 2 days before secondary immunization. Mice were sensitized and challenged with sheep red blood cells(S-RBC). Immnune responses were evaluated by humoral and cellular immune responses and non-specific immune response. The results of this study were summarized as follows; (1) The humoral immune responses such as hemagglutination titer(HA), hemolysin titer(HY), Arthus reaction and plaque forming cell(PFC) were significantly enhanced in the low dose EP oil administered groups(0.1 and 0.2 ml/kg). However, in the high dose EP oil administered group(0.4 ml/kg) the responses were significantly lowered. (2) In the case of cellular immune responses, delayed type hypersensitivity reaction(DTH) was significantly decreased in EP oil whereas rosette forming cell(RFC) was remarkably enhanced. (3) Activities of natural killer cells and phagocyte were generally enhanced in EP oil. In addition, serum albumin and globulin were also increased.