• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.622-632
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• 2018

The aim of the present study was to evaluate of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) on the physiological activities and oxidation inhibitory action. The effects of various solvents (distilled water DW, 70% ethanol and n-butanol) on the total phenolics content (TPC) of turmeric and their corresponding biological activity were studied. Bioactive compound of total saponin $7.506{\pm}0.349mg\;SE/g$ dry weight. Turmeric extracts yield were DW (17.11%), 70% ethanol (15.26%) and n-butanol (4.12%), respectively. Oxidation inhibitory action of the samples exhibited a dose-dependent increase. However, in the current study, none of the samples evaluated showed activity as strong as the BHA, ascorbic acid and EDTA. Results showed that extraction solvent had significant effects on TPC and oxidation inhibitory action (DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical scavenging activity, reducing power and ferric reducing antioxidant power) of n-butanol. Turmeric exhibited the antioxidant properties, which suggests that the plant material could be used for further studies as a potential source for bioactive and natural antioxidant.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.600-608
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• 2019

The aim was to determine the physiological activity and antioxidant activity by lipid peroxidation inhibitory action of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). Bioactive compound of total carotenoid $1.581{\pm}0.005mg$ ${\beta}$-carotene equivalents (BCE)/g dry weight. Total phenol content was the highest in the ethyl acetate (EA) extract, followed by chloroform:methanol (CM, 2:1, v/v) and 70% methanol extracts. Antioxidant effects (nitrogen oxide radical scavenging activity, nitrite scavenging activity, ${\beta}$-carotene bleaching assay, and lipid peroxidation inhibition action) of 70% methanol, CM, and EA extract of turmeric. Turmeric extracts yield were 70% methanol 16.54%, CM 5.64%, and EA 4.14%, respectively. Antioxidant activity of the samples exhibited a dose-dependent increase. However, in the current study, none of the samples evaluated showed activity as strong as the BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and trolox. Further, nitrite scavenging activity was the highest for the EA extract. As a result of this experiment, indicating their commercial value and potential applications in food and nutraceuticals.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this review is to comprehensively summarize the definition of vitamin D as a nutrient as well as a hormone-like molecule and its new function in prevention of various chronic diseases. Methods: The review was written by the method for systematic reivew writing. Literatures from the various sources, including research articles, book chapters, proceedings and electronic materials as appropriate, were screened first and then reviewed and analyzed for the review. Results: Vitamin D was originally considered as the essential nutrient as a vital carbon compound and was first discovered among children with osteomalacia, also known as ricket disease, characterized by poorly calcified bones which were easily bent rather than broken. Since that time, vitamin D has been known as the key nutrient to improve bone health. However, recently emerging study findings have shown that vitamin D acts as the hormone-like nutrient since it is synthesized like a hormone when our body needs and this particular vitamin also acts like a cell signaling ligand which regulates gene expression of various proteins. So far positive effects of vitamin D have been suggested for the action of anticancer, anti-immune function, and anti-cardiovascular disease, as well as antidiabetic function, etc. In this review, the definition for vitamin D as a nutrient vitamin as well as a hormone-like molecule, cell signaling mechanism of vitamin D, and finally the potential role for the prevention of chronic diseases are discussed. Conclusion: Vitamin D is now being considered as a vital nutrient as a vitamin and as a potential substance for prevention of several chronic diseases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3191-3196
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• 2013

Leaf extracts of Cassia alata L (akapulko), traditionally used for treatment of a variety of diseases, were evaluated for their potential antitumor properties in vitro. MTT assays were used to examine the cytotoxic effects of crude extracts on five human cancer cell lines, namely MCF-7, derived from a breast carcinoma, SK-BR-3, another breast carcinoma, T24 a bladder carcinoma, Col 2, a colorectal carcinoma, and A549, a nonsmall cell lung adenocarcinoma. Hexane extracts showed remarkable cytotoxicity against MCF-7, T24, and Col 2 in a dose-dependent manner. This observation was confirmed by morphological investigation using light microscopy. Further bioassay-directed fractionation of the cytotoxic extract led to the isolation of a TLC-pure isolate labeled as f6l. Isolate f6l was further evaluated using MTT assay and morphological and biochemical investigations, which likewise showed selectivity to MCF-7, T24, and Col 2 cells with $IC_{50}$ values of 16, 17, and 17 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Isolate f6l, however, showed no cytotoxicity towards the non-cancer Chinese hamster ovarian cell line (CHO-AA8). Cytochemical investigation using DAPI staining and biochemical investigation using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-a method used to detect DNA fragmentation-together with caspase assay, demonstrated apoptotic cell death. Spectral characterization of isolate f6l revealed that it contained polyunsaturated fatty acid esters. Considering the cytotoxicity profile and its mode of action, f6l might represent a new promising compound with potential for development as an anticancer drug with low or no toxicity to non-cancer cells used in this study.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.16.1-16.7
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• 2018

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are linked with several complications such as metastasis of cancer progression, oxidative stress, and hepatic fibrosis. Brown seaweeds are being extensively studied for their bioactive molecule content against cancer progression. In this context, Sargassum horneri was reported to possess various bioactivities including antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory partly due to its phenolic compound content. Methods: In this study, potential of S. horneri was evaluated through anti-MMP effect in HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells. S. horneri crude extract was fractionated with organic solvents, namely, water ($H_2O$), n-buthanol (n-BuOH), 85% aqueous methanol (85% aq. MeOH), and n-hexane. The non-toxicity of fraction samples (Sargassum horneri solvent-partitioned extracts (SHEs)) was confirmed by cell-viability assay. SHEs were tested for their ability to inhibit MMP enzymatic activity through gelatin digestion evaluation and cell migration assay. Expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and tissue inhibitors of MMP (TIMPs) were evaluated by reverse transcription and Western blotting. Results: All fractions inhibited the enzymatic activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 according to gelatin zymography. Except $H_2O$ fraction, fractions hindered the cell migration significantly. All tested fractions suppressed both mRNA and protein levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. Conclusion: Overall, current results suggested that S. horneri has potential to be a good source for anti-MMP agents, and further investigations are underway for better understanding of the action mechanism and isolation and elucidation of the bioactive molecules.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.399-405
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• 2001

Urushiol, a natural pro-electrophilic quinone compound, has potential structural characteristics as antitumor chemotherapeutic agents. However, urushiol's use as an antitumor drug has some problems, because it is hardly miscible with an aqueous solution. Purified urushiol is highly viscous and soluble only in strong solvents. for this study, we prepared an urushiol-ethanol micro-emulsion with a unimodal size distribution by high-speed homogenization. This generated effective delivery of urushiol to its action wites, so that we could investigate its cytotoxic activity against cancer cells. Using a colony-forming assay, we were able to show that urushiol selectively inhibited the growth of the ovarian cancer cells PA-1 and 2774 at a concentration of $10^{-6}$, whereas it had only a negligible effect on normal CHO cells at the same concentration. The data suggest that urushiol may have potential as an effective antitumor agent in the treatment of ovarian cancer. In addition, we addressed the question of whether the specific cytotoxic effect of urushiol is linked to apoptosis, by DNA fragmentation and DAPI staining assays. The inhibitory effects of urushiol on the growth of ovarian cancer cells was found to be associated with DNA fragmentation and the fragmented nuclei formation, both of which represent markers for the induction of apoptosis. Therefore, the results suggested that urushiol affected its profound cytotoxicity by triggering apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.173-177
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• 2004

The acute toxicities of two major anti-pathogenic veterinary medicines, i.e., ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, and six benzimidazole anthelmintics, i.e., albendazole, thiabendazole, flubendazole, febantel, fenbendazole, and oxfendazole, were evaluated with a marine bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, and invertebrate Daphnia magna. These veterinary medical products have been widely used for farm animals, but their impact on aquatic fauna has seldom been investigated. In general, daphnids responded as much as 3 orders of magnitude more sensitively to the tested pharmaceuticals than the microbes. For Daphnia, the most toxic product among the tested anthelmintics was fenbendazole, followed by flubendazole > albendazole ${\approx}$ febantel > thiabendazole > oxfendazole. Daphnids' EC50 values obtained from 48 to 96 hrs of fenbendazole exposure ranged from 2.7 to 6.3 ug/L. The mixture toxicity of the test pharmaceuticals was generally additive in nature and was well predicted by a concentration addition model. Using the predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) of the benzimidazole derivatives estimated from this study, and predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of these pharmaceuticals, the risk quotients of each anthelmintics were calculated. Most of the test anthelmintic compounds resulted in risk quotients greater than 1. Especially, risk quotient for fenbendazole was 2,791, which strongly indicates this compound might cause severe ecological consequences, should no future action be taken. This study is the first report on the aquatic toxicities and potential ecological risk of major anthelmintic and antimicrobial veterinary products in Korea. The result of this study provides information necessary for conducting more detailed ecological risk assessment of pharmaceutical products in ambient water and guiding proper management decision.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.31-34
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• 2004

Backgrounds: The pathway of the sural nerve (SN) is variable, but usually divided into medial and lateral sural branches joining the posterior tibial nerve (PTN) and the peroneal nerve (PN). The sural nerve may be affected by PN palsy. The frequency or the severity of SN involvement in peroneal palsy is not known. The purpose of the study is to investigate the frequency and the severity of the SN involvement by the peroneal nerve palsy. Methods: Total 85 patients were included with peroneal palsy. Amplitudes of distal peroneal, sural, and superficial peroneal nerves (SPN) were compared between normal and paralyzed sides. The frequency and severity of SN involvement by peroneal palsy were investigated. Results: Mean age was $48.4{\pm}17.4$ years old at the time of the test. Peroneal palsy was right side in 32, left in 38, and bilateral in 15 patients. Mean amplitudes of affected distal PN, SPN, and SN were $1.51{\pm}1.64mV$, $3.50{\pm}4.86{\mu}V$, and $10.42{\pm}6.59{\mu}V$ in right side, and $1.19{\pm}1.57mV$, $4.38{\pm}5.67{\mu}V$, and $11.06{\pm}6.87{\mu}V$ in left side, respectively. Sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude of the SN in the affected side was average $73.7{\pm}33.1%$ of normal, which was significantly lower than that in the normal side(p<0.01). The decrease of the sural SNAP amplitude was more than 15% in 39 out of 70 patients with unilateral peroneal palsy. Peroneal compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude was not correlated with the amplitude of the sural SNAP. By complete peroneal palsy, SN SNAP amplitude was decreased to 4% of SNAP and $57.7{\pm}31.8%$ of that in normal side. Conclusions: PN injury without PTN involvement may induce reduction of sural SNAP amplitude. Because of the anatomic variation of SN, the electrophysiological findings are variable. It should be considered to interpret the location of the PN lesion.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.257-265
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• 2017

Ferulic Acid (FA) is a metabolite of phenylalanine and tyrosine, a phenolic compound commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Several studies have shown that FA has various functions such as antioxidant effect, prevention of cell damage from irradiation, protection from cell damage caused by oxygen deficiency, anti-inflammatory action, anti-aging action, liver protective effect and anti-cancer action. In this study, we investigated the maturation rate, intracellular glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) of porcine oocytes by adding FA to the in vitro maturation (IVM) medium and examined subsequent embryonic developmental competence at 5% oxygen through parthenogenesis. There is no significant difference between the control group ($0{\mu}M$) and treatment groups ($5{\mu}M$, $10{\mu}M$, $20{\mu}M$) on maturation rates. Intracellular GSH levels in oocyte treated with $5{\mu}M$ of FA significantly increased (P < 0.05), and $20{\mu}M$ of FA revealed significant decrease (P < 0.05) in intracellular ROS levels compared with the control group. Oocytes treated with FA exhibited significantly higher cleavage rates (79.01% vs 89.19%, 92.20%, 90.89%, respectively) than the control group. Oocytes treated with $10{\mu}M$ showed significantly higher blastocyst formation rates (28.3% vs 40.3%, respectively) after PA than the control group. Total cell numbers in blastocyst of $10{\mu}M$ FA displayed significantly higher (39.4 vs 51.9, respectively) than the control group. In conclusion, these results suggested that treatment with FA during IVM improved the developmental potential of porcine embryos by increasing intracellular GSH synthesis and reducing ROS levels. Also, there was an improvement of cleavage rate, blastocyst formation and total cell numbers in blastocysts. It might be associated with Keap1-Nrf2 pathway as an antioxidant regulate pathway that plays a crucial role in determining the sensitivity of cells to oxidative damages by regulating the basal and inducible expression of enzymes which is related to detoxification and anti-oxidative effects, stress response enzymes and/or proteins and ABC transporters.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.984-992
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• 2015

Sanguinarine is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid originally isolated from the roots of Sanguinaria canadensis. It has multiple biological activities (e.g., antioxidant and antiproliferative) and immune-enhancing potential. In this study, we explored the proapoptotic properties and modes of action of sanguinarine in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. Our results revealed that sanguinarine inhibited HepG2 cell growth and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The induction of apoptosis by sanguinarine was associated with the up-regulation of Fas and Bax, the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria to the cytosol, and the loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, sanguinarine activated caspase-9 and -8, initiator caspases of the intrinsic and death extrinsic pathways, respectively, and caspase-3, accompanied by proteolytic degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Sanguinarine also triggered the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The elimination of ROS by N-acetylcysteine reversed sanguinarine-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, sanguinarine induced the dephosphorylation of Akt and the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38. The growth inhibition was enhanced by the combined treatment of sanguinarine with a phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor and an ERK inhibitor but not JNK and p38 inhibitors. Overall, our data indicate that the proapoptotic effects of sanguinarine in HepG2 cells depend on ROS production and the activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways, which is mediated by blocking PI3K/Akt and activating the ERK pathway. Thus, our data suggest that sanguinarine may be a natural compound with potential for use as an antitumor agent in liver cancer.