• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2014

■ Objectives This study was designed to investigate the effects of Ephedra Herba hexane fraction on lipid levels in serum and lipid accumulation in liver tissue in Hyperlipidemic mice. ■ Methods Hyperlipidemia was induced by providing high fat diet for 4 weeks. Normal group was provided with normal diet. CTL groupwas provided with high fat diet. Ephedra Herba hexane fraction group was provieded with high fat diet and administered orally in the concentration of 1.5mg/kg body weight/day for 2 weeks. In this experiment, effects on total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, AST, ALT, fasting blood glucose in serum were measured. In addition histopathological changes in liver tissue were also observed. ■ Results Ephedra Herba hexane fraction did not affects weight gain, serum AST and ALT in hyperlipidemic mice. Oral administration of Ephedra Herba hexane fraction lowered levels of total cholesterol and triglyceride, which were elevated by induction of hyperlipidemia. In addition, Ephedra Herba hexane fraction group showed downward tendency of lipid accumulation compared with CTL group. Finally, administration of Ephedra Herba hexane fraction lowered fasting blood glucose significantly. And Ephedra Herba hexane fraction also ameliorates anti-oxidative stress systems in internal organs which play key role in disease prevention. ■ Conclusion These results suggest that Ephedra Herba hexane fraction can prevent lipid accumulation in liver tissue through regulation of dyslipidemia and hyperglycaemia.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.816-821
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• 1999

Cholesterol esterase(pCEH, pancreas cholesterol ester hydrolase, E.C.3.1.1.13) which is secreted from pancreas has been known as an important lipase for cholesterol uptake. cholesteryl acyl esters from a diet must be hydrolyzed to free cholesterol and fatty acid by cholesterol esterase before the absorption in small intestine. For the development of inhibitory substances from natural source, we screened many extracts of oriental herbs for the inhibition of cholesterol esterase in vitro. The ethanol extract of Ephedra herba showed strong inhibitory activity. Solvent fractionation and silica gel column chromatography with the extract lead to the purification of the inhibitory principle in Ephedra herba. Crystallized inhibitor was identified as ( ) ephedrine by using UV, FT IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and GC/Mass. These results suggest that ( ) ephedrine can be used as a potential lead compound for the development of inhibitor for cholesterol uptake by cholesterol esterase inhibition.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.101-113
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• 2014

Objective : Ephedra Herba has been widely used for patients with common cold, asthma in eastern countries, especially china japan and korea. Recently it has been also used for obesity in clinic with high frequency. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Ephedra Herba ethyl-acetate fraction (EEAF) on hyperlipidemic mice. Method : Effects on total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, AST, ALT, fasting blood glucose in serum were measured in this experiment, and in addition, histopathological and gene expression changes in liver tissue was also observed. Results : In our study, EEAF did not affect weight gain in hyperlipidemic mice. Oral administration of EEAF lowered levels of total cholesterol which were elevated by induction of hyperlipidemia. And administration of EEAF lowered fasting blood glucose significantly. By carrying out ontological analysis, large numbers of genes were identified in up or down regulated genes. The expression of the genes that were altered in response to high-fat diet was restored to normal levels in EEAF treated mice, with a recovery rate of 49%. And it was considered that fatty acid metabolism was one of important key pathway of the recovery. Conclusion : Results in our study suggest that EEAF can prevent obese and through regulation of dyslipidemia and hyperglycaemia.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.72-79
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is analyzed of exploratory research potential as anti-obesity agents of Euiiin-tang. Four Korean databases and 2 Korean Journals (Riss4U, KISS, OASIS, DBPIA, and Journal of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, Journal of Korean Medicine of Obesity Research) were searched using search word 'individual herbs' and 'obesity', 'weight loss', 'fat', 'hypertension', 'hyperlipidemia', 'diabetes'. Clinical and Experimental Research published in the journal were analyzed, review research, studies of pharmacopunctures and studies of mixed herbal medicine were excluded. We collected 23 studies. Seven studies of Coicis Semen, 10 stdies of Ephedra Herba, 2 study of Angelica gigas Nakai, 3 studies Atractylodis Rhizoma Alba, 1 studies of Glycyrrhiza inflata Batal. Most studies were experiment researches which were composed of in vivo or in vitro, and clinical trial was 5 studies of Ephedra Herba. Main constituent herb, Coicis Semen, Ephedra Herba were thought to represent an anti-obesity effect. Through the result, we can assume to be likely effect of Euiiin-tang as obesity medicine.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.1294-1302
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• 2019

Objective: Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), one of the gut peptide hormones, has an action to induce satiety, and its effect as an anti-obesity agent is known. Recently, it has been reported that many herbal medicines have an anti-diabetic effect through inhibition of DPP-4 enzyme and inducing of GLP-1 secretion. It is therefore suggested that GLP-1 may be effective for the treatment of obesity. In this study, we report a case of male obese patients treated with herbal medicine as a GLP-1 secretagogue. Methods: In this study, the patient took a fixed prescription of herbal medicine for 10 weeks and recorded his weight at each visit. Results: This prescription produced significant weight loss (BMI loss>5%). In the follow-up period after two weeks, the trend of weight loss was observed continuously. Conclusion: This prescription can be an alternative to ephedra herba-based obesity treatment.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.762-765
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• 2008

Ephedrae herba(Ma-huang) has been used to treat respiratory conditions for over 5,000 years. The early 1990s, the herbal ephedra and other products containing ephedrine began to be promoted as weight loss aids in United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate the acute toxicity of hebal ephedra in rats. SPF Sprague-Dawley male and female rats were administered orally with herbal ephedra extract of 2,500 mg/kg(low dosage group), and 5,000 mg/kg(high dosage group). We daily examined number of deaths, clinical signs, body weights and gross findings for 14 days. No dead animal and no significant changes of body weights were found during the experimental period. In addition, no differences were found between control and treated groups in clinical signs, hematology, serum biochemistry, and other findings. In conclusion, herbal ephedra extract did not show any toxic effects and oral LD50 value was over 5,000 mg/kg in SD rats.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.264-273
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• 2022

The purpose of this report is to describe the effects of Qingfei Paidu decoction (QPD) and QPD without Ephedra Herba on COVID-19 patients. One COVID-19 patient was treated with QPD and two others who had been sensitive to ephedra were treated with QPD without it. The fever, cough, and sore throat of all three were monitored three times a day through non-face-to-face assessment for a total of five to seven days, and cough and throat pain changes were evaluated with a numeric rating scale (NRS). After treatment, the fever and NRS scores were improved for all three patients. These results indicate that both QPD and QPD without Ephedra Herba is an effective treatment for COVID-19 symptoms.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.63-76
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• 2014

Objectives : This study investigated the improvement effects of Pakistani (DF-a) and Chinese Ephedra herba-containing Gangjihwan (DF-b) on obesity in a high fat diet-fed obese mouse model. Methods : Eight-week-old C57BL/6N mice were divided into four groups: a normal lean group given a standard diet, an obese control group given a high fat diet, and DF-a and DF-b groups given a high fat diet with DF-a (80 mg/kg), and DF-b (80 mg/kg), respectively. After 8 weeks of treatment, body weight gain, feeding efficiency ratio, blood lipid markers, fat weight and histology were examined. Results : 1. Body weight gain and fat mass were significantly decreased in DF-a and DF-b groups compared with control. The extent of decreases was eminent in DF-a group. 2. Feeding efficiency ratio and circulating leptin concentration were significantly decreased in DF-a and DF-b groups compared with control, whereas circulating adiponectin concentration was increased in DF-a and DF-b groups compared with control. 3. Consistent with their effects on body weight gain and fat mass, circulating concentrations of triglyceride, glucose and insulin were decreased in DF-a and DF-b groups compared with control. 4. The size of adipocytes were decreased by DF-a and DF-b compared with control, whereas the adipocyte number per unit area was increased by them, suggesting that DF-a and DF-b decreased the number of large adipocytes. 5. Consistent with their effects on body weight gain, liver fibrosis was reduced in DF-a and DF-b groups compared with control. Conclusions : In conclusion, these results suggest that DF-a and DF-b not only decrease feeding efficiency ratio, plasma leptin concentration, and blood anti-obesity biomarkers, but also reduce fat mass, contributing to the improvement of obesity. DF-a and DF-b also inhibit liver fibrosis. In addition, these effects were similar between Pakistani Ephedra herba and Chinese Ephedra herba-containing Gangjihwan.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 1986

Water extracts of 21 traditional Korean herbal drugs were prepared, and a dose range of 100 mg/kg to 400 mg/kg was administered orally into mice once a day for five days. Changes of serum enzyme activities of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), alkaline phosphatase, body weight changes and histo pathological examination of various organs were investigated. Water extract of Ephedra Herba caused severe body weight loss at a dose of 100 mg/kg and death from a dose level of 200 mg/kg by oral administration. Angelica koreanae Radix and Anthrisci Radix showed a slight body weight loss and damages to liver and kidney.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.141-153
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• 2024

Objective : Ephedrae Herba (Ephedra) has been frequently used in the East Asian traditional medicine including Korea, China and Japan in the clinical treatment of asthma, cold and influenza etc. This study was performed to explore an anti-fibrogenic potential of Ephedra Herba water extract (EHE) using immortalized human hepatic stellate cell line, LX-2 cells. Methods : We examined the anti-fibrogenic effects of EHE on canonical pathway of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signaling in LX-2 cells. Cell viability was measured using the MTT assay. mRNA levels were detected by real-time PCR. Proteins expression were detected by Western blot. Results : Treatment of EHE 30 ㎍/ml did not show any cytotoxicity on LX-2 cells. Pre-treatment of EHE (30 ㎍/mL) significantly inhibited α-smooth muscle actin expression induced by TGF-β1. Additionally, EHE significantly decreased Smad2 and Smad3 phosphorylations, Smad binding element-driven luciferase activity and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 expression by TGF-β1. Furthermore, increases of matrix metalloproteinases 2 genes by TGF-β1 was also attenuated by EHE treatment. Conclusion : These results suggest that EHE has an ability to suppress fibrogenic process in activated HSC via inhibition of TGF-β1-TGFBR mediated canonical (Smad dependent) pathway.