• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.144-152
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• 2012

Objective: Concerns are growing about the decrease in male reproductive health. Caffeine is one of the popular nutrients that has been implicated as a risk factor for infertility. In the present study, we examined whether in utero and lactational exposure to caffeine affects the reproductive function of the offspring of rats. Methods: Pregnant rats received caffeine via drinking water during gestation (26 and 45 mg/kg) and lactation (25 and 35 mg/kg). Body and reproductive organ weight, seminiferous tubule diameter, germinal epithelium height, sperm parameters, fertility rate, number of implantations, and testosterone level of the offspring were assessed from birth to adulthood. Results: Significant dose-related decreases were observed in the body and reproductive organ weight, seminiferous tubule diameter, and germinal epithelium height of the offspring. Sperm density had declined significantly in offspring of the low-dose and high-dose groups, by 8.81% and 19.97%, respectively, by postnatal day 150. The number of viable fetuses had decreased significantly in females mated with male offspring of the high-dose group at postnatal days 60, 90, 120, and 150. There were also significant reductions in testosterone levels of high-dose group offspring from birth to postnatal day 150. Conclusion: It is concluded that maternal caffeine consumption impairs gonadal development and has long-term adverse effects on the reproductive efficiency of male offspring rats.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.1039-1048
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• 1998

It has been reported that boron may be beneficial for optimal calcium metabolism and, thus, optimal bone metabolism. Therefore, we designed a study to determine the effect of boron supplementation on Ca and bone metabolism in rats. The rats of 80-l40g body weight were given a control(0ug), 5$\mu\textrm{g}$, 10$\mu\textrm{g}$, 20$\mu\textrm{g}$, 40$\mu\textrm{g}$, or 80$\mu\textrm{g}$ boron supplement per Is diet for 4-weeks. The results are summarized as follows. There were no differences in total food intake and weight gain among the experimental groups. fecal Ca excretion, urinary Ca excretion, apparent Ca absorption, Ca retention, serum alkaline phosphatase activity, and urinary hydroxyproline were not affected by boron supplementation. There was no difference in serum creatinine. Whereas, urinary creatinine excretion was increased with increasing boron supplementation, and conse-quently creatinine clearance was increased with boron supplementation. No differences were found in length, weight, density, Ca content of femur and scapular. The findings suggest that boron supplementation was not effective in Ca and bone metabolism in growing rats fed normal Ca diet. (Korean J Nutrition 31(6) : 1039-1048, 1998)

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.154-163
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• 1988

Effects of alchohol and fat content in a balanced diet on chemical composition and morphology of liver were investigated in growing rats. Fourth eight male rats of Sprague-Dawley strain weighing about 160g were divided into 4 groups ; high fat diet group, alcohol-administered high fat diet group, low fat diet group and alcohol-administered high fat diet group, low fat diet group and alcohol-administered low fat diet group. High and low fat diets supplied 30% and 12%, respectively, of total calorie intake from fat, and alcohol was given by adding ethanol in drinking waster at 10%. Diets contained adequate amounts of all nutrients required for rats, including lipotrpoic agents(choline and methionine) to minimize effects of factors other than alcohol on liver damage. Ratios of liver weight to body weight were statistically different among groups. Liver/dody weight ratios alcohol-administered rats were significantly higher than those of non-alcohol groups after 6 weeks treatment. Although total lipid and triglyceride per gram liver were increased in alcohol-administered rats, especially low fat diet fed rats, the values were not significantly different. Opticmicroscopical observation revealed increase in cell size and no change in morphology of liver. Examination of hepatocytes by electron microscopy showed that fat droplets were observed in all groups but enlarged in the alcohol-administered low fat diet fed rat. Contents of protein, cholesterol and phospholipid were not affected by alcohol consumption. The level of lipid peroxide was significantly lower in the livers of alcohol-administered rats than in the livers of non-alcohol groups. The results of this study indicate that even moderate alcohol drinking and dietary fat content did not affect any significant change in composition and morphology of liver until 6 week treatment but that even moderate alcohol drinking caused some signs of steatosis of liver.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.497-501
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• 2000

We investigated the effect of tea fungus/kombucha(TF) beverage on serum and liver lipid metabolism in growing male rats. The rats(Sprague-Dawley) were divided into five groups; control(TF free water), 20 or 40% TF groups(20 or 40% TF in water) and 20 or 40% TFS groups(20 or 40% TF autoclaved in water) according to the level of TF supplementation. The rats were fed ad libitum each of the experimental beverage for 7 weeks. The body weight gain of all the TF and TFS groups were similar to that of the control group. The total lipid and triglyceride concentrations of serum in the 40% TF group were increased more than those in the control group, but those in the 20% TF and 20% TFS groups were similar to that of the control group. The total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol concentrations, HDL-cholesterol / total cholesterol ratio and atherogenic index of serum in all the TF and TFS groups were similar to those of the control group. The LDL-cholesterol concentration of serum was significantly lower in the 20% TF group than that in the control group. The LDL-cholesterol concentration of serum was significantly lower in the 20% TF group than that in the control group, but those of the 40% TF, 20% TFS and 40% TFS groups were similar to that of the control group. The liver weights of all the TF and TFS groups were heavier than that of the control group. The concentrations of hepatic triglyceride in the 20% TF and 20% TFS groups were significantly decreased, compared with that in the control group. The concentrations of hepatic total cholesterol in all the TF and TFS groups were significantly more decreased than that in the control group. These results indicated that the liver weights of tea fungus/kombucha beverage feeding rats were increased, also the serum triglyceride and total cholesterol concentrations of 40% TF feeding rats were increased. but the serum LDL-cholesterol, hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol levels of 20% TF feeding rats were decreased.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.492-503
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• 1990

This study was performed to investigate nutritional effect of various dietary fibers on lead absorption, and protein and lipid metabolisms in growing rats. Sixty male rats of Sprague-Dawley strain weighing 140$\pm$1.1g were blocked into 10 groups according to body weight and fed 10 kinds of diet different with fiber sources [non-fiber, cellulose, pectin, guar gum or carboxymethylcellulose(CMC)] and lead levels (0 or 1%) for 4 weeks. Results were summerized as follows : 1) Food intake, weight gain, FER and PER were remarkably decreased in lead(Pb)-added groups. Weight gain, FER and PER in Pb-added pectin group were significantly lower than those in Pb-added non-fiber group. 2) Liver and kidney weights, femur weight and length, hematocrit and hemoglobin content were decreased in Pb-added groups. Especially femur and liver weights in pectin groups were the lowest among groups. 3) Total protein content in serum was significantly decreased in Pb-added groups but was not different with dietary fiber sources. Total lipid content in serum was not different with dietary Pb levels and fiber sources, but cholesterol content in serum of guar gum group was significantly decreased by Pb addition. 4) Nitrogen, lipid and cholesteol contents in liver were significantly decreased in Pb-added groups, and lipid content in liver of pectin and CMC groups was lower than other groups. 5) Daily urinary and fecal excretions of nitrogen, kipid and cholesterol were decreased in Pb-added groups, and fecal nitrogen was significantly increased in Pb-added groups, and fecal nitrogen of cellulose and guar gum groups was significantly higher than other groups. Fecal excretions of lipid and cholesterol were increased by dietary fibers, and especially fecal lipid was remarkably increased in pectin and guar hum group. 6) Pb contents in liver and femur were decreased by dietary fibers. Especially Pb contents in liver, kidney and femur were significantly decreased in guar gum group. 7) Daily urinary and fecal excretions of Pb were significantly increased in cellulose and guar gum groups, and fecla excretion of Pb in guar gum group was twice of non-fiber group. Pb absorption ratio was significantly decreased in guar gum group. In conclusion, dietary fibers have effect on protein and lipid metabolisms, and decreased intestinal absorption of Pb by increasing fecal excretion. But the degree of effect was different with dietary fiber sources.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.9-15
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• 1973

Some effect on the protein metabolism in growing albino rats by feeding on the rice mixed with wheat or barley have been studied. The species of wheat and barley used in this experiment were either 80% polished or nonpolished wheat, barley and naked barley. The growing rats to be examined were fed on 30% wheat or barley mixed with rice diets for 8 weeks. The total nitrogen, creatinine, amino acid nitrogen and urea-nitrogen contents in the liver and the creatinine and urea-nitrogen contents in the urine have been measured. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. The total nitrogen contents in the liver and the serum were no remarkable difference by feeding on each mixed diet, compared with the rice diet group. 2. The creatinine contents in the liver of the unpolished wheat and barley mixed diet groups were the similar to that of the rice diet group, but these were higher by feeding on the polished wheat and barley mixed with rice diets. 3. The amino acid nitrogen contents in the liver of the polished naked barley mixed with rice diet groups were the similar to that of the rice diet group, but these were higher by feeding on the other mixed diets than the rice diet. 4. The urea-nitrogen contents in the serum of the polished wheat and naked barley mixed with rice diet groups were higher than that of the rice diet group, but these were significantly lower by feeding on the polished barley mixed with rice diets than the others. 5. The creatinine and the urea-nitrogen contents in the urine of the original wheat and barley mixed with rice diet groups were higher than that of the polished wheat and barley mixed with rice diet groups. In the view of the above results, it could be seen that the protein metabolism was remarkable change according to polish of the wheat and barley.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.236-243
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• 2006

Purposes: This experimental study was designed to verify the effect of inhalation of essential oils on body weight, feed intake, food efficiency rate and serum leptin. Methods: The subjects of this study were 90 growing SD rats(46 males and 44 females). They were allocated into one of four groups, the Fennel group, Patchouli group, Bergamot group and control group. The experimental treatment was the inhalation of aromatherapy essential oils which was applied two times a day for 10 minutes each during 8 weeks. To evaluate the effects, body weight, feed intake, food efficiency rate and serum leptin were measured before and after the treatment. The collected data was analyzed by repeated measures of Kolmogorov-smirnov test and Normal Q-Q plot for nomality, Kruskal Wallis test and $X^2-test$ for experimental effects with the SPSS program. Results: The food efficiency rate was significantly lower in the Patchouli group and Fennel group than in the Bergamot group and control group(P=.000). No significant group effects were found for SD rat's body weight, feeding amount and serum leptin. Conclusion: In conclusion, these findings indicate that the inhalation of essential oils could be effective in lowering the food efficiency rate rather than the feed intake.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.485-496
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• 1989

This study was performed to investigate nutritional effect of various dietary fibers on lead absorption and metabolism of protein and lipid in growing rats. Forty eight male rats of Sprague-Dawley strain weighing 75.7$\pm$0.7g were blocked into six groups according to body weight and fed six kinds of diet different with fiber source(non-fiber, cellulose, pectin) and lead level(0%, 1% ) for 4 weeks. Results are summerized as follows: 1) Food intake, weight gain, FER and PER were remarkably decreased in lead(Pb) added groups, and FER and PER in Pb-added pectin group were significantly lower than those in Pb-added non-fiber group. 2) Weight of liver, kidney and epididymal fat pad, bone weight and length, hematocrit, and hemoglobin content were decreased in Pb-added groups. 3) Total protein content in serum was tended to be decreased in Pb-added groups, but total lipid and cholesterol contents in serum were not different with dietary Pb level and fiber source. 4) Nitrogen, lipid and cholesterol content in liver were tended to be deceased in Pb-added groups, and especially those of the Pb-added pectin group were the lowest among groups. 5) Daily urinary and fecal excretions of nitrogen, lipid and cholesterol were decreased in Pb-added groups. Especially fecal excretions of nitrogen, lipid and cholesterol in Pb-free groups were significantly increased by dietary cellulose and pectin. 6) Pb content in blood was significantly increased in Pb-added pectin group. There was no significant decrease in Pb contents of liver, kidney and tibia, and increase in excretion of Pb by feeding dietary fibers. In conculsion, dietary fibers had no effect on the absorption of Pb, and dietary pectin seemed to increase Pb poisoning by decreasing bioavailibility of protein, lipid and other nutrients in the diet.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 1981

This study was conducted to find out the effects of estrogen and progesterone on body weight, uterine weight and serum prolactin levels on the growing female rats which were ovariectomized. For this purpose, 125 heads of rats (Wistar-Imamichi strain), 28 days old, were devided into 5 groups; OVariectomy(Ovx.), ovariectomy treated with estrogen(Ovx.+Est.), ovariectomy treated with progesterone(Ovx.+Prog.), ovariectomy treated with estrogen and progesterone(Ovx.+Est.+Prog.) and control group. Twenty-five heads of rats were arranged to each group, and changes of body weights were weekly checked. On the other hand, every 5 heads of rats in each group were sacrificed at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks after treatments with time elapse for measuring concentrations of serum prolactin and for investigating the weights of ulterus. Prolactin concentrations in the serum were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. The results obtained are as follows; 1. The body weights were increased slightly in Ovx. in comparison with Ovx.+Prog., Ovx.+Est.+Prog., Ovx.+Est. and control groups, but there were not significant among the compared groups at all observation times. 2. The uterine weights in all treatment groups were decreased significantly (P<0.01) compared with control groups at all observation times. But the weights in Ovx. and Ovx.+Prog. groups were lower than those in Ovx.+Est. and Ovx.+Est.+Prog.. 3. Serum prolactin concentrations were increased slightly in control group in comparison with other groups at 1 and 2 weeks increased slightly in control group in comparison with other groups at 1 and 2 weeks after treatment. But compared with control group, the concentrations Ovx.+Est. and Ovx.+Est.+Prog. were high level, and those in other groups were low level in the order of Ovx. and Ovx.+Prog. groups at 3, 4 and 5 weeks after treatment. There were not significant among the compared groups at all observation times. 4. The results obtained in this study suggest that when ovariectomized rats receive 1$\mu$g estrogen and 3mg progesterone daily, that had no effect on body weight and serum prolactin concentrations while significantly effect on the weight of uterus.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.98-104
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• 2002

Objectives: Calpain, a calcium-dependent cysteine proteinase, may be one of the proteolytic enzymes that mediate cartilage degradation associated with rheumatoid arthritis. The object of this study is to ascertain immunohistochemically whether calpain is present in the inflamed joints of collagen-induced arthritis of rats, and examine the effect of Cortex Acanthopanacis Senticosi on the expression of calpain. Methods: Male Lewis rats, around 200g of body weight, were immunized with bovine type II collagen. After 3 weeks from first immunization, rats were divided into arthritic control (n=6) group and Cortex Acanthopanacis Senticosi-treated (n=6) group. Non-immunized rats served as the normal (n=6) group. All animals were sacrificed at 15 days post-treatment and tibiotarsal joints were removed. Calpain immunohistochemistry was performed on the midsagittal section of the tibiotarsal joint. Results: All animals of the control and treated groups showed ankylosing osteoarthritis. However, the animals of the treated group showed alleviation in the fibrous ankylosis, destruction of articular cartilage and destruction of subchondral bony tissue compared with the animals of the control group. Calpain was expressed in the chondrocyte lacunae of growing articular cartilage, in the skeletal muscle fibers, in the peripheral nerves, and in the vessel walls around the joints of all groups. In the control and treated groups, calpain was also expressed in proliferating synovial epithelia, subsynovial stroma cells, surface of articular cartilage, and fibrous pannus around destructive subchondral bony tissue. However, the expression density of calpain in the treated group was diminished compared with the control group, especially in surface of articular cartilage and fibrous pannus. Conclusions: These observations indicated that calpain plays an important role in the destruction of cartilage and bone in collagen-induced arthritis of rats, and also indicated that Cortex Acanthopanacis Senticosi inhibits the development of arthritis by decreasing the expression of calpain.