• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.11
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• pp.1759-1762
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• 2015

Tarak is a Korean traditional fermented milk product that is fermented by adding rice wine to milk. Tarak was produced with Lactobacillus paracasei ssp. paracasei M13-65-3 isolated from rice wine, and its effects on immune cell proliferation and melanin biosynthesis were investigated. Tarak extract significantly increased proliferation of T lymphocyte Jurkat clone E6-1 cells at concentrations from 10 to $100{\mu}g/mL$. Tarak inhibited activities of tyrosinase and ${\alpha}$-melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced melanin biosynthesis in mouse skin B16-F10 cells at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/mL$. These results suggest that tarak might have functionalities for enhancing the immune system by increasing immune cell proliferation and regulating melanin biosynthesis.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2010

Acanthopanax Koreanum stem (AK) has been used in Korea as a tonic and sedative as well as a drug with ginseng like activities. The purpose of our present study was to investigate the effects of AK extract (AKE) and Eleutheroside E, major component of AKE on an exacerbated immune function through utilization of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) diet by using forced swimming test (FST). The immobility time were significantly decreased in the AKE or Eleutheroside E-administrated group compared with the control group on the FST (P < 0.05). The level of blood parameters were not changed significantly. PEM-induced weight loss of mice was reduced by oral administration of 500 mg/kg AKE. AKE oral administration improved the nutritional status such as the food efficiency ratio and the adrenal gland weight. AKE treatment significantly increased the production of interferon (IFN)-$\gamma$ compared with unstimulated splenocytes but not interleukin (IL)-4. Eleutheroside E also significantly increased the IFN-$\gamma$ production but not IL-2 and IL-4 in T cell line, MOLT-4 cells. These results suggest that AKE and Eleutheroside E may influence to immune-enhancing through increasing the physical endurance capacity and immune cell activation.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.215-223
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• 2000

To understand immunopharmacologic effects on Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu, Morindae Officinalis Radix, Cistanches Herba, Curculginis Rhizoma, Epimedii Herba, Eucommiae Cortex, we investigated chinese experimental documents, and we could reach conclusions as follows : 1. The effects on cell-mediated immune system were as follows. 1) The effects on macrophage (1) The herbal medicines promoting to increase the number of WBC in the peripheral blood were Morindae Officinalis Radix, Epimedii Herba and that promoting to reinforce the phagocytic functions of neutrophil was Curculginis Rhizoma. (2) The herbal medicines promoting the phagocytic functions of mononuclear, macrophage were Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu, Cistanches Herba, Eucommiae Cortex. 2) The herbal medicines stimulating the activities of T lymphocytes were Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu, Curculginis Rhizoma, Epimedii Herba, Eucommiae Cortex. 2. The effects on humoral immune system were as follows. 1) The herbal medicines increasing the activity of complement receptor were Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu, Curculginis Rhizoma. 2) The herbal medicines reinforcing immunity of spleen cells were Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu, Cistanches Herba, Epimedii Herba. 3) The herbal medicines promoting proliferation of spleen cells that produce antibody after having been immunized by SRBC were Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu, Cistanches Herba, Epimedii Herba. 3. The herbal medicines, reinforcing immunity on delayed type hypersensitivity were Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu, Cistanches Herba, Eucommiae Cortex. As you know in the many bibliological documents, the studies on the effects of Drugs for Tonifying Yang were started along right lines. Recently the studies on those were accomplished more rapidly and applied many immune diseases. We thought that Drugs for Tonifying Yang could be important immunopotentiators. Therefore we can apply those herbal medicines not only to immune diseases but also inflammatory diseases, senile infirmity and all sorts of tumor.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2014

In order to determine the functional benefits of Cordyceps militaris in the immune system, we examined the immunomodulatory activities of C. militaris using an immunocompromised C57BL/6 mice, mouse spleen cells, RAW 264.7 macrophage cells, and A549 lung carcinoma cells. Mice were injected intraperitioneally with an immunosuppressive drug, cyclophosphamide, and then administered orally with 30, 100 and 300 mg/kg of 50% ethanol extract of C. militaris (CME 30, CME 100 and CME 300) for 14 days. CME increased splenocyte proliferation and natural killer (NK) cell activity compared to 3% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-treated control mice. CME also increased the production of Th1 cytokines, IL-2 and TNF-${\alpha}$ in spleen cells isolated from CME-injected mice and in vitro, which suggested the enhanced cellular immunity in response to CME. CME also increased splenocyte proliferation, NK cell activity, and IL-2 and TNF-${\alpha}$ production compared to 1 ${\mu}M$ methotrexate-treated spleen cells in vitro. We examined whether C. militaris regulates the production of inflammatory mediators in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. CME inhibited LPS-induced NO production and iNOS expression in a dose dependent manner, while COX-2 expression was remained unchanged. In addition, CME also has free radical scavenging activity, indicating its antioxidant activity. These results indicate that C. militaris enhances immune activity by promoting immune cell proliferation and cytokine production.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.298-305
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• 2012

The general term flavonoids is often used to categorize a family of natural compounds that are highly abundant in all higher plants, and which in recent years have attracted scientific interest as therapeutics. Lutein is a xanthophyll and one of 600 known naturally occurring carotenoids. It is found in green vegetables such as spinach and kale, and has been demonstrated to exert anti-inflammatory activities. However, its anti-allergic effect in the Th1/Th2 immune response is poorly understood. In this study, we attempt to determine whether lutein regulates inflammatory mediators in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine asthma model. To address this, mice were sensitized and challenged with OVA, and then treated with lutein before the last OVA challenge. Administration of lutein significantly suppressed the OVA-induced airway hyper-responsiveness. It also resulted in a significant alleviation of the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the bronchoalveolar lavage. Additionally, lutein attenuated the increased expression of Th2 responses in OVA-challenged mice. These results demonstrate that lutein is a potent inhibitor that reduces Th2 immune responses. Furthermore, they show that the immunopharmacological function is mediated by a pathway that involves and is regulated by Th2 immune response.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.303-314
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• 1992

Experiments were performed on mice to investigate the effect of methionine diets (MET) on the immunotoxicity of ethanol. ICR female mice were divided into 5 groups, Met (Basal (B)+0.19% methionine(M), B+1.71% M and B+5.13%W) and ethanol(4%) were administered ad libitum for 21 days. The mice were evaluated for changes in immune status as measured by antibody titer, Arthus reaction, delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH), rosette forming cell(RFC) and plaque forming cell (PFC) to sheep red blood cells (S-RBC). To investigate the change of the non-specific immune response, the number of leukocytes in peripheral blood and phagocyte activity were measured. The results were summarized as follows: (1) The weight ratios of spleen and thymus to body weight were significantly increased by the B+0.19% M, B+0.57% M and B+1.71% M groups in comparison with control group(B), but B+5.13% M group was significantly decreased. (2) Humoral immune responses were significantly increased by the B+0.19% M and B+0.57% M groups in comparison with control group, but B+5.13% M group was significantly decreased. (3) Cellular immune responses were significantly decreased by the B+1.71% M and B+5.13% M groups in comparison with control group. (4) Phagocyte activities were significantly increased by the B+0.19% M, B+0.57% M and B+1.71% M groups in comparison with control groups, but B+5.13% M group was significantly decreased. (5) The number of circulating leukocyte was significantly increased in the B+0.19% M and B+0.57% M groups in comparison with control group, but B+5.13% M group was significantly decreased.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.955-964
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• 2023

Bee pollen is a valuable apitherapeutic product and has been known to have diverse biological activities, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and even anticancer activity. However, its effect on the immune system is not well studied and is rather controversial. This study intended to elucidate the biological activity of bee pollen on immunity. For this purpose, we used lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding, which shows increased extraction of bioactive components and enhanced biological activity. First, lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding significantly increased the proliferation of splenocytes isolated from normal mice. On the other hand, lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding dose-dependently reversed splenocyte proliferation by concanavalin A or lipopolysaccharide. To clarify the activity of bee pollen on immunity lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding was administered daily to mice for five weeks and isolated splenocytes. In this study, there was no significant difference in the population of immune cells and the size of spleen between bee pollen- and sterile water-treated groups. However, proliferation of splenocyte isolated from bee pollen-administered animals was boosted by both concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide. Finally, kaempferol, a well-known flavonoid from bee pollen, dose-dependently increased splenocyte proliferation by both Con A and LPS. On the other hand, naringenin, another flavonoid in the bee pollen, dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation of splenocytes by Con A and LPS. Together, these data indicate that bee pollen may be able to prime the immunity to boost immune reaction after inflammation.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.41.1-41.16
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• 2022

The human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 has chemotactic and modulatory activities in various immune cells, including dendritic cells. Because of its characteristics, LL-37 can be considered an adjuvant for vaccine development. In this study, we confirmed the possible adjuvant activity of LL-37 in mucosal vaccine development against Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) by means of intranasal immunization in C57BL/6 and human dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (hDPP4)-transgenic (hDPP4-Tg) mice. Intranasal immunization using the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of MERS-CoV spike protein (S-RBD) recombined with LL-37 (S-RBD-LL-37) induced an efficient mucosal IgA and systemic IgG response with virus-neutralizing activity, compared with S-RBD. Ag-specific CTL stimulation was also efficiently induced in the lungs of mice that had been intranasally immunized with S-RBD-LL-37, compared with S-RBD. Importantly, intranasal immunization of hDPP4-Tg mice with S-RBD-LL-37 led to reduced immune cell infiltration into the lungs after infection with MERS-CoV. Finally, intranasal immunization of hDPP4-Tg mice with S-RBD-LL-37 led to enhanced protective efficacy, with increased survival and reduced body weight loss after challenge infection with MERS-CoV. Collectively, these results suggest that S-RBD-LL-37 is an effective intranasal vaccine candidate molecule against MERS-CoV infection.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.572-579
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• 2024

Peptidoglycan is considered a type of prebiotic or immunostimulant. However, the utilization of these substances in aquaculture remains limited, with no reported results in striped catfish. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of peptidoglycan on the growth performance and immune status of striped catfish. Fish were fed on diets supplemented with various concentrations of peptidoglycan at 0, 2.5, 5, and 10 g/kg of feed, named to PL0, PL2.5, PL5, and PL10 treatments at 4% of fish weight during 4 weeks. Blood samples were collected after 2 and 4 weeks of experiment (T2 and T4) for hematological indices and immune analyses, including lysozyme and peroxidase activities. Results demonstrated that no significant differences were found in fish growth, survival rate, and intestinal indices. The improvements in feed conversion and protein efficiency ratios were observed in PL2.5-fed fish compared to the control. Peroxidase activity in PL10 group was higher than PL0 at T4 while the highest value of lysozyme activity was recorded in fish fed PL10 at T2. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of peptidoglycan at 2.5 g per kg of diet induced a beneficial effect on feed utilization, while positive influences on immune parameters were recorded in fish fed on a diet added peptidoglycan at 10 g/kg feed.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.154-160
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• 2005

This study was performed to compare anticancer and immune activities between natural Artemisia capillaris Thunb. extract and tissue cultured plant extract (hairy root, in vitro culture, callus). The inhibitory effect of cancer cell growth, human B cell growth and productivity of cytokines were examined. Furthermore, HPLC analysis was performed to confirm the components. The anticancer activities increased by more than 55% with the cultured callus of Artemisia capillaris T. for four cancer cell lines(Lung carcunoma, Stomach adenocarcinoma, Hepatocillular carcinoma, Breast adenocarcinoma), showing higher effect than natural Artemisia capillaris T. The extracts from hairy root and in vitro culture of Artemisia capillaris T. significantly increased the immune B cell growth. The immune B cell growth effect of natural Artemisia capillaris T. was higher than that of the tissue culture plants such as hairy root, in vitro culture and callus. Both natural and tissue cultured plants showed similar effects on cytokine secretion. The similar peak size was observed between natural Artemisia capillaris T. and cultured callus in HPLC analysis. As a results, the biological activities were not observed the difference between natural Artemisia capillaris T. and cultured callus. Thus, the cultured callus will be altered natural Artemisia capillaris T. in the environmental side and the resources preservative side