• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2017

The objective of this study was to examine the immune-enhancing effects of polysaccharides isolated from Phellinus linteus mycelium on Mori ramulus. Crude polysaccharides were isolated by pressurized extraction ($121^{\circ}C$, $1.2kgf/cm^2$, 3 h), ethanol precipitation, and lyophilization. In addition, crude polysaccharides were further fractionated into unabsorbed fractions (PF-1, fraction No. 3~15) and absorbed fractions (PF-2, fraction No. 24~33) by DEAE-sepharose CL-6B column chromatography in order to isolate immune-regulating polysaccharides. The major constituents in PF-1 and PF-2 were total sugar (75.51% and 52.38%), total protein (1.63% and 8.41%), uronic acid (17.53% and 15.04%), and ${\beta}-glucan$ (28.33% and 25.04%), respectively. PF-1 increased production of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in a dose-dependent manner. The mRNA expression levels of inducible NO synthetase, cyclooxygenase-2, $TNF-{\alpha}$, and IL-6 markedly increased as determined by polymerase chain reaction analysis. The above data led us to conclude that macrophage activation of purified polysaccharides was higher than that of crude polysaccharides. The polysaccharides isolated from P. linteus mycelium on M. ramulus investigated herein are useful as natural immune-enhancing agents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.269-275
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• 2007

In this experiment, the effects of Asterina pectinifera extracts on the activation of immune cells were studied. An immune cell activating factor was partially purified from starfish, Asterina pectinifera, by means of physiological saline extraction, acetone precipitation and heating inactivation. Starfish extracts increased the proliferation of spleen cells and induced the production of IL-6 and $IFN-{\gamma}$ by spleen cells. Also, it increased the proliferation of purified B cells and production of IgM and IgG in the presence of Asterina pectinifera extracts. Starfish extract self-induced NO synthesis in mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7). When cell lines was treated with extracts, the mRNA expression of inducible NO synthetase (iNOS), $TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-6, and GM-CSF were markedly increased in RT-PCR analysis. Therefore starfish extract can self-activate spleen cells, B cells and macrophages. These results might be useful in further studies into a possible immune activating agent from the starfish, Asterina pectinifera, for the development of functional foods and drugs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2016

This study investigated the fermentation effect of Taraxacum platycarpum Dahlst. leaf extracts using Hericium ernaceum mycelia to test antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro. The antioxidant activities of fermented or non-fermented extracts of T. platycarpum leaves were determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activity. The leaf extract of T. platycarpum showed higher antioxidant activity than extract of fermented leaves. However, ethanolic extract of fermented T. platycarpum leaves decreased levels of nitric oxide production and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, fermented leaf extract suppressed protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in RAW 264.7 cell culture. Therefore, the enhanced anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extracts of fermented T. platycarpum leaves might be attributed to the molecular conversion of leaf ingredients during fermentation and the active ingredients might have specific affinity with ethanol during extraction.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.33-43
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• 2014

This study was performed to investigate the protective effects of acupuncture on the liver in the oxidative stress caused by cadmium accumulation. Sprague-Dawley male($150{\pm}30g$) rats were stabilized for a week and divided into 5 groups which is normal, control, $LR_3$ acupuncture, $BL_{23}$ acupuncture and sham acupuncture group. For three days experimental groups were received oral doses of cadmium 2 mg/kg twice a day. Acupuncture was given bilaterally at each point 10 times for two weeks. The depth of stimulation was 1 mm at right angles and torsion of acupuncture was produced 2 times per second for 1 minutes. The liver was shipped off and taken weight at the last day of two weeks, and hepatic functions was confirmed through alanine transaminase(ALT) and aspartate amino-transferase(AST). We measured reactive oxygen species of serum, liver and kidney, and compared expression levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase(Gpx), nuclear factor erythroid derived 2-related factor 2(Nrf-2), heme oxygenase-1(HO-1), nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$), cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS), Bax and Cytochrome c. $BL_{23}$ acupuncture group significantly increased liver weight and decreased ALT compared to control group. For the oxidative stress, $LR_3$ acupuncture group significantly reduced reactive oxygen species, and $BL_{23}$ acupuncture group significantly reduced reactive oxygen species and inflammation-related protein compared to control group. But $LR_3$ acupuncture group and $BL_{23}$ acupuncture group didn't significantly reduce apoptosis-related protein. Therefore $LR_3$ and $BL_{23}$ acupuncture showed the effects of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, especially $BL_{23}$ acupuncture was more effective than $LR_3$ acupuncture on the protection of liver in the oxidative stress.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.308-313
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• 2007

Background: The nitric oxide (NO) released by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of sepsis. Corticosteroids also play a role in the hemodynamic and inflammatory reactions in sepsis. Both have been shown to have a relationship theoretically, but their correlation and clinical impacts have rarely been evaluated. Methods: 26 patients with sepsis and 14 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The initial random plasma total NO and the serum cortisol levels were measured. The same measurements were serially carried out on the $3^{rd}$, $5^{th}$, and $7^{th}$ days. Results: The initial total plasma levels of NO and cortisol were higher in the patients with sepsis than in the healthy controls. The total NO levels were higher in patients with severe sepsis than in the those with mild sepsis. There was a correlation between the total NO and cortisol level throughout the study. Conclusion: In patients with sepsis, the levels of plasma NO and cortisol were well correlated during the first week of sepsis, which suggests an interrelationship. However, the clinical and pathogenetic implications await further evaluation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.595-603
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• 2016

(E)-3-Phenyl-1-(2-pyrrolyl)-2-propenone (PPP) is a pyrrole derivative of chalcone, in which the B-ring of chalcone linked to ${\beta}$-carbon is replaced by pyrrole group. While pyrrole has been studied for possible Src inhibition activity, chalcone, especially the substituents on the B-ring, has shown pharmaceutical, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant properties via inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ activity. Our study is aimed to investigate whether this novel synthetic compound retains or enhances the pharmaceutically beneficial activities from the both structures. For this purpose, inflammatory responses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW264.7 cells were analyzed. Nitric oxide (NO) production, inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) mRNA expression, and the intracellular inflammatory signaling cascade were measured. Interestingly, PPP strongly inhibited NO release in a dose-dependent manner. To further investigate this anti-inflammatory activity, we identified molecular pathways by immunoblot analyses of nuclear fractions and whole cell lysates prepared from LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells with or without PPP pretreatment. The nuclear levels of p50, c-Jun, and c-Fos were significantly inhibited when cells were exposed to PPP. Moreover, according to the luciferase reporter gene assay after cotransfection with either TRIF or MyD88 in HEK293 cells, NF-${\kappa}B$-mediated luciferase activity dose-dependently diminished. Additionally, it was confirmed that PPP dampens the upstream signaling cascade of NF-${\kappa}B$ and AP-1 activation. Thus, PPP inhibited Syk, Src, and TAK1 activities induced by LPS or induced by overexpression of these genes. Therefore, our results suggest that PPP displays anti-inflammatory activity via inhibition of Syk, Src, and TAK1 activity, which may be developed as a novel anti-inflammatory drug.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2010

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophic factor involved in neuronal differentiation, plasticity, survival and regeneration. BDNF draws massive attention mainly due to the potential as a therapeutic target in neurological diseases such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. In a primary screening for the natural compounds enhancing BDNF release from cultured rat primary cortical neuron, we found that compounds such as baicalein, tanshinone IIa, cinnamic acid, epiberberine, genistein and wogonin among many others increased BDNF release. All the compounds at $0.1{\mu}M$ of concentration barely showed stimulatory effect on BDNF induction, however, their combination (mixture 1; baicalein, tanshinone IIa and cinnamic acid, mixture 2; epiberberine, genistein and wogonin) showed synergistic increase in BDNF release as well as mRNA and protein expression. The level of BDNF expression was comparable to the maximum BDNF stimulation attainable by a positive control oroxylin A ($20{\mu}M$) without cell toxicity as determined by MTT analysis. Both mixtures synergistically increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) as well as cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), an immediate and essential regulator of BDNF expression. Similar to these results, mixture of these compounds synergistically inhibited the up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by lipopolysaccharide treatments in rat primary astrocytes. These results suggest that the combinatorial treatment of natural compounds in lower concentration might be a useful strategy to obtain sufficient BDNF stimulation in neurological disease condition such as depression, while minimizing potential side effects and toxicity of higher concentration of a single compound.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.161-168
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• 2007

Salicornia herbacea L. (Chenopodiaceae: S. herbacea) is a salt marsh plant, which has long been prescribed in traditional medicines for the treatment of intestinal ailments, nephropathy, and hepatitis in Oriental countries. In order to elucidate the mechanisms of this herb, we conducted an anti-oxidative activity, the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production, and the suppression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine genes, with the solvent-extracts of S. herbacea. We found that both ethyl acetate and n-butanol tractions showed potent anti-oxidative effects in comparison to other fractions using xanthine oxidase assay with $IC_{50}$ values of $66.0{\pm}0.5\;{\mu}g/ml$ and $82.5{\pm}3.8\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. In addition, both ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed more electron donating activity (EDA) than other tractions, according to DPPH (2, 2-Diphenyl-lpicrylhydrazyl radical) assay. The EDA of ethyl acetate fraction ($IC_{50}$ values of $117.5{\pm}3.8\;{\mu}g/ml$) is more significant than that of n-butanol fraction ($IC_{50}$ values of $375.0{\pm}12.5\;{\mu}g/ml$). Among potential anti-oxidative tractions, ethyl acetate traction dose-dependently suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS, $0.1\;{\mu}g/ml$)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cell, while n-butanol did not. As expected, ethyl acetate fraction suppressed the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in RAW264.7 cell stimulated by $0.1\;{\mu}g/ml$ of LPS. Moreover, the ethyl acetate traction suppressed the expression of interleukin-1 $(IL)-1{\beta}$ and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) mRNA in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Therefore, these results suggest that S. herbacea may have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities by modulating radical-induced toxicity and various pro-inflammatory responses.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.41-51
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• 2015

Objectives : This study was performed to investigate the effects of $LR_3$ and $SP_6$ acupuncture on renal damage in streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Methods : ICR male mice were stabilized for a week and divided into four groups: a normal mice group(N), no-acupuncture diabetic mice group(Control), $LR_3$ acupuncture diabetic mice group($LR_3$), and $SP_6$ acupuncture diabetic mice group($SP_6$). Diabetes was experimentally induced by intraperitoneal injection of STZ(150 mg/kg) in citrate buffer(pH 4.5). For two weeks, $LR_3$ and $SP_6$ acupunctures were administered bilaterally at each point once a day. After two weeks, the animals' weight was measured and they underwent a laparotomy. Serum glucose and blood urea nitrogen(BUN) were measured from the blood taken from the heart. We measured glucose, reactive oxygen species(ROS), peroxynitrite($ONOO^-$) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(TBARS) in the kidney and compared expression levels of superoxide dismutases(SOD), glutathione peroxidase(GPx), nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-${\kappa}B$), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) and Interleukin-1 beta(IL-$1{\beta}$). Results : BUN significantly decreased in $LR_3$, $SP_6$ compared to the control group. $LR_3$ showed significantly decreased glucose compared to the control group. $LR_3$, $SP_6$ significantly decreased in ROS and $ONOO^-$ compared to the control group. $LR_3$ significantly decreased in TBARS compared to the control group. $SP_6$ significantly increased in expressions of SOD-1, catalase, and GPx compared to the control group. $LR_3$, $SP_6$ significantly decreased in COX-2 compared to the control group. $SP_6$ significantly decreased in IL-$1{\beta}$ compared to the control group. Conclusions : This study suggests that $LR_3$ acupuncture may be effective in controlling glucose and lipid peroxidation and that $SP_6$ acupuncture may have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects on renal damage in STZ-induced diabetic mice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.673-680
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• 2015

In this study, the immune-enhancing effects of purified polysaccharides from ascidian (Halocynthia roretzi) tunic were investigated. Crude polysaccharides (AP) were isolated by enzyme extraction (neutrase, $60^{\circ}C$, 15h), ethanol precipitation, and lyophilization. In addition, crude polysaccharides were further fractionated into unabsorbed fractions (APF-I, fraction No. 11~17) and absorbed fractions (APF-II, fraction No. 22~37) by DEAE-sepharose CL-6B column chromatography in order to isolate immune regulating polysaccharide. The major constituents in APF-I and APF-II were total sugar (66.62% and 27.03%), uronic acid (47.53% and 15.87%), hexosamine (16.62% and 46.79%), and protein (2.43% and 4.94%), respectively. APF-I increased production of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interleukin (IL)-6 in a dose-dependent manner. The mRNA expression levels of inducible NO synthetase, cyclooxygenase-2, TNF-${\alpha}$, and IL-6 were markedly increased as determined by polymerase chain reaction analysis. The above data led us to conclude that macrophage activation of purified polysaccharides was higher than that of crude polysaccharides. The polysaccharides isolated from ascidian tunic investigated herein are useful as natural immune enhancing agents.