• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 2022

Objectives : Suicide is a global social problem. Social burden caused by suicide is gradually increasing. Various efforts have been made to prevent suicide. Lifestyle changes to western style, especially diet changes, have increased the risk for suicide. Therefore, in this study, we discussed diet as an adjuvant treatment for suicide. Methods : In this review, we summarized the biochemical mechanism of suicide, and diet as a risk factor for suicide and diet as a protective factor through a web search. Results : In this study, biochemical mechanisms for suicide were reviewed and diet as a risk factor and diet as a protective factor for suicide were investigated. It was confirmed that neurotoxic effects such as oxidative stress and inflammation in the neural system could increase the risk of suicide. Based on results of previous studies on the relationship between suicide and diet, it was found that heavy use of alcohol, coffee, carbonated soft drink, and fast food were risk factors for suicide. Protective factors for suicide included antioxidants such as vitamin C, carotene, and anti-inflammatory agents such as omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood in large amounts. Conclusions : The only treatment for suicide is prevention. In this context, effectiveness, accessibility, and safety are important for preventing for suicide. Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that are relatively safe and readily available to the public could be effective adjuvant treatments to decrease the risk of suicide. In addition, it is necessary to educate the public on reducing diets that could increase the risk of suicide

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.211-220
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• 2022

Poultry are exposed to extremely high levels of oxidative stress as a consequence of the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by endogenous and exogenous stressors, such as high-stocking densities, thermal stress, environmental and feed contamination, along with factors associated with intensive breeding systems. Oxidative stress promotes lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, and inflammation, which can have detrimental effects on the health of birds. During the course of evolution, birds have developed antioxidant defense mechanisms that contribute to maintaining homeostasis when exposed to endogenous and exogenous stressors. The primary antioxidant defense systems are enzymatic and non-enzymatic in nature and play roles in protecting cells from ROS attack. Recently, plant flavonoids, which have been established to reduce oxidative stress, have been attracting considerable attention as potential feed additives. Flavonoids are a group of polyphenolic compounds that can be stabilized by binding structural compounds with ROS, and can promote the elimination of ROS by inducing the expression of antioxidant enzymes. However, although flavonoids can contribute to reducing lipid peroxidation and thereby enhance the antioxidant capacity of birds, they have low solubility in the gastrointestinal tract, and consequently, it is necessary to develop a delivery technology that can facilitate the effect intestinal absorption of these compounds. Furthermore, it is important to determine the dietary levels of flavonoids by assessing the exact antioxidant effects in the gastrointestinal tract wherein the concentrations of dietary flavonoids are highest. It is also necessary to examine the expression of transcriptional factors and vitagenes associated with the efficient antioxidant effects induced by flavonoids. It is anticipated that the application of flavonoids as natural antioxidants will become a particularly important field in the poultry industry.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2022

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction, and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. The onset of asthma for most patients begins early in life, and current asthma treatment with anti-inflammatory agents can have adverse effects, eventually leading to impaired quality of life. In the pathogenesis of asthma, macrophages and basophils play a vital role during progression. Macrophages not only induce inflammation by secreting inflammatory cytokines but also promote DNA damage and mucus production through nitric oxide (NO) production. Basophils enhance eosinophil recruitment and aggravate asthma through the FcεRIα receptor with high affinity for histamine and IgE. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether the activation of macrophages and basophils is suppressed by the individual extracts of 28 natural products. RAW 264.7 cells (mouse macrophages) were treated with the natural products in LPS, and 4 natural product extracts resulted in decreased NO production. In β-hexosaminidase assay using RBL-2H3 cells (rat basophils), 19 natural product extracts decreased β-hexosaminidase production. In NO production and β-hexosaminidase assay using macrophages and basophils, 3 natural product extracts (Plantago asiatica, Centella asiatica, and Perilla frutescens var. japonica) significantly inhibited NO production and β-hexosaminidase release. Overall, we examined the inhibitory effects of 28 natural product extracts on macrophage and basophil activity, and the findings demonstrated the potential of natural product extracts for treating asthma and macrophage- and basophil-related diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.447-454
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• 2022

In this study, we confirmed the effect of HK shiitake mushroom mycelium (HKSMM) on immune enhancement in Balb/c mice. Experimental animals were divided into five groups: negative control (NC), positive control (PC; 1,000 mg/100 g; AHCC), T1 (500 mg/100 g; HKSMM), T2 (1,000 mg/100 g; HKSMM), and T3 (2,000 mg/100 g; HKSMM), and dissection was performed at four and six weeks. COX-2 and iNOS concentrations were significantly lower in the six-week experimental group than in the control group, and the NO results were also similar. Results of the confirmation of the factors related to the NF-κB (p-p65 and p-IκBα) and MAPK (pERK, pJNK, and p38) signaling pathways revealed that the HKSMM-fed experimental group significantly decreased compared with the control group. A comparative analysis of the number and size of white pulp in the spleen tissue showed that those of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that HKSMM has both immune-enhancing and anti-inflammatory effects in Balb/c mice, indicating that it can be used as a health functional food ingredient.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.929-937
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• 2022

To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of the grains of sorghum, three Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench variants (Hwanggeumchal, Huinchal, and Chal) being cultivated in Korea, the 80% ethanol (EtOH) extracts of individual sorghum grains were compared for their inhibitory activity against nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 murine macrophage cell line. Among them, the EtOH extract of sorghum Hwanggeumchal grains could exert the highest inhibitory effect on the LPS-induced NO production. However, under these conditions, the viability of RAW264.7 cells was not affected. When the EtOH extract of sorghum Hwanggeumchal grains was sequentially fractionated with n-hexane, methylene chloride (MC), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and n-butanol, the anti-NO production activity was predominantly detected in both MC and EtOAc fractions. In particular, treatment with the MC fraction reduced dose-dependently the expression levels of iNOS, COX-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Simultaneously, the MC fraction could prevent LPS-induced activating phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). HPLC analysis of the MC fraction showed gentisic acid and naringenin as the major phenolic components. Both gentisic acid and naringenin commonly exhibited a potent inhibitory activity against LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells. Together, these results provide the evidence of the inhibitory activity of Hwanggeumchal grains on LPS-induce inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 murine macrophage cells and also suggest that sorghum grains possess beneficial health effects which can be applicable in development of the grain-based functional foods.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of mouthwash containing sodium chloride on dental plaque, gingival inflammation index, and bad breath through clinical trials. Materials and Methods: This trial was designed as 12 weeks and subjects were instructed to put an appropriate amount of the provided standard detergent on a toothbrush and brush their teeth 3 times a day. They were instructed to gargle a mouthwash provided to each group after brushiung. Efficacy was evaluated by performing gingival and periodontal-related index tests, dental plaque changes, and bad breath tests a total of 5 times. All data were statistically analyzed using 2-sample t-test, paired t-test to compare between groups at 95% significance level using IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0. Results: As a result of the PMA index measurement, the gingivitis improvement effect rate of the experimental group compared to the control group was 107.63% after 8 weeks and 73.08% after 12 weeks. As a result of the PHP index measurement, the plaque improvement effect rate of the experimental group compared to the control group was 79.37% after 8 weeks and 74.06% after 12 weeks. As a result of measuring volatile sulfur compounds using Oral Chroma, the effectiveness of improvement in bad breath in the experimental group was 65.06% after 8 weeks and 99.33% after 12 weeks, compared to the control group. Conclusion: As a result of this study, it was confirmed that effective gingivitis alleviation, plaque removal effect and bad breath removal effect can be expected when a mouthwash containing sodium chloride, green tea extract, and sodium monofluorophosphate is used.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2010

Object : This study was conducted as part of the national project to standardize stroke diagnosis in Korean medicine. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the characteristics of acute stroke between heat pattern group and cold pattern group. Methods : We recruited stroke patients from 5 universities(Kyung-Hee University oriental medical center, Kyung-Hee University East-West Neo medical center, Kyungwon university lncheon oriental medical center, Kyungwon university Songpa oriental medical center and DongGuk university llsan oriental medical center) from April, 2007 until February, 2010. We diagnosed them and selected 463 heat pattern patients and 182 cold pattern patients. Results : We find that the risk factor of smoking, alcohol, diet(prefer to meat) are more associated with the heat pattern group. On the other hand, inflammation history in recent 3 months and diet(prefer to sea food) are more associated with the cold pattern group. RBC, Hg, Hct, TG, CK and Cl are more related to the heat pattern group. CPT, total cholesterol and HDL are more related to the cold pattern group. Tae-eum type takes high distribution of the heat pattern group, and So-eum type takes high distribution of the cold pattern group. Conclusions : This study provides evidence that the heat pattern group have more risk factor than the cold pattern group.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.471-480
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• 2023

This study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of Rumohra adiantiformis extracts fermented with Bovista plumbea mycelium (B-RAE) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The total polyphenol and total flavonoid content of B-RAE were 379.26±7.77 mg/g and 50.85±3.08 mg/g, respectively. The results of measuring the antioxidant activity of B-RAE showed that it scavenges 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2, 2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), and superoxide anion radical in a dose-dependent manner. B-RAE inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in a dose-dependent manner without affecting cell viability. The gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-lβ (IL-1β), and IL-6 was measured using real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). We found that, compared to the LPS-treated group, B-RAE significantly reduced the mRNA levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines in a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), the phosphorylation of transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway proteins were assessed using Western blot analysis. We found that B-RAE significantly suppressed the expression of iNOS and COX-2, but their expression was increased by LPS treatment. In addition, the phosphorylation of NF-κB and IκB, which was increased by LPS treatment, was reduced with B-RAE treatment. The effect of B-RAE on the phosphorylation of the MAPK signaling pathway proteins was measured, and the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the p38 MAPK proteins decreased in a dose-dependent manner, while the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) increased. These anti-inflammatory effects of B-RAE may thus have been achieved through the high antioxidant activity, the inhibition of NO production through the suppression of iNOS and COX-2 expression, the inhibition of the NF-κB pathway, and the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a significant difference in the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio according to the history of suicide attempt in patients with psychiatric diseases. Methods : A medical record review was conducted on patients who had been hospitalized in Konyang University Hospital since 2021-03-01 to 2023-02-28 to collect demographic and clinical characteristics. T-test for continuous variables and Chi-square test for categorical variables were performed to determine demographic differences according to the history of suicide attempt, and the ANCOVA test was performed to compare the average value of peripheral inflammatory marker according to the history of suicide attempt with gender and age as covariates. One-way variance analysis was performed to determine whether the number of suicide attempt causes significant difference of the peripheral inflammatory marker. Results : The final analysis target of this study was 266 patients, 101 had history of suicide attempt, and 165 had no history of suicide attempt. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (p<0.001) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (p<0.001) were higher in patients with the history of suicide attempt than patients without the history of suicide attempt, but the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio were not significantly increased depending on the serial increase of number of suicide attempts. Conclusions : This study suggests that peripheral inflammatory markers are meaningful and easily accessible indicators for predicting the risk of suicide attempt in psychiatric patients. We expect that prospective follow-up study will be conducted with more subjects and controlled potential confounding variables.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.443-452
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• 2024

This study aimed to examine the influence of 3,6-anhydroxygalactose (L-AHG) on the pro-inflammatory M1 polarization and pro-inflammatory responses observed in the RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cell line following stimulation with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). L-AHG exhibited a significant and dose-dependent inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, a hallmark of M1 polarization, and subsequent NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, the LPS-induced upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which drives the production of prostaglandin E2, an inflammatory mediator, was also inhibited by L-AHG. L-AHG did not affect the LPS-triggered Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated pro-inflammatory signaling pathway, which culminated in the activation of transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1). However, it was observed to inhibit the generation of reactive oxugen species (ROS) in a dose-dependent manner, as well as the TAK1-driven activation of JNK and p38 MAPK. Given that the active p38 MAPK is known to contribute to the assembly of active nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, which catalyzes the intracellular generation of pro-inflammatory ROS in LPS-stimulated macrophages, the dose-dependent reduction in the LPS-induced ROS generation by L-AHG may be mainly due to the prevention of TAK1-driven activation of p38 MAPK. Together, these results demonstrate that the L-AHG-mediated inhibition of the TAK1-JNK/p38 MAPK activation phase of the pro-inflammatory signaling pathway in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells by L-AHG represents a promising mechanism for suppressing M1 polarization and pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages.