• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.171-177
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• 2008

Objectives: This study presents a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography- pulsed amperometric detection(RP-HPLC-PAD) method for the determination of puerarin and daidzin in Puerariae Radix extract and Chinese medicinal preparations. Methods: Chromatographic separation was performed using a 10% acetonitrile with a reversed-phase column(Unison UK-C18, $100mm{\times}2.0mm$ I.D.; $3{\mu}m$). The analyses were detected by pulsed amperometric detector(PAD) in alkaline conditions by combining with post-column NaOH solution. Geniposide was used as an internal standard. Results: The limit of detection(S/N=3) and the limit of quantification(S/N=10) were 0.025 ng, 0.075 ng for puerarin, and 0.05 ng, 0.15 ng for daidzin, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions(RSDs) were less than 6.5% and average recoveries of puerarin were 99.7-101.3% and those of daidzin were 101.0-102.8%. Conclusions: According to above results, we developed a determination method for puerarin and daidzin in Puerariae Radix with high sensitivity and selectivitely.

• Journal of Biomedical and Translational Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.73-78
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• 2018

Osteoporosis is a major worldwide public health problem that poses a great economic burden to society. Puerariae Radix, the dried root of Pueraria lobata (Wild.) Ohwi, has been widely used in Asia. This study investigated the effects of Puerariae Radix (PR) on bone loss in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. C3H/HeN mice (10 weeks old) were divided into sham and OVX groups. The OVX mice were treated with vehicle, $17{\beta}-estradiol$ ($E_2$), PR (oral administration, 250 mg/kg/day) or PR (intraperitoneal administration, 50 mg/kg/every other day) for 6 weeks. Grip strength, uterus weight, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), estradiol concentration and osteoclast surface levels were measured. Tibiae were analyzed using microcomputed tomography. There were no significant differences in the degree of grip strength, body weight and uterine weight between OVX group and PR-treated group. As compared with the OVX group, the serum estradiol levels were significantly increased in the PR-treated group. PR (i.p.) significantly preserved trabecular bone volume, trabecular bone number, structure model index and bone mineral density of proximal tibiae metaphysic. The administration of PR lowered serum ALP and osteoclast surface levels in OVX mice, suggesting that PR can reduce the bone turnover rate in mice. The results indicate that the supply of PR can prevent OVX-induced bone loss in mice.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2003

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Puerariae radix(PR) herb-acupuncture on nitric oxide synthase(NOS) expression in hippocampus of alcohol-intoxicated Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats. Methods: SD rats were randomly assigned into 6 groups; normal group, control group, alcohol with herb-acupuncture group(0.3, 3, 30 and 300mg/kg PR). Normal groups were received with NaCl, while alcohol intoxication groups were injected intraperitoneally with alcohol(2g/kg) twice per day for 3 days. Herb-acupuncture groups were injected on Zhongwan(CV12) for 5 consecutive days. For the detection of NADPH-d-positive cells in hippocampus, immunohistochemistry was performed. Results: n control group, a significant decrease in NADPH-d-positive cells was observed compared to normal group. In alcohol with herb-acupuncture group, NADPH-d-positive cells increased significantly compared to control group. Conclusions: The present results revealed that NOS expression is enhanced in the hippocampus of SD rats through PR herb-acupuncture in an acute alcoholic intoxication condition.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.167-172
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• 2017

In this study, we investigated the effect of Puerariae Radix ethanol extracts (EPR). The effect of the EPR on proliferation of human hair dermal papilla cells(HHDPCs) by MTT assay and observed Expression of mechanisms that regulate cell proliferation extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK) and Akt by western blot. The results showed EPR increased the proliferation of HHDPCs and up-regulation phosphorylation of ERK and Akt. ERK and Akt increased by EPR inhibited phosphorylation by PD98059 (ERK inhibitor) and LY294002 (Akt inhibitor), and cell proliferation was also inhibited. These results suggested EPR increases the proliferation of HHDPCs through phosphorylation of ERK and Akt, and therefore is a beneficial effect for the alopecia treatment.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.602-608
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• 2002

To investigate whether Puerariae radix (PR) possesses protective effect against ethanol (EtOH)-inducecl apoptosis in the central nervous system, MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, flow cytometric analysis, DNA fragmentation assay. and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed on human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-MC. Morphological and biochemical analyses demonstrated that SK-N-MC cells treated with EtOH exhibit classical apoptotic features. On the other hand, cells pre-treated with PR prior to EtOH exposure showed decreased occurrence of classical apoptotic features. In addition, it was shown that PR pre-treatment inhibits EtOH-induced increases in the levels of mRNA expression of bax and caspase-3, while it further enhances the level of bcl-2 expression. These results suggest that PR may exert protective effects against EtOH-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cells.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2011

To examine the bone-protective effects of Puerariae Radix (PR) in an estrogen-deficient animal model, we treated ovariectomized rats with PR at a dose of 10.0 mg/kg 3 times a week for 16 weeks. Our results showed that PR increased mineral content and density of the trabecular bone at the neck of the left femur. Moreover, biochemical data indicated that PR had a positive effect on bone turnover. No endometrial hyperplasia was detected in the PR group. The present data suggest that PR should be considered for use in the treatment of bone loss in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.138-143
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• 1997

Crude catechin extracts were prepared using ethyl acetate from Korean Puerariae Radix (PR) and their biological effects on the alcoholic liver damage were investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats (6 weeks old). Ethanol (5g ethanol/kg body weight/day) administration was performed for 8 weeks and after ethanol consuming rats were treated with one or two% catechin extracts of diet for 8 weeks. At the end of experimental period, lipid hydroperoxides in liver were analyzed using a chemiluminescence-high performance liquid chromatography (CL-HPLC) method. Compared with control animals, ethanol consumed rats showed lighter body weights, lower ratios of liver/body weight, higher activities of GOT and GPT, and increased lipid hydroperoxide amount in liver. With one or two% catechin extracts treatment, GOT and GPT activities returned to normal ranges. Lipid hydroperoxide contents in liver of on or two% PR treated rats lowered to 20% or 25% respectively, compared with the levels of those ethanol consumed animals without catechin extracts treatment. Therefore, we concluded that on or two% PR crude catechins treatment could be effective for alcoholic liver damage caused by lipid peroxidation.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.54-72
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this review is to investigate studies on Estrogen-like activity and to contribute to the utilization of herbal medicines including phytoestrogens. Methods: Electric searches were performed with Pubmed from 2013 to June 2018, for the words, 'herb and estrogen', 'traditional Chinese medicine and estrogen', 'Oriental medicine and estrogen', and 'Korean medicine and estrogen'. 49 papers are investigated and classified into 'in vitro', 'in vivo' and 'in vivo and in vitro' experimental studies. Results: 1. In vitro experimental studies have shown that estrogen-like effects of the components extracted from Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, Rubi Fructus, Sparganii Rhizoma, Epimedii Herba, Spatholobi Caulis, Evodiae fructus, Curcumae longae Radix, Ginseng Radix, Bupleuri Radix, Astragali Radix, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix, Puerariae Radix, Scutellariae Radix are present. 2. In vivo experimental studies have shown that estrogen-like effects of the components extracted from Phytolaccae Radix, Ligustri Lucidi Fructus, Alismatis Rhizoma, Notoginseng Radix, Puerariae Radix, Ginseng Radix, Cyperi Rhizoma, Cistanchis Herba, Cynomorii Herba, Granati fructus, Astragali Radix, Rehmanniae Radix Crudus, Epimedii Herba, Polygalae Radix, Artemisiae Annuae Herba are present. 3. In vitro and in vivo experimental studies have shown that estrogen-like effects of the components extracted from Cirsii Herba, Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix, Cynomorii Herba, Cinnamomi cortex, Drynariae Rhizoma, Psoraleae Semen, Schisandrae Fructus, Epimedii Herba, Astragali Radix are present. Conclusions: Future studies will require additional research on numerous herbal medicines used in clinical practice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.318-323
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• 2004

This study has been carried out to investigate the effect of the beverage contained Radix puerariae (15%) and Bambusae caules in Liquamen Phyllostachyos (1%) on the alcohol administered mouse. The control group was treated with alcohol (40% alcohol, 8.0 mL/kg of body weight), experimental group 1 (Exp.1) was administered with beverage (8.0 mL/kg of body weight) before alcohol treatment, and experimental group 2 (Exp.2) was administered with beverage after alcohol treatment. Blood alcohol concentrations were decreased by 11% (in Exp. 1) and 17% (in Exp. 2) compared with control group. The concentrations of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were slightly increased in Exp. 1 and Exp.2, but alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were not changed compared with control group. Mn-Superoxide dismutase activity was increased by about 70% in the experimental groups in comparison to control group. The Exp. 1 and Exp. 2 contained more periodic-acid Schiff (PAS)-positive materials than the control group. Electron microscopical observations showed that, cell organelles of hepatocytes were more disoriented in the control group than in Exp. 1 and Exp. 2. These results suggest that the beverage contained Radix puerariae and Bambusae caules in Liquamen Fhyllostachyos is a safe and effective therapeutic agent for alcohol abuse.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2006

The ethanol extracts of Puerariae Radix inhibited cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity in bone marrow derived mast cells (BMMC). COX-2 is responsible for the production of large amounts of proinflammatory prostaglandins (PGs) at the inflammatory site. We have investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of ethyl acetate fraction from $70\%$ ethanol extract of Puerariae Radix (EPR), and attempted acetic acid induced writhing to verify the analgesic effect. Inflammation was induced by interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), $inteferon-\gamma$ $(IFN-\gamma)$ and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). EPR showed strong inhibitory efficacy against cytokine-induced proteoglycan degradation, prostaglandin $E_2\;(PGE_2)$ production, nitric oxide (NO) production, and matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) expression in mouse macrophage and rabbit articular chondrocyte. In the writhing test, EPR $(200\~400\;mg/kg)$ exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of writhing. The results indicate that EPR have anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, and could be a good herbal medicine candidate for treating of osteoarthritis (OA).