• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.7
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• pp.601-605
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• 2007

This study investigated the therapeutic effects of Inonotus obliqua extract on blood glucose, insulin, and other biochemical parameters in genetically diabetic mice $(C57BL/KsJ^-m^{+/+}Lepr^{db})$. The mice were divided into four groups-control, Chaga 1 (dose of 0.09 mg/kg of body weight), Chaga 5 (5 times of Chaga 1), and Chaga 10 (10 times of Chaga 1) - according to supplemented dose. Inonotus obliqua extract was orally administered to the animals for 6 weeks. The body and organ (liver and kidney) weights were not different among groups. Fasting blood glucose level was significantly lower in the Chaga 5 group compared with the control (p < 0.05). Hemoglobin A1c content was significantly lower in the Chaga 5 group compared with either the control and Chaga 1 group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in serum insulin level among groups. The glucose-6-phosphatase activity in liver was significantly the lowest in Chaga 10 group and was significantly lower in Chaga 5 group as compared with those of control and Chaga 1 groups. Therefore, the results of this study demonstrate that Inonotus obliqua extract alleviates many of the symptoms of diabetes in genetically obese mice and may offer a possibility as a therapeutic supplement for the normalization of blood glucose levels in human with hyperglycemia and have beneficial effects in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.107-118
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• 1994

Health effects of pesticide among vinylhouse workers in Sangjoo County, Kyungpook Province were assessed by measuring cholinesterase, glutathion reductase, and methemoglobin. Activities of cholinesterases among vinylhouse workers and general farmers were 3.89U and 3.98U in serum and 5.29U and 5.50U in red blood cells, respectively. While levels of methemoglobin between vinylhouse workers(0.16%) and general farmers(0.17%) were very similar, glutathione reductase among vinylhouse workers were 8% lower than that of general farmers. Inhibition of RBC cholinesterase among vinylhouse workers was two times greater than general farmers, suggesting a greater exposure of vinylhouse workers to the organophosphate pesticides. Methemoglobin level among vinylhouse workers with more than or equal to 10 vinylhouse units was 13% higher than that of the workers with less than 10 units. Vinylhouse workers using protective gears during pesticide spray showed higher level of reduced glutathione and lower level of methemoglobin, as compared to the non-users. This indicates that protective gears play an important role against pesticide exposure. Vinylhouse workers practicing good personal hygiene showed a higher level of reduced glutathione, as compared to those with poor personal hygiene, indicating that personal hygiene is also an important factor in reducing pesticide exposure. The present study represents a first attempt to analyze cholinesterase, methemoglobin and glutathione reductase activities among the vinylhouse workers. While neither vinylhouse workers nor general farmers showed abnormal findings among biochemical parameters used in the present study, increased level of methemoglobin and decrease of glutathione reductase activity among vinylhouse workers suggest that these workers have been subject to a higher exposure of pesticide than general farmers.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.799-804
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• 2009

Kamikaekyuk-tang(KMKKT), a formula of ten Oriental herbs, was orientally designed to promote vital energy, to remove blood stasis, and to decrease inflammation for treating cancers. KMKKT and its component had potent antiandrogen and androgen receptor activities in prostate cancer and also inhibited angiogenesis induced by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and suppressed the tumor growth in LLC-bearing mice, and liver metastasis of colon 26-L5 cancer cells, suggesting a potent cancer preventive agent. Nevertheless, there is no safety study of KMKKT before clinical trial so far. Thus, in the current study, we investigated the toxicity about ethanol-extracted KMKKT. Male and female Spraque Dawley (SD) rats were given orally by KMKKT at 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg for 4 weeks. Mortality, clinical signs and measured change of body weight, food consumption and water consumption were observed. In addition, we performed ophthalmologic, urinary, hematological, blood serum biochemical and histopathological examination. Any general toxicity was not found in KMKKT treated group. Also, there were no significant differences in the parameters such as body weight, food consumption and water consumption, a lot of urine and blood factor levels except WBC, MCHC and Ca level compared with control group. Although WBC and MCHC were elevated in female rats and Ca level was decreased in male rats, these were within normal ranges. Finally, we determined that maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was 1000 mg/kg and no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) was 500 mg/kg. Taken together, these results demonstrated that KMKKT is very safe to SD rats.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.165-175
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• 2013

The fear that schistosomes will become resistant to praziquantel (PZQ) motivates the search for alternatives to treat schistosomiasis. The antimalarials quinine (QN) and halofantrine (HF) possess moderate antischistosomal properties. The major metabolic pathway of QN and HF is through cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4. Accordingly, this study investigates the effects of CYP3A4 inhibitor, ketoconazole (KTZ), on the antischistosomal potential of these quinolines against Schistosoma mansoni infection by evaluating parasitological, histopathological, and biochemical parameters. Mice were classified into 7 groups: uninfected untreated (I), infected untreated (II), infected treated orally with PZQ (1,000 mg/kg) (III), QN (400 mg/kg) (IV), KTZ (10 mg/kg)+QN as group IV (V), HF (400 mg/kg) (VI), and KTZ (as group V)+HF (as group VI) (VII). KTZ plus QN or HF produced more inhibition (P<0.05) in hepatic CYP450 (85.7% and 83.8%) and CYT b5 (75.5% and 73.5%) activities, respectively, than in groups treated with QN or HF alone. This was accompanied with more reduction in female (89.0% and 79.3%), total worms (81.4% and 70.3%), and eggs burden (hepatic; 83.8%, 66.0% and intestinal; 68%, 64.5%), respectively, and encountering the granulomatous reaction to parasite eggs trapped in the liver. QN and HF significantly (P<0.05) elevated malondialdehyde levels when used alone or with KTZ. Meanwhile, KTZ plus QN or HF restored serum levels of ALT, albumin, and reduced hepatic glutathione (KTZ+HF) to their control values. KTZ enhanced the therapeutic antischistosomal potential of QN and HF over each drug alone. Moreover, the effect of KTZ+QN was more evident than KTZ+HF.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.123-135
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention program using dietary consult and physical exercise conducted by public health center in Chuncheon city for obese adults. This study used a pretest-posttest design. The subjects were 58 out of 90 obese adults with body mass index (BMI) greater than $25kg/m^2$ who completed all education sessions for 8 weeks. Data on dietary habits, dietary behaviors, nutritional knowledge, anthropometric parameters and biochemical indices and daily nutrient intakes assessed by a 24-hour recall were collected before and after the intervention program., in order to evaluate program effectiveness. After the intervention, there were positive changes in exercise status and dietary habits and nutrition knowledge accuracy. Especially, the answer of 'I drink a cup of milk every day' were significantly improved (p<0.001), and the answer of 'I don't overeat', which is a dietary attitude question was significantly improved (p<0.05). Dietary intakes of most of nutrients were not significantly different between pre-test and post-test. But calcium (p<0.05), potassium (p<0.05), vitamin A (p<0.01), vitamin E (p<0.05), and folic acid (p<0.05) were significantly increased in the female group after the intervention. Weight (p<0.05), BMI (p<0.01), blood pressure (p<0.001), were significantly decreased after program, but changes of skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass were not significant. Resting heart rate (p<0.01), flexibility (p<0.001), whole body reaction (p<0.05), grip strength (p<0.01) and balance (p<0.01) showed positive changes after the intervention. Blood glucose level in serum was significantly decreased (p<0.001). These results indicated that dietary education and exercise program was effective not only for weight reduction but also for the improvement of physical fitness in obese adults.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.342-348
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• 2014

This study was conducted to examine the effects of condensed tannins (CT) from Ficus bengalensis leaves on the feed utilization, milk production and health status of crossbred cows. Eighteen crossbred dairy cows at their second and mid lactation (avg. BW $351.6{\pm}10.6$ kg) were randomly divided into two groups of nine each in a completely randomized block design and fed two iso-nitrogenous supplements formulated to contain 0% and 1.5% CT through dried and ground leaves of Ficus bengalensis. The diets were designated as CON and FBLM, respectively and fed to cows with a basal diet of rice straw to meet requirements for maintenance and milk production. The daily milk yield was significantly (p<0.05) increased due to supplementation of FBLM diet. The 4% fat corrected milk yield was also significantly (p<0.01) higher due to increased (p<0.05) milk fat in cows under diet FBLM as compared to CON. The inclusion of CT at 1.5% in the supplement did not interfere with the feed intake or digestibility of DM, OM, CP, EE, NDF, and ADF by lactating cows. Digestible crude protein (DCP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) values of the composite diets were comparable between the groups. The blood biochemical parameters remained unaltered except significantly (p<0.05) lowered serum urea concentration in cows fed FBLM diet. There was a significant (p<0.05) increase intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in cows supplemented with condensed tannins. The total thiol group (T-SH) was found to be higher with reduction in lipid peroxidation (LPO) in cows of FBLM group. The cost of feeding per kg milk production was also reduced due to supplementation of Ficus bengalensis leaves. Therefore, a perceptible positive impact was evident on milk production and antioxidant status in crossbred cows during mid-lactation given supplement containing 1.5% CT through Ficus bengalensis leaves.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.328-335
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D plays an important role in the etiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This study evaluated the effect of vitamin D supplementation on metabolic indices and hs-C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in GDM patients. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial. Seventy-six pregnant women with GDM and gestational age between 24-28 weeks were assigned to receive four oral treatments consisting of 50,000 IU of vitamin $D_3$ (n = 38) or placebo (n = 38) once every 2 weeks for 2 months. Fasting blood glucose (FG), insulin, HbA1c, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, lipid profile, hs-CRP, and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured before and after treatment. Independent and paired t-tests were used to determine intra- and intergroup differences, respectively. ANCOVA was used to assess the effects of vitamin D supplementation on biochemical parameters. RESULTS: Compared with the placebo group, in the vitamin D group, the serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased (19.15 vs. -0.40 ng/ml; P < 0.01) and that of FG (-4.72 vs. 5.27 mg/dl; P = 0.01) as well as HbA1c (-0.18% vs. 0.17%; P = 0.02) decreased. Improvements in the lipid profiles were observed in the vitamin D group, but without statistical significance. Significant increases in concentrations of hs-CRP, FG, HbA1c, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were observed in the placebo group. No significant change in fasting insulin and HOMA-IR was observed in either group. CONCLUSIONS: In GDM patients, vitamin D supplementation improved FG and HbA1c but had no significant effects on lipid profile or hs-CRP.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1130-1134
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• 2005

An experiment was performed using 20 calves of about one-month old to investigate the effect of chelation therapy with calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate ($CaNa_2$EDTA) alone or along with antioxidant $\alpha$-tocopherol in lead loaded calves on blood trace minerals, erythrocytic sulfahydryl groups and some haematobiochemical parameters. Fifteen calves were given lead orally at a daily dose of 7.5 mg of 99% pure lead acetate/kg body weight for 28 days. Then the lead was withdrawn on day 28 and the calves were randomly divided into three groups. Each group of five animals was either treated with $CaNa_2$EDTA alone at the dose rate of 110 mg/kg body weight in two divided doses for 4 days or along with $\alpha$-tocopherol at the dose rate of 100 mg/kg body weight orally daily for 7 days, keeping the remaining five calves as lead-exposed untreated controls. Blood samples were collected at the end of the lead exposure (day 0) and thereafter on day 2, 4, 7 and 10 from the start of the chelation treatment. The treatment with EDTA alone led to slow but non-significant improvement in blood copper level, but incorporation of antioxidant $\alpha$-tocopherol in chelation therapy resulted in its significant decline, as recorded on day 7-post treatment. Withdrawal of lead or treatment with $CaNa_2$EDTA alone or along with $\alpha$-tocopherol enhanced the erythrocytic thiol contents and the levels of T-SH and P-SH became statistically (p<0.05) comparable to those of lead-exposed controls by day 7 and 4, respectively. There was no significant (p>0.05) change in serum urea, creatinine, total protein and albumin levels between the treatment groups. It is concluded from the present investigation that treatment with $CaNa_2$EDTA at the present dose rate is safe to be used for chelation in lead loaded calves.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.303-307
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of body weight, organ weight, hematological values and biochemical parameters by estrogen on the ovariectomized (OVX) rats. The animals were divided into 4 groups. Intact group (n=10) received no treatment and operation. Sham group (n=10) received only sham operation and no treatment. OVX group (n=10) received operation and no treatment. OVX+E2(n=10) received operation and estrogen. The body weight of each group increased, but that of OVX+E2 group decreased. There were very significant differences (P<0.001) of body weights between OVX+E2 group and the other groups. Also, the wight of important organs such as heart, liver, spleen and kidney was measured. The heart weight was significantly lower(P<0.05) in the OVX+E2 group than the Intact group. The liver weight of the OVX+E2 group was significantly different in comparison with those of the other groups. On the other hand, there were no significantly differences in the organ weight of spleen and kidney between the OVX+E2 group and the other remaining groups. The hematological values of WBC, RBC, MeV, MCH and MCHC were not significantly different among the groups. The serum total protein and albumin decreased significantly in the OVX+E2 group as compared to those in the intact group. But, there were no significant differences in Ca, IP and Mg among the groups. We conclude that estrogen was significantly decreased the body weight in the ovariectomized rats. Our findings suggest that estrogen may influence the process of lipid packaging and absorption in the ovariectomized rats.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2011

The present study was devised to determine the effects of body weight, organ weight, hematological values and biochemical parameters by vitamin E and selenium (Selevit) on the Orch rats. The animals were divided into 4 groups. Intact group (n=10) received no treatment and operation. Sham group (n=10) received only sham operation and no treatment. Orch group received operation and no treatment. Orch+Selevit received operation and Selevit. The body weights of each group increased, but that of the Orch+Selevit group were significantly lower than those of all the other groups. There were significant differences (P<0.001) of body weights between Orch+Selevit group and all the other groups. Also, organ weights such as heart, liver, spleen and kidney were measured. The heart weights were significantly lower (P<0.001) in the Orch+Selevit group than in Intact and Sham group. The liver weights in the Orch+Selevit group were significantly differences (P<0.001) in comparison with those in the Intact and Sham groups. The kidney weights in the Orch+Selevit group were significantly differences (P<0.01, P<0.001) in comparison with those in all the other groups. On the other hand, there were no significantly differences in the organ weights of spleen between the Orch+Selevit groups and the any other groups. The number of white blood cell (WBC) was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the Orch+Selevit group than in all the other groups. The hematological values of red blood cell (RBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were not significantly different in any of the groups. The concentrations of serum total protein, albumin and alkaline phosphatase increased significantly (P<0.05, P<0.01) in the Orch+Selevit group as compared to that in the Orch group. However, there were no significant differences in AST and ALT in any other groups. We conclude that Selevit was significantly decreased the body weight in the orchidectomized rats. Our findings suggest that Selevit may influence the process of lipid packaging and absorption in the orchidectomized rats.