• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2019

Aster Yomena (AY) has been used in traditional medicine to treat diseases such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, diabetes and osteoarthritis. However, protective effect of AY on acute pancreatitis (AP) has not been reported. The present study examined the anti-inflammatory effects of an ethanol extract of AY on cerulein-induced AP. AP was induced in mice by intraperitoneally injecting cerulein ($50{\mu}g/kg$) hourly for 6 times. 70% ethanol extract of AY (0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 g/kg) was orally administered for 1 week before acute pancreatitis induction. The mouse was killed at 6 hours after the final cerulein injection. The pancreas and lung were rapidly removed for histological examination and myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay. Blood samples were taken to determine serum amylase and lipase activity. In addition real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was also performed to investigate mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as $TNF-{\alpha}$. $IL-1{\beta}$, and IL-6. Administration of AY significantly ameliorated pancreatic weight to body weight ratio, histological damages and MPO activity during AP. In addition, AY inhibited the serum amylase and lipase activity during AP. Also, mRNA expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$, $IL-1{\beta}$ and IL-6 were inhibited by AY against AP. Our results revealed that pre-treatment of AY reduces the severity of cerulein-induced AP. Therefore, AY may have a protective effect drug against AP.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.396-402
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• 2018

Hataedock (HTD) treatment is a traditional preventive therapy for the fetal toxicosis- the acute allergic disease after childbirth, mainly manifested by a variety of skin allergies such as scab, phlegm. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of HTD treatments for the alleviation of inflammation in Dermatophagoides farinae-induced obese NC/Nga mice. 20 mg/kg of Coptidis Rhizoma, Glycyrrhizae Radix (CRGR) extracts as a remedy of HTD treatments were orally administered to NC/Nga mice. We induced obesity in the mice by high-fat diet. To induce skin allergies, the extracts of Dermatophagoides farinae were topically applied on the NC/Nga mice at 4th-6th and 8th-10th weeks. Structural and molecular changes in the skin tissues were measured by immunohistochemical staining. HTD treatment decreased the atopic dermatitis (AD)-like symptoms including hemorrhage, erythema, erosion, edema, and dryness. HTD treatment suppressed the mast cell activation confirmed by reduction of $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$, substance P, and serotonin. The expression of several inflammatory mediators including nuclear factor-kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) p65, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) was also decreased by HTD treatment. HTD treatment suppressed the allergic, inflammatory responses in the skin tissues of the NC/Nga mice by reducing mast cells and down-regulating several inflammatory mediators.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.51-62
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• 2019

Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the macrophages polarization of traditional Korean medicine on cardiac pain about Geum-Gwe-Yo-Ryak's two prescriptions including Kwaruhaebaekbanha-tang (KHB) and Kwaruhaebaekpaekju-tang (KHP). Materials and methods: Flow cytometry analysis was used to measure the changes in the ratio of M1 type and M2 type macrophages. Protein expression of nuclear factor-like 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were measured by Western Blot, and ABCA1 and SR-B1 were detected by real time PCR (RT-PCR). Intracellular lipid accumulation was measured by Oil Red O staining (ORO staining). Results: KHB and KHP increase anti-oxidative activity related protein levels including Nrf2 and HO-1. Furthermore, KHB and KHP inhibit lipid accumulation on intracellular levels through induction of ATP binding receptor cassette subfamily A member 1 (ABCA1) and scavenging receptor class B member 1 (SR-B1), respectively. Finally, KHB and KHP also blocked pro-inflammatory mediators including tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF{\alpha}$) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), iNOS and COX-2 expression. Conclusion: This study suggests that KHB and KHP potently regulate the M1/M2 macrophage polarization.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2019

In South Korea, traffic accident patients can be treated under automobile insurance coverage. This study investigated the status of Korean medicine (KM) Automobile insurance system and usage status of main pharmacopuncture in KM clinic which reported that the largest number of automobile insurance fee claims among medical institutions. We surveyed 258 traffic accident patients who were treated at Namsangcheon KM clinic from 2014 to 2018 according to medical chart. The majority of the patients were male and thirties. In traffic accident situation, the highest distribution was car to car crash with 85.66% and 66.67% of the patients visited in the most acute phase. The most frequent treatment period was within 4 weeks and the number of treatments was 10 or less with 72.87%. In total results of treatment, the distribution was exellent with 10.08%, good with 46.90%, fair with 27.13% and poor with 15.89%, and the effective rate was 84.11%. The most frequent treatment period was within 4 weeks with 64.73% and the number of treatments was 10 or less with 72.87%. Of the 242 patients who received pharmacopunture, 91.5% were treated with HO, which was named after Honghwaja and TA, which was named after traffic accidents, and there were significant differences in the number of treatments and symptom improvement between the two groups. In this study, we confirmed the status of automobile insurance treatment and usage of main pharmacopuncture of single KM clinic with symptom improvement. This study can be regarded as one of the basis of KM treatment for the rapidly growing automobile insurance market.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2019

Galgeun-tang (GGT) is a traditional herbal medicine generally used to treat cold, fever, headache, migraine and convulsion. To investigate the difference of ingredient and efficacy of GGT according to production method, mix extract powder and decoction, the quantities of index components, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of two kinds of GGT formulation were compared. The contents of ten index components were simultaneously analyzed with HPLC. A HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination. The GGT mix extract powder contained higher puerarin and daidzin content than the decoction, while the GGT decoction contained higher cinnamic acid and glycyrrhizic acid content than the mix extract powder. But ingredient of GGT mix extract powder and decoction was statistically very similar (r=0.8335). GGT decoction showed higher antioxidant effect than GGT mix extract powder, but the difference was low. The patterns of productions for NO, iNOS, COX-2, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 were decreased along the increasing dose of GGT formulation in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. The inhibitory effects on NO, iNOS, COX-2, IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 in Raw 264.7 cell were very similar to each other. The results obtained in this study could be used as fundamental data for verifying the equivalence and effectiveness of the herbal medicines.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 2019

This paper confirmed the effect of Baekho-tang(白虎湯) on psoriasis patient diagnosed with Yangmyung-Yeoljeung(陽明熱證). We treated patients with psoriasis classified as Yangmyung-Yeoljeung(陽明熱證) according to Shanghanlun(傷寒論) with Baekho-tang(白虎湯). Two patients was treated with Baekho-tang(白虎湯) for 18 days and 75 days, respectively. Baekho-tang(白虎湯) used in the treatment consisted of Gypsum Fibrosum 16g, Oryza semen 12.5g, Anemarrhena Rhizoma 6g and Glycyrrhizae Radix 2g. The severity of psoriasis was evaluated by PASI(psoriasis area severity index) and pictures. Also we checked the change in Pruritus by VAS(visual analogue scale). After the Baekho-tang(白虎湯) treatment, the PASI of 2 patients decreased from 13 to 2.8 and from 10.8 to 0.8 respectively. In addition, VAS of 2 patients diminished from 10 to 3 and from 8 to 1 respectively. Moreover, no side effects were observed. We received effective results by giving Baekho-tang to Psoriasis patients with sweaty, dry mouth, and heating sensation. Anti-inflammatory, antipyretic effects and immunomodulatory functions of Baekho-tang(白虎湯) could lead to improvement of psoriasis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.1119-1140
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study was to review Chinese clinical studies of the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with herbal medicine including Pinellia ternata. Methods: We searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database for clinical studies on herbal treatments including Pinellia ternata for GERD, from January 1st, 2015 to September 30th, 2019. We evaluated the risk of bias using Cochrane's risk of bias to confirm the quality of the 37 selected documents. Results: The 37 papers included high-dose and middle-dose Pinellia ternata groups. The outcome measures included treatment effectiveness rate, symptom comparisons, and endoscopy effectiveness rates or scores. In both groups, most studies showed significant improvement in the treatment group compared with the control group. The meta-analysis revealed a higher treatment effectiveness rate and a lower recurrence rate in the treatment group than in the control group. Conclusions: Comparing the treatment effect between the two groups was difficult due to the low quality of most studies. However, the results suggest that herbal remedies including Pinellia ternata showed statistically significant improvement in GERD compared to control groups.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.162-172
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• 2021

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) is the predominant viral pathogen that affects the yield and quality of soybean. The natural host range for SMV is very narrow, and generally limited to Leguminosae. However, we found that SMV can naturally infect Pinellia ternata and Atractylodes macrocephala. In order to clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the cross-family infection of SMV, we used double-stranded RNA extraction, rapid amplification of cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction and Gibson assembly techniques to carry out SMV full-length genome amplification from susceptible soybeans and constructed an infectious cDNA clone for SMV. The genome of the SMV Shanxi isolate (SMV-SX) consists of 9,587 nt and encodes a polyprotein consisting of 3,067 aa. SMV-SX and SMV-XFQ008 had the highest nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities of 97.03% and 98.50%, respectively. A phylogenetic tree indicated that SMV-SX and SMV-XFQ018 were clustered together, sharing the closest relationship. We then constructed a pSMV-SX infectious cDNA clone by Gibson assembly technology and used this clone to inoculate soybean and Ailanthus altissima; the symptoms of these hosts were similar to those caused by the virus isolated from natural infected plant tissue. This method of construction not only makes up for the time-consuming and laborious defect of traditional methods used to construct infectious cDNA clones, but also avoids the toxicity of the Potyvirus special sequence to Escherichia coli, thus providing a useful cloning strategy for the construction of infectious cDNA clones for other viruses and laying down a foundation for the further investigation of SMV cross-family infection mechanisms.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2021

Donggwaja (Benincasae Semen), the seed of Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn., has been used in Korean traditional medicine to control the body heat and water retention caused by various diseases. Both the symptoms targeted by the herbal medicine in clinic and studies with disease mouse models support the potential anti-inflammatory effect of Donggwaja. However, it is less understood how Donggwaja exerts its possible anti-inflammatory effect. Here, we present evidence that Donggwaja suppresses macrophage inflammatory reactions via expressing tumor necrosis factor a-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3 or A20) and suppressing NF-kB activity. The ethanol extract of Donggwaja (EED) showed no toxicity when added to RAW 264.7 cells less than 100mg/ml. When treating the cells for 16 h, EED significantly suppressed the nuclear localization of NF-kB, suggesting that EED suppresses NF-kB activity. Concordantly, a semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that EED decreased the expression of prototypic pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, IL(interleukin)-6, and IL-1b. EED induced in RAW 264.7 cells the expression of A20, a ubiquitin modulator that suppresses inflammatory signaling cascades initiated from TLR4 and TNF and IL-1 receptors, while not affecting the induction of Nrf2, an anti-inflammatory factor that could suppress the effect of NF-kB. These results suggest that EED exerts its suppressive effect on inflammation, at least in part, by expressing anti-inflammatory factor A20 and suppressing pro-inflammatory factor NF-kB activity.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.159-169
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• 2020

Shanghanlun (Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases) is the oldest document in the literature on clinical records of Traditional Asian medicine (TAM), on which TAM theories about symptoms-herbs relationships are based. In this study, we aim to quantitatively explore the relationships between symptoms and herbs in Shanghanlun. The text in Shanghanlun was converted into structured data. Using the structured data, Term Frequency - Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) scores of symptoms and herbs were calculated from each chapter to derive the major symptoms and herbs in each chapter. To understand the structure of the entire document, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for the 6-dimensional chapter space. Bipartite network analysis was conducted focusing on Jaccard scores between symptoms and herbs and eigenvector centralities of nodes. TF-IDF scores showed the characteristics of each chapter through major symptoms and herbs. Principal components drawn by PCA suggested the entire structure of Shanghanlun. The network analysis revealed a 'multi herbs - multi symptoms' relationship. Common symptoms and herbs were drawn from high eigenvector centralities of their nodes, while specific symptoms and herbs were drawn from low centralities. Symptoms expected to be treated by herbs were derived, respectively. Using measurable metrics, we conducted a computational study on patterns of Shanghanlun. Quantitative researches on TAM theories will contribute to improving the clarity of TAM theories.