This study evaluated cell viability and cytokine release in immortalized human oral fibroblasts (hTERT-hNOFs) and keratinocytes (IHOK) exposed to a dental-impregnated gingival retraction cord. To prepare the extracts, dental gingival retraction cords impregnated with aluminum chloride hexahydrate were immersed in a cell culture medium for 24 h at 37 °C. hTERT-hNOFs and IHOK were cultured for 24 h. The cell culture medium was removed and extracts of the dental gingival retraction cords were added. After incubation with the extract solution, cell viability was evaluated using an MTT assay. The levels of the cytokines IL-1α and IL-8 were measured in the supernatants of each cell type. The cell viability after exposure to the extract solution for 10 min exceeded 70 % in both cell types. The ET50 values for hTERT-hNOF and IHOK were 35.75 and 28.98 min, respectively. For IHOK, the IL-1α level was (5.35 ± 5.22) pg/mL at 10 min, (3.58 ± 5.38) pg/mL at 20 min, and (2.85 ± 4.28) pg/mL at 60 min of exposure (p > 0.05). The IL-8 level in IHOK was (67.16 ± 18.70) pg/mL at 10 min, (78.36 ± 7.50) pg/mL at 20 min, and (111.9 ± 26.10) pg/mL at 60 min of exposure (p > 0.05). Cytokine release was not observed from hTERThNOFs. Based on these results, cell viability and cytokine release were confirmed in cells exposed to the impregnated gingival retraction cord. In addition, the application of the extracts to hTERT-hNOF and IHOK during the actual contact time and determination of ET50 may be beneficial for evaluating the biocompatibility of dental-impregnated gingival retraction cords.

Nanoparticles are widely used in various fields such as electronics, medicines and getting focus on the application in food industry for developing intelligent delivery system with bioactive ingredients or functional nutrients. Basic study on possible toxicological effect of food applicable nanoparticles is required for a practical application in food industry. In this study, size-controlled bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles were prepared by a desolvation method and their cytotoxicity was investigated. BSA nanoparticles were prepared with mean diameters as 115, 137, 159, and 299 nm, then cytotoxicity was evaluated with RAW 264.7 macrophages as in vitro model. Cell viabilities were significantly affected as increasing nanoparticle concentration. Smaller the sizes of nanoparticles, LD50 values were significantly reduced. LD50 values of BSA nanoparticles were 50, 65, 126, and 170 μg/ml, respectively. Nanoparticle was supposed to induce the apoptosis of RAW 264.7 marcrophages and underlying mechanism will be investigated in future. These findings will be used as valuable basement for nanofood development with BSA nanoparticles.

Anti-neurodegenerative activities of aqueous extract from propolis were investigated. The aqueous extracts showed strong antioxidant activities in malondialdehyde (MDA) assay, and it effectively inhibited lipid peroxidation. In addition, the aqueous extract presented protective effects against H2O2-induced neurotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Our study verified that the aqueous extract has strong antioxidant activity and neuronal cell protective effect which is correlated with its total phenolics (290.75 mg GAE/g) including p-coumaric acid, vanillic acid and gallic acid. These phenolics of propolis may reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders, and can be utilized as effective and safe resources of functional food.

식용꽃인 꽃베고니아(Begonia semperflorens ‘Superolympia White’), 토레니아(Torenia fournieri ‘Crown Pink’), 팬지(Viola tricolor ‘Solvetsunny Royal’) 및 펠라고니움(Pelargonium grandiflorum ‘Jessie Jarrett’) 추출물의 총페놀 함량, 전자공여능 및 세포독성에 미치 는 영향을 조사하였다. 에탄올 추출물의 총 페놀함량은 펠라고니움의 경우 531.57mg/100g으로 높게 나타났으 나 토레니아는 30.98mg/100g, 팬지는 14.62mg/100g, 꽃베고니아는 5.77mg/100g으로 낮게 나타났다. 전자공 여능은 꽃베고니아, 토레니아, 팬지의 열수 및 에탄올 추출물은 500g·mL-1에서는 모두 69.4% 이하를 나타 냈으나 펠라고니움의 열수 및 에탄올 추출물은 125g·mL-1에서도 각각 94% 내외를 나타내었다. 세포 생존율은 토레니아와 팬지의 열수 및 에탄올 추출물 처리구에서는 95% 이하를 나타내어 세포사가 일어난 것으로 추정되었다. 히스타민 억제효과는 펠라고니움 추출물의 경우 91% 이상을 나타냈으나 토레니아 추출 물은 51-66%, 팬지 추출물은 14-24%, 꽃베고니아 추 출물은 1~2%의 억제 효과만 나타났다.

Background : Rehmannia glutinosa (RG) has been utilized as a traditional medicine in Asia. However, the development of varieties is limited and the climate is changing gradually. Therefore, it is required to develop a superior lineage suitable for this. So we have secured several species, and it is necessary to confirm the cytotoxicity of various kinds of cells for its safety and to secure safety for further utilization. Methods and Results : 11 cultivars and 21 lineages of RG were collected from Rural Development Administration (RDA) at Eumseong of Chungcheongbuk-do and national farmhouse. They were cultivated in test-research farm in RDA and used as materials. Human (THP-1 cell, human leukemia monocytic cell line) and rodent-derived immune cells (RAW264.7, murine monocyte/macrophage cell line) and hepatocytes (HepG2, human liver cell line) were used to assess cytotoxicity. Cytotoxicity was determined by using MTT assay. As a result of evaluation of cytoxicity, 11 cultivars and 21 lineages of RG were not shown cytotoxicity range from 250 - 1,000 ㎍/㎖ concentration in THP-1 cell, RAW264.7 cell and HepG2 cell. Conclusion : Development of RG with superior lineage suitable for changing climate is required. We selected a good lineage (21 ea), and result of the cytotoxicity evaluation from low to high concentrations in immune- and liver-derived cells, there was no toxicity at all. Therefore, if these excellent lineages are distributed to farmers, they can help farmers. And it can help research on immunity and liver function in the future.

This study was executed to evaluate the phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging rate, and the cytotoxic effect in human cancer cell, 3T3-L1 cell from C. lanceolata extracts at various ethanol concentration. Total polyphenol and flavonoid content of the C. lanceolata at various ethanol concentration showed the high amount in 70%, 100% ethanol extract. The DPPH radical scavenging activity progressively increased in a dose-dependent manner, and showed the highest in 100% ethanol extract. The cytotoxic effect against human cancer cell of the C. lanceolata was higher in 50% and 70% ethanol extracts. In particular, the cytotoxic effect in MCF-7 cell was relatively higher than in other cells. The IC50 (concentration causing 50% cell death) value showed the highest on MCF-7 cell (538.39 ㎍/㎖) in 70% ethanol extract, and exhibited significant activity against Hela cell (637.87 ㎍/㎖), Calu-6 cell (728.64 ㎍/㎖). The extract of 70% ethanol at 1,000 ㎍/㎖ exhibited a pronounced cytotoxic effect on 3T3-L1 cell comparable to that of the other extracts, and reduced in a concentration-dependent manner.

Background : Lectins were individually isolated from natural Korean mistletoe (nML) and its in vitro cultured calli (cML). Both of the lectins showed the difference in bioactivities such as cytotoxicity and cytokine induction. Methods and Results : Target cells (1 x 104 cells/well) were seeded independently into each well of a 96-well culture plate and incubated with different concentrations of each lectin. Survivability of target cells was determined by CCK-8 kit (Sigma, USA) according to manufacturer’s directions. The nML showed 46, 34 and 5.5 times stronger than cML in cytotoxicity (IC50) to human melanoma cell line (SK-MEL-28), human carcinoma cell line (NCI-H1650) and murine macrophage (RAW 264.7), respectively. In addition, respective lectins directly stimulated macrophage RAW 264.7 but they showed the difference in enhanced productivity of some inflammatory cytokines. Compared with cML, the nML induced both TNF-α and IL-1β at its low concentration. Administration of two kinds of lectins (10-1000 μ g/kg body weight) to ICR mouse did not show any significant changes on the level of alanine transaminase (ALT), glutamate-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in sera. Conclusion : From the above results, we may suggest that nML and cML showed differences in cytotoxic effects and cytokine production due to the difference in amounts from sources.

Polyethylene and polystyrene are frequently used resins for making food container including cup noodle bowls. In the pre-sent study, we investigated the potential risks of polyethylene and polystyrene cup noodle containers by cytotoxicity tests such as agar diffusion assay, filter diffusion assay, and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. We exposed CCL-1 mouse fibroblast cell line to the polyethylene and polystyrene cup noodle containers indirectly through agar gel. We also used eluents derived from the cup noodle containers by storing them for 24 h at 70℃ in liquids, such as distilled water or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Both polyethylene and polystyrene cup noodle container specimen were found to be non-cytotoxic in agar diffusion assay as well as filter diffusion assay. The eluents from polystyrene using DMSO showed slight cytotoxicity in MTT assay.

Antioxidant activity, total phenolics level and cytotoxicity of the methanol extracts from the young sprouts of 5 Korean woody salad plants were determined. Methanol extracts of Kalopanax pictus had the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity, with an IC50 value of 23.5mg 100g-1, and followed by Valeriana fauriei(43.1mg 100g-1), and Morus alba(〉100mg 100g-1). Total phenolic content showed the highest amount in methanol extracts from Kalopanax pictus(23.7mg 100g-1), and followed by Valeriana fauriei(22.7mg 100g-1), Aralia elata(16.8mg 100g-1) and Morus alba(14.2mg 100g-1). In a MTT assay, methanol extracts of Aralia elata with IC50 values of 151.0 and 140.7μg mL-1 showed the most potent cytotoxicity on Calu-6 and MCF-7, respectively. On the other hand, methanol extracts of Kalopanax pictus(IC50=96.5μg mL-1) showed the highest activity against HCT-116, and followed by those of Aralia elata(123.3μg mL-1), and Actinidia arguta(162.0μg mL-1). Total phenolic content of the tested plant extracts was correlated with the DPPH radical scavenging activity, suggesting the phenolic compounds may contribute to the antioxidant properties of Korean salad plants.