본 연구는 고지방 식이로 유발된 내당능 장애 모델의 학습 및 기억력 장애에 대한 스피룰리나 섭취의 개선 효과를 확인하고자 하였다. 당부하 검사(IPGTT)를 통하여 고지방식이를 통한 내당능 장애가 유발되었음을 확인하였고, SP는 HFD 대비 약 20%의 당 내성 개선효과를 나타내는 것으로 나타났다. 고지방 식이로 인지 기능 손상을 유발시킨 동물모델의 Y-maze 및 Morris water maze 시험을 진행한 결과는 SP에서 CND 대비 학습 및 장·단기기억력 장애가 유의한 수준으로 개선됨을 확인하였다. 실험동물의 혈청분석 결과는 스피룰리나 섭취가 일반식이로 전환한 것과 비교하였을 때, HFD 대비 LDLC 감소 및 HTR(HDLC의 비율) 증가를 통한 혈중 콜레스테롤 개선에 효과를 나타냈다. 적출된 뇌와 간 조직을 대상으로 SOD 활성, oxidized GSH 함량 및 MDA 함량을 측정한 결과 스피룰리나 섭취가 뇌조직뿐만 아니라 간 조직에서 항산화 활성을 향상시켜 주는 것도 역시 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과는 고지방 식이를 통한 혈당 상승 및 이로 인한 기억능력 저하에서 스피룰리나 섭취는 CND 수준으로의 개선 효과를 유도할 수 있음을 확인하였다. 또한, 스피룰리나 섭취는 뇌 기능과 직접적으로 연관된 콜린성 시스템 손상에도 CND 대비 AChE 활성에 더 높은 저해효과를 나타냄을 확인하였다. 따라서 본 연구는 스피룰리나가 고지방 식이로 유도된 내당능 장애 모델에서 발생될 수 있는 뇌기능 저하에서 혈중 콜레스테롤 개선 효과, 항산화 효과 및 AChE 저해효과를 통하여, 비만으로 유도될 수 있는 대사성 인지 장애에 대한 개선 소재로의 잠재적인 가능성을 갖는 것으로 판단된다.

In this study, we investigated the effect of the extracts from Vaccinium oldhamii on cell proliferation and the regulatory mechanisms of cyclin D1 protein level in human cancer cells. The branch extracts from Vaccinium oldhamii (VOB) showed higher inhibitor effect against the cell growth than leave extracts (VOL) and fruit extracts (VOF) in human colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer cells. In addition, VOB decreased cyclin D1 level at both protein and mRNA level. MG132 treatment attenuated VOB-mediated cyclin D1 downregulation. A point mutation of threonine-286 to alanine attenuated cyclin D1 degradation by VOB. In addition, the inhibition of nuclear export by leptomycin B (LMB) attenuated cyclin D1 degradation by VOB. But, the treatment of PD98059 (ERK1/2 inhibitor), SB203580 (p38 inhibitor), SP600125 (JNK inhibitor), LiCl (GSK3β inhibitor), LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) or BAY 11-7082 (IκK inhibitor) did not affect VOB-induced cyclin D1 degradation. In conclusion, VOB induced cyclin D1 degradation through redistribution of cyclin D1 from the nucleus to cytoplasm via T286 phosphorylation of cyclin D1, which resulted in the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation.

Hibiscus syriacus (H. syriacus) as the national flower of Korea has been used as the herbal medicine in Asia. In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of 70% ethanol extracts from the root of Hibiscus syriacus (RHS-E70) and elucidated the potential signaling pathway in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. RHS-E70 dose-dependently suppressed NO production by inhibiting iNOS and IL-β expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. RHS-E70 inhibited the phosphorylation and degradation of IκB-α, which contributed to the inhibition of p65 nuclear accumulation and NF-κB activation. Furthermore, RHS-E70 suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p38, which results in the inhibition of ATF2 phosphorylation and subsequent nuclear accumulation. These results indicate that RHS-E70 may exert antiinflammatory activity by inhibiting NF-κB and MAPK/ATF2 signaling. From these findings, RHS-E70 has potential to be a candidate for the development of chemopreventive or therapeutic agents for the inflammatory diseases.

In this study, we elucidated anti-cancer activity and potential molecular mechanism of 70% ethanol extracts from Taxilli Ramulus (Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser) (TR-E70) against human colorectal cancer cells. Anti-cell proliferative effect of TR-E70 was evaluated by MTT assay. The effect of TR-E70 on the expression of cyclin D1 in the protein and mRNA level was evaluated by Western blot and RT-PCR, respectively. TR-E70 suppressed the proliferation of human colorectal cancer cell lines, HCT116 and SW480. Although TR-E70 decreased cyclin D1 expression in protein and mRNA level, decreased level of cyclin D1 protein by TR-E70 more dramatically occurred than that of cyclin D1 mRNA. Cyclin D1 downregulation by TR-E70 was attenuated in presence of MG132. In addition, TR-E70 phosphorylated threonine-286 (T286) of cyclin D1. TR-E70-mediated cyclin D1 degradation was blocked in presence of LiCl as an inhibitor GSK3β but not PD98059 as an ERK1/2 inhibitor and SB203580 as a p38 inhibitor. Our results suggest that TR-E70 may downregulate cyclin D1 as one of the potential anti-cancer targets through GSK3β-dependent cyclin D1 degradation. From these findings, TR-E70 has potential to be a candidate for the development of chemoprevention or therapeutic agents for human colorectal cancer.

A coating system derived from the combination of a sodium and a potassium water glass was developed to apply for steel in oxidizing and humidity environments at elevated temperature. Parameters such as filler volume, viscosity or coating thickness were varied to optimize the coatings. The coated specimens were investigated by TGA, SEM/EDS, and XRD to clarify the microstructure morphology and anti-oxidation behavior. Finally, oxidation tests, adhesion tests, thermal shock resistance tests and humidity resistance tests were performed to evaluate the performance of developed coating.

Background : Recently, hair loss, which has been regarded as a mere means of middle-aged men due to stress and environmental pollution. The market for hair loss in Korea is about four trillion won and it is growing continuously. It is mainly made by mixing natural extracts such as medicinal plant. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ethanol extracts of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. whole plant and Calendula officinalis L. flower extracts on the growth of fibroblasts, dermal papilla cells and lipid precursors, I want to try to make a materialization. Methods and Results : The cytotoxicity of each sample extracts treated with 50%, 100%, and 500 μg to fibroblasts, cell-viability were 107.3%, 109.6%, and 128.2%, respectively. The cytotoxicity of each sample to the dermal papilla cells was not observed. And the lipid differentiation of the lipogenic precursor cells which regulates the hairegeneration by secretion of the platelet derived growth factor. The 70% ethanol extracts of H. cordata whole plant and C. officinalis flower were showed promotes the hair growth activity. The lipolysis rate was significantly increased with increasing treatment concentration Conclusion : As a result of this study, in-vitro hair growth activity of herbal medicines for hair treatment material development was not shown to be toxic to each cell. And 70% ethanol extract of H. cordata whole plant stimulated lipid precursor cells inducing differentiation. As a result, the 70% ethanol extracts of H. cordata whole plant and C. officinalis flower have potential to developing hair-related product.

Background : Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the Polygonaceae family. And is an herbal medicine which can be used as a raw material for food, which is excellent in immunity enhancement, vocalization and blood transfusion. The purpose of this study was to expand the utility of the P. multiflorum. Also, we fermented P. multiflorum by mushroom mycelial, and analyzed for general components and amino acids before and after fermentation Methods and Results : The moisture content of P. multiflorum and fermented P. multiflorum by mushroom mycelial (FPM) were 7.35% and 59%, respectively. The crude protein content did not show a significant difference between the two samples, crude fat, ash and crude fiber content of FPM were lower than P. multiflorum. The content of soluble nitrogen free extract of P. multiflorum (79.78%) was significantly higher than FPM (31.05%). Sixteen kinds of amino acids were detected in P. multiflorum, and the major amino acid was determined the arginine. The content of arginine and glutamic acid were 586.67 ㎎%, and 283.78 ㎎%, respectively. Sixteen kinds of amino acids were detected in FPM, and the major amino acids were determined the arginine (654.68 ㎎%) and threonine (591.18 ㎎%). The total amino acid contents of P. multiflorum and FPM were 3,469.03 ㎎%, and 3,630 ㎎%, respectively. Conclusion : The content of crude fat, ash, crude fiber, and soluble nitrogen free extract of FPM were lower than the P. multiflorum, and the major amino acids were different in two samples. Total amino acid content of FPM was higher than the P. multiflorum. As the mushroom fermentation progresses, it is confirmed that the amino acid content is increased, and it is expected to develop the product using the P. multiflorum fermented with mushroom mycelial.

This study describes development of high performance environmental barrier coating for steel in oxidizing and humidity environments at elevated temperature. Parameters like pre-treatment of the steel substrates, filler systems, particle size of the fillers or coating thickness were varied to optimize the coatings. The resulting coating investigated by TGA, SEM/EDS, and XRD to clarify the possible protective mechanism. Oxidation tests, adhesion tests, thermal shock resistance tests and humidity resistance tests were performed to evaluation the high performance of developed coatings.

The transposable element is a DNA sequence that can be changed its position within the genome, sometimes it can create or reverse mutations and altering the cell's genome size. Target region amplification polymorphism (TRAP) is a rapid and efficient PCR-based marker technique, which uses bioinformatics tools and expressed sequence tag (EST) database information to generate polymorphic markers around targeted candidate gene sequences. TE-TRAP is a new marker system which used terminal inverted repeat (TIR) instead of targeted candidate gene sequences. Sorghum holds a good potential plant organism for transposon tagging due to its small genome size, low amount of repetitive DNA and co-linearity with other cereal genomes, which allows the use of information derived from sorghum in other cereal grasses. IS2868 of sorghum accession was treated Gamma irradiation on seed. To define availability and utilization of TE-TRAP, twenty-one accessions were used to evaluate the genetic diversity and underlying relationships. One-thousand thirty-three TE-TRAP markers were amplified by thirty-one primer combination. Altogether, 712 (62.8%) markers were observed polymorphic segregation, whereas 421 (37.2%) showed monomorphic patterns. To estimate genetic differentiation of population by various gamma radiation doses, the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) was performed using 4 to 5 different radiation doses population of M1 sorghum individuals. This study and marker system will provide valuable information to assist radiation mutation breeding.

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) native to Africa can be used as fiber, food, feedstock and bio plastic. This study was carried out to evaluate the mineral, amino acid and vitamin contents of six selected kenaf cultivars which are enable to produce seed under Korean circumstance. The leaves of three mutant cultivars (Jangdae, Jeokbong and Baekma), two original cultivars (Jinju, C14) and one Chinese cultivar (Auxu) were harvested at flowering time. Mineral components of kenaf leaves, such as calcium, potassium, and mineral, did not showed significant differences among the cultivars. As major amino acids including proline and phenylalanine, significant differences were found in these kenaf cultivars. The Auxu cultivar contained the highest amount of essential amino acid (Phenylalanine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine, Methionine and Lysine). The amount of vitamin displayed significant differences such as vitamin E and vitamin K among these cultivars. Especially, Jangdae cultivar contained the highest amount of vitamin E and vitamin K. Thus, these data suggested that Jangdae and Auxu is the most desirable cultivar containing high amount of vitamin and amino acid.

This study was conducted to determine the optimal dose of gamma-ray for mutation breeding in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor M.). Gamma-rays irradiated to dry seeds with various doses (0 to 1000 Gy) at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Lethal dosage (LD50) was approximately 256 Gy. Significant decreases in growth characteristics (plant height, tiller number and fresh weight) were observed by dose of increased over 300 Gy. Reduction doses (RD50) was approximately 363 Gy in plant height. We also conducted comet assay to observe nucleus DNA damage due to gamma irradiation. In comet assay, a clear difference was identified over 100 Gy treatments. With increasing doses of gamma-ray in the range of 100 to 400 Gy, the rate of head DNA was decreased significantly from 93.52% to 67.57%. The most of the Sorghum cells were severely damaged in the integrity of DNA by gamma-ray. These data provide valuable information when the optimal dose should be chosen for purpose of mutation breeding program of Sorghum.