Particulate leaching method for the preparation of porous PLLA scaffolds was carried out and especially, the effect of PLLA/CHCl3 solution concentration on the salt leaching rate and the pore structure of PLLA scaffolds were considered. It was found that maintaining lower PLLA/CHCl3 concentration and higher CHCl3 evaporation temperature in the preparation of PLLA/NaCl mixtures resulted in the enhancement of salt leaching rat e and higher porosity. This is understood that those conditions could minimize the formation of dense PLLA layer on the surface of PLLA/NaCl mixture as well as introducing better porosity on the surface. Higher salt leaching temperature accelerated the salt leaching rate but it seems that there is no influence on the porosity of PLLA scaffolds.

Chrysanthemum boreale Makino (C. boreale) is widely distributed in Asian countries, and has traditionally been used to treat various inflammatory diseases including bronchitis. In this study, we aimed to isolate biologically active compounds from leaves and stems of C. boreale. Chemical components were purified by column chromatograpy and recyclic HPLC, and characterized from their spectral data (IR, MS, NMR). Biological activity experiments were conducted for Farnesyl-protein transferase (FPTase) activity, apoptosis and nitirc oxide (NO) release. As a results, three sesquiterpene lactones were isolated. Compound 1 (4-methoxy-8-O-acetyl-10-hydroxy-2,11(13)-guaiadiene-12,6-olide) showed strong cytotoxic activities having an average growth inhibition of 50% (GI50) value of 1.89 ㎍/㎖against human colon adenocarcinoma cells. Compound 1 also showed a low half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 10 ㎍/㎖ for NO release. In the caspase 3 activity, compound 1 and compound 2 (8-O-(2-carbonyl-2-butyl)-3,10-dihydroxy-4,11(13) -guaiadiene-12,6-olide) exhibited 94% and 90% apoptosis inhibition activity, respectively. Compound 3 (4,8-O-diacetyl -10-hydroxy-2(3),11(13)-guaiadiene-12,6-olide) showed a strong inhibitory effect on FPTase activity with 90% inhibitory activity at a concentration of 100 ㎍/㎖. These results clearly show the presence of lactone compounds in the leaves and stems, which may partially contribute to the pharmacological activity of C. boreale.

Chrysanthemum boreale Makino is widely distributed in Korea, China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. C. boreale is one of the herbs used for treating various inflammatory diseases in oriental medicine. The present study was conducted to identify biologically active compounds from the leaves and stems of C. boreale. We isolated two sesquiterpene sactones from the leaves and stems of C. boreale using silica gel column chromatography and recyclic high perfomance liquid chromatography. The lactones were characterized by their spectroscopic data (NMR, IR, MASS). These compounds were subjected to Farnesyl Protein Transferase (FPTase) inhibition, Nitric Oxide (NO) release inhibition and apoptosis inhibition. The structur of the following isolated compound were elucidated 8,10-o-Acetyl-2-methoxy-10-hydroxy-3,11(13)-guaiadiene-12,6-olide and 4,10-dihydroxy -8-o-Acetyl-2,11(13)-guaiadiene-12,6-olide. In the NO release inhibition assay, compound 2 showed strong activities, with an IC50 value of 7 μg/mL, whereas compound 1 did not exhibit significant activity with an IC50 value of over 14 μg/mL against murine macrophage.

Acyltransferase (AT) catalyzes the transfer of an acyl moiety from acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) to an acceptor. ATs play important roles in the maintenance of homeostasis in the human body and have been linked to various diseases; therefore, several ATs have been proposed as potential targets for the treatment or prevention of such diseases. The AT family includes acyl-CoA:cholesterol AT (ACAT), diacylglycerol AT, and monoacylglycerol AT for the metabolism of lipids. Furthermore, recent molecular biological studies revealed the existence of their isozymes with distinct functions in the body. ACAT plays a critical role in the formation of cholesteryl esters from cholesterol and fatty acids, and is a potential target for treating hypercholesterolemia. During an experiment designed to discover biologically active compounds from herbal medicines, we isolated two known guaianolide sesquiterpene lactones from Chrysanthemum boreale Makino (Compositae). The lactones were characterized from their spectroscopic data (NMR, IR, MASS). These compounds were subjected to ACAT inhibition assay. Here, we report the isolation and structural elucidation of the compounds 8-o-acetyl-2-methoxy-10-hydroxy-3,11(13)-guaiadiene-12,6-olide and 8-acetyl-3,10-hydroxy-4(15),11(13)-guaiadiene-12,6-olide. In the ACAT inhibition assay, compound 1 showed strong inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value 45 μg/mL, whereas compound 2 did not exhibit significant inhibitory activity with an over 100 μg/mL.

The essential oil obtained by steam distillation from medicinal plants of Cinnamomum cassia and Prunellae Herba. Analysis of essential oils were performed on GC/MS selective detector. Separations were performed fused silica capillary column. The carrier gas was ultra pure helium with a flow of 1 ㎖/min and the splitless injector temperature was set as 280 °C. The column temperature program was as follows: initial temperature of 70 °C for 4 min, and increased by 2 °C /min 70 to 100 °C (held 2 min), After that the temperature was varied from 100 to 200 °C at 5 °C/min (held 20 min), increase to 280 °C (held 5 min) at 10 °C /min, in a total run time of 73 min. Ten volatile flavor components were identified from C. cassia and ten volatile flavor components were identified from Prunellae Herba. Strong inhibition of growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was obtained with all doses of C. cassia tested. Moreover, antimicrobial activity of C. cassia occurred in a dose dependant manner.