Nelumbo nucifera root(NNR) is used to clear summerheat(暑熱), bear Yang(陽) upwards and stop bleeding as mentioned in traditional Korean medicine. Also, it has been known that NNR is effective for lowering blood pressure and hyperlipidemia. The rhizome is considered to be nutritive, demulcent, diuretic and cholagogue and is used to treat piles, dyspepsia and diarrhea. An increasingly growing market for nutraceuticals and functional foods has triggered the study on natural sources for nutraceuticals, health foods and functional foods. But rhizome was inconvenient to formulate liquid dosage form(extract) by way of hot water because of its limited storage. Also the majority of the consumers have a complaint against the dosage. The purpose of this study was to develop the functional materials from NNR without side effects. We formulated the solid dosage form viz tablet and granule from the lotus root. Sensory evaluation was performed in terms of smell, taste, color and overall of lotus root and all colored forms(brown, dark brown, light green and yellow) of tablet and granule to evaluate the acceptability of the formulated tablets and granules. In sensory evaluation, among the formulated tablets and granules, light green granules obtained best score overall and yellow tablets showed the overall improved acceptability. In conclusion, lotus rhizome could be recommended as functional food. Further studies to clarify bioactive functions of Nelumbo nucifera in experimental animal model on atopic dermatitis are in progress.

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.(family Nymphaeaceae) has been used for summer heat syndrome as home remedy in Japan, China and Korea. Although whole plant parts are edible, root is commonly consumed. It has been reported that rhizome extract showed anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects. However, in spite of usefulness for treatment of various diseases, the effect of Nelumbo nucifera rhizome(NNR) on proliferation, migration and matrix degrading enzymes-matrix metalloproteinsases(MMPs), the expression of which degrades extracellular matrix(ECM) leading to metastasis, has not been fully elucidated. We examined the effect of hot water extract of NNR on the proliferation, migration and secretion of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in rat smooth muscle cells(rSMC), epidermoid cancer cells(A431) and breast cancer cells(MDA-MB-231). The proliferation assay was carried out using MTT assay, the principle of which depends upon the conversion of MTT by mitochondrial dehydrogensases of viable cells to formazan crystals. The effect of NNR on migration of cells was examined using wound healing assay. Our results showed that there was inhibition in the proliferation, migration and expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in dose dependent fashion in all the cells used. Thus, we concluded that NNR could be used as traditional medicine in the treatment of various diseases where proliferation, migration and MMPs' expression plays a pathological role like in restenosis and metastasis.