The antioxidant and antitumor properties of natural products, often recognized in traditional medicine systems, represent therapeutic modalities to reduce or prevent uncontrolled oxidation processes which in turn potentially ameliorate or tumor based symptoms of chronic diseases. We have studied the antioxidant and antitumor effects of Amanita muscaria (A. muscaria) in vitro and examined whether the A. muscaria has synergistic effects on antioxidant and antitumor properties. Although A. muscaria induced a dose-dependent increase in antioxidant activity, the latter has a consistently higher antioxidant effect. In mouse monocytes, the lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced tumor necrosis- (TNF-) synthesis was significantly inhibited by A. muscaria in a dose dependent manner and synergistic effects were clearly demonstrated with the A. muscaria on TNF- inhibition. A. muscaria effect was also evident on inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B activity, cyclooxygenase-II activity, and lipid peroxidation in mouse monocytes. This presented results may be a starting point for a comprehensive characterization of biological effects of A. muscaria.

This study employed the first-person shooter task(FPST: Correll, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2002) paradigm to examine racial bias toward Blacks in a population unrelated to the Black-White racial context. We tested whether having Korean participants play the role of a White police officer portrayed as nonracist (vs. racist) would attenuate the bias to shoot Black suspects. Participants were told that they would perform a police simulation task as a White police officer, who was described as racist or nonracist, or was presented without a description. They then performed the FPST. Although nonracist description lowered shooter bias, racist description weakened it even more, contrary to our prediction. The latter result is interpreted as due to activation of an egalitarian goal after reading about racism-related description, especially as the description was about someone who was to be incorporated to the self. Supporting this interpretation, a mediation analysis involving Racist and Control conditions revealed that the racist description was associated with stronger perception of the officer’s racial bias, which in turn was correlated with weaker shooter bias.

Mushrooms are considered not only as food but also for source of physiologically beneficial medicines. The culinarymedicinal mushrooms may important role in the prevention of age-associated neurological dysfunctions, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Hericium erinaceus (H. erinaceus), is edible mushrooms, is a parasitic fungus that grows hanging off of logs and trees and well established candidate for brain and nerve health. H. erinaceus contains high amounts of antioxidants, beta-glucan, polysaccharides and a potent catalyst for brain tissue regeneration and helps to improve memory and cognitive functions. Its fruiting bodies and the fungal mycelia exhibit various pharmacological activities, including the enhancement of the immune system, antitumor, hypoglycemic and anti-aging properties. H. erinaceus stimulates the synthesis of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) which is the primary protein nutrient responsible for enhancing and repairing neurological disorders. Especially hericenones and erinacines isolated from its fruitin body stimulate NGF, synthesis. This fungus is also utilized to regulate blood levels of glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol. H. erinaceus can be considered as useful therapeutic agents in the management and/or treatment of neurodegeneration diseases. However, this review focuses on in vitro, in vivo and clinical trials for neurodegerative disease.

Background : Cellular oxidative stress as reactive oxygen species (ROS), whether produced endogenously as a consequence of normal cell functions or derived from external sources, pose a constant threat to cells living in an aerobic environment as they can result in severe damage to DNA, protein, and lipids. The effects of Valeriana fauriei extract and fractions on hydrogen peroxide-induced neuronal cell damage are studied. Methods and Results : Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathological process of neurodegenerative diseases. Valeriana fauriei extract (VFE) and EA fractions (VFEA) was investigated total phenolic contents using method. VFE of total phenolic contents had 2.54 ± 0.01 mg/g, also, VFEA had a 18.78 ± 0.03 mg/g. High phenolic content of the VFEA is expected to better the inhibition of oxidative stress. VFE and VFEA were experimented to inhibit ROS induced 200 μM 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1). VFE of inhibit SIN-1 induced-ROS dose dependently and signficantly. In addition, VFEA inhibition was also dose dependant and significant. Moreover, The treatment of SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells with VFEA significantly reduced hydrogen peroxide-induced generation of intercellular ROS. Conclusion : From the above results, we may suggest that VFEA might have useful as a material for functional food and pharmaceutics for the pathological process of neurodegenerative diseases.

Background : We have previously reported that Oligonol, a low-molecular polyphenol derived from lychee fruit, has protective effect on the liver and kidney of diabetic animal model. In this study, we examined whether Oligonol has any beneficial effects on pancreas of diabetic rats. Methods and Results : Oligonol was orally administered at a dose of 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight for 10 days to STZ-induced diabetic rats, and the effects were compared with those of vehicle-treated diabetic control and non-diabetic control rats. The administration of Oligonol reduced hyperglycemia in diabetic rats through an improvement of serum and pancreatic insulin levels. The increased reactive oxygen species levels in pancreas of diabetic control rats was attenuated by the Oligonol administration through inhibiting the expression of NADPH oxidase-related proteins. The enhanced expression of pro-apoptotic proteins in pancreas of diabetic control rats was significantly reduced by Oligonol administration through down-regulation of phosphor-c-Jun N-terminal kinases protein in pancreas. Furthermore, the expressions of cell proliferation-related protein were also augmented in Oligonol treated-diabetic rats. However, Oligonol treatment led to improved histological changes in the pancreas. Conclusion : These pancreatoprotective effects of Oligonol were achieved through attenuation of oxidative stress and its sensitive protein expression associated with apoptosis and cell proliferation in diabetic rats.

Achyrantes japonica (AJ) has been used to treat edema and arthritis in the traditional Korean medicine. Toelucidate the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects of ethanol extract of AJ, the carrageenan-induced pawedema using a plethysmometer and thermal hypersensitivity using the plantar test were measured. Ibuprofen was used asa control drug. Treatment with AJ (200㎎/kg p.o.) significantly reduced paw edema, compared to the carrageenan -treated rats. In the plantar test, the thermal withdrawal latency in AJ - treated group was significantly increased than thecarrageenan - treated group. The results indicate that AJ could have be the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive prop-erties.

Objective The aim of this work was to ascertain whether the memory disturbance following scopolamine administration and the neuroprotective effect of could be evidenced in global cerebral ischemia by evaluating improved cognitive capacity in the rats. Materials and Methods Neuronal cell density was measured by counting viable cells in the left and right CA1 regions of three coronal sections of 30 um. Behavior test; Acquisition deficits after ischemia.. Use passive avoidance test. Results Neuroprotective effect of GB at 100mg/kg is 87.3%. Representative photomicrographs of cresyl violet-stained hippocampal regions of either sham-operated animals(A,B) or animals that had been subjected to 10 min ischemia followed by the treatment with either saline (C,D) or 100mg/kg of Ginkgo biloba (E,F). Boxed regions in A, C, and E are shown in B, D, and F, respectively. The 10 min ischemia caused selective and delayed neuronal cell loss in the hippocampal CA1 region (C,D). In contrast, GB treatment conferred neuroprotection by markedly reducing the number of damaged pyramidal cells in the CA1 subfield (E,F). Scale bar is 100 um. Effect of GB on scopolamine induced memory deficits in the passive avoidance test. At 30 min after trainining trials, scopolamine(1mg/kg i.p.) or the same volume of saline was administered to rats. At 30 min after scopolamine injection, the rats were treated with GB(100mg/kg). Acquisition trials were carried out 30 min after GB treatment. At 24 hr after acquisition trials, the test trials were carried out. Data represents mean ± SEM (n=6).

The purpose of this study is to investigate the positive or negative effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid(ALA) on the growth of several crops and weeds, by applying a seed soaking treatment, foliar treatment, and application timing, while comparing biological activity between ALA produced by chemical synthesis (Synthetic-ALA) and extracellularly-accumulated ALA by overexpressing the hemeA gene isolated from Bradyrhizobium japonicum(Bio-ALA). Seed soaking treatment of ALA in barley (five cultivars) and wheat (five cultivars) had not shown positive effects at lower concentrations, 0.05 to 0.5 mM as well as negative effects at higher concentrations, 1 to 30 mM. In rice, there also was no positive effect by seed soaking treatment of ALA at lower concentrations, although the rice became damaged by an application of 5 and 10 mM ALA. Growth in barley cultivars, Ganghossalbori, Naehanssalbori, Songhakbori, Saessalbori, and Daehossalbori were increased up to 14%, 19-51 %, 17-64%, 18-23%, and 22-38% by ALA foliar application at lower concentrations, 0.05 to 0.5 mM, respectively. On the other hand, the growth in barley cultivars was inhibited by ALA foliar application at higher concentrations. Barley responded more positively to ALA foliar application than wheat and rice. The growth stimulation caused by ALA seed soaking treatment was less than by ALA foliar treatment. ALA treatment at the 1.5-leaf stage increased growth of barley by 19-58%, while pretreatment to seeds, post-emergence treatment at 3 days after seeding, 3-leaf stages, and 5-leaf stages had not shown positive effects. Thus, the positive effects of ALA on barley were dependent greatly upon the timing of application and its concentration. Monocots weeds were more sensitive to ALA foliar treatment than dicotyledonous weeds. A monocot weed, Setaria viridis L. was the most susceptible plant to ALA while a dicotyledonous weed, Plantago asiatica L. was the most tolerant. No significant difference in biological activity between bio-ALA and synthetic ALA on barley, wheat, rice, and weed, Ixeris dentate tested was observed. Thus, ALA produced by microorganisms would be a potent substance to be used effectively in agricultural production.

In order to examine the mechanistic basis for differential sensitivities to chilling and subsequent recovery between two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cutivars, a chilling-tolerant japonica type (Ilpumbyeo) and a chilling-susceptible indica type (Taebaekbyeo), changes of physiological responses and antioxidant enzymes were investigated. Both cultivars at 3 leaf stage were exposed at a low temperature of 5~circC for 3 days and subsequently recovered in a growth chamber at a 25~circC for 5 days with 250 mmol m-2 s-1 . Physiological parameters such as leaf fresh weight, relative water content, cellular leakage, lipid peroxidation, and chlorophyll a fluorescence showed that the chilling tolerant cultivar had a high tolerance during chilling. However, the chilling-susceptible cultivar revealed severe chilling damages. The chilling-tolerant cultivar was also faster in recovery than the chilling-susceptible cultivar in all parameters examined. We analyzed the activity and isozyme profiles of four antioxidant enzymes which are: superoxide dismutase (SOD), caltalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutation reductase (GR). We observed that chilling-tolerance was due to a result of the induced or higher antioxidant enzyme system, CAT and APX in leaves and SOD, CAT, APX, and GR in roots. Especially, we observed the most significant differences between the chilling-tolerant cultivar and -susceptible cultivar in CAT and APX activity. Also in isozyme profiles, CAT and APX band intensity in the chilling-tolerant cultivar was distinctively higher than in the chilling-susceptible cultivars during chilling and recovery. Thus, the cold stability of CAT and APX are expected to contribute to a tolerance mechanism of chilling in rice plants. In addition, the antioxidative enzymes activity in roots may be more important than in that of leaves to protect chilling damage on rice plants.