Hepatic diseases are divided into two types: alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Non-alcoholic liver injury finally induces fatty liver and damages liver function. Many studies have demonstrated that Ecklonia stolonifera has antioxidative, antiinflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities. We conducted a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial to examine the efficacy of E. stolonifera extracts (ESE) on biochemical markers of hepatic function. Sixty-five subjects with mild or moderate liver injuries were randomly allocated to receive either 420 mg/d of ESE or a placebo for 12 weeks. Fifty-five participants completed the trial. No significant adverse events were observed among the subjects during the study. The primary end points were changes in plasma levels of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT). The secondary end points were changes in lipid profile levels, including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Compared with the baseline, AST and ALT levels decreased significantly in the ESE group compared to those in the placebo group (P<0.001). In addition, γ-GT levels in the ESE group were significantly lower than those in the placebo group (P=0.016). There were no differences in the TC, TG, HDL, and LDL levels between groups. In conclusion, ESE consumption for 12 weeks improved liver parameters in subjects with liver injury. Regular consumption of ESE could maintain liver health in individuals at risk of hepatic damage.

This study was to investigate an analytical method for determining dieckol content in Ecklonia stolonifera extract. According to the guidelines of International Conference on Harmonization. Method validation was performed by measuring the specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ) of dieckol using high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array. The results showed that the correlation coefficient of calibration curve (R2) for dieckol was 0.9997. The LOD and LOQ for dieckol were 0.18 and 0.56 μg/mL, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision values of dieckol were approximately 1.58-4.39% and 1.37-4.64%, respectively. Moreover, intra- and inter-day accuracies of dieckol were approximately 96.91- 102.33% and 98.41-105.71%, respectively. Thus, we successfully validated the analytical method for estimating dieckol content in E. stolonifera extract.

본 연구에서는 표준화된 곰피추출물의 항산화 및 콜레 스테롤 개선에 대한 효능평가를 통해 건강기능식품 소재로서의 가치를 검토하기 위해 총 폴리페놀, 총 플라보노이드 및 dieckol 함량을 측정하였으며 DPPH, ABTS radical 소거능, reducing power 및 FRAP 활성을 통하여 곰피추 출물의 in vitro 항산화 활성을 조사하였고 표준화된 곰피 추출물의 HMG-CoA reductase 저해 활성 및 세포 내 콜레스테롤 생성 억제 효능을 평가하였다. 표준화된 곰피추출물의 총 폴리페놀, 총 플라보노이드 및 dieckol 함량은 각각 9.64±0.04 mg GAE/g, 2.72±0.08 mg RE/g, 27.42±0.66 mg/g 으로 나타났다. 표준화된 곰피추출물의 in vitro 항산화활 성, HMG-CoA reductase 저해활성 및 세포 내 콜레스테롤 생성 억제 효능은 농도의존적으로 증가하는 경향을 보였으며 이는 표준화된 곰피추출물에 함유되어 있는 페놀성 화합물에 기인된 효능으로 사료되며 항산화성분, 항산화 효과, 콜레스테를 개선 효능간의 상관관계가 있음을 확인 하였다. 향후, 표준화된 곰피추출물에 대한 in vivo 모델 에서의 전임상 연구 및 작용기전 입증되면 인체적용시험을 통해 이중기능성을 갖는 건강기능식품의 개발이 가능할 것으로 사료된다.

곰피추출물의 CCD-986sk cell line monolayer (human fibroblast, KCBL-21947)에 대한 피부세포 생리활성효과를 측정하고, 또한 곰피추출물의 Clone M-3 mouse melano-cyte cell line에 대한 melanin formation 저해효과를 측정하기 위해 in vitro레벨에서 실험을 실시하였다. 곰피는 다년생 갈조류의 일종으로 이 종은 한국 연안해역에서 중요한 1차생산자의 역할을 담당하고 있는