(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a major catechin found in green tea. It is reported that EGCG possesses various health benefits including anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-diabetes, and anti-obesity. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of EGCG on adipogenesis via activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. In order to determine the effects of EGCG on adipogenesis, preadipocyte differentiation was induced in the presence or absence of EGCG (0~100 μM) for a period of 6 days. EGCG significantly inhibited fat accumulation and suppressed the expression of adipogenic specific proteins including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ. Also, EGCG markedly increased the activation of AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, any pretreatment with a specific AMPK inhibitor, compound C, abolished the inhibitory effects of the EGCG on PPARγ expression. This study suggests that EGCG has anti-adipogenic effects through modulation of the AMPK signaling pathway and therefore, may be a promising antiobesity agent.

The study is a full-scale investigation of the presence of the activation of L1 in L2. In order to portray a more holistic picture of Korean L2 learner’s lexical processing, the present study addresses variation in relation to stimuli and tasks both written and oral type in both L2 comprehension and production. The results show the evidence of the activation of non-target language (L1) as a form of Konglish in L2 (English). The factors affecting L1 activation in L2 were proficiency, the quantity and quality of English exposure, Korean-medium learning context. If Korean learners of English are exposed to an L1-inducing learning environment in Korea, they may not be able to develop an adequate lexical network in respect of English. In addition, if their exposure to English is sparse in quantity and of poor quality, thus not providing a very promising basis for the restructuring of their explicit knowledge of English learned through Korean, the activation of non-target language (L1) may be inevitable. Therefore, the development of L2 knowledge in the learner’s mental lexicon, through the quantity and quality of target language exposure and L2-promoting learning process, should be carefully considered in English leaching in Korea.

In the present study, we investigated the effect of 70% EtOH extract from Hippophae Rhamnoides L. leaves (HRL) on the anti-obesity effect in 3T3-L1 cells. The effects of HRL on lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells were examined using Oil Red O staining. In addition, we examined the gene expression levels by using RT-PCR and western blot. The results of this analysis showed that 100 ㎍/㎖ HRL significantly increased the inhibition of lipid accumulation by 82.25%; significantly decreased the mRNA expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins α (C/EBPα), and fatty acid synthase (FAS) in 3T3-L1 cells as well as the stimulated protein expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK); and suppressed the expression level of PPARγ. These results suggest that HRL can prevent adipogenesis through activation of AMPKα and inhibition of adipogenesis transcription factors.