본 연구는 건강기능식품 프랑스해안송껍질추출물 중 catechin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, taxifolin에 대한 동시분석법을 개발하는 연구이다. 최적분석조건을 확립하기 위해 시료 채취량, 용매 조건을 비교 검토하였으며, UPLCMS/ MS를 이용하여 각 4개 성분에 대한 정확한 분석 및 분석시간의 효율성도 향상하였다. 분석 시 사용한 컬럼은 Acquity UPLC BEH C18이며, 정량이온으로 catechin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, taxifolin 각각 133, 135, 245 및 248을 선정하였다. 확립된 시험법에 대해 특이성, 직선성, 검출한계, 정량한계, 정확성, 정밀성 등의 밸리데이션을 수행하였다. 4개 성분 모두 50-25000 mg/L 농도에서 결정계수(R2) 0.999이상으로 높은 직선성을 확인하였다. 또한 회수율은 84.9-104%이었고, 정밀성은 1.2-4.3%의 RSD를 확인하였다. 개발된 시험법은 프랑스해안송껍질추출물 중 catechin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, taxifolin 분석을 위한 시험법으로 활용되기에 적합한 것으로 판단된다.

Ferulic Acid (FA) is a metabolite of phenylalanine and tyrosine, a phenolic compound commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Several studies have shown that FA has various functions such as antioxidant effect, prevention of cell damage from irradiation, protection from cell damage caused by oxygen deficiency, anti-inflammatory action, anti-aging action, liver protective effect and anti-cancer action. In this study, we investigated the maturation rate, intracellular glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) of porcine oocytes by adding FA to the in vitro maturation (IVM) medium and examined subsequent embryonic developmental competence at 5% oxygen through parthenogenesis. There is no significant difference between the control group (0μM) and treatment groups (5μM, 10μM, 20μM) on maturation rates. Intracellular GSH levels in oocyte treated with 5μM of FA significantly increased (P < 0.05), and 20μM of FA revealed significant decrease (P < 0.05) in intracellular ROS levels compared with the control group. Oocytes treated with FA exhibited significantly higher cleavage rates (79.01% vs 89.19%, 92.20%, 90.89%, respectively) than the control group. Oocytes treated with 10μM showed significantly higher blastocyst formation rates (28.3% vs 40.3%, respectively) after PA than the control group. Total cell numbers in blastocyst of 10μM FA displayed significantly higher (39.4 vs 51.9, respectively) than the control group. In conclusion, these results suggested that treatment with FA during IVM improved the developmental potential of porcine embryos by increasing intracellular GSH synthesis and reducing ROS levels. Also, there was an improvement of cleavage rate, blastocyst formation and total cell numbers in blastocysts. It might be associated with Keap1-Nrf2 pathway as an antioxidant regulate pathway that plays a crucial role in determining the sensitivity of cells to oxidative damages by regulating the basal and inducible expression of enzymes which is related to detoxification and anti-oxidative effects, stress response enzymes and/or proteins and ABC transporters.

We investigated the pharmacokinetics of ferulic acid, a potential antioxidant agent, after intravenous (i.v.) bolus administration in rats. To analyze ferulic acid levels in the plasma, bile, urine and tissue samples, we developed an HPLC-based method which was validated for a pharmacokinetic study by suitable criteria. After i.v. bolus administration of ferulic acid, it rapidly disappeared from blood circulation within 15 min. The mean plasma half-lives at α phase (t1/2α) when administered at doses of 2 and 10 mg/ kg were 1.10 and 1.39 min, respectively. The values of t1/2β at the corresponding doses increased 40% (from 5.02 to 7.01 min) with increasing doses. The total body clearance (CLt) values significantly decreased as the ferulic acid dose increased. On the other hand, steady-state volume of distribution (Vdss) values did not show the significant difference with the increase in dose. Of the various tissues, ferulic acid mainly distributed to the liver and kidney after i.v. bolus administration. The ferulic acid concentrations in various tissues at 2 hr after i.v. bolus administration were below 1.0 μg/g tissue. Ferulic acid was excreted in the bile and urine after i.v. bolus administration at the dose of 10 mg/kg. The cumulative amount of ferulic acid in the bile 2 hr after dosage was comparable with the amount excreted in the urine after 72 hr, indicating that i.v. administered ferulic acid was mainly excreted in the both bile and urine. In conclusion, ferulic acid was rapidly cleared from the circulating blood and transferred to tissues such as the liver and kidney after i.v. bolus administration. Moreover, the majority of ferulic acid appears to be excreted in the bile and urine after i.v. bolus administration.

Calbindin-D28k is a calcium-binding protein that mediates intracellular calcium concentrations and exerts a neuroprotective effect against ischemic injury. Ferulic acid provides a neuroprotective effect against focal cerebral ischemia through its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether ferulic acid regulates calbindin-D28k expression during focal cerebral ischemia and glutamate treatment-induced neuronal cell death. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was performed to induce focal cerebral ischemia. Ferulic acid (100 mg/kg, i.v.) or vehicle was immediately administered after MCAO, and brain tissues were isolated 24 h after MCAO. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses showed a decrease in calbindin-D28k in MCAO-operated animals. We found that ferulic acid treatment prevented the MCAO-induced decrease in calbindin-D28k expression. Glutamate exposure elevated the intracellular calcium levels in cultured hippocampal cells, and ferulic acid prevented the glutamate exposure-induced increase in calcium levels. Moreover, ferulic acid also attenuated the glutamate toxicity-induced decrease in calbindin-D28k. Taken together, these in vivo and in vitro results demonstrate that ferulic acid regulates calbindin-D28k expression in neuronal cell injury. Therefore, these findings suggest that ferulic acid exerts a neuroprotective effect by modulating calbindin-D28k expression.

본 연구는 중간대뇌동맥을 폐쇄한 대뇌허혈성 손상모델에서 ferulic acid에 의해 조절되는 HO-1과 HO-2의 발현에 관하여 조사하였다. 흰쥐(Sprague-Dawley, 수컷)에 ferulic acid (100 mg/kg) 또는 vehicle을 중간대뇌동맥폐쇄술(MCAO) 후 정맥으로 주사하였고 중간대뇌동맥폐쇄술(MCAO)을 실시한 24시간 후 대뇌피질의 조직을 적출하였다. Hematoxylin과 eosin 염색을 통하여 MCAO로 유도된 뇌 손상시 ferulic acid의 보호효과를 확인하였다. MCAO을 시행한 대뇌피질에서는 응축된 핵과 신경세포의 괴사 소견을 보였으나, ferulic acid 투여군에서는 이들 신경세포의 병변을 현저히 완화시켰다. HO-1과 HO-2의 RNA와 단백질 발현의 변화를 reverse-transcription PCR과 Western blot으로 분석하였다. HO-1 발현은 MCAO 후 vehicle 투여군에서 현저히 감소하였으나, MCAO 후 ferulic acid를 투여한 실험군에서는 이들 감소의 완화를 보였으며, MCAO를 시행하지 않은 실험군의 수준으로 유지되었다. 그러나, HO-2의 발현은 MCAO 후 vehicle 투여군과 ferulic acid 투여군에서 유의적인 차이는 관찰되지 않았고 MCAO를 시행하지 않은 실험군의 수준으로 유지되었다. 따라서, 본 연구의 결과는 허혈성 뇌 손상시 ferulic acid는 HO-1 발현을 조절하였으나, HO-2의 발현에는 영향을 미치지 못함을 확인하였다. 결론적으로, 허혈성 뇌손상시 ferulic acid는 HO-1의 발현을 조절하여 신경세포를 보호하는 역할을 수행한다는 사실을 확인하였다.

히알루론산(HA)은 피부의 세포외기질을 구성하는 주성분이다. 인간의 피부에서 히알루론산의 양은 노화와 함께 감소되는 것으로 보고되어 있으며, 이것은 노화에 따른 피부 수분 감소, 주름 형성 및 피부 탄력 저하에관여한다고 알려져 있다. 지금까지 밝혀진 히알루론산 합성효소(hyaluronan synthase, HAS)들 중에 HAS-2가 사람의 피부 섬유아세포에서의 히알루론산의 합성을 조절하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 천궁으로부터 분리된 ferulic acid가 사람의 피부 유래 섬유아세포에서 히알루론산의 생성에 미치는 효과를 확인하였다.Semi-quantitative RT-PCR과 quantitative real-time PCR을 통해 ferulic acid가 HAS-2의 발현을 증가시키는 것을 확인하였으며 ELISA assay를 통해 ferulic acid가 히알루론산의 생성을 증가시키는 것을 확인하였다. 결론적으로 본 연구를 통해 ferulic acid는 피부 노화에 따른 히알루론산의 감소에 의해 나타나는 건조, 주름및 탄력 저하와 같은 현상을 개선시킬 가능성을 가진 물질임을 확인하였다.