To produce an intestinal immunomodulatory beverage containing Centella asiatica extract (CAE), three types of CAE-added beverage prototypes were prepared, and their immunomodulatory activities and marker compounds were analyzed. As a result of the cytotoxicity assessment, all the beverages did not show significant toxicity compared to the control group. Next, the immunomodulatory activities of the beverage prototype were evaluated using the inflammatory model of IL-1β-induced intestinal epithelial cell line. All the samples significantly reduced the production of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 in a CAE concentration-dependent manner. In addition, CAE-added beverages inhibited NO, IL-6, and IL-12 production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. When the major triterpenoids, as marker compounds for the production of CAE-added beverages, were analyzed by HPLC-DAD, only asiaticoside was detected beyond the limit of quantification, while madecassoside, madecassic acid, and asiatic acid were not detected. The amounts of asiaticoside in CAE-added beverage prototypes were confirmed in No. 1 (19.39 μg/mL), 2 (19.25 μg/mL), and 3 (19.98 μg/mL). In conclusion, the results of this study suggested that CAE-added beverage prototypes induced immunomodulatory effects in the intestinal inflammatory cell line models and asiaticoside could be used as a marker compound for CAE-added beverage production.
In defense acquisition system, testing and evaluation is a very important procedure that can ensure the completeness of capability while deciding whether to mass-produce or purchase weapons systems. But it always includes realistic restrictions that involve a variety of stakeholders, but lack of time, resources, and budget. Therefore, in the process of planning a test and evaluation, proper number of prototypes and reliability of test results, along with test items and evaluation criteria, are frequently discussed as sensitive agendas. In reality, however, rather than statistical judgments, the number of prototypes and tests are determined by business logic such as duration and budget. Otherwise, most theoretical studies do not adequately reflect the business logic of test assessment. In this study, we propose a number of prototype and tests method that can statistically reasonably verify the performance of the inorganic system considering the characteristics of each test and evaluation project. To this end, we consider the theory related to determining the number of prototypes and tests, and present examples by separating whether to secure the magnitude of effects that have a significant impact on statistical judgment. This study could contribute to the development of empirical methodologies that can adequately coordinate reality and theory in the field of defense test evaluation while ensuring statistical reliability of test evaluation results.