The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Crataegii Fructus on the diet-induced hyperlipidemia in rats. Rats were divided into 4 groups, normal group(supplied enough water and feeds only), high fat diet administered group(supplied high fat diet for 4 weeks, Control group) and Crataegii Fructus administered group(supplied high fat diet and Crataegii Fructus lyophilization extract for 4 weeks, 397.3 ㎎/㎏(rat) in sample A, 662.5㎎/㎏(rat) in sample B). Body weight, liver weight and serum lipid levels were evaluated. The water extract of Crataegii Fructus decreased liver weight and triglyceride in high fat diet induced hyperlipidemia in rats, and increased HDL-cholesterol.
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Osteoclasts are bone-resorbing giant cells that differentiate from hematopoietic cells of the monocyte/macrophages. Excessive osteoclast differentiation leads to gradual loss of bone mass causing fracture of the skeleton. The aim of this study was to develop a drug candidates for the treatment of osteoporosis. RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation was dose-dependently inhibited by myricetin. Myricetin inhibited the expression of c-Fos, NFATc1, and TRAP in BMMs treated with RANKL. Myricetin disrupted the structure of actin ring and suppressed osteoclastic bone resorption. Also, myricetin induced apoptosis in mature osteoclasts. Myricetin inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK in mature osteoclasts treated with M-CSF. The activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 was increased by myricetin treatment. Our results suggest that myricetin may be an effective agent to prevent bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
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Codonopsis Lanceolata (CL) has been widely used in Oriental medicine for treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as bronchitis, cough, and spasm; however, the mechanism of its anti-inflammatory activity has not been clarified. In this study, therefore, we investigated the inhibitory effect of CL on LPS-induced inflammation. The effect of CL was analyzed by ELISA, RT-PCR and Western blotting in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. We found that CL suppressed not only the mRNA expression of pre-inflammatory cytokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, but also the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK1/2 and p38 MAPK. These results suggest that CL exerts an anti-inflammatory effect through the regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway, thereby decreasing production of pre-inflammatory cytokines, NO, and PGE2.
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Several studies have demonstrated that ginseng-berry extract has several beneficial properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and vasodilation properties. Ginseng-berry extract has also been shown to have the great potential against skin aging. Its beneficial mechanism against skin aging, however, has not been examined in detail. Also, the effects of ginseng-berry extract on microcirculation and skin cellular responses have not been investigated. Inhibition of skin microcirculation is the primary cause of many adverse biological effects, which is responsible for the skin aging and darkening. We investigated the beneficial effects of ginseng-berry extract on blood circulation, transcutaneous oxygen pressure in vivo model and also on skin microcirculation, cellular response and skin brightening effect in clinical trial. We found that oral administration of ginseng-berry extract markedly increased blood flow rate and transcutaneous O2 pressure, but decreased transcutaneous CO2 pressure. Also, it improved skin tone on cheeks, as is skin brighteness. These results suggest that ginseng-berry extract is a potent candidate for the treatment of skin aging and brightening by improving skin microcirculation.
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