Biomedical subjects

Moochang Hong

Publications and source records attributed to Moochang Hong.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Effects of Yukmijihwang-tang derivatives (YMJd) on ibotenic acid-induced amnesia in the rat.

The present study investigates the effects of Yukmijihwang-tang Derivatives (YMJd) on learning and memory through the Morris water maze task and the central cholinergic system of rats with excitotoxic medial septum (MS) lesion. In the water maze test, the animals were trained to find a platform in a fixed position for 6 d and then received a 60-s probe trial in which the platform was removed from the pool on the 7th day. Ibotenic lesion of the MS showed the impaired performance in the Morris water maze test and severe cell losses in the MS, as indicated by decreased choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactivity in the medial septum. Daily administrations of YMJd (100 mg/kg, i.p.) for 21 consecutive days produced significant reversals of ibotenic acid-induced deficit in learning and memory. These treatments also reduced the loss of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunoreactivity in the MS induced by ibotenic acid. These results suggest that impairments of spatial learning and memory might be attributable to the degeneration of septohippocampal cholinergic (SHC) neurons and that YMJd treatment ameliorated learning and memory deficits partly due through neuroprotective effects on the central acetylcholine system. Our studies suggest that YMJd might be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Amnesia↗

PubMed2006

Effect of Acori graminei Rhizoma on contractile dysfunction of ischemic and reperfused rat heart.

Acori graminei Rhizoma is one of the best-known traditional herbal medicines frequently used for the treatment of cardiovascular symptoms in Asian countries. The anti-ischemic effect of Acori graminei Rhizoma on ischemia-induced isolated rat heart was investigated through analysis of changes in perfusion pressure, aortic flow, coronary flow, and cardiac output. The subjects in this study were divided into two groups, an ischemia-induced group without any treatment (I), and an ischemia-induced group with Acori graminei Rhizoma treatment (I+AGR). There were no significant differences in perfusion pressure, aortic flow, coronary flow, or cardiac output between the two groups before ischemia was induced. The supply of oxygen and buffer was stopped for 10 min to induce ischemia in isolated rat hearts, and Acori graminei Rhizoma was administered while inducing ischemia. The data showed that Acori graminei Rhizoma treatment significantly prevented decreases in perfusion pressure, aortic flow, coronary flow, and cardiac output under an ischemic condition. In addition, hemodynamics (except heart rate) of the AGR-treated group was significantly recovered 60 min after reperfusion compared to the control group, (systolic aortic pressure: 85.5% vs. 62.5%, aortic flow volume: 68.1% vs. 49.4%, coronary flow volume: 86.8% vs. 60.1%, and cardiac output: 73.1% vs. 54.1%, p<0.01). These results suggest that Acori graminei Rhizoma has distinct anti-ischemic effects.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Yukmijihwang-tang derivatives enhance cognitive processing in normal young adults: a double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

Yukmijihwang-tang (YMJ), also known as Luweidihuang-tang in China, has been widely used as a general herbal tonic for hundreds of years in many Asian countries. This study examines whether YMJ derivatives (YMJd) enhance cognitive ability in normal human subjects and discusses its potential as treatment for dementia patients with deficient cognitive ability. Subjects were divided into two groups, the placebo-treated group (n = 15) and the YMJd-treated group (n = 20). K-WAIS tests, a Korean version of an individual intelligence quotient (IQ) test, and a P300 latency assessment of event-related potential (ERP) were conducted in order to measure changes in cognitive ability before and after 6 weeks of YMJd treatment. The K-WAIS mean scores of the group treated with YMJd were significantly higher than those of the placebo group (p < 0.05), and their mean P300 latency was substantially shorter (p < 0.005). These results suggest that YMJd treatment accelerates the speed of information processing and enhances cognitive ability. YMJd treatment may help dementia patients or the elderly recover from cognition deficiencies or degeneration in clinic.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The anti-depressant effect of Nelumbinis semen on rats under chronic mild stress induced depression-like symptoms.

Nelumbinis Semen is a well-known traditional herbal medicine frequently used in treatment of depression in many Asian countries. In this study, its anti-depression effects in rats were investigated by comparing the test results of those treated with Nelumbinis Semen to those treated with other herbal anti-depressants, including Rehmanniae Radix Preparat, Corni Fructus, Lycii Fructus, Pinelliae Rhizoma and Hypericum Perforatum. In order to induce depression-like symptoms, the animals were placed under chronic mild stress in the form of overnight illumination for 2 consecutive days. They were treated with the respective herbal extract and forced swimming tests were conducted afterwards. The anti-depression effects of each extract were then evaluated based on a measured index, which consisted of struggling time, first latency and first rest duration. These test results show that Nelumbinis Semen provides greater anti-depression effects than the other herbal extracts. Specifically, only the rats treated with Nelumbinis Semen showed significant increases in struggling time (43.9%, p < 0.005, p = 0.0037) and in first latency time (90.2%, p < 0.05, p = 0.0116). However, the first rest duration for Nelumbinis Semen treated rats was not significantly different from the other rats. It appears that Nelumbinis Semen provides even greater anti-depression effects than Hypericum Perforatum (commonly referred to as St. John's Wort, perhaps the most widely used natural antidepressant today). The anti-depression effects of Nelumbinis Semen might be due to the modulation of the amount of neurotransmitters involved in depression.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Effects of Yukmijihwang-tang derivatives (YMJd), a memory enhancing herbal extract, on the gene-expression profile in the rat hippocampus.

The herbal extract Yukmijihwang-tang (YMJ) has been widely used for centuries as an anti-aging herbal medicine in Asian countries. Among the various modified prescriptions of YMJ, YMJ derivatives (YMJd) were formulated to enhance memory retention. This study has three goals: 1) to quantitatively evaluate the memory-enhancing effect of YMJd using behavior tasks; 2) to use cDNA micro-array tools to identify candidate genes responsible for enhancing memory; and 3) to statistically evaluate the specific gene expression patterns using Real-time PCR. Memory retention abilities are addressed by the passive avoidance task with SD male rat. The retention time of the YMJd group was significantly delayed (ca. 100%), whereas with Ginkgo biloba and Soya lecithin treatment, this was only delayed 20% and 10%, respectively. The cDNA from the hippocampi of YMJd and rat control groups were applied to an Incyte rat GEM2 cDNA microarray. The microarray results showed that transthyretin and PEP-19 were abundantly expressed in the YMJd treated group. Importantly, PEP-19 is a neuron-specific protein that inhibits apoptotic processes. On the other hand, neuronal genes involved in neuronal death or neurodegeneration, such as pentraxin and spectrin, were abundantly expressed in the control group. The list of differentially expressed genes may provide further insight into the action and mechanism behind the memory-enhancing effect of herbal extracts of YMJd.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Anti-obesity effect of PM-F2-OB, an anti-obesity herbal formulation, on rats fed a high-fat diet.

PM-F2-OB is one of the most well-known traditional herbal medicines that are frequently used for the treatment of obesity in Korea. The anti-obesity effect of PM-F2-OB on rats fed a high-fat diet was investigated through analyses of changes in body weight, kidney fat weight, and blood biochemicals including cholesterol, free fatty acid, BUN, creatinine, HDL, LDL, phospholipids, SGOT, SGPT, total lipids, and triglycerides. The subjects in this study were divided into four groups: a normal group with a standard diet (N); a PM-F2-OB treatment group fed a standard diet (N+PM-F2-OB); a control group fed a high-fat diet (C); and a PM-F2-OB treatment group fed a high-fat diet (C+PM-F2-OB). There were no significant differences in body weight change between the N and N+PM-F2-OB treatments. Also, there was no significant difference in the amount of food intake between the C and C+PM-F2-OB treatments. These results suggest that PM-F2-OB has no significant toxicity and does not induce a dislike for that diet due to its smell or taste. Rats were administered a high-fat diet (20% (w/w)) for six weeks to induce obesity. The study shows that PM-F2-OB significantly prevented increases in body weight, cholesterol, LDL and total lipids that resulted from the high-fat diet. PM-F2-OB also decreased kidney fat weight and free fatty acid, phospholipid, and triglyceride concentrations induced by the high-fat diet to level equals or below the normal diet group. It was concluded from the results that PM-F2-OB has a distinct anti-obesity effect.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed2004

Nelumbinis Semen reverses a decrease in 5-HT1A receptor binding induced by chronic mild stress, a depression-like symptom.

Depression is associated with a dysfunctional serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system. More recently, several lines of evidence suggest that an important factor in the development of depression may be a deficit in the function and expression of 5-HT1A receptors. The present study assessed if Nelumbinis Semen (N.s.) had an anti-depression effect through reversing a decrease in 5-HT1A receptor binding in rats with depression-like symptoms induced by chronic mild stress. Using a 5-HT1A receptor binding assay, with a specific 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT (8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin), the mechanism of the anti-depression effect of N.s. on rats was investigated, and the effects compared with two well-known antidepressants, Hyperium Perforatum (St. Johns Wort) and fluoxetine (Prozac). Animals were divided into five groups: the normal (N) group without chronic mild stress (CMS), the control (C) group under CMS for 8 weeks, the Nelumbinis Semen (N.s.) treatment group under CMS for 8 weeks, the Hyperium Perforatum (H.p.) treatment group under CMS for 8 weeks and finally, the fluoxetine (F) treatment group under CMS for 8 weeks. Each treatment was administered to rats during the last 4 weeks of the 8-week CMS. A sucrose intake test was performed to test the anti-depression effect of N.s. The N.s. treatment significantly reversed the decreased sucrose intake under CMS (P < 0.05 compared to control group under CMS). In the CA2 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus, both N.s. and H.p. reversed the CMS-induced decrease in 5-HT1A receptor binding. In the I to II regions of the frontal cortex, N.s. and H.p. also reversed the CMS-induced decrease in 5-HT1A receptor binding, and even showed a significant increase in 5-HT1A receptor binding compared to the F treatment group (N.s. vs. P, p < 0.05, H.p. vs. P, p < 0.05). However, in the hypothalamus, all treatments reversed the CMS-induced decrease in 5-HT1A receptor binding. This reversal effect of N.s. on the decrease in 5-HT1A receptor binding in the frontal cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus of rat brains was very similar to that of H.p, but different from that of F. It is concluded that N.s. presents an anti-depression effect through enhancing 5-HT1A receptor binding.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

PubMed2003

An alternative way to individualized medicine: psychological and physical traits of Sasang typology.

BACKGROUND: Disease susceptibility and drug response of individuals are presumed to be different depending on their personality traits. The Sasang typology, a traditional Korean medical typology, explains the individual differences of vulnerability to pathology and proposes guidelines for the safe and effective use of medical herbs depending on individual traits. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate psychologic and physical characteristics of Sasang types from the perspective of personality theory. DESIGN: After determining the Sasang type of 79 college students based on the Questionnaire for the Sasang Constitution Classification, the psychologic and physical traits of each type were analyzed by the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, respectively. RESULTS: Each of the Sasang types showed significantly different profiles based on the MBTI scores (generalized estimation equation, coefficient = 11.88, z = 2.13, p = 0.033) and could be distinctively classified based on their MBTI scores (discriminant analysis Wilks' lambda = 0.611, df = 8, chi(2) = 36.7, p < 0.001). Subjects with the So-Eum type (Introversion and Judging) and the So-Yang type (Extroversion and Perceiving) showed contrasting psychologic features. However, they had similar anthropometric characteristics. Subjects with Tae-Eum type had relatively higher body fat mass. CONCLUSION: Current results demonstrated distinctive personality traits associated with Sasang types using reproducible psychometric and anthropometric instruments. With further study, the Sasang typology could serve as a scientific tool for individualized and integrative medicine.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The association of cholecystokinin-A receptor expression with the responsiveness of electroacupuncture analgesic effects in rat.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the level of cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor expression causes the differences between the responder and non-responder to electroacupuncture mediated analgesic effects. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were stimulated at the Zusanli (ST36) acupoint in the absence of any anesthetics and holders. The tail flick latency test was performed to quantify analgesic effects and then the responder and non-responder groups were classified. The hypothalamus of each group was dissected and RNA was purified. The amount of mRNA expression of CCK-A and CCK-B receptors was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The results show that CCK-A receptors are significantly more expressed in non-responders than responders, whereas CCK-B receptor expression is similar in both groups.

Acupuncture Analgesia↗