Gyuok Lee

Physicochemical Characteristics and Antioxidant Activities of Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem

Physiochemical characteristics of Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem and antioxidant activities of its four extracts were analyzed. The chemical composition of L. Roem contained 93.69% moisture, 1.64% crude fiber, 0.52% crude protein, 0.27% crude fat, and 0.06% crude ash. The major minerals were potassium, phosphrous, and calcium. We also analyzed the major organic acids, acetic acid and succinic acid. In free amino acids, -aminoisobutyric acid showed the highest concentration (100.74 mg/100 g), followed by phosphoethanolamine, urea, asparagine, and valine. Glutamic acid was the highest hydrolyzed amino acid with 1,039.99 mg/100 g followed by aspartic acid, lysine, and arginine. Four extracts from L. Roam, hot-water (LCH), cold-water (LCC), 80% ethanol (LCE), and methanol (LCM), were prepared. Total phenolic and flavonoid levels of LCE exhibited higher than three extracts. The antioxidant potential of extracts from L. Roem were investigated using DPPH, ABTS, and NBT assays. Of the four extracts, LCE had relatively high antioxidant capability on DPPH and superoxide anion radical scavenging activities (12.13%, 16.88%, and 26.61%). Based on the above results, it is suggested that an 80% ethanolic extract from L. Roem was a natural antioxidant material for health food and should be a good ingredient for functional food.

Moving Object Detection based on Clausius Entropy

A real-time detection and tracking of moving objects in video sequences is very important for smart surveillance systems. However, due to dynamic changes in natural scenes such as sudden illumination and weather changes, repetitive motions that cause clutter, motion detection has been considered a difficult problem to process reliably. Hence, its robustness needs to be improved for applications in complex environments. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for the detection of moving objects that is based on the Claudius entropy method. First, the increment of entropy generally means the increment of complexity, and objects in unstable conditions cause higher entropy variations. Hence, if we apply these properties to the motion segmentation, pixels with large changes in entropy in moments have a higher chance in belonging to moving objects. Therefore, we apply the Clausius Entropy theory to convert the pixel value in an image domain into the amount of energy change in an entropy domain. Second, we use an adaptive background subtraction method to detect moving objects. This models entropy variations from backgrounds as a mixture of Gaussian. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method can detect moving objects effectively and reliably.

Cynanchum wilfordii Ameliorates Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia by Regulating 5α-Reductase and Androgen Receptor Activities in a Rat Model

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of the prostate gland. Cynanchum wilfordii has been reported to improve sexual behavior in male rats. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of an aqueous extract of C. wilfordii (CWW) against BPH development in a testosterone-induced BPH rat model. The rats were divided into the following six groups: sham/vehicle; BPH/vehicle; BPH/finasteride; and three CWW doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg). After a 4-week treatment with CWW, the rats were euthanized at scheduled times, and their prostates were weighed, followed by a histopathological examination. Prostate growth inhibition rates in rats administered CWW 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg were 54.5%, 51.8%, and 50.1%, respectively. The BPH/CWW group showed decreased serum testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels compared to the BPH/vehicle group. Furthermore, the BPH/CWW group showed reduced prostate testosterone and DHT levels compared to the BPH/vehicle group. Mechanistically, the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed downregulated mRNA expression levels of the androgen receptor, 5α-reductase, and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) in the BPH/CWW200 group compared with those in the testosterone-induced groups. In conclusion, these findings show the effectiveness of CWW in slowing the progression of testosterone-induced BPH in rats.

Effects of Aqueous Extracts of Cynanchum wilfordii in Rat Models for Postmenopausal Hot Flush

Menopausal hot flushes (HFs), which manifest as a transient increase in skin temperature, occur most frequently in postmenopausal women, and sometimes negatively influence daily life. We investigated the effect of an aqueous extract of Cynanchum wilfordii (CWW) in a rat model of menopausal HFs, where tail skin temperature (TST) is increased after the rapid estrogen decline induced by ovariectomy. Ten-week-old female rats were ovariectomized and treated with CWW for 1 week. We measured TST and rectal temperatures (RT) and investigated serum estradiol. The TST in ovariectomized (OVX) rats was significantly elevated after ovariectomy compared with control rats, whereas the RT in OVX rats was not elevated. Administration of CWW (200 mg/kg/d for 7 days, p.o.) significantly improved the skin temperature increase in OVX rats. The lower level of serum estradiol in OVX rats was significantly increased by supplying E2, but it was not affected by CWW. The present study indicates a need for future research involving treatment with high concentrations of C. wilfordii and measurement over 24 h.

Bone regenerative effect of aqueous Cynanchum wilfordii extract in receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand-induced osteoclast differentiation and estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis

Osteoporosis increases with age, most frequently in postmenopausal women because of reduced ovarian hormone levels. Furthermore, estrogen deficiency impairs trabecular metaphyseal bone. Although efficacious, long-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has estrogen-like side effects including breast and endometrial cancers, and non-hormonal or herbal therapies may be safer alternatives. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aqueous extracts of Cynanchum wilfordii (CWW) on receptor activator of nuclear factor-κ B (NF-κ B) ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation in vitro and ovariectomy-mediated osteoporosis in vivo . CWW inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast formation and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity in primary mouse bone marrow-derived cells. We investigated the osteoprotective effect of CWW in an ovariectomized (OVX) Sprague-Dawley rat model treated with vehicle (OVX/vehicle), 17 β -estradiol (OVX/E2), or three CWW doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg). After a 24-week treatment, the body and uterus weights were not affected except in the OVX/E2 group. Additionally, bone mineral density (BMD) and histological analyses showed that the BMD of the femurs of CWW400-treated rats was significantly higher than that of the OVX/vehicle rats, and comparable to that of the OVX/E2 group rats. Serum levels of bone turnover markers alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin, collagen type I C-telopeptide, and TRAP significantly decreased in the CWW400 group. Our results show that compared to the vehicle, CWW had a significant anti-osteoporotic effect in the OVX model. Taken together, CWW exhibited inhibitory effects on osteoclastogenesis in vitro, and we confirmed its in vivo efficacy in the prevention of osteoporosis.