Won-Bae Kim

Induction of Apoptosis with an Extract of Artemisia asiatica Attenuates the Severity of Cerulein-Induced Pancreatitis in Rats

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that apoptosis can protect against experimental pancreatitis and induction of apoptosis by an extract of Artemisia asiatica (DA-9601) is beneficial in cerulein-induced pancreatis in rats. Pancreatitis was induced in 6-week-old male SPF Sprague-Dawley rats by two intravenous (iv) administrations of 40

Efficacy of use of colonoscopy in dextran sulfate sodium induced ulcerative colitis in rats: the evaluation of the effects of antioxidant by colonoscopy

mUg/kg cerulein. To investigate the effects of DA-9601 on the seventy of pancreatitis and extent of apoptosis, rats were treated with intragastric DA-9601, 30 mg/kg (D30), 100 mg/kg (D100), or 300 mg/kg (D300), intraperitoneal superoxide dismutase, 10,000

Pyrazolopyrimidinone derivatives for the treatment of impotence

mU/kg (SOD), and iv gabexate mesilate, 40 mg/kg (Foy), three times (30 min before cerulein injection, 30 and 90 min after cerulein injection). The control group was administered vehicle alone. Ten rats were included in each treatment group and control group. Rats were sacrificed 5 h after cerulein treatment. Serum amylase, histological activity index (HAI), pancreatic lipid peroxide levels, and apoptotic index [in situ hybridization by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL)] were determined. Gel electrophoresis was performed for the presence of DNA fragmentations. The results were as follows. Serum amylase was significantly increased in all cerulein-treated groups compared to normal controls p <0.001). The HA1 was significantly decreased in only the D300 group compared to the controls p <0.05). The apoptotic index of the cerulein-alone group was 3.8 ± 2.7, but the mean apoptotic indexes of the SOD and Foy groups were 16.4 ± 4.6 and 13.3 ± 1.8, respectively, a significant increase (p <0.01). The apoptotic index was more significantly increased in the DA-9601-treated groups, dose dependently (8.4 ± 3.4 in D30, 14.8 ± 4.3 in D100, 24.2 ± 4.7 in D300). A smearing pattern of DNA electrophoresis was noted in the DA-9601-treated groups. In conclusion, DA-9601, an extract of Artemisia, induced apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells dose dependently and concomitantly attenuated the severity of pancreatitis.

Dicoumarol-removed extract of artemisia, preparation and pharmaceutical compositions thereof

Abstract. The goals in developing animal models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are to determine the underlying mechanisms and the action of currently available drugs and to evaluate the value of new therapeutic approaches. Because of the difficulty in determining the severity of colitis in living animals, it has been necessary to kill the experimental animals at varying stages in the studies. If colonoscopic evaluation or endoscopic biopsy is feasible in these experimental animals, continuous observations could be possible, thus avoiding the need to kill them. The aims of the current study were to assess the efficacy of endoscopic examination as a monitoring tool for the severity of colitis in rats and to the efficacy of DA-9601, an extract from Artemisia asiatica which has both antioxidative and cytoprotective actions, on dextran sulfate sodium induced ulcerative colitis in rats endoscopically. Sprague-Dawley rats received 4% DSS in drinking water for 5 consecutive days. Either DA-9601 or sulfasalazine was administered twice a day for 8xa0days, starting 3xa0days before DSS administration. After the colonoscopic evaluations on days 2, 4, and 5 after DSS administration the rats were also killed for gross and histopathological evaluations. Simultaneous measurements of malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities were performed. There was a statistically significant correlation between the scores evaluated by the gross examination and colonoscopic scores, between the colonoscopic scores and the levels of MDA or mucosal MPO activities, and between colonoscopic scores and histopathological activity index. DA-9601 showed excellent improvement in gross lesion scores, decreased MDA amounts and MPO activities compared to sulfasalazine. In conclusion, the introduction of appropriate colonoscopic examination in animal models of IBD could avoid the sacrifice of experimental animals for interim evaluation and provide the valuable information on the course and efficacy of treatment. The potential usefulness of antioxidants in treating IBD is very promising based on the colonoscopic intervention of IBD.