Safety and efficacy assessment of standardized herbal formula PM012

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the herbal formula PM012 on an Alzheimer's disease model, human presenilin 2 mutant transgenic mice (hPS2m), and also to evaluate the toxicity of PM012 in Sprague-Dawely rats after 4 or 26 weeks treatment with repeated oral administration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Spatial learning and memory capacities of hPS2m transgenic mice were evaluated using the Morris Water Maze. Simultaneously, PM012 was repeatedly administered orally to male and female SD rats (15/sex/group) at doses of 0 (vehicle control), 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg/day for 4 or 26 weeks. To evaluate the recovery potential, 5 animals of each sex were assigned to vehicle control and 2,000 mg/kg/day groups during the 4-week recovery period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that PM012-treated hPS2m transgenic mice showed significantly reduced escape latency when compared with the hPS2m transgenic mice. The repeated oral administration of PM012 over 26 weeks in male and female rats induced an increase and increasing trend in thymus weight in the female treatment groups (main and recovery groups), but the change was judged to be toxicologically insignificant. In addition, the oral administration of the herbal medicine PM012 did not cause adverse effects as assessed by clinical signs, mortality, body weight, food and water consumption, ophthalmology, urinalysis, hematology, serum biochemistry, blood clotting time, organ weights and histopathology. The No Observed Adverse Effects Levels of PM012 was determined to be 2,000 mg/kg/day for both sexes, and the target organ was not identified.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that PM012 has potential for use in the treatment of the Alzheimer's disease without serious adverse effects.</p

Anticancer Activity of Gukulenin A Isolated from the Marine Sponge <i>Phorbas gukhulensis</i> In Vitro and In Vivo

Gukulenin A is a bis-tropolone tetraterpenoid isolated from the marine sponge Phorbas gukhulensis. In this study, we examined the anticancer activities of gukulenin A in ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780, SKOV3, OVCAR-3, and TOV-21G) and in an ovarian cancer mouse model generated by injecting A2780 cells. We found that gukulenin A suppressed tumor growth in A2780-bearing mice. Gukulenin A markedly inhibited cell viability in four ovarian cancer cell lines, including the A2780 cell line. Gukulenin A treatment increased the fraction of cells accumulated at the sub G1 phase in a dose-dependent manner and the population of annexin V-positive cells, suggesting that gukulenin A induces apoptotic cell death in ovarian cancer cells. In addition, gukulenin A triggered the activation of caspase-3, -8, and -9, and caspase inhibitors attenuated gukulenin A-induced A2780 cell death. The results suggest that gukulenin A may be a potential therapeutic agent for ovarian cancer

Surface Electromyography-Driven Parameters for Representing Muscle Mass and Strength

The need for developing a simple and effective assessment tool for muscle mass has been increasing in a rapidly aging society. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of the surface electromyography (sEMG) parameters for estimating muscle mass. Overall, 212 healthy volunteers participated in this study. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) strength and root mean square (RMS) values of motor unit potentials from surface electrodes on each muscle (biceps brachii, triceps brachii, biceps femoris, rectus femoris) during isometric exercises of elbow flexion (EF), elbow extension (EE), knee flexion (KF), knee extension (KE) were acquired. New variables (MeanRMS, MaxRMS, and RatioRMS) were calculated from RMS values according to each exercise. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) was performed to determine the segmental lean mass (SLM), segmental fat mass (SFM), and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM). Muscle thicknesses were measured using ultrasonography (US). sEMG parameters showed positive correlations with MVC strength, SLM, ASM, and muscle thickness measured by US, but showed negative correlations with SFM. An equation was developed for ASM: ASM = −26.04 + 20.345 × Height + 0.178 × weight − 2.065 × (1, if female; 0, if male) + 0.327 × RatioRMS(KF) + 0.965 × MeanRMS(EE) (SEE = 1.167, adjusted R2 = 0.934). sEMG parameters in controlled conditions may represent overall muscle strength and muscle mass in healthy individuals

Efficient solid reducing agent CaO/SiO2 hybrid composite for hydrogen fluoride elimination

An advanced solid reducing agent, i.e., a CaO/SiO2 composite has been optimized to improve the hydrogen fluoride (HF; a green house gas) elimination in semiconductor-based industrial applications. To avoid the Ca(OH)2 formation and enhance the HF removal efficiency of CaO, the hydrophobic properties of silica (SiO2) have used as a catalyst materials to enhance the stability of CaO/SiO2 solid reducing agent in the present investigation. The novel composite structure based on CaO/SiO2 was prepared using various concentrations of hydrophobic nano-silica sol and Ca(OH)2. The composite was characterized by contact angle goniometry, thermogravimetry analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The water contact angle of the CaO/SiO2 composites significantly increased with increasing SiO2 content. In particular, angles of 61.6??, 73.7??, 84.8??, and 84.9?? were obtained for SiO2 concentrations of 20, 40, 60, and 80 wt.%, respectively. These results suggest that the hydrophobic nature of the composites was improved with the addition of 60 and 80 wt.% of SiO2. Moreover, the surface properties were measured using the nitrogen Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method for obtaining the weight ratios (wt.%) and calcinations times. The determined specific surface areas (SSAs) were 16.19, 27.25, 32.86, and 40.56 m2/g for 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80 CaO/SiO2 composites, respectively. From the water contact angle and SSA analysis, the optimum hydrophobic nature of CaO/SiO2 composites for HF removal was achieved at a weight ratio of 40:60 (Ca(OH)2/SiO2) at the calcination temperature of 650 ??C. The perfluorinated compound (PFC) removal rate is 80 and 88% for a common regenerative catalytic system (RCS) catalyst and the CaO/SiO2 reaction-enhanced (RE)-RCS catalyst, respectively. In addition, higher amount of HF elimination is successfully achieved using CaO/SiO2 solid reducing agent. During the RE-RCS process, SiO2 acts as a catalyst to prevent the formation of Ca(OH)2 when CaO is exposed to water

Simultaneous Quantitation and Validation of Triterpenoids and Phytosteroids in Phaseolus angularis Seeds

A reproducible analytical method using reverse-phase high liquid performance chromatography combined with UV detecting was developed for the quantitative determination of four compounds isolated from the ethanol extract of Phaseolus angularis seeds (PASE): oleanolic acid (1), oleanolic acid acetate (2), stigmasterol (3) and β-sitosterol (4). This method was fully validated in terms of linearity (r2 &gt; 0.999), accuracy (98.5%–100.8%), precision (&lt;0.92%), LOD (&lt;0.0035 mg/mL), and LOQ (&lt;0.0115 mg/mL). The effects of the PASE and isolated compounds 1–4 on TLR4 activation were tested in THP1-Blue cells. Among the tested substances, compound 2 showed potent inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 3.89 ± 0.17 µM

Efficient solid reducing agent CaO/SiO₂ hybrid composite for hydrogen fluoride elimination

<p>An advanced solid reducing agent, i.e., a CaO/SiO₂ composite has been optimized to improve the hydrogen fluoride (HF; a green house gas) elimination in semiconductor-based industrial applications. To avoid the Ca(OH)₂ formation and enhance the HF removal efficiency of CaO, the hydrophobic properties of silica (SiO₂) have used as a catalyst materials to enhance the stability of CaO/SiO₂ solid reducing agent in the present investigation. The novel composite structure based on CaO/SiO₂ was prepared using various concentrations of hydrophobic nano-silica sol and Ca(OH)₂. The composite was characterized by contact angle goniometry, thermogravimetry analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The water contact angle of the CaO/SiO₂ composites significantly increased with increasing SiO₂ content. In particular, angles of 61.6°, 73.7°, 84.8°, and 84.9° were obtained for SiO₂ concentrations of 20, 40, 60, and 80 wt.%, respectively. These results suggest that the hydrophobic nature of the composites was improved with the addition of 60 and 80 wt.% of SiO₂. Moreover, the surface properties were measured using the nitrogen Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method for obtaining the weight ratios (wt.%) and calcinations times. The determined specific surface areas (SSAs) were 16.19, 27.25, 32.86, and 40.56 m²/g for 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80 CaO/SiO₂ composites, respectively. From the water contact angle and SSA analysis, the optimum hydrophobic nature of CaO/SiO₂ composites for HF removal was achieved at a weight ratio of 40:60 (Ca(OH)₂/SiO₂) at the calcination temperature of 650 °C. The perfluorinated compound (PFC) removal rate is 80 and 88% for a common regenerative catalytic system (RCS) catalyst and the CaO/SiO₂ reaction-enhanced (RE)-RCS catalyst, respectively. In addition, higher amount of HF elimination is successfully achieved using CaO/SiO₂ solid reducing agent. During the RE-RCS process, SiO₂ acts as a catalyst to prevent the formation of Ca(OH)₂ when CaO is exposed to water.</p