Antioxidant and Antiadipogenic Activities of Galkeun-Tang, a Traditional Korean Herbal Formula

Galkeun-tang (GKT; Galgen-tang in Chinese and Kakkon-to in Japanese), a traditional herbal formula, has been used for treatment of the common cold. Here, we report in vitro antioxidant and antiadipogenic effects of GKT. GKT increased the activities of scavenging 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. GKT also significantly reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) generation during low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and the electrophoretic mobility of oxidized LDL, indicating inhibitory effects of GKT on Cu2+-mediated oxidation of LDL. Regarding antiadipogenic activity, GKT treatment significantly suppressed lipid accumulation, triglyceride production, and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Consistent with this, GKT significantly reduced the secretion of leptin, a major adipokine, in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Overall, our findings suggest that GKT has the potential for antioxidative and antiadipogenic properties

Traditional Korean Herbal Formula Samsoeum Attenuates Adipogenesis by Regulating the Phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in 3T3-L1 Cells

Adipogenesis is the cell differentiation process from preadipocytes into adipocytes and the critical action in the development of obesity. In the present study, we conducted in vitro analyses to investigate the inhibitory effects of Samsoeum (SSE), a traditional herbal decoction. SSE had no significant cytotoxic effect against either the undifferentiated or differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Oil Red O staining results showed that SSE significantly inhibited fat accumulation in adipocytes. SSE treatment consistently reduced the intracellular triglyceride content in the cells. SSE significantly inactivated glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), a major link between carbohydrate and lipid metabolisms in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and markedly inhibited the production of leptin, an important adipokine, in differentiated cells. SSE markedly suppressed the mRNA expression of the adipogenesis-related genes peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-alpha (C/EBP-α), fatty acid synthase (FAS), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4). Importantly, SSE increased the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, but not p38 MAPK and JNK, in adipose cells. Overall, our results indicate that SSE exerts antiadipogenic activity and modulates expressions of adipogenesis-related genes and ERK1/2 activation in adipocytes

Synthesis, Characterization and Application of 1-Butyl-3 Methylimidazolium Chloride as Green Material for Extractive Desulfurization of Liquid Fuel

The possible application of imidazolium ionic liquids as energy-efficient green material for extractive deep desulfurization of liquid fuel has been investigated. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [BMIM]Cl was synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reaction of n-methylimidazolium and 1-chlorobutane. Molecular structures of the ILs were confirmed by FTIR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR. The thermal properties, conductivity, solubility, water content and viscosity analysis of [BMIM]Cl were carried out. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, sulfur compounds, and recycling of IL without regeneration on dibenzothiophene removal of liquid fuel were presented. In the extractive desulfurization process, the removal of dibenzothiophene in n-dodecane using [BMIM]Cl was 81% with mass ratio of 1 : 1, in 30 min at 30°C under the mild reaction conditions. Also, desulfurization of real fuels with IL and multistage extraction were studied. The results of this work might offer significant insights in the perceptive use of imidazoled ILs as energy-efficient green material for extractive deep desulfurization of liquid fuels as it can be reused without regeneration with considerable extraction efficiency

Traditional Herbal Formula Banhasasim-tang

Banhasasim-tang (BHSST) is a Korean traditional herbal formula comprising eight medicinal herbs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of BHSST using macrophage and keratinocyte cell lines. First, we evaluated the effects of BHSST on inflammatory mediator and cytokine production in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. BHSST markedly inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and interleukin- (IL-) 6. BHSST significantly suppressed the protein expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and phosphorylated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p65 in RAW 264.7 cells. Second, we examined whether BHSST influences the production of chemokines and STAT1 phosphorylation in tumor necrosis factor-α/interferon-γ TI-stimulated HaCaT keratinocytes. BHSST significantly suppressed the production of RANTES/CCL5, TARC/CCL17, MDC/CCL22, and IL-8 in TI-stimulated HaCaT cells. BHSST also suppressed TI-induced phosphorylation of STAT1 in HaCaT cells. These results suggest that BHSST may be useful as an anti-inflammatory agent, especially for inflammatory skin diseases

Enhancement of Esterification of Propionic Acid with Isopropyl Alcohol by Pervaporation Reactor

With increasing cost of raw materials and energy, there is an increasing inclination of chemical process industries toward new processes that result in lesser waste generation, greater efficiency, and substantial yield of the desired products. Esterification is a chemical reaction in which two reactants carboxylic acid and alcohol react to form an ester and water. This reaction is a reversible reaction and the equilibrium conversion can be altered by varying the process parameters. Pervaporation reactor can enhance the conversion by shifting the equilibrium of reversible esterification reactions. Polyvinyl alcohol-polyether sulfone composite hydrophilic membrane was used for pervaporation-assisted esterification of propionic acid with isopropyl alcohol. The experiments were carried out in the presence of sulphuric acid as a catalyst at 50 ∘ C to 80 ∘ C with various reactants ratios. The esterification was carried out for catalyst loadings of 0.089 kmol/m 3 to 0.447 kmol/m 3 . The molar ratios of isopropyl to propionic acid used for the experiment were 1 to 1.5. Maximum conversion was obtained for the ratio of 1.4. Also effect of other parameters such as process temperature and catalyst concentration was discussed. It was found that the use of pervaporation reactor increased the conversion of the propionic acid considerably

MODELING AND MULTIRESOLUTION ANALYSIS IN A FULL-SCALE INDUSTRIAL PLANT

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On-line adaptive and nonlinear process monitoring of a pilot scale sequencing batch reactor

This article describes the application of on-line nonlinear monitoring of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Three-way batch data of SBR are unfolded batch-wisely, and then a adaptive and nonlinear multivariate monitoring method is used to capture the nonlinear characteristics of normal batches. The approach is successfully applied to an 80 L SBR for biological wastewater treatment, where the SBR poses an interesting challenge in view of process monitoring since it is characterized by nonstationary, batchwise, multistage, and nonlinear dynamics. In on-line batch monitoring, the developed adaptive and nonlinear process monitoring method can effectively capture the nonlinear relationship among process variables of a biological process in a SBR. The results of this pilot-scale SBR monitoring system using simple on-line measurements clearly demonstrated that the adaptive and nonlinear monitoring technique showed lower false alarm rate and physically meaningful, that is, robust monitoring results