연구개발
[2024] Brain plasticity and ginseng
- 저자Myoung-Sook Shin, YoungJoo Lee, Ik-Hyun Cho, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Journal of Ginseng Research
- 초록Abstract Brain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to modify its structure, accompanied by its functional changes. It is influenced by learning, experiences, and dietary factors, even in later life. Accumulated researches have indicated that ginseng may protect the brain and enhance its function in pathological conditions. There is a compelling need for a more comprehensive understanding of ginseng's role in the physiological condition because many individuals without specific diseases seek to improve their health by incorporating ginseng into their routines. This review aims to deepen our understanding of how ginseng affects brain plasticity of people undergoing normal aging process. We provided a summary of studies that reported the impact of ginseng on brain plasticity and related factors in human clinical studies. Furthermore, we explored researches focused on the molecular mechanisms underpinning the influence of ginseng on brain plasticity and factors contributing to brain plasticity. Evidences indicate that ginseng has the potential to enhance brain plasticity in the context of normal aging by mediating both central and peripheral systems, thereby expecting to improve age-related declines in brain function. Moreover, given modern western diet can damage neuroplasticity in the long term, ginseng can be a beneficial supplement for better brain health.
[2024] Korean red ginseng and Rb1 restore altered social interaction, gene expressions in the medial prefrontal cortex, and gut metabolites under post-weaning social isolation in mice
- 저자Oh Wook Kwon, Youngja Hwang Park, Dalnim Kim, Hyog Young Kwon, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Journal of Ginseng Research
- 초록Abstract Background Post-weaning social isolation (SI) reduces sociability, gene expressions including myelin genes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and alters microbiome compositions in rodent models. Korean red ginseng (KRG) and its major ginsenoside Rb1 have been reported to affect myelin formation and gut metabolites. However, their effects under post-weaning SI have not been investigated. This study investigated the effects of KRG and Rb1 on sociability, gene expressions in the mPFC, and gut metabolites under post-weaning SI. Methods C57BL/6J mice were administered with water or KRG (150, 400 mg/kg) or Rb1 (0.1 mg/kg) under SI or regular environment (RE) for 2 weeks during the post-weaning period (P21–P35). After this period, mice underwent a sociability test, and then brains and ceca were collected for qPCR/immunohistochemistry and non-targeted metabolomics, respectively. Results SI reduced sociability compared to RE; however, KRG (400 mg/kg) and Rb1 significantly restored sociability under SI. In the mPFC, expressions of genes related to myelin, neurotransmitter, and oxidative stress were significantly reduced in mice under SI compared to RE conditions. Under SI, KRG and Rb1 recovered the altered expressions of several genes in the mPFC. In gut metabolomics, 313 metabolites were identified as significant among 3027 detected metabolites. Among the significantly changed metabolites in SI, some were recovered by KRG or Rb1, including metabolites related to stress axis, inflammation, and DNA damage. Conclusion Altered sociability, gene expression levels in the mPFC, and gut metabolites induced by two weeks of post-weaning SI were at least partially recovered by KRG and Rb1.
[2023] Korean Red Ginseng and Rb1 facilitate remyelination after cuprizone diet-induced demyelination
- 저자Oh Wook Kwon, Dalnim Kim, Eugene Koh, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Journal of Ginseng Research
- 초록Abstract Background Demyelination has been observed in neurological disorders, motivating researchers to search for components for enhancing remyelination. Previously we found that Rb1, a major ginsenoside in Korean Red Ginseng (KRG), enhances myelin formation. However, it has not been studied whether Rb1 or KRG function in remyelination after demyelination in vivo. Methods Mice were fed 0.2% cuprizone-containing chow for 5 weeks and returned to normal chow with daily oral injection of vehicle, KRG, or Rb1 for 3 weeks. Brain sections were stained with luxol fast blue (LFB) staining or immunohistochemistry. Primary oligodendrocyte or astrocyte cultures were subject to normal or stress condition with KRG or Rb1 treatment to measure gene expressions of myelin, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, antioxidants and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Results Compared to the vehicle, KRG or Rb1 increased myelin levels at week 6.5 but not 8, when measured by the LFB+ or GST-pi+ area within the corpus callosum. The levels of oligodendrocyte precursor cells, astrocytes, and microglia were high at week 5, and reduced afterwards but not changed by KRG or Rb1. In primary oligodendrocyte cultures, KRG or Rb1 increased expression of myelin genes, ER stress markers, and antioxidants. Interestingly, under cuprizone treatment, elevated ER stress markers were counteracted by KRG or Rb1. Under rotenone treatment, reduced myelin gene expressions were recovered by Rb1. In primary astrocyte cultures, KRG or Rb1 decreased LIF expression. Conclusion KRG and Rb1 may improve myelin regeneration during the remyelination phase in vivo, potentially by directly promoting myelin gene expression.
[2023] Editorial: Meditative movement for mental and physical health
- 저자Russell Sarwar Kabir, Hyun-jeong Yang
- 저널명Frontiers in Psychology
- 초록Editorial on the Research Topic Meditative movement for mental and physical health Agents of therapeutic change in mental and physical health promotion contexts, such as meditation and physical exercise, might enhance the regulation of internal states in ways that provide beneficial effects to human health and functioning. Behavioral health practices such as exercise, yoga, tai chi, qigong, Dohsa-hou, and other movement-related approaches offer platforms replete with the protective factors requisite for regulating physical activity and balancing mental states. Coupling meditative elements into body movement processes is likely to have the advantages of inducing concentration more easily even among novice practitioners as it encourages focus on specific parts or senses of the body. Despite potential contributions to individual, social, and environmental categories of mental health and wellbeing, practices that invoke movement for these purposes are packaged in ways that require close inspection and evaluation of the specificity, duration, conditions, and limitations of their effects. For example, static meditation may be somewhat less accessible to beginners or those who have difficulty maintaining their concentration, and physical exercise at higher thresholds of intensity may not be accessible to groups with certain characteristics. These points suggest that dynamic meditative and movement-integrated applications might need to be introduced to users in cohesive or streamlined ways, in addition to leveraging their unique features and drawing upon the evidence base of their therapeutic or health-promoting elements. The field of meditative movement research is relatively less developed in comparison to conventional meditation research, and far less developed than experimental and effectiveness studies of exercise and physical activity. Furthermore, while the movement and attentional processes that are common to contemplative practices play a role in the control and maintenance of physical and mental health, advances in the field tend to emphasize either physical exercise or psychosocial interventions and their effects on applied outcomes in isolation. This might be due to the dynamism inherent to cognition and movement and their related factors, or possibly, a lack of interdisciplinary exposure and coordination. In this effort, we aimed to improve the understanding of the effects of meditative movement on mental and physical health with research that highlights their potential to connect to underlying physiological, cognitive, or regulatory processes.
[2022] Three months-longitudinal changes in relative telomere length, blood chemistries, and self-report questionnaires in meditation practitioners compared to novice individuals during midlife
- 저자Min-Kyu Sung, Eugene Koh, Yunjeong Kang, Jin-Hee Lee, Ji-Yeon Park, Ji Young Kim, So-Young Shin, Yeon-Hee Kim, Noriko Setou, Ul Soon Lee, and Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Medicine
- 초록
Aging accelerates during midlife. Researches have shown the health benefits of mind-body intervention (MBI). However, whether MBI is involved with aging process has not been well understood. In this study, we approach to examine the relations of MBI with this process by investigating an aging marker of the peripheral blood, blood chemistry, and self-report questionnaires. A quasi-experimental design was applied. Experienced MBI practitioners participated in a 3-month intensive meditation training, while the age, gender-matched MBI-naïve controls led a normal daily life. Measurements were taken at before and after the 3 months for relative telomere length (RTL), blood chemistry, and self-report questionnaires including items about sleep quality, somatic symptoms, depression, anxiety, stress, emotional intelligence (EI), and self-regulation. For RTL, the repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant group*time interaction (P = .013) with a significant post hoc result (P = .030) within the control group: RTL was significantly reduced in the control while it was maintained in the meditation group. In repeated measures analysis of variance for blood chemistries, there were significant group differences between the groups in glucose and total protein. In the post hoc comparison analysis, at post measurements, the meditation group exhibited significantly lower values than the control group in both glucose and total protein. There were significant group-wise differences in the correlations of RTL with triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and glutamic pyruvic transaminase. Any of self-report results did not show significant changes in group*time interaction. However, there were group differences with significant (P < .05) or a tendency (.05 < P < .1) level. There were significant improvements in depression, stress and EI as well as tendencies of improvement in sleep quality and anxiety, in the meditation group compared to the control group. Our results suggest that meditation practice may have a potential to modify aging process in molecular cellular level combined with changes in psychological dimension.
[2022] Utilization of Mind–Body Intervention for Integrative Health Care of COVID-19 Patients and Survivors
- 저자Hyun-Jeong Yang, Noriko Setou, and Eugene Koh
- 저널명International Journal of Environmental Research
- 초록Recent findings suggest a correlation between COVID-19 and diabetes, although the underlying causes are still little understood. COVID-19 infection tends to induce severe symptoms in patients with underlying diabetes, increasing their mortality rate. Moreover, COVID-19 itself appears to be a diabetogenic factor. In addition, mental health conditions, such as depression due to lockdown and anxiety about infection, were found to affect glycemic control and immunity, highlighting the importance of mental health care during the pandemic. Mind–Body Intervention (MBI), which includes meditation, yoga, and qigong, has emerged as a tool for mental health management due to its effects on stress reduction and the promotion of mental and physical well-being. Here, we review the latest randomized controlled trials to determine the effects of MBI on glycemic control and the immune system and discuss the underlying mechanisms by which MBI facilitates the virtuous cycle of stress management, glycemic control, and immune modulation. Furthermore, we examine the actual utilization of MBI during the COVID-19 pandemic era through recent studies. With proper online education, non-pharmacological MBI may be more widely used as an important tool for self-health care that complements the usual treatment of COVID-19 patients and survivors.
[2022] Reduced Pain by Mind-Body Intervention Correlates with Improvement of Shoulder Function in People with Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- 저자Hojung Kang, Seung Chan An, Byeongkwan Kim, Youngjae Song, Jaesung Yoo, Eugene Koh, Seungheun Lee, and Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- 초록Meditation and acupressure-like stimulations have been shown to relieve pain. The aim of this study was to determine whether a short bout of mind-body intervention combined with meditation and acupressure-like stimulation was able to alleviate shoulder pain and improve its function in a short time window. Sixty-five adults with shoulder pain were recruited and randomly classified into two groups. One group participated in an intervention which consisted of acupressure-like stimulation and meditation over a 5 min period. The other group was instructed to rest during this time. A visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and objective constant scores were measured before and after intervention to determine shoulder pain and range of motion (ROM), respectively. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni correction and a regression analysis were performed. VAS pain, objective constant score, flexion, abduction, and external rotation score showed significant interactions between time and group. The pain intensity was significantly reduced, while flexion and abduction were significantly improved, in the experimental group compared to the control group, after the intervention. In addition, the change of flexion negatively correlated with the change of pain intensity in the experimental group, but not in the control group. These results show that a short-term application of mind-body intervention significantly alleviates shoulder pain and improves shoulder movement, suggesting its potential use as a therapy for people with shoulder pain.
[2022] Dendropanax trifidus Sap-Mediated Suppression of Obese Mouse Body Weight and the Metabolic Changes Related with Estrogen Receptor Alpha and AMPK-ACC Pathways in Muscle Cells
- 저자Ahreum Lee, Eugene Koh, Dalnim Kim, Namkyu Lee, Soo Min Cho, Young Joo Lee, Ik-Hyun Cho, and Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Nutrients 2022, 14(5), 1098
- 초록Dendropanax trifidus (DT) is a medicinal herb native to East Asia, which has been used extensively for its therapeutic properties in traditional medicine. In this study, we examined the effects of DT sap on the regulation of body weight and muscle metabolism in mice. Obese model db/db mice were administered daily with DT sap or vehicle control over a 6-week period. The effects of DT sap on muscle metabolism were studied in C2C12 muscle cells, where glycolytic and mitochondrial respiration rates were monitored. As AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of metabolism and plays an important function as an energy sensor in muscle tissue, signaling pathways related with AMPK were also examined. We found that DT sap inhibited body weight increase in db/db, db/+, and +/+ mice over a 6-week period, while DT sap-treated muscle cells showed increased muscle metabolism and also increased phosphorylation of AMPK and Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase (ACC). Finally, we found that DT sap, which is enriched in estrogen in our previous study, significantly activates estrogen alpha receptor in a concentration-dependent manner, which can drive the activation of AMPK signaling and may be related to the muscle metabolism and weight changes observed here.
[2021] In Vivo Hypoglycemic Effects, Potential Mechanisms and LC-MS/MS Analysis of Dendropanax Trifidus Sap Extract
- 저자Ahreum Lee, Yuki Sugiura, Ik-Hyun Cho, Noriko Setou, Eugene Koh, Gyun Jee Song, Seungheun Lee and Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Nutrients
- 초록Extracts of medicinal plants have been widely used to benefit human health. Dendropanax morbiferus (DM) has been well-studied for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, while Dendropanax trifidus (DT) is a lesser-known ecotype phylogenetically similar to DM, which has received significantly less attention. Studies thus far have primarily focused on leaf and bark extracts of DM, and not much is yet known about the properties of either DM or DT sap. Therefore, here we performed in vivo toxicity and efficacy studies, in order to assess the biological effects of DT sap. To establish a safe dosage range, single dose or two-week daily administrations of various concentrations were performed for ICR mice. Measurements of survival ratio, body/organ weight, blood chemistry, histochemistry and Western blots were performed. A concentration of ≤0.5 mg/g DT sap was found to be safe for long-term administration. Interestingly, DT sap significantly reduced blood glucose in female mice. In addition, increasing concentrations of DT sap decreased phosphorylated (p) insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1(ser1101)/IRS-1 in liver tissues, while increasing pAMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/AMPK in both the liver and spleen. To analyze its components, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry of DT sap was performed in comparison with Acer saccharum (AS) sap. Components such as estradiol, trenbolone, farnesol, dienogest, 2-hydroxyestradiol and linoleic acid were found to be highly enriched in DT sap compared to AS sap. Our results indicate DT sap exhibits hypoglycemic effects, which may be due to the abundance of the bioactive components.
[2021] Susceptibility of Women to Cardiovascular Disease and the Prevention Potential of Mind–Body Intervention by Changes in Neural Circuits and Cardiovascular Physiology
- 저자Hyun-Jeong Yang, Eugene Koh, and Yunjeong Kang
- 저널명Biomolecules
- 초록Women have been reported to be more vulnerable to the development, prognosis and mortality of cardiovascular diseases, yet the understanding of the underlying mechanisms and strategies to overcome them are still relatively undeveloped. Studies show that women’s brains are more sensitive to factors affecting mental health such as depression and stress than men’s brains. In women, poor mental health increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and conversely, cardiovascular disease increases the incidence of mental illness such as depression. In connection with mental health and cardiovascular health, the presence of gender differences in brain activation, cortisol secretion, autonomic nervous system, vascular health and inflammatory response has been observed. This connection suggests that strategies to manage women’s mental health can contribute to preventing cardiovascular disease. Mind–body interventions, such as meditation, yoga and qigong are forms of exercise that strive to actively manage both mind and body. They can provide beneficial effects on stress reduction and mental health. They are also seen as structurally and functionally changing the brain, as well as affecting cortisol secretion, blood pressure, heart rate variability, immune reactions and reducing menopausal symptoms, thus positively affecting women’s cardiovascular health. In this review, we investigate the link between mental health, brain activation, HPA axis, autonomic nervous system, blood pressure and immune system associated with cardiovascular health in women and discuss the effects of mind–body intervention in modulating these factors.
[2021] The effects of Korean red ginseng-derived components on oligodendrocyte lineage cells: Distinct facilitatory roles of the non-saponin and saponin fractions, and Rb1, in proliferation, differentiation and myelination
- 저자Ahreum Lee, Oh Wook Kwon, Kwi Ryun Jung, Gyun Jee Song, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Journal of Ginseng Research
- 초록
Background: Abnormalities of myelin, which increases the efficiency of action potential conduction, are found in neurological disorders. Korean red ginseng (KRG) demonstrates therapeutic efficacy against some of these conditions, however effects on oligodendrocyte (OL)s are not well known. Here, we examined the effects of KRG-derived components on development and protection of OL-lineage cells.
Methods: Primary OL precursor cell (OPC) cultures were prepared from neonatal mouse cortex. The protective efficacies of the KRG components were examined against inhibitors of mitochondrial respiratory chain activity. For in vivo function of Rb1 on myelination, after 10 days of oral gavage into adult male mice, forebrains were collected. OPC proliferation were assessed by BrdU incorporation, and differentiation and myelination were examined by qPCR, western blot and immunocytochemistry.
Results: The non-saponin promoted OPC proliferation, while the saponin promoted differentiation. Both processes were mediated by AKT and extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. KRG extract, the saponin and non-saponin protected OPCs against oxidative stress, and both KRG extract and the saponin significantly increased the expression of the antioxidant enzyme. Among 11 major ginsenosides tested, Rb1 significantly increased OL membrane size in vitro. Moreover, Rb1 significantly increased myelin formation in adult mouse brain.
Conclusion: All KRG components prevented OPC deaths under oxidative stress. While non-saponin promoted proliferation, saponin fraction increased differentiation and OL membrane size. Furthermore, among all the tested ginsenosides, Rb1 showed the biggest increase in the membrane size and significantly enhanced myelination in vivo. These results imply therapeutic potentials of KRG and Rb1 for myelin-related disorders.
[2021] Changes Induced by Mind–Body Intervention Including Epigenetic Marks and Its Effects on Diabetes
- 저자Hyun-Jeong Yang, Eugene Koh, Min-Kyu Sung and Hojung Kang
- 저널명International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- 초록Studies have evidenced that epigenetic marks associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be inherited from parents or acquired through fetal and early-life events, as well as through lifelong environments or lifestyles, which can increase the risk of diabetes in adulthood. However, epigenetic modifications are reversible, and can be altered through proper intervention, thus mitigating the risk factors of T2D. Mind–body intervention (MBI) refers to interventions like meditation, yoga, and qigong, which deal with both physical and mental well-being. MBI not only induces psychological changes, such as alleviation of depression, anxiety, and stress, but also physiological changes like parasympathetic activation, lower cortisol secretion, reduced inflammation, and aging rate delay, which are all risk factors for T2D. Notably, MBI has been reported to reduce blood glucose in patients with T2D. Herein, based on recent findings, we review the effects of MBI on diabetes and the mechanisms involved, including epigenetic modifications.