The antioxidant activity and chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid contents were investigated from different parts of Acanthopanax senticosus and A. koreanum. Antioxidant activity was assessed by various in vitro assays such as DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, reducing power assays and ORAC, and the chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid were validated by HPLC chromatography. Among the various extracts, the fruit extracts of A. senticosus and A. koreanum exhibited strongest antioxidant activities including ABTS, FRAP, reducing power and ORAC, however, strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity was observed from the leaf extract of A. senticosus. In addition, the antioxidant activities of various extracts were correlated with total phenolic and proanthocyanidin contents. The major phenolic contents from various parts of these plants observed that leaf extract of A. senticosus expressed higher levels of chlorogenic acid (14.86 mg/dry weigh g) and caffeic acid (3.09 mg/dry weigh g) than other parts. Therefore, these results suggest that the leaf of A. senticosus may be an excellent natural source for functional foods and pharmaceutical agents, and the validated method was useful for the quality control of A. senticosus.

Ginseng herbal medicine has been known to have beneficial effects on improving human health. We investigated whether red ginseng extract (RGE) has preventive effects on influenza A virus infection in vivo and in vitro. RGE was found to improve survival of human lung epithelial cells upon influenza virus infection. Also, RGE treatment reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory genes (IL-6, IL-8) probably in part through interference with the formation of reactive oxygen species by influenza A virus infection. Long-term oral administration of mice with RGE showed multiple immunomodulatory effects such as stimulating antiviral cytokine IFN-γ production after influenza A virus infection. In addition, RGE administration in mice inhibited the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the bronchial lumens. Therefore, RGE might have the potential beneficial effects on preventing influenza A virus infections via its multiple immunomodulatory functions.

Wild herbs, which are edible plants that grow in mountainous areas, have diverse biological effects such as anti-obesity and anti-cancer activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as the antioxidant activity of methanol extracts of Aster scaber, Ligularia fischeri, Kalopanax pictus, Codonopsis lanceolata, and Cirsium setidens and to assess their effects on lipid accumulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells. The results revealed that among the five studied wild herb extracts, Ligularia fischeri showed the highest total phenolic contents (215.8 ± 14.2 mg GAE/g) and Aster scaber showed the highest total flavonoid content (103.9 ± 3.4 mg RE/g). Furthermore, Aster scaber and Ligularia fischeri extracts showed higher antioxidant activity than the other wild herbs. Regarding anti-adipogenic activity, the Cirsium setidens extract significantly inhibited lipid accumulation (~80%) and ROS production (~50%) during adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells compared with control cells. These results suggest that wild herbs could be used for the development of functional foods as well as health promoting and pharmaceutical agents.

Codonopsis lanceolata extract (CLE) has been used in traditional medicine in the Asian-Pacific region for the treatment of bronchitis, cough, and inflammation. However, it is still unclear whether obesity in mice can be altered by diet supplementation with CLE. To investigate whether CLE could have preventative effects on high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, male C57BL/6 mice were placed on either a normal chow diet, 60% HFD, or a HFD supplemented with CLE (60, 180, and 360 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks. CLE decreased body weight and subcutaneous and visceral fat weights in HFD-induced obese mice. CLE group mice showed lower fat accumulation and a smaller adipocyte area in the adipose tissue compared with the HFD group mice. CLE group mice exhibited lower serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), glucose, and insulin compared with the HFD group mice. In addition, CLE decreased liver weight and lowered the increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels in HFD-induced obese mice. These results indicate that CLE can inhibit the development of diet-induced obesity and hyperlipidemia in C57BL/6 mice.

Ginseng has been used in humans for thousands of years but its effects on viral infection have not been well understood. We investigated the effects of red ginseng extract (RGE) on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection using in vitro cell culture and in vivo mouse models. RGE partially protected human epithelial (HEp2) cells from RSV-induced cell death and viral replication. In addition, RGE significantly inhibited the production of RSV-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α) in murine dendritic and macrophage-like cells. More importantly, RGE intranasal pre-treatment prevented loss of mouse body weight after RSV infection. RGE treatment improved lung viral clearance and enhanced the production of interferon (IFN-γ) in bronchoalveolar lavage cells upon RSV infection of mice. Analysis of cellular phenotypes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids showed that RGE treatment increased the populations of CD8⁺ T cells and CD11c⁺ dendritic cells upon RSV infection of mice. Taken together, these results provide evidence that ginseng has protective effects against RSV infection through multiple mechanisms, which include improving cell survival, partial inhibition of viral replication and modulation of cytokine production and types of immune cells migrating into the lung.

Oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is the major cause of degenerative disorders including aging and disease. In this study, we investigated whether Cordyceps militaris extract (CME) has in vitro protective effects on hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). Our results showed that the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of CME was increased in a dose-dependent manner. We found that hydrogen peroxide treatment in HDFs increased ROS generation and cell death as compared with the control. However, CME improved the survival of HDFs against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress via inhibition of intracellular ROS production. CME treatment inhibited hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptotic cell death and apoptotic nuclear condensation in HDFs. In addition, CME prevented hydrogen peroxide-induced SA-β-gal-positive cells suggesting CME could inhibit oxidative stress-induced premature senescence. Therefore, these results suggest that CME might have protective effects against oxidative stress-induced premature senescence via scavenging ROS.