Taek-Won Ahn

Herbal medicine is widely prescribed worldwide. To date, however, studies on the prediction of efficacy of herbal medicine based on machine learning have very rarely been reported. The objectives of this study are to predict the efficacy of Taeumjowi-tang (one of herbal medicines) and evaluate the prediction model in treating metabolic abnormalities. Subjects were divided into an improvement group and a non-improvement group based on the difference before and after oral administration of an herbal medicine. Efficacy models of triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were built using a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) based on variables extracted from face shape, face colors, body circumference, questionnaire, voice, and tongue color. In predicting efficacy for four metabolic risk factors, the efficacy model of HDL cholesterol level showed the best the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value among the four models (AUC = 0.785 (confidence interval = 0.693, 0.877)). The AUC value of the efficacy model of triglyceride level was 0.659 (0.551, 0.768). Efficacy models of DBP and SBP showed AUC values of 0.665 (0.551, 0.78) and 0.54 (0.385, 0.694), respectively. The results may provide a clue to predict whether a drug will be effective for each subject with phenotypic information and to reduce the use of an ineffective drug or its side effects.

Yangkyuksanwha-tang (YST) is an herbal medicine based on Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) and is widely used in Korean traditional medicine. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of YST on obesity in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. We induced obesity in C57bl/6 J mice using a HFD, and then orally administered 300 mg/kg YST for 6 weeks. We measured body weight, food efficiency, organ and fat weight, serum biochemical parameters, and obesity-related gene expression, and carried out histological analysis at the end of the experimental period. YST significantly reduced the absolute body weight and food efficiency ratio. The serum, aminotransferase, glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the YST-treated group than in the control group, whereas the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level in the YST-treated group was significantly higher. The YST-treated group also showed a significant reduction in regional fatty tissues and the absolute weight of various organs. We also observed a significantly reduced expression of AP2/FABP4, C/EBP-β, leptin, and SREBP1c/ADD1 mRNA, and significantly increased expression of UCP-2 and adiponectin mRNA in adipose tissue in the YST-treated group. YST also decreased the lipid droplet size and lipid accumulation in the liver, as well as adipocyte size in epididymal adipose tissue. At the dose tested, YST was non-toxic to the liver and kidneys of the mice. The results imply that YST has anti-obesity effects in obesity-induced mice. Although the number of experimental animals was limited and the drug effects concern mice, rather than humans, which have different constitutions, the study has valuable implications with respect to the general effects of YST.

A Study of the Effect on Obesity in Taeeumin Animal-experimental Model Induced Lung Fibrosis with Bleomycin Taeeumin;Obesity;Leptin;Adiponectin;Bleomycin;Animal-experimental model; Objectives The objective of this study is to develop a taeeumin animal-experimental model induced lung fibrosis with Bleomycin and evaluate the effect on obesity in this animal-experimental model.Methods The subjects were divided into 3 groups : normal group, high fat diet(HFD) control group, and HFD group administered with bleomycin(n=10 per group). To develop taeeumin animal-experimental model with reduced respiratory metabolism, 8-week-old C57BL/6 mice were administered with 0.03ml solution of bleomycin 1U/ml dissolved in distilled water, intratracheal(IT), once. Then, the HFD control group and the experimental group were fed with high fat diet for 6 weeks. Airway hyperresponsiveness(AHR) to methacholine was measured at the 1st and 3rd week after bleomycin was administered. Food intake and body weight were measured at regular time weekly. After the final experiment, blood was gathered by cardiac puncture for bloodchemical examination and organs(liver, fatty tissue) were remoed, weighted, and mRNA was analyzed.Results and Conclusions Through the experiment, it was found that Bleomycin induced Taeeumin animal-experimental models have leptin resistace. In the experimental group administered with Bleomycin, fatty acid synthesizing gene expression increased and energy metabolizing gene expression decreased. As mRNA expression of adiponectin decreased, it was found that Taeeuim animal-experimental model is susceptible to metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases.