Hwa-Jung Choi

This study was conducted to determine whether essential oils had anti-influenza A/WS/33 virus activity and whether there were specific compounds associated with this activity. There were 63 essential oils evaluated for anti-influenza (A/WS/33 virus) activity using a cytopathic effect reduction method. The chemical composition of the anti-influenza essential oils was phytochemically analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The antiviral assays demonstrated that 11 of the 62 essential oils (100 μg/mL) possessed anti-influenza activity, reducing visible cytopathic effects of influenza A/WS/33 virus activity by > 30%. Furthermore, marjoram, clary sage and anise oils exhibited anti-influenza A/WS/33 virus activity of > 52.8%. However, oseltamivir (the anti-influenza A and B drug), showed cytotoxicity at the same concentration (100 μg/mL) as the essential oils. The chemical composition detected by GC-MS analysis, differed amongst the 3 most potent anti-viral essential oils (marjoram, clary sage and anise oils) except for linalool, which was detected in all 3 essential oils. This study demonstrated anti-influenza activity in 11 essential oils tested, with marjoram, clary sage and anise essential oils being the most effective at reducing visible cytopathic effects of the A/WS/33 virus. All 3 oils contained linalool, suggesting that this may have anti-influenza activity. Further investigation is needed to characterize the antiviral activity of linalool against influenza A/WS/33 virus.

Herbal dietary supplements have attracted more and more attention owing to their relative effectiveness in obesity ‐related metabolic disorders and diseases. This study investigated the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of Capsosiphon fulvescens (CF) extracts on obesity, their associated metabolic disorders and hepatic steatosis in high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obese mice. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed with normal, HFD/Vehicle and HFD/CF (orally 300 mg/kg/day for CF). After 12 weeks, CF blocked HFD‐induced body weight, food intake, liver weight, hepatic triglyceride (TG), fat mass (weight of abdominal subcutaneous fat and epididymal adipose tissue) and biochemical parameters (total cohlesterol, glucose, TG, creatinine, high‐density lipoproteins cholesterol and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol) of serum. CF also had improved serum levels of adiponectin, leptin and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 in HFD/CF mice. Moreover, CF ameliorated the hepatic steatosis‐reducing size of white adipose tissue. These results indicate that CF have anti‐obesity effects and are effective for reducing metabolic risk and hepatic steatosis.

Three saikosaponins were isolated from the MeOH extract of the roots of Bupleurum falcatum L.: saikosaponins B3 (1); B4 (2); and D (3). Of the three, compound 3 inhibited the interaction of selectins (E, L, and P) and THP-1 cells with IC₅₀ values of 1.8, 3.0 and 4.3 µM, respectively. Also, the aglycone structure 4 of compound 3 showed moderate inhibitory activity on L-selectin-mediated cell adhesion. From these results, we suspect that compound 3 isolated from Bupleurum falcatum roots would be a good candidate for therapeutic strategies to treat inflammation.