Hea Sun Chun

Centipeda minima, an edible herb with medicinal properties, contains bioactive sesquiterpene lactones with anti-inflammatory potential, but its nutraceutical application is limited by insufficient standardization. This study evaluated the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of a chemically characterized bioactive-rich extract from C. minima (CMXP) and its four isolated active compounds. In LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, CMXP and the four isolated sesquiterpene lactones inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in a concentration-dependent manner. These inhibitory effects were evident within concentration ranges that did not markedly affect cell viability, whereas reduced cell viability was observed at the highest tested concentrations of CMXP (10 μg/mL), arnicolide C (10 μM), and brevilin A (10 μM). CMXP markedly suppressed iNOS and COX-2 expression, reducing ERK and JNK phosphorylation. In the MIA-induced osteoarthritis rat model, CMXP improved hind limb weight-bearing function, decreased serum IL-6 and cartilage MMP-3 expression, and attenuated subchondral bone loss, as confirmed by micro-computed tomography. CMXP demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects through MAPK pathway modulation and improved OA-associated functional and structural changes. The chemical characterization of CMXP provides a basis for further investigation of its potential application in OA.

Hea Sun Chun. Journal of Acupuncture Research 2026;43:238-54. https://doi.org/10.13045/jar.26.0001

Hea Sun Chun. Journal of Acupuncture Research 2024;41:228-44. https://doi.org/10.13045/jar.24.0028

Objectives: This study investigated the role of Korean medicine doctors in the national quarantine system and the status of their duties through questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews with Korean medicine staff who participated in COVID-19 work.Methods: We developed a questionnaire survey to investigate the status and perception of Korean medicine doctors’ participation in responding to infectious diseases, and the results were derived by conducting frequency analysis and T-test using SPSS program. The measurement variables of this study were the status of COVID-19 related work participation and perception of Korean medicine doctors’ role in infectious diseases, and the maximum significance level was 0.05.Results: There were 300 respondents to the survey, and as for the COVID-19 related work, Korean medicine treatment for COVID-19 patients accounted for the most(52.7%), and various preventive and treatment tasks such as epidemiological investigations and specimen collection were conducted.Conclusion: According to this study, it was confirmed that there are sufficient legal and administrative grounds for Korean medicine doctors to perform specimen collection and epidemiological investigations. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a policy framework to solidify the status of Korean medicine doctors in national infectious diseases in the future.

Hea-Sun Chun, Dong-Hwan Kim, Ho-Seub Song. J Pharmacopuncture 2021;24:173-81. https://doi.org/10.3831/KPI.2021.24.4.173

Hea-Sun Chun, Ho-Seub Song. J Pharmacopuncture 2021;24:182-90. https://doi.org/10.3831/KPI.2021.24.4.182

The purpose of this study was to analyze acupuncture treatment methods and acupoint used to treat infertility in the last decade. The data were retrieved from 2010.1 to 2021.8. using national and international electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, OASIS, NDSL, and KISS). “Infertility,” “sterility,” “acupuncture,” “electroacupuncture,” “bloodletting,” “pharmacopuncture,” were used as search terms. All studies were mainly concerned with acupuncture treatment of infertility, but the studies which were not related included; (1) infertility or acupuncture treatment; (2) animal studies; (3) review/meta/protocol or clinical study; comparative studies and case reports which were excluded from this review. Only clinical trials for acupuncture treatment of infertility were included in this review (n = 18). For infertility treatment studies using acupuncture, polycystic ovarian syndrome was the main cause of infertility, the most common acupoint used was CV4, CV3, CV6, SP6, BL23, and the treatment effect significantly improved in the group receiving acupuncture treatment compared with the control group, or the group taking Western medicine alone. In some studies, the group using acupuncture treatment did not show side effects. Acupuncture is an effective treatment for infertility.

Hea Sun Chun, Su Hyeon Choi, Ho Sueb Song. J Pharmacopuncture 2021;24:107-21. https://doi.org/10.3831/KPI.2021.24.3.107