Suppressive effects of ginsan on the development of allergic reaction in murine asthmatic model.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a major health problem worldwide, and the morbidity and mortality caused by asthma are on the rise. Corticosteroid therapies for asthma treatment frequently induce many side effects. Therefore, the development of new medicines that have both high efficacy and fewer side effects has been a scientific challenge. Here we tested the effect of ginsan, a polysaccharide derived from Panax ginseng, against allergic reaction in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine asthmatic model in comparison with dexamethasone, and investigated its underlying mechanism. METHODS: To induce murine asthma, mice were sensitized and challenged with OVA. Ginsan or dexamethasone was administered by injection 3 times a week. Airway hyperresponsiveness, airway inflammation and lung pathology were assessed in order to evaluate the effect of ginsan against asthma. RESULTS: Ginsan treatment reduced airway hyperresponsiveness, remodeling and eosinophilia. These effects of ginsan were equivalent to those of dexamethasone. Ginsan treatment decreased the IL-5 level in the supernatant of cultured splenocytes, while IFN-gamma and serum IgE were not altered. To elucidate the mechanism of ginsan, expression of inflammation-related genes were screened. Interestingly, ginsan treatment upregulated cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 mRNA, and expression of their proteins in the lung were also increased. PGE(2) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was also increased by the ginsan treatment. Lastly, ginsan inhibited the allergic reaction aggravated by COX inhibitor (indomethacin). CONCLUSION: Ginsan has anti-asthmatic effects, which seem to be partially mediated by enhancing the synthesis of COX gene products.

The effects of empowered motivation on exercise adherence and physical fitness in college women.

The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of exercise adherence when exercise motivation was empowered. It was planned as a pretest-posttest nonequivalent quasi-experimental design. The study subjects were female college students who wanted exercise and agreed to participate in the Jane Fonda Workout Program (1982) for a period of six months. The subject sample was divided into an experimental group and a control group by college department to prevent contamination of the intervention, which promotes long-term exercise-program adherence through the EMPOWER Step Program. All subjects' body composition and physical fitness were measured using the Inbody (520) Body Composition Analyzer and Helmas (Korea) measuring equipment. Cronbach's α, t-test, odds ratio and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. According to the results the experimental group showed a 66.66% exercise adherence success rate and the control group showed only a 26.31% success rate (OR= 5.60, P= 0.01; t= 2.932, P= 0.006). Skeletal muscle mass was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (F= 8.45, P= 0.006). Body fat mass decreased significantly more in the experimental group than in the control group (F= 6.08 P= 0.01). Empowered motivation has positive effects on adherence to exercise regimes and physical fitness in female college students. Therefore it is suggested to actively utilize the EMPOWER Step Program to foster long-term exercise.