RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Schizandrae fructus (SF), the fruit of Schisandra chinensis, has been used for the treatment of cough, wheezing, dry mouth, hepatitis, cardiovascular disease, and as a tonic and astringent in China, Japan, and Korea. OBJECTIVE: Investigation of the antiasthmatic effects of SF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the effects of SF on airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to methacholine, production levels of antigen-specific antibodies, and histopathological changes in the lung tissue in a mouse model (Balb/c) of asthma induced by repeated intranasal instillation of an antigen. RESULTS: SF lowered AHR to methacholine (P < 0.05), antigen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) level (P < 0.01), and immune cell infiltration in mice with asthma. Prednisolone (PD) effectively decreased AHR (P < 0.01), total antibody (P < 0.01) and IgE (P < 0.01) levels, and immune cell infiltration. SF and PD did not affect the levels of antigen-specific IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that SF has possible application as an antiasthmatic drug. We also suggest that SF could be used as a complementary or alternative medicine to glucocorticoids.
RESUMEN
In order to reduce of the manufacturing cost of bacterial cellulose (BC), BC production by Acetobacter sp. V6 was investigated in shaking culture using molasses and corn steep liquor (CSL) as the sole carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. The highest BC production was obtained with Ca3(PO4)2-treated molasses. Maximum BC yield (2.21+/-0.04 g/l) was obtained at 5% (w/v) total sugar in molasses. In improved medium containing molasses and CSL, BC production was observed in the medium after 1 day of incubation and increased rapidly thereafter with maximum yield (3.12+/-0.03 g/l) at 8 days. This value was approximately twofold higher than the yield in the complex medium. Physical properties of BC from the complex and molasses media were studied using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometer. By FT-IR, all the BC were found to be of cellulose type I, the same as typical native cellulose. The relative crystallinity of BC produced in the complex and molasses media were 83.02 and 67.27%, respectively. These results suggest that molasses and CSL can be useful low-cost substrates for BC production by Acetobacter sp. V6 without supplementation with expensive nitrogen complexes such as yeast extract and polypeptone, leading to the reduction in the production costs.