Molecular inflammation is a pivotal process in various degenerative immune diseases, including asthma and atopic dermatitis. In this study, we examined the effects of Helianthus annuus seed (HAS) aqueous extract on an in vivo anti-asthmatic model. Ovalbumin-induced mice were orally administered the aqueous extract of Helianthus annuus seeds, and their lungs were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Moreover, the expression levels of IL-4/IL-13 cytokines and IgE were determined. HAS extract induced a decrease in CD4 + cell number, IL-4/IL-13 expression, and IgE secretion levels in the lungs. Our findings collectively suggest that the HAS extract has considerable potential in reducing the asthma-like symptoms induced by a mouse ovalbumin challenge model. However, further isolation and purification of the extract is required to determine the specific factor(s) responsible for its anti-asthmatic activity.Abbreviations: HAS, Helianthus annuus seeds; DPPH, 1,1diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl; Fe(III)-TPTZ, ferric tripyridyltriazine; EDTA, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid; FRAP, ferric ion-reducing antioxidant power; MMP, matrix metalloproteinase; IL, interleukin

Abstract. Gastrodia elata Blume (GEB) is an important medicinal plant in Korea. In order to confirm the anti-tumor activities of GEB extracts, we carried out various in vitro antitumor assays, including a wound assay and an invasion assay using an ethyl ether extract of GEB. The results showed that the GEB extract exhibits potent anti-tumor activity in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. The expression of CD44, cdc42, Timp-2 or RhoA mRNA did not change by GEB treatment, compared to that of the control. GTP-Ras, an active form of a G-coupled protein family, however, is associated with the anti-tumor activity of GEB extracts. We examined various molecular markers related to metastasis by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction with the extract of GEB-treated B16 cells. There was an increase in GTP-Ras expression by the Gastrodia elata Blume extract. Together, these results suggest that the Gastrodia elata Blume extract could have potential in alleviating tumorigenesis, by a GTPRas-dependent pathway; although the precise molecular mechanisms are still being examined. IntroductionGastrodia elata Blume (GEB) is a traditional herb that has been used in East Asian for centuries. It has been used as an anticonvulsant, analgesic and sedative to combat vertigo, hypertension, general paralysis and tetanus. Vanillyl alcohol and gastrodin, derived from GEB are known to have anticonvulsive actions (1). Recently, it was reported that compounds found in GEB inhibited glutamate-induced apoptosis in neuronal cells (2). In addition, after pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure activity, the ether fraction of GEB has been shown to attenuate a decrease in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and an increase in glutamate content, as well as having anticonvulsant effects (3).GEB is also used as sub-material for food or food-related industry. In 2001, the Korea Food and Drug Administration approved that GEB extracts as food ingredients; however, an in vivo toxicological study is still needed to determine its safety in food. We have already reported that GEB powersupplemented (0.5-1.0%) dough had a membrane-like structure that was more developed than that of the control, resulting in increased bread volumes (4). These results suggest that bread baked with 0.5-1.0% GEB exhibited an increase in loaf volume due to the more complete development of a gluten matrix.In our study, we determined that GEB protected cell damage by ß-amyloid in neuroblastoma cells (5). The ethyl ether fraction of GEB has potent activity toward ß-amyloidinduced cell damage via reducing caspase-3 activity (6,7; data not shown). In the course of a mechanistic study of the methanolic extract of GEB, we found that it has potent antitumor activity in vitro. The major finding of this report is that GEB exhibits anti-metastatic activities which were confirmed by wound and invasion assay in B16 melanoma cells. We further demonstrated that GEB increased anti-tumor activity via a GTP-Ras-dependent pathway. Materials and methodsCell culture. A murine melanoma cell line B16-F1 (B16; Ca...

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Abstract. Gastrodia elata Blume (GEB) is a traditional herbal plant that has been used in Asian countries for centuries as an anticonvulsant, analgesic, and also as a sedative for treating general paralysis, epilepsy, vertigo, and tetanus. Although numerous reports have addressed the effects of GEB against degenerative diseases, no previous study has examined the possible gastroprotective effects of GEB. Here, we examined the effects of pretreatment with GEB (0.02 ml/g, p.o.) in a mouse water immersion restraint (WIR) stressinduced gastric lesion model. Our results revealed that mice pretreated with GEB had significantly fewer gastric lesions than their respective controls. Moreover, GEB-treated mice showed significant decreases in serum and gastric nitric oxide (NO) levels to 50 and 28%, respectively. To examine one possible mechanism underlying this effect, we used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to examine NOS mRNA expression in gastric lesion tissues. Our results revealed that the mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was reduced by ~50% in GEB-pretreated mice versus the controls, whereas the mRNA expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) remained unchanged. These findings collectively suggest that GEB significantly protects the gastric mucosa against WIR-induced gastric damage, at least in part by decreasing NO levels via suppression of iNOS mRNA expression.