The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (President Lee Jin-yong, hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Oriental Medicine), Dr. Koh Young-hoon’s team (first author, Dr. Kim Jae-gwang) at the Center for Korean Medicine Technology Application , announced that they confirmed the neuroinflammatory inhibitory effect of red thorn extract.
The results of this research have been published in the international journal ‘Antioxidants’ (IF 7.675, within the top 5% of JCR) as ‘Quercus acuta Thunb. Suppresses neuro-LPS-induced inflammation in BV2 microglial cells through regulation of MAPK/NF-κB and Nrf2/HO-1’ pathway was published on 20 September.
Red thorn tree (Quercus acuta Thunb) is a species of oak that grows wild in southern coastal regions such as Jeollanam-do and Jeju-do, and is a forest resource actively studied as a functional material such as medicine. Habitat is expected to gradually shift north due to global warming.
In the midst of this, the research team identified the HSV-1 (Herpes virus) antiviral efficacy of sea buckthorn Rhesus extract through a 21-year study (first author, Dr. Kim Bu-yoon), and in this study, activated BV2 In microglia, it was confirmed that △reduced expression of inflammatory cytokines that induce immune responses △anti-inflammatory effect through the reduction of oxidative stress in cells △inhibition of inflammation-mediated activation of signaling molecules.
Microglia in the brain play a role in protecting brain activity, but excessive activation is known to cause neuroinflammation, nerve cell damage, and degenerative brain diseases such as memory loss.
The research team expects that the red thorn tree could be used as a functional material to prepare for degenerative brain diseases through further research following the identification of the neuroinflammatory inhibitory effect of the domesticated red thorn tree.
Dr. Koh Young-hoon, the research director on this matter, said, “Recently, neuroinflammation and herpes virus infection are attracting attention as novel factors inducing dementia.” I will continue,” he said.
Meanwhile, this research achievement was made with the support of a major project of the Korean Institute of Oriental Medicine under the Ministry of Science and ICT.
