We investigated the pharmacokinetics of ferulic acid, a potential antioxidant agent, after intravenous (i.v.) bolus administration in rats. To analyze ferulic acid levels in the plasma, bile, urine and tissue samples, we developed an HPLC-based method which was validated for a pharmacokinetic study by suitable criteria. After i.v. bolus administration of ferulic acid, it rapidly disappeared from blood circulation within 15 min. The mean plasma half-lives at α phase (t1/2α) when administered at doses of 2 and 10 mg/ kg were 1.10 and 1.39 min, respectively. The values of t1/2β at the corresponding doses increased 40% (from 5.02 to 7.01 min) with increasing doses. The total body clearance (CLt) values significantly decreased as the ferulic acid dose increased. On the other hand, steady-state volume of distribution (Vdss) values did not show the significant difference with the increase in dose. Of the various tissues, ferulic acid mainly distributed to the liver and kidney after i.v. bolus administration. The ferulic acid concentrations in various tissues at 2 hr after i.v. bolus administration were below 1.0 μg/g tissue. Ferulic acid was excreted in the bile and urine after i.v. bolus administration at the dose of 10 mg/kg. The cumulative amount of ferulic acid in the bile 2 hr after dosage was comparable with the amount excreted in the urine after 72 hr, indicating that i.v. administered ferulic acid was mainly excreted in the both bile and urine. In conclusion, ferulic acid was rapidly cleared from the circulating blood and transferred to tissues such as the liver and kidney after i.v. bolus administration. Moreover, the majority of ferulic acid appears to be excreted in the bile and urine after i.v. bolus administration.

Headache is one of most common chief complaints of pediatric patients in emergency departments (ED). In this study, the character, duration, strength and location of headaches, as well as the results of brain imaging studies, were recorded. Seventy-four children (34 boys, 40 girls) visiting the ED of major hospitals in Cheongju were enrolled from October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014. Ages of the children ranged from 3 to 18 years, with the mean age being 13 years. Four of them (5.4%) had trauma-related headaches. There were 34 migraines (45.9%), 27 tension headaches (36.5%), 3 secondary headaches (4.1%), 2 seizure-related headaches (2.7%), 1 headache with hydrocephalus (1.4%), 1 concussion (1.4%), and 1 headache with subdural hematoma (1.4%). The highest number of patients, 31 (41.9%), had symptoms for less than two hours, while 11 pediatric patients (14.9%) had symptoms for 2-4 hours, and the third-largest group, 10 patients (13.5%), had symptoms between 24 and 72 hours. Twenty-nine patients (39.2%) had one headache per month, 20 patients (27.0%) had 1 to 14 headaches per month, and 4 patients (5.4%) had more than 15 headaches per month. Children with migraine took a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID, 34 patients; 45.9%), acetaminophen (19 patients; 25.7%), and Topiramate (1 patient; 1.4%). Average strength of headache was 7.37 ± 1.79. There were 23 children (31.1%) with headaches in the parieto-temporal area, 16 children (21.6%) in the occipital area, 9 children (12.2%) in the frontal area, 4 children (5.4%) in the global area, and 6 children (8.1%) in an uncertain location. There were 31 children (41.9%) with pulsating headaches, 18 children (24.3%) with squeezing headaches, 5 children (6.8%) with stabbing headaches, and 11 children (14.9%) with headaches of an uncertain nature. Thus, we suspect children visiting the ED had severe headaches.

Vitis amurensis, Aralia cordata, and Glycyrrhizae radix have been widely used as oriental medicinal plants in Korea, China and Japan and found to possess anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. A previous study demonstrated a protection of an ethanol extract (SSB) of a mixture of three medicinal plants of Vitis amurensis, Aralia cordata, and Glycyrrhizae radix against β amyloid protein-induced memory impairment. The current study was conducted to investigate the neuroprotective effect of SSB against ischemiainduced brain injury. Transient focal cerebral ischemia was induced by 2 hr middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by 24 hr reperfusion (MCAO/reperfusion) in rats. Oral administration of SSB (5, 10 and 25 mg/kg) 30 min before and 1 h after MCAO, and 1 h after reperfusion reduced MCAO/ reperfusion-induced brain infarct and edema formation. SSB also inhibited development of behavioral disabilities in MCAO/reperfusion-treated rats. Exposure of cultured cortical neurons to 500 μM glutamate for 12 hr resulted in neuronal cell death. SSB (1-10 μg/mL) inhibited glutamateinduced neuronal death, elevation of intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i), and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These results suggest that the neuroprotective effect of SSB against ischemia-induced brain damage might be associated with its anti-excitotoxic activity and that SSB may have a therapeutic role for prevention of neurodegeneration in stroke.

The objective of this study was to investigate the immunomodulatory effects mixed with Weissella cibaria JW15 strain and black soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). In this experiment, JW15 was cultured in De Man Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth at 37% for 17 hr, and the cells were washed twice with sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.2). And black soybean was extracted by ethanol or hot boiling water. The immuno-modulatory effects of mixed JW15 and black soybean extract were investigated by measuring the production of nitric oxide (NO), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and cytokine (Interleukin-1β and Tumor necrosis factor-α) in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells or RAW blue cells. The 0.1 % ethanol and hot water extract of black soybean increased NO, NF-κB, and cytokine production in a concentration dependent manner. The NF-κB activation by JW15 mixed with 0.1 % hot water extract of black soybean (0.26 ± 0.02) was significantly higher than JW15 alone (0.20 ± 0.02). Also, combination of JW15 and 0.1% hot water extract of black soybean triggered IL-1β production of 110.19 ± 4.38 pg/mL, which was significantly greater than the JW15 alone (12.06 ± 7.58 pg/mL). The results of this study indicate that combination of Weissella cibaria JW15 and black soybean extract may have an ability to activate innate immune response synergistically. According to these results, the mixture of JW15 and black soybean extract could hold great promise for use in probiotics.