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Yookgongdan , the prescription independently developed by Jaseng Hospital of Oriental Medicine, has been proven for its brain function activation effect in the analytic research study carried out by the neuroscience research team at UCI (University of California, Irvine). The results of this experiment were published in the October 2004 issue of INS (International Journal of Neuroscience).
Yookgongdan was prescribed to 100 patients suffering from memory loss and produced a distinct improvement in condition and outstandingly satisfactory results. At this, Jaseng Hospital of Oriental Medicine requested UCI's Neuroscience Research Team to carry out a scientific analysis on the ability of Yookgongdan to activate brain functions in April of 2001.
The title of the clinical thesis published in INS was ‘The herbal prescription Yookgongdan modulates rodent memory, ischemic damage and cortical mRNA gene expression'.
As a summary of the research, the experiment performed on animals with ischemic and memory damage indicated that Yookgongdan was outstanding in protecting cerebral nerves, which promote memory increase and recovery as well as preventing damage to brain cells. Therefore, it is anticipated that it will produce a satisfactory effect in relation to activating brain functions.
Edward H. Sharman from UCI and Dr. Seo Chang-Seok, the neuroanatomist participated in the research. As a reference, UCI is known as a Mecca for the study of alternative medicine and is being recognized for its academic authority as it is forecasted that a joint research agreement will be completed with the team of Professor Hwang U-Seok, who has become a topic of conversation in recent times for his achievement of human embryo cloning (cultivation of stem cells).
There have been instances in the past in which the effects of oriental medicinal substances have been published in international science journals. However, it is a rare achievement that a study on a ‘composite oriental medicine prescription' such as Yookgongdan , rather than on a single natural substance was carried out by a noted foreign research team with the results being published in an international science journal. Therefore, the academic achievement of Jaseng Hospital of Oriental Medicine on its unique prescription of Yookgongdan will provide a positive influence upon systemizing scientific research in the future on actual effects of composite oriental medicine prescriptions.
Rodent with Yookgongdan Application to Display Memory Increase and Recovery
According to the study paper, Yookgongdan was effective in both memory increase and recovery. This was proven in the Moriss water maze behavioral experiment using rodents. In the first experiment, normal rodents, global ischemia induced rodents (control group) and global ischemia induced rodents treated with Yookgongdan for 7 days (comparison group) were introduced. The rodents were trained to find an escape channel within the Moriss water maze for 5 days. Throughout it all, rodents of the control group displayed symptoms of a learning disorder, as they could not successfully find the escape channel. There was no such disorder detected among rodents in the comparison group. On the 6th day of the experiment, the escape channel was removed from the water maze. Then, the time taken by rodents to find the original location of the escape channel was measured. Rodents of the normal group took 10.4 sec., rodents of the control group took 20.8 sec. and rodents of the comparison group took 10.9 sec., proving the ability of Yookgongdan to increase memory.
(Left) Water maze test on normal rodent
(Center) Water maze test on global ischemia induced rodent
(Right) Water maze test on global ischemia induced rodent applied with Yookgongdan for 7 days |
In the second experiment, normal rodents, rodents injected with scopolamine to cause nerve damage (control group) and rodents of a control group applied with Yookgongdan for 7 days (comparison group) were introduced. The frequency of the rodents finding the escape channel and the time spent searching were measured and compared. The results were produced as 5.2±13.6 times for the normal group, 3.28±7.46 times for the control group and 4.7±12.9 times for the comparison group, indicating that rodents in the comparison group displayed a memory recovery rate of almost 89.7% in comparison to those in the control group. This proves that Yookgongdan is effective in reducing short-term memory loss (forgetfulness), thus achieving memory recovery.
◆ Scopolamine injected group ◀ Normal group (saline solution injected)
■ Scopolamine injected and Yookgongdan applied |
[Description of Diagram] Rodents treated with Yookgongdan reached the escape channel faster than rodents injected with scopolamine only. After 12 hours on the 6th day, the last day of the experiment, rodents treated with Yookgongdan reached the escape channel with almost the same speed as normal rodents.
[Description of Diagram] This graph indicates the number of times rodents passed through the original location of the escape channel after the experiment was completed. While the normal group displayed a result of 5.2 ± 13.6 times, the frequency was reduced to 3.28 ± 7.46 times in the scopolamine-injected group. However, the Yookgongdan treated group displayed a significant result of 4.7± 12.9 times.
Yookgongdan to Prevent Brain Cell Damage with its Cerebral Nerve Protection Effect
In addition, research was performed on the nerve protection effect of Yookgongdan . The result displayed that the pyramidal cells of hippocampus, the part of the brain in charge of learning and memory function, in the group of global ischemia induced rodents with Yookgongdan application remained mostly in normal status. That is, although some compression of nerve cells was detected, it was to a very insignificant degree. This proves that the composite oriental medicine prescription of Yookgongdan protects cerebral nerve cells damaged by ischemia, thus preventing cerebral nerve damage. This indicates that Yookgongdan can produce a significant effect in preventing cerebral nerve damage caused by stress, etc.
In the normal group, most of the nerves in CA1 pyramid cells maintain normal shape (Fig. B) . In the group of global ischemia induced rodents, the pyramid cells appear to have been weakened. Also nerve cells in CA1 have been severely damaged (Fig. C) . Fig. D shows withered nerve cells and damaged cells accompanying 글라이오시스. In Yookgongdan treated rodents, pyramidal cell damage in CA1 was significantly reduced (Fig. E&F) . There were no temperature changes indicated in ischemia-induced rodents and Yookgongdan treated rodents. Therefore, the nerve protection effect of Yookgongdan was not caused by decrease in body temperature.
[Description of Diagram] The effect of the Yookgongdan extracts was determined to be 302±7.4 cells/mm2 in the normal group. However, it was found to be 38±1.7 cells/mm2 in the control group injected with saline solution to induce loss of cells. The experimental group applied with Yookgongdan extracts of 100mg/kg displayed a result of 275±3.6 cells/mm2, indicating a significant protection effect in comparison to the result produced in the control group (p<0.05) (Fig. 6).
The Brain Function Activation Mechanism of Yookgongdan , Increase of Egr1 Protein
The important fact is that the study on mRNA manifestation standard using DNA microchips indicated significant increase in the protein of Egr1 in the brain of Yookgongdan treated rodents. This showed the cause of brain function activation by Yookgongdan . Egr1 protein either propagates or regenerates brain cells to restore brain function. As such, it has been found that as one ages, the quantity of this protein is reduced, which has a significant influence on memory loss. |
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