2019, Vol.19, No.1

Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.43

pISSN : 1976-9334 / eISSN : 2288-1522
https://journal.kci.go.kr/jkomor

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the preventive effects of ethanol extract of Polygalae radix (EEPR) against oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide, H2O2)-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in Chang liver cells. Methods: Chang liver cells were pretreated with various concentrations of EEPR and then challenged with 0.5 mM H2O2. The cell viability and apoptosis were assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potentials (MMPs) and adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) contents were measured. Expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax were also determined using Western blot analysis. Results: The results showed that the decreased survival rate induced by H2O2 could be attributed to the induction of DNA damage and apoptosis accompanied by the increased production of ROS, which was remarkably protected by EEPR. In addition, the loss of H2O2-induced MMPs and ATP contents was significantly attenuated in the presence of EEPR. The inhibitory effect of EEPR on H2O2-induced apoptosis was associated with up-regulation of Bcl-2 and down-regulation of Bax, thus reducing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. Conclusions: Our data prove that EEPR protects Chang liver cells against H2O2-induced DNA damage and apoptosis by scavenging ROS and thus suppressing the mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis pathway.

Objectives: Obesity is associated with a high mortality risk and impairment in health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this article is to examine the impact of weight loss on HRQOL and which questionnaires sensitively reflect weight loss effects on HRQOL. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Research Information Sharing Service, and Korean Studies Information Service System were searched for the studies related to weight loss and HRQOL, published from 2009 to 2018. A total of 28 studies were eligible for inclusion. HRQOL results after weight loss from selected studies were classified and reported according to questionnaires. Results: Twenty-two studies reported statistically significant HRQOL improvements after weight loss and especially, all of studies with weight loss of more than 5% reported HRQOL improvements. HRQOL questionnaires were classified as generic, obesity-related and depression questionnaires. The most commonly used questionnaires were Short-Form health survey 36 (SF-36), Impact of Weight on Quality Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) respectively. SF-36 had a tendency to reflect physical health. IWQOL-Lite score was tended to be changed sensitively according to weight change. Depression questionnaires including BDI reported improvement of depression while mental aspects of SF-36 not changed in same studies. Conclusions: Improvements of HRQOL were noted in studies with weight loss of more than 5%. The main questionnaires for evaluating HRQOL were SF-36, IWQOL-Lite and BDI. It is suggested to use these questionnaires together for evaluating multiple aspects of impact of weight loss on HRQOL.

Objectives: Eating self-efficacy is an important predictor of successful weight control behaviors during obesity treatment. The Weight Efficacy Life-Style Questionnaire (WEL) is an internationally used measure of eating self-efficacy. The objective of this study was to develop the Korean version of WEL (K-WEL) and verify face validity. Methods: According to previously published guidelines, the cross-cultural translation was conducted through organizing the expert committee, translation, back-translation, synthesis, grammar review, and final synthesis. Following the translation of the WEL into Korean, face validity was performed for 35 subjects. Results: After all the versions of the questionnaire were examined, the translated WEL questionnaires were finally synthesized and licensed by the developer in writing. Regarding the translated WEL questionnaires, seven out of 35 subjects (20%) offered ideas about ambiguous expressions in them. All four points indicated in the face validity verification were additionally modified for greater clarity and understanding. Conclusions: We developed the Korean version of WEL and completed face validity. In future research, it would be necessary to provide further study on the reliability and validity of the Korean version of WEL.