The Effects of Korean Traditional Medicine Mixture on Cytokine Level, Food Intake and Nutrition Metabolism of the Cachexia Induced-Mice

Cancer cachexia, characterized by weight loss and progressive tissue wasting, has been postulated to be mediated by cytokines. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Korean Traditional Medicine (KTM ; mokhyang, jisil, osooyu) mixture on food intake, blood cytokines level and blood nutrients status of the cachexia induced-mice. Thirty male Balb/c mice aged 6-8 weets were blocked into 3 groups that were Normal (no colon26 cells) Control (colon 26 cells) and KTM (colon26 cells + KTM extract mixture) group. In Control and KTM groups, murine adenocarcinoma colon 26 cells were injected subcutaneously to induce cachexia. KTM mice were given 200 ul KTM extract mixture (7%) per day. Half of each groups were sacrificed at the 14 th day to see serum cytokines & nutrients and the others were fed until almost of control group died to see life span. food intake and body weight were decreased significantly in cachexia induced groups. Tumor weight of KTM group was significantly lower than control group. Serum cytokines (IL-1beta and TNF-alpha) level of cachexia induced groups were increased than those of normal group, and those of KTM group were significantly lower than the level of control group. Total serum protein and serum albumin were higher in KTM group than other groups. TG and fatty acid were lower in cachexia induced groups than normal group. HDL-cholesterol in serum was increased in KTM group. Effect of oral administration of KTM extract mixture on survival time of colon26 bearing mice showed extension of the life span. Overall, this study showed that KTM (mokhyang, jisil, osooyu) extract mixture inhibited the growth of cancer cell, changed the secretion of cytokines induced by colon26 adenocarcinoma in mice, and changed nutrition metabolism.

The Effects of Nutrition Counseling on Food Intakes and Bloodlipids in Cardiac Patients / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether nutrition counseling and exercise could be beneficial to patients with acquired cardiac disease (ACD). Twenty-five ACD patients participated in this program, which was based on guidelines for serum lipid management. To measure the effects of the nutrition counseling and exercise education, outpatients with ACD were selected and randomly assigned to three groups which were a control group, a diet only group and a diet and exercise group. Nine diet only group patients and nine diet and exercise group patients received nutrition counseling or nutrition counseling and exercise education every other week. Patients who served as a non counseled control group did not receive any counseling during the same study period. Various markers of disease risk, including lifestyle, anthropometric indices, eating behaviors, and serum lipid levels were measured before and after the program. The program lasted up to 12 weeks, depending on the individuals involved. Database management and statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 7.5 software. As a result, BMI and %IBW showed decreased trends in the diet only and the diet and exercise group. Food habit scores were significantly increased in the diet only group and the frequency of saturated fatty acid, dietary cholesterol, salty food and instant food intake were decreased in the diet only group. Comparisons of the daily nutrient intakes of the groups showed their total calorie, carbohydrate and protein intake had decreased significantly, and also the total fat and dietary cholesterol intake had decreased in the nutrition counseling group. The serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol decreased after 12 weeks in the nutrition counseling group. The diet and exercise group showed less interest in diet control than the diet only group. These results show that a well-planned nutrition counseling program would reduce the risks of ACD and cardiovascular disease and help to care such diseases.

A Study on Infant Feeding and Weaning Practice in Taejon / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to investigate the weaning practice of 198 infants in Taejon city in October, 1998. Information on infant feeding and weaning practices were obtained by interviewing mothers in gynecologist and pediatric clinics located in Taejon. The results obtained were as follows : In the survey 37.4% of the infants were breast-feeding, while 31.3% of them were bottle-feeding and 29.3% of them were mixed-feeding. The reason for bottled-feeding was due either to the lack of breast-milk secretion or motner's job. The educational level of the mother and maternal job affected the feeding methods before weaning. Lower rates of breast-feeding were found among mothers witn a lover level of education. The breast-feeding rate was lower in full-time and part-time job worker groups than in housewife. There was no significant difference in the feeding methods according to family income. Among the subjects, 71.5% of infants began to be weaned within 7 months. The onset of weaning was delayed in the full-time worker group. There was no significant difference in the onset time of weaning according to feeding method, the educational level of the mother, and family income. 60.6% of infants received fruit juice and 29.6% of them received cereals for first-given-supplementary food. 'For baby's nutritional status' was the most common motivation for the onset of weaning. Commercially prepared foods were used more than home-made food for supplementary food.