Kyung Hee University · Medicine
Professor Jae-Young Um's research lab specializes in molecular and translational studies focused on natural products and their therapeutic applications in metabolic and inflammatory diseases. The lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of bioactive compounds from traditional medicinal plants—such as ginseng, vanillic acid, Oldenlandia diffusa, and related phytochemicals—in modulating obesity, insulin resistance, and chronic inflammation. Key research directions include identifying genetic markers linked to obesity, elucidating the role of proinflammatory cytokines like IL-1α, and exploring the epigenetic and signaling pathways (e.g., AMPK, PPARγ, COX-2) involved in metabolic and immune regulation. The lab integrates molecular biology, genetics, and preclinical models to validate the therapeutic potential of natural compounds.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
In order to develop convenient and reproducible methods for the identification of ginseng drugs at a DNA level, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analyses were applied within Panax species. To authenticate Panax ginseng among ginseng populations, RAPD analysis was carried out using a 20 mer-random primer. The similarity coefficients among the DNA of ginseng plants analyzed were low, ranging from 0.197 to 0.491. In addition, by u
Energy expenditure is a target gaining recent interest for obesity treatment. The antiobesity effect of vanillic acid (VA), a well-known flavoring agent, was investigated in vivo and in vitro. High-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and genetically obese db/db mice showed significantly decreased body weights after VA administration. Two major adipogenic markers, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), were reduced while the key factor of
Proinflammatory cytokines secreted from adipose tissue contribute to the morbidity associated with obesity. IL-1α is one of the proinflammatory cytokines; however, it has not been clarified whether IL-1α may also cause obesity. In this study, we investigated whether polymorphisms in IL-1α contribute to human obesity. A total of 260 obese subjects were genotyped for IL-1α C-889T (rs1800587) and IL-1α G+4845T (rs17561). Analyses of genotype distributions revealed that both IL-1α polymorphisms C-88
RGE may be a useful therapeutic agent for the treatment of allergic inflammatory diseases such as AD-like dermatitis.
Oldenlandia diffusa (OD) has been used as a natural drug for the treatment of cancer in Asia and specifically in Korea. However, the antiinflammatory mechanisms employed by OD have yet to be completely understood. This study attempted to determine the effects of OD and hentriacontane, one of the constituent compounds of OD, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in mouse peritoneal macrophages. The findings of this study showed that OD inhibited the production of tumor necros
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