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KR-20260063114-A - A composition for reinforcing immune function comprising Jeju freshwater G. vermiculophylla extract

KR20260063114AKR 20260063114 AKR20260063114 AKR 20260063114AKR-20260063114-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an immune-enhancing composition comprising a Gracilaria extract as an active ingredient, and a method for enhancing immunity using said composition.

Inventors

  • 현은숙
  • 김기옥

Assignees

  • 현은숙

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241030

Claims (12)

  1. An immune-enhancing composition comprising an extract of Gracilaria vermiculophylla as an active ingredient.
  2. An immune-enhancing composition according to claim 1, wherein the above-mentioned Gracilaria extract exhibits the ability to promote the production of IL-6, TNF-α, or NO in macrophages.
  3. An immune-enhancing composition according to claim 1, wherein the above-mentioned Gracilaria extract exhibits INOS or COX-2 promoting ability in macrophages.
  4. An immune-enhancing composition according to claim 1, wherein the extract is obtained by extracting with one or more solvents selected from the group consisting of water, alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and mixed solvents thereof.
  5. An immune-enhancing food composition containing *G. vermiculophylla * extract as an active ingredient.
  6. An immune-enhancing pharmaceutical composition comprising an extract of Gracilaria vermiculophylla as an active ingredient.
  7. A pharmaceutical composition for immune enhancement according to claim 6, wherein the composition further comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, excipient, or diluent.
  8. A pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of immune diseases comprising an extract of Gracilaria vermiculophylla as an active ingredient.
  9. A pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of immune diseases, wherein, in claim 8, the immune disease is an autoimmune disease, a viral infection disease, or an inflammatory disease.
  10. A method for enhancing immunity comprising the step of administering a pharmaceutical composition of any one of claims 6 to 7 to an individual other than a human.
  11. An immune-enhancing adjuvant containing *G. vermiculophylla * extract as an active ingredient.
  12. Immunostimulating feed composition containing *G. vermiculophylla * extract as an active ingredient.

Description

A composition for reinforcing immune function comprising Jeju freshwater G. vermiculophylla extract as an active ingredient The present invention relates to an immune-enhancing composition comprising an extract of Jeju freshwater Gracilaria as an active ingredient, and a method for enhancing immunity using said composition. Immunological modulation is a comprehensive term encompassing the action of adjusting changes in the body's normal immune function—which are caused by environmental pollutants, side effects of pharmaceuticals, diseases, and aging—to restore it to normal or mitigate such changes. It is generally classified into immunosuppressive action, which is a regulatory action that suppresses an undesirably increased immune response, and immunostimulatory action, which is a regulatory action that increases a decreased immune response. Among these, immunostimulation is one of the important therapeutic strategies for reinforcing the body's defense mechanisms against various diseases, such as cancer and inflammatory diseases, and can achieve an immunostimulating effect by stimulating the immune response through increased activity of immune cells. For example, macrophages play a major role in the immune response; their primary function, phagocytosis, involves absorbing microorganisms and other pyrogenic particles, and they also stimulate the immune response by secreting numerous cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-12 (IL-12), as well as cytotoxic and inflammatory substances such as nitric oxide (NO) (Wolf et al., 1994; Lee and Hong, 2011; Murray and Wynn, 2011). Therefore, increasing macrophage activity can be a means for immunostimulation. Since infections and diseases primarily occur when immune function is compromised, various studies are being conducted to enhance these immune responses through immune-boosting substances when the body's immune system function is impaired. Meanwhile, macrophages are known to be involved in host defense and the maintenance of homeostasis by participating in various host responses, including innate immunity as well as adaptive immunity, and during immune responses, IL-1β (interleukin-1 Cells are known to play an important role in the early stages of infection by producing cytokines such as IL-6 (interleukin-6) and TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) (Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2013; 57(6): 394~399). Meanwhile, the genus Gracilaria ( Gracilaria Greville, Gracilariales, Rhodophyta ) is a group of over 300 species of macroalgae, which are generally red, green, or greenish-brown with a three-phase cycle and inhabit tropical and subtropical seas. Gracilaria is important for industrial and biotechnological applications as it possesses phycocolloids, which are major sources of agar α-(1,4)-3,6-anhydro-L-galactose and β-(1,3)-D-galactose, with minimal esterification in the cell walls. Furthermore, Gracilaria contains various secondary metabolites such as agaran, lipids, steroids, mycosporin-like amino acids (MAAs), diterpenes, phenolic acids, sulfonic acids, bromophenols, heterosides, oxylipins, and xanthoproteins; some of these metabolites are biologically active, leading to extensive research in the fields of pharmaceuticals and health functional foods. Recently, there have been attempts to study various signaling pathways such as the NF-κB pathway, JAK-STAT pathway, apoptosis pathway, and Nrf-2-Keap1-ARE pathway, and research is underway to treat various diseases by suppressing oxidative stress and inflammatory responses and inducing apoptosis through secondary metabolites derived from Gracilaria. Furthermore, active efforts are being made to elucidate the mechanisms regulating anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and apoptotic responses. However, no research has yet been conducted on the immune enhancement, strengthening, or activity of Gracilaria vermiculophylla extracts derived from freshwater in Jeju. Against this backdrop, the inventors, through diligent research efforts to develop a formulation capable of safely and effectively boosting immunity, confirmed that freshwater-derived Gracilaria from Jeju can effectively boost immunity and completed the present invention. Figure 1 is a figure confirming the morphological characteristics of *G. vermiculophylla * collected in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a figure showing the results of a cytotoxicity analysis of a Gracilaria vermiculophylla extract prepared in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a figure showing the results of analyzing NO production in macrophages using a Gracilaria vermiculophylla extract prepared in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a figure showing the results of analyzing the IL-6 and TNF-α production-promoting ability of a Gracilaria vermiculophylla extract prepared in one embodiment of the present invention in macrophages. Figure 5 is a figure showing the results of analyzing the INOS and CO