Effects of A. koraiensis ethanol extracts (AKE) on the corneal epithelial thickness and inflammatory cytokine expression. Dry eye (DE) was reportedly induced by scopolamine injection, and AKE was administered at 0 (control; CON which was not induced by scopolamine injection, DE), 10 (AKE 10), 50 (AKE 50), or 100 mg/kg (AKE 100). (A) Representative H and E staining images of histological sections of corneas. (B) Quantitative analysis of A. (C) Expression of inflammatory cytokines was accessed by real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) for each target gene (IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and MMP-9). β-actin was used as an internal control. Each bar represents the mean ± SD of n = 7 mice per group. ##
p < 0.01, ###
p < 0.001 versus CON; ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 versus DE. Data were analyzed statistically using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. IL-1β, interleukin 1 beta; TNF-α, Tumor necrosis factor alpha; IFN-γ, Interferon gamma; MMP-9, Matrix metallopeptidase 9.