This study investigated the inhibitory effects of sea mustard on high-fat diet-induced obesity and hyperlipidemia in Sprague-Dawley rats. Sea mustard (Undaria pinnatifida) powder, sea mustard ethanol extract, and sea mustard ethanol-extracted residue were tested. The ethanol extracted residue had the most beneficial anti-hyperlipidemic activity. Alginate in the sea mustard was considered to be the key component. The ethanol-extracted residue of sea mustard also had antioxidant activity, which may be effective in preventing hyperlipidemia by increasing the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase, which can remove active oxygen from the bloodstream.

Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) meat oil contained high amounts of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) compared to oils extracted from other tissues of the fish. EPA and DHA occupied more than 25% of the total fatty acids in chum salmon meat oil. The main lipid classes in the meat oil were triacylglycerides and phospholipids. The major fatty acids of the molecular species composition of phosphatidylcholine isolated from the meat oil were DHA and EPA. DHA and EPA were the major molecular species in the phosphatidylcholine of chum salmon meat oil, representing 44% and 17%, respectively.

In an effort to isolate a bacterium producing chondroitin sulfate (CS), a marine bacterium, KS-1, which produces mucopolysaccharides, was isolated from seawater and identified as Marinobacter sp. based on analyses of its morphological and biochemical traits and 16S rDNA sequence. Agarose-gel electrophoresis showed that the KS-1 strain produces a CS-like mucopolysaccharide. Structural analysis using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the structure of the CS-like mucopolysaccharide produced by Marinobacter sp. KS-1 is similar to that of dermatan sulfate (CS B). However, the molecular mass of the CS-like mucopolysaccharide is higher than that of standard chondroitin sulfates. Considering the above results, we conclude that the Marinobacter sp. KS-1 produces a CS-like mucopolysaccharide that differs somewhat from CS B in molecular mass.

Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai), mostly distributed and maricultured in southwestern coastal areas of South Korea, is recognized as an economically important species in the fishery industry. Abalone intestines are one of the by-products of abalone processing. To investigate abalone intestines as bioactive substances, abalone intestine gastrointestinal digests (AIGIDs) of various molecular weights (MWs) were prepared using in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and an ultrafiltration system, and tested for inhibitory effects against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress in macrophage cells treated with hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$). In our results, among AIGIDs, AIGID-III (MW=5-10 kDa) showed potent inhibitory activities for lipid peroxidation and free radicals. Additionally, the results clearly indicated that AIGID-III treatment could prevent cytotoxic damage of macrophages by $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress due to its potent scavenging ability against cellular ROS. These results suggest that AIGIDs may have protective and therapeutic potential for oxidative stress syndromes and immune diseases through ROS inhibition in macrophage cells.

Growth hormone (GH) is known as one of the main osmoregulators in euryhaline teleosts during seawater (SW) adaptation. Many of the physiological actions of GH are mediated through insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and the GH/IGF-I axis is associated with osmoregulation of fish during SW acclimation. However, little information is available on the response of fish IGF-II to hyperosmotic stress. Here we present the first cloned IGF-I and IGF-II cDNAs of marine medaka, Oryzias dancena, and an analysis of the molecular characteristics of the genes. The marine medaka IGF-I cDNA is 1,340 bp long with a 257-bp 5' untranslated region (UTR), a 528 bp 3' UTR, and a 555-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a propeptide of 184 amino acid (aa) residues. The full-length marine medaka IGF-II cDNA consists of a 639 bp ORF encoding 212 aa, a 109 bp 5' UTR, and a 416 bp 3' UTR. Homology comparison of the deduced aa sequences with other IGF-Is and IGF-IIs showed that these genes in marine medaka shared high structural homology with orthologs from other teleost as well as mammalian species, suggesting high conservation of IGFs throughout vertebrates. The IGF-I mRNA level increased following transfer of marine medaka from freshwater (FW) to SW, and the expression level was higher than that of the control group, which was maintained in FW. This significantly elevated IGF-I level was maintained throughout the experiment (14 days), suggesting that in marine medaka, IGF-I is deeply involved in the adaptation to abrupt salinity change. In contrast to IGF-I, the increased level of marine medaka IGF-II mRNA was only maintained for a short period, and quickly returned a level similar to that of the control group, suggesting that marine medaka IGF-II might be a gene that responds to acute stress or one that produces a supplemental protein to assist with the osmoregulatory function of IGF-I during an early phase of salinity change.

The effects of various natural antioxidant sources on oxidation of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) and fish diet during storage was determined. Juvenile fish were distributed among 18 flow-through tanks (40 fish per tank). Six experimental diets were prepared in triplicate: control (CT), antitox (AT), green tea extract (GE), fig extract (FE), Haeroc product (HP) and by-product of green tea (BG). The experimental diets were stored at two temperatures: room temperature ($26.8^{\circ}C$) for 14 days and frozen ($-30^{\circ}C$) for 16 weeks. Thirty fish were sampled from each tank at the end of the 8-week feeding trial. Whole bodies of fish were homogenized and stored in a home freezer ($-9.6^{\circ}C$) for 24 weeks. Acid values (AVs) and peroxide values (POVs) of the diets and frozen fish during storage were monitored. AVs of the experimental diets tended to increase with the storage period except for that of the HP diet at room temperature. POVs from FE, CT, and BG diets peaked at day 7 and then decreased through the remainder of the experiment. AVs of the experimental diets and fish increased with time at $-30^{\circ}C$ and $-9.6^{\circ}C$. Results of this study show that by-products of green tea and Haeroc product seem to have potential as antioxidants in fish feed to inhibit oxidation of both the feed and fish during storage.

Fecal sterols, nonylphenolic compounds (NPs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in surface water from Masan Bay and its adjacent rivers in February 2005. Concentrations of coporstanol (Cop), an indicator of fecal pollution, in surface water ranged from <10 to 13,853 ng/L, and concentrations of nonylphenol, the most toxic of the NPs, ranged from 10.2 to 481 ng/L, and concentrations of PAHs ranged from 8.61 to 223 ng/L. The concentrations of the compounds measured in this study were lower than or comparable to those at other locations in Korea and other countries. The contamination of Cop and PAHs in surface water was associated with the discharge from rivers passing through cities and/or industrial complexes. The NP contamination was associated with wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents through outfalls as well as riverine discharge. Compared to ecotoxicological values, the concentrations of NPs from rivers, the mouths of rivers, and WWTP outfall areas exceeded guidelines, suggesting that hot spot areas may pose a potential risk to sensitive species.

The quality of marine sediments from the industrialized coastal areas of Korea (Ulsan Bay, Masan Bay, and artificial Lake Shihwa) was investigated using a bacterial bioluminescence toxicity test. Sediment toxicity results were compared with the levels of chemical contamination (trace metals, organic wastewater markers, acid volatile sulfides, total organic carbon). Effective concentration 50% (EC50) of sediments ranged from 0.014 to 1.126 mg/mL, which is comparable to or lower than values in contaminated lakes, rivers, and marine sediments of other countries. Sediment reference index (SRI) ranged from 13 to 1044, based on the EC50 of the negative control sample. Mean average SRI values in Masan Bay and Lake Shihwa were approximately 8 and 9 times as high as that in Ulsan Bay, indicating higher sediment toxicity and greater contamination in the two former regions. Sediment toxicity were strongly associated with the concentrations of some chemicals, suggesting that this test may be useful for determining potential chemical contamination in sediments.

Length-weight relationships were estimated for 19 fish species in sargassum beds of Gamak Bay: Aulichthys japonicus, Pseudoblennius cottoides, Pseudoblennius percoides, Ditrema temmincki, Acanthogobius lactipes, Chaenogobius heptacanthus, Cryptocentrus filifer, Pterogobius elapoides, Pterogobius zonoleucus, Hyporhamphus sajori, Hexagrammos agrammus, Rudarius ercodes, Lateolabrax japonicus, Pholis crassispina, Pholis nebulosa, Scomber japonicus, Sebastes inermis, Ernogrammus hexagrammus, and Takifugu niphobles. Samples were caught by surrounding net at depths of <7 m between November 2007 and June 2008. The most abundant families were Gobiidae (26.3%), Cottidae (10.5%), and Pholididae (10.5%). Estimates for parameter b of the length-weight relationship (W=$aL^b$) ranged between 2.491 and 3.354.

This is the first report of Snyderina yamanokami, from the subfamily Tetraroginae of the family Scorpaenidae, collected in Korea. The specimen (175.3 mm long) was caught in the coastal waters of Jeju Island on a commercial longline hook on 9 September 2009. This species is characterized by the following morphological traits: 9-11 dorsal fin rays, 5-6 anal fin rays, 13-15 pectoral fin rays, 5 ventral fin rays, pectoral fin tip reaching or extending past the origin of the anal fin, palatines toothless, and four dark spots on the middle of the body. We suggest a new Korean name, "Keun-mi-yeok-chi," for S. yamanokami.