• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 2022

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) are typical opportunistic pathogens. Moreover, these bacteria are known to possess multidrug-resistant (MDR) properties. This study investigates the antimicrobial activity of six fermented products, which have varying efficacies against P. aeruginosa, E. coli, and S. aureus. To identify novel candidate genes, differential expression analysis was performed using an annealing control primer. In the disk diffusion method, Fig vinegar (FV) and Diospyros kaki Thunb vinegar (DTV) showed the greatest increase in inhibition compared to other fermented products, whereas fermented Korean traditional nature herb (FKTNH) had no antibacterial effect. This study identified down-regulation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 ompW gene for outer membrane protein W, whereas gene for synthetic construct Lao1 gene for L-amino acid oxidase were up-regulated in E. coli treated with 5% FV. Consuming fermented vinegar helps prevent bacterial infections. Especially, FV and DTV are potentially useful alternative natural products for multidrug resistance. Furthermore, both are expected to be used as effective natural antimicrobial agents, such as disinfectants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.816-823
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• 2022

The rapid spread of superbugs leads to the escalation of infectious diseases, which threatens public health. Endolysins derived from bacteriophages are spotlighted as promising alternative antibiotics against multi-drug resistant bacteria. In this study, we isolated and characterized the novel Salmonella typhimurium phage PBST08. Bioinformatics analysis of the PBST08 genome revealed putative endolysin ST01 with a lysozyme-like domain. Since the lytic activity of the purified ST01 was minor, probably owing to the outer membrane, which blocks accessibility to peptidoglycan, antimicrobial peptide cecropin A (CecA) was fused to the N-terminus of ST01 to disrupt the outer membrane. The resulting CecA::ST01 has been shown to have increased bactericidal activity against gram-negative pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter cloacae and the most affected target was A. baumannii. In the presence of 0.25 µM CecA::ST01, A. baumannii ATCC 17978 strain was completely killed and CCARM 12026 strain was wiped out by 0.5 µM CecA::ST01, which is a clinical isolate of A. baumannii and resistant to multiple drugs including carbapenem. Moreover, the larvae of Galleria mellonella could be rescued up to 58% or 49% by the administration of CecA::ST01 upon infection by A. baumannii 17978 or CCARM 12026 strain. Finally, the antibacterial activity of CecA::ST01 was verified using 31 strains of five gram-negative pathogens by evaluation of minimal inhibitory concentration. Thus, the results indicate that a fusion of antimicrobial peptide to endolysin can enhance antibacterial activity and the spectrum of endolysin where multi-drug resistant gram-negative pathogens can be efficiently controlled.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.213-225
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• 2022

Schisandra chinensis is widely known to regulate fatigue recovery, lowering blood pressure, and contains several bioactive compounds such as schizadran. In this study, we obtained basic data for the development of health food by measuring the schizandrin content, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial activity, and enzyme activity of the hot water extract (SCW) and 40% ethanol extract (SCE) of S. chinensis grown in Sunchang-gun, Korea. Schizandrin content was measured as 7.87 ± 0.01 mg/g for SCW and 10.38 ± 0.05 mg/g for SCE. SCE had higher DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity than SCW, and the total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were also higher. Both SCW and SCE (500 ㎍/mL) exhibited more than 55% protective effects against oxidative stress in HepG2 cell lines. Anti-inflammatory efficacy was assessed using RAW 264.7 and Caco-2 cells and both SCW and SCE do not have cytotoxic effects. Anti-inflammatory results showed concentration-dependent NO activity and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) inhibition. The antibacterial activity increased with increasing dose concentrations of SCW and SCE, and the MIC was 25 mg/mL for L. monocytogenes, S. typhimurium, and 75 mg/mL for H. pylori. In addition, amylase and protease enzyme activity was observed in both SCW and SCE.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.355-366
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• 2023

Biological corrosion, a crucial aspect of metal degradation, has received limited attention despite its significance. It involves the deterioration of metals due to corrosion processes influenced by living organisms, including bacteria. Soil represents a substantial threat to pipeline corrosion as it contains chemical and microbial factors that cause severe damage to water, oil, and gas transmission projects. To combat fouling and corrosion, corrosion inhibitors are commonly used; however, their production often involves expensive and hazardous chemicals. Consequently, researchers are exploring natural and eco-friendly alternatives, specifically nano-sized products, as potent corrosion inhibitors. This study aims to environmentally synthesize silver nanoparticles using an extract from Lagoecia cuminoides L and evaluate their effectiveness in preventing biological corrosion of buried pipes in soil. The optimal experimental conditions were determined as follows: a volume of 4 ml for the extract, a volume of 4 ml for silver nitrate (AgNO3), pH 9, a duration of 60 minutes, and a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Analysis using transmission electron microscopy confirmed the formation of nanoparticles with an average size of approximately 28 nm, while X-ray diffraction patterns exhibited suitable peak intensities. By employing the Scherer equation, the average particle size was estimated to be around 30 nm. Furthermore, antibacterial studies revealed the potent antibacterial activity of the synthesized silver nanoparticles against both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. This property effectively mitigates the biological corrosion caused by bacteria in steel pipes buried in soil.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.146-164
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• 2024

Owing to the residual toxicity and adverse health effects of chemical preservatives, there is an increasing demand for using natural preservatives in food. Although many natural extracts have been evaluated, research on their antibacterial effects remains insufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the possibility of developing Psidium guajava, Ecklonia cava, and Paeonia japonica (Makino) Miyabe & Takeda extracts as natural food preservatives. Further, the effect of mixing these extracts on microbial growth and quality was evaluated during the refrigeration of sausages. Optimal mixing ratios were determined based on the minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of each mixed extract against the Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli. D-optimal mixing design optimization tool was further used to obtain an optimum mixing ratio of Formulation 1 (F1). The antibacterial activity of F1 increased with increasing concentration, with similar activities at 0.5% and 1%. The sausages with synthetic or natural preservatives showed significantly lower lipid oxidation than those of the control and grapefruit extract-treated sausages after 4 wk of refrigeration. Total plate counts were observed only in the control and treatment groups stored for 3 wk, and no significant effect of ascorbic acid was observed. Compared to the other samples, sausages with added natural extracts showed the highest overall acceptability scores initially and after 4 wk. Therefore, similar amounts of grapefruit seed and natural extracts had the same effect on microbiological analysis and lipid rancidity during sausage storage. Hence, this mixture can serve as a potential natural preservative in meat products.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.129-136
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• 2024

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) growth in processed meat products produces slime. In this study, 10 different biofilm-forming LAB, including Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Levilactobacillus brevis, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Leuconostoc citreum, Weissella viridescens, and Latilactobacillus sakei, were isolated from various meat products and identified based on 16S rRNA gene analysis. To inhibit biofilm formation by LABs, Eisenia bicycles methanolic extract (EB) and ethyl acetate soluble fraction (EA) were used as antibacterial and antibiofilm agents, respectively. Furthermore, EA and EB were employed to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) such as EB-AuNPs and EA-AuNPs, which could serve as antibiofilm agents against the isolated LAB. These findings demonstrate that EA, EB-AuNPs, and EA-AuNPs exhibit significant antibacterial activity against the isolated LAB. Furthermore, EB-AuNPs reduced L. citreum biofilm production, whereas EA-AuNPs inhibited L. mesenteroides and L. brevis biofilm formation. The current results suggest that EB-AuNPs and EA-AuNPs can be used as nanomaterials to inhibit LAB that form biofilms on meat products.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 2007

8-Hydroxyquinoline is used as antibacterial agent and antioxidant based on its function inducing the chelation of ferrous ion present in host resulting in production of chelated complex. This complex being transported to cell membrane of bacteria and fungi exerts antibacterial and antifungal action. In this study, we have carried out in vitro genetic toxicity tests and microarray analysis to understand the underlying mechanisms and the mode of action of toxicity of 8-hydroxyquinoline. TA1535 and TA98 cells were treated with 8-hydroxyquinoline to test its toxicity by basic genetic toxicity test, Ames and two new in vitro micronucleus and COMET assays were applied using CHO cells and L5178Y cells, respectively. In addition, microarray analysis of differentially expressed genes in L5178Y cells in response to 8-hydroxyquinoline were analyzed using Affymatrix genechip. The result of Ames test was that 8-hydroxyquinoline treatment increased the mutations in base substitution strain TA1535 and likewise, 8-hydroxyquinoline also increased mutations in frame shift TA98. 8-Hydroxyquinoline increased micronuclei in CHO cells and DNA damage in L5178Y. 8-Hdroxyquinoline resulted in positive response in all three tests showing its ability to induce not only mutation but also DNA damage. 783 Genes were initially selected as differentially expressed genes in response to 8-hydroxyquinoline by microarray analysis and 34 genes among them were over 4 times of log fold changed. These 34 genes could be candidate biomarkers of genetic toxic action of 8-hydroxyquinoline related to induction of mutation and/or induction of micronuclei and DNA damage. Further confirmation of these candidate markers related to their biological function will be useful to understand the detailed mode of action of 8-hydroxyquinoline.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.116-131
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• 2022

This study used text mining to analyze big data to understand consumers' demand for and perceptions of fashion masks. Based on the text-mining analysis results, a survey was conducted with those living in Korea to investigate the influence of consumers' mask selection criteria on mask brand awareness and purchase intention for fashion masks. "Fashion mask" and "functional mask" were used as the keywords in a text-mining analysis, and an online survey of 242 respondents was conducted. The analysis results were as follows: First, the text-mining analysis extracted commonly appearing words that had a high frequency and TF-IDF, such as "COVID-19," "fashion," "celebrity," "antibacterial," and "filter." This confirmed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have demanded masks that are both functional and fashionable. Second, among consumers' mask selection criteria, trend and design had positive effects on face-mask brand awareness. Third, face-mask brand awareness had a positive effect on the purchase intention for both brand and fashion masks, and the purchase intention for brand masks had a positive effect on the purchase intention for fashion masks.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.211-218
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• 2014

Polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) are a group of polymethoxylated bioactive flavones with diverse biological activities, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral activities. PMFs are found from various plants such as orange, tangerine, and krachaidum. To establish the simple quantitative analytical methods for PMFs, chromatographic analysis was applied to the selected krachaidum foods because krachaidum contains diverse PMFs compared to other PMF-containing foods. Krachaidum is the rhizome of Kaempferia parviflora, and many commercial krachaidum products, such as tea, juice and wine, are commercially available and consumed as health functional foods in Asian countries. Apart from the claimed health promoting benefits, reliable quality assurance and legal guideline for the registration of these products are not available yet. Twelve PMFs were analyzed from the commercial krachaidum foods by GC-FID and HPLC-DAD. No single chromatographic method could not analyze 12 PMFs simultaneously. HPLC-DAD method was found more sensitive to detect PMFs. Based on our analysis data, we proposed 5,7-dimethoxyflaone and 5,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone as index components for the food products.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2015

Some virulence proteins of Helicobacter pylori, such as vacuolating cytotoxic protein A (VacA) and cytotoxin-associated gene protein A (CagA) have been reported to be causative agents of various gastric diseases including chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer or gastric adenocarcinoma. The expression level of these virulence proteins can be regulated when H. pylori is exposed to the antibacterial agent, cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) as previously reported. In this study, we analyzed the quantitative change of various virulence proteins including CagA and VacA by C3G treatment. We used 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) to analyze the quantitative change of representative ten proteome components of H. pylori 60190 ($VacA^+/CagA^+$; standard strain of Eastern type). After 2-DE analysis, spot intensities were analyzed using ImageMaster$^{TM}$ 2-DE Platinum software then each spot was identified using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) or peptide sequencing using Finnigan LCQ ion trap mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). Next, we selected major virulence proteins of H. pylori among quantitatively meaningful ten spots and confirmed the 2-DE results by Western blot analysis. These results suggest that cyanidin 3-O-glucoside can modulate a variety of H. pylori pathogenic determinants.