• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.472-481
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• 2009

Response surface methodology (RSM) is frequently used for optimization studies. In the present work, RSM was used to determine the antimicrobial activitiesof grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) and a lactic acid mixture (LA) against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. A central composite design was used to investigate the effects of independent variables on dependent parameters. One set of antimicrobial preparations included mixtures of 1% (w/w) GFSE and 10% (w/w) LA, in which the relative proportions of component antimicrobials varied between 0 and 100%. In further experiments, the relative proportions were between 20% and 100%. Antimicrobial effects against various microorganisms were mathematically encoded for analysis. The codes are given in parentheses after the bacterial names, and were S. aureus ($Y_1$), B. cereus ($Y_2$), E. coli ($Y_3$), S. typhimurium ($Y_4$), P. fluorescens ($Y_5$), and V. parahaemolyticus ($Y_6$). The optimum antimicrobial activity of the 1% (w/w) GFSE:10% (w/w) LA mixture against each microorganism was obtained by superimposing contour plots ofantimicrobial activities on measures of response obtained under various conditions. The optimum rangesfor maximum antimicrobial activity of a mixture with a ratio of 1:10 (by weight) GFSE and LA were 35.73:64.27 and 56.58:43.42 (v/v), and the optimum mixture ratio was 51.70-100%. Under the tested conditions (a ratio of 1% [w/w] GFSE to 10% [w/w] LA of 40:60, and a concentration of 1% [w/w] GFSE and 10% [w/w] LA, 70% of the highest value tested), and within optimum antimicrobial activity ranges, the antimicrobial activities of the 1% (w/w) GFSE:10% (w/w) LA mixture against S. aureus ($Y_1$), B. cereus ($Y_2$), E. coli ($Y_3$), S. typhimurium ($Y_4$), P. fluorescens ($Y_5$), and V. parahaemolyticus ($Y_6$) were 24.55, 25.22, 20.20, 22.49, 23.89, and 28.04 mm, respectively. The predicted values at optimum conditions were similar to experimental values.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2019

Korean red ginseng made from steaming and drying fresh ginseng has long been used as a traditional herbal medicine due to its effects on the immune, endocrine, and central nerve systems and its anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of a formulated Korean red ginseng extract (RGE) in response to lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria. RGE inhibited LTA-induced nitric oxide (NO) secretion and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in BV-2 microglial cells, without affecting cell viability. RGE also inhibited nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) p65 and degradation of $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$. In addition, RGE increased the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in a dose-dependent manner, and the inhibitory effect of RGE on iNOS expression was abrogated by small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of HO-1. Moreover, RGE induced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factor that regulates HO-1 expression. Furthermore, the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI-3K) inhibitor and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors suppressed RGE-mediated expression of HO-1, and RGE enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), p38, and c-JUN N-terminal kinases (JNKs). These results suggested that RGE suppressed the production of NO, a proinflammatory mediator, by inducing HO-1 expression via PI-3K/Akt- and MAPK-dependent signaling in LTA-stimulated microglia. The findings indicate that RGE could be used for the treatment of neuroinflammation induced by grampositive bacteria and that it may have therapeutic potential for various neuroinflammation-associated disorders.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2019

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of pH on the mineral nutrient uptake and growth of the four Chinese chives species. The Chinese chives species used in the experiment were the cultivated species grown in the farm (cultivated Allium tuberosum) and three wild species of wild Allium tuberosum, A. thunbergii and A. senescens. The pH levels of soil medium were set to be 4.5, 6.5, and 7.5. Fresh weight(FW) of cultivated A. tuberosum was highest at all pH levels. The increase of soil pH increased the FW of the wild A. tuberosum and A. thunbergii, but no difference was noted for the A. tuberosum and A. senescens. Plant height was higher in the order of wild A. tuberosum, A. thunbergii, and cultivated A. tuberosum and A. thunbergii. Notably plant height of the wild A. tuberosum increased significantly by the pH increase. The Zn content of the wild A. tuberosum was shown to be significantly higher than that of the other species and increased with the increase of soil pH. This indicates that there is a close relationship between the plant height and Zn content in Chinese chives plant. Principal component analysis for characterizing closely related A. species using the factors of plant growth and amounts of nutrients uptake showed that the cultivated A. and wild A. tuberosum were in the $4^{th}$ quadrant of the graph which are classified as the same species, while A. senescens and thunbergii was in $1^{st}$ and $3^{rd}$ quadrant indicating different species, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.245-251
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• 2019

This study examined the effects of 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (MQ) on the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1)-induced migration of monocytes, which is an important phenomenon for the body defense and immune response. MQ is a major component extracted from Impatiens balsamina leaves, which have been used for many years in Asian medicine for the treatment of a range of diseases and pain. The cytotoxicity of MQ began to appear at a concentration of $10{\mu}M$, and approximately 50% cytotoxicity was confirmed at $100{\mu}M$. The MCP-1 induced migration of the THP-1 monocyte cell line increased after MQ treatment in a dose dependent manner and the largest increase was observed at $0.1{\mu}M$. The level of cAMP expression decreased after a treatment with $0.1{\mu}M$ MQ. The phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (Erk1/2), a key signaling protein involved in the signaling pathway of C-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), a receptor for MCP-1, was increased by the simultaneous treatment of $0.1{\mu}M$ MQ. These results show that MQ increases the MCP-1-induced migration of THP-1, decreases the level of cAMP expression, and increases the level of Erk1/2 phosphorylation.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.248-257
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• 2019

This study aimed to determine the chemical components of different cultivars (Gabjubaekmok, Sangjudungsi, and Godongsi) of persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) and the effects of maturity. The detected free sugars were fructose and glucose, and glucose levels tended to increase with maturity. Palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and stearic acid, and potassium were major components. In the amino acid component analysis, the following were usually present in the following month: glutamic acid in Gabjubaekmok in July, lysine in Sangjudungsi in August, and threonine in Godongsi in October. Vitamin C tended to increase with aging, and fruit harvested in July had the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents. In the metabolite analysis, there were significant differences among cultivars and with maturity. The major physiological compounds were analyzed using ultra performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass ($UPLC/Q-TOF/MS^2$) and were citric acid and gallic aicd. As maturity progressed, citric acid increased but gallic acid decreased.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.287-297
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• 2021

Cornus officinalis Siebold & Zucc. is traditionally used as an edible and medicinal plant in many countries in East Asia. Previous studies have shown the pharmacological potential of extracts and components of C. officinalis, but comparative analysis of the composition of the leaf, stem, and fruit extracts has been insufficient to date. In the present study, the content of active antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients was verified in different C. officinalis parts (under-ripe sansuyu, ripe sansuyu, seed, leaf, stem, and dried sansuyu). One active component, morroniside, was high in fruit (under-ripe and ripe sansuyu), while loganin was high in fruit (under-ripe sansuyu) and cornin was high in seeds. Total polyphenol contents were highest in fruit (ripe sansuyu) and flavonoids were highest in leaves. DPPH radical scavenging activity was highest in leaves, followed by seeds and then ripe sansuyu extract. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of leaf extracts of C. officinalis (LCO) was further investigated by measuring their effects on levels of nitric oxide (NO) and the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of LCO effectively decreased the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of inducible NO synthase, resulting in decreased NO production. LCO also significantly suppressed LPS-induced production and expression of IL-1β and IL-6. Taken together, the present findings suggest that C. officinalis leaves have potential as natural materials for the development of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.962-970
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• 2022

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the progressive stage of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that highly increases the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer, and there are few therapeutic options available in the clinic. Poricoic acid (PoA), a component of Poria cocos Wolf, has a wide range of pharmacological activities; however, little is known about its effects on NASH. The preventive effects of PoA on NASH were examined in vivo and in vitro by analyzing triglyceride synthesis, inflammation and fibrosis. In the high fat and methionine-choline deficient diet (HFMCD)-induced NASH mice, PoA reduced the liver weight and the levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase compared with non-treated HFMCD group. The staining with Oil Red O and hematoxylin and eosin revealed that PoA administration reduced red staining and the size of lipid droplet. qPCR analysis showed that PoA also reduced the expression of genes related to triglyceride synthesis. Further, immunostaining with CD68 and qPCR analysis revealed that PoA reduced the staining with CD68 and the expression of inflammatory genes induced by HFMCD. Moreover, PoA reduced the staining with sirius red and antibody of α-smooth muscle actin and also reduced the expression of genes related to fibrosis. The treatment of PoA to AML12 cells reduced the increase in triglyceride amount and expression of genes associated with triglyceride synthesis, inflammation and fibrosis. Taken together, our study indicate that PoA has therapeutic effect on NASH through preventing triglyceride synthesis, inflammation and fibrosis.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 2024

Songla (Usnea diffracta Vain.) is one of the lichens belonging to the genus Usnea, and pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and cardiovascular protection have been reported in previous studies, but its efficacy in skin and hair is not well known. In this study, the effect of Usnea diffracta extract (UDE) on anti-aging and dermal papilla cell proliferation was verified in vitro. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the UDE significantly reduced the expression of MMP-1 and the activity of MAPKs (ERK, p38, JNK) and AP-1 (c-Fos, c-Jun), which were increased by UVA in HDFn. In addition, the UDE significantly increased the proliferation of HFDPC and significantly increased the mRNA expression of VEGF and KGF, which are hair growth factors. Accordingly, the phosphorylation of ERK/CREB involved in hair proliferation and expression of growth factors was increased in a concentration-dependent manner. The main component represented by the main peak was separated and purified using Prep LC by concentrating the UDE, which was confirmed as diffractaic acid through NMR and Mess analysis. Isolated diffractaic acid significantly reduced the expression of MMP-1 increased by UVA in HDFn and increased the proliferation of HFDPC in a concentration-dependent manner. The result suggest that UDE proved its usability as a natural cosmetic material with anti-aging and dermal papilla cell activation effects.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.55-73
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• 2007

Festivals are an indispensable feature of cultural tourism(Formica & Uysal, 1998). Cultural tourism festivals are increasingly being used as instruments promoting tourism and boosting the regional economy. So much research related to festivals is undertaken from a variety of perspectives. Plans to revisit a particular festival have been viewed as an important research topic both in academia and the tourism industry. Therefore festivals have frequently been leveled as cultural events. Cultural tourism festivals have become a crucial component in constituting the attractiveness of tourism destinations(Prentice, 2001). As a result, a considerable number of tourist studies have been carried out in diverse cultural tourism festivals(Backman et al., 1995; Crompton & Mckay, 1997; Park, 1998; Clawson & Knetch, 1996). Much of previous literature empirically shows the close linkage between tourist satisfaction and behavioral intention in festivals. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of evaluation attributes of cultural tourism festivals on satisfaction and behavioral intention. accomplish the research objective, to find out evaluation items of cultural tourism festivals through the literature study an empirical study. Using a varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization, the research obtained four factors in the 18 evaluation attributes of cultural tourism festivals. Some empirical studies have examined the relationship between behavioral intention and actual behavior. To understand between tourist satisfaction and behavioral intention, this study suggests five hypotheses and hypothesized model. In this study, the analysis is based on primary data collected from visitors who participated in '2006 Gwangju Kimchi Festival'. In total, 700 self-administered questionnaires were distributed and 561 usable questionnaires were obtained. Respondents were presented with the 18 satisfactions item on a scale from 1(strongly disagree) to 7(strongly agree). Dimensionality and stability of the scale were evaluated by a factor analysis with varimax rotation. Four factors emerged with eigenvalues greater than 1, which explained 66.40% of the total variance and Cronbach' alpha raging from 0.876 to 0.774. And four factors named: advertisement and guides, programs, food and souvenirs, and convenient facilities. To test and estimate the hypothesized model, a two-step approach with an initial measurement model and a subsequent structural model for Structural Equation Modeling was used. The AMOS 4.0 analysis package was used to conduct the analysis. In estimating the model, the maximum likelihood procedure was used.In this study Chi-square test is used, which is the most common model goodness-of-fit test. In addition, considering the literature about the Structural Equation Modeling, this study used, besides Chi-square test, more model fit indexes to determine the tangibility of the suggested model: goodness-of-fit index(GFI) and root mean square error of approximation(RMSEA) as absolute fit indexes; normed-fit index(NFI) and non-normed-fit index(NNFI) as incremental fit indexes. The results of T-test and ANOVAs revealed significant differences(0.05 level), therefore H1(Tourist Satisfaction level should be different from Demographic traits) are supported. According to the multiple Regressions analysis and AMOS, H2(Tourist Satisfaction positively influences on revisit intention), H3(Tourist Satisfaction positively influences on word of mouth), H4(Evaluation Attributes of cultural tourism festivals influences on Tourist Satisfaction), and H5(Tourist Satisfaction positively influences on Behavioral Intention) are also supported. As the conclusion of this study are as following: First, there were differences in satisfaction levels in accordance with the demographic information of visitors. Not all visitors had the same degree of satisfaction with their cultural tourism festival experience. Therefore it is necessary to understand the satisfaction of tourists if the experiences that are provided are to meet their expectations. So, in making festival plans, the organizer should consider the demographic variables in explaining and segmenting visitors to cultural tourism festival. Second, satisfaction with attributes of evaluation cultural tourism festivals had a significant direct impact on visitors' intention to revisit such festivals and the word of mouth publicity they shared. The results indicated that visitor satisfaction is a significant antecedent of their intention to revisit such festivals. Festival organizers should strive to forge long-term relationships with the visitors. In addition, it is also necessary to understand how the intention to revisit a festival changes over time and identify the critical satisfaction factors. Third, it is confirmed that behavioral intention was enhanced by satisfaction. The strong link between satisfaction and behavioral intentions of visitors areensured by high quality advertisement and guides, programs, food and souvenirs, and convenient facilities. Thus, examining revisit intention from a time viewpoint may be of a great significance for both practical and theoretical reasons. Additionally, festival organizers should give special attention to visitor satisfaction, as satisfied visitors are more likely to return sooner. The findings of this research have several practical implications for the festivals managers. The promotion of cultural festivals should be based on the understanding of tourist satisfaction for the long- term success of tourism. And this study can help managers carry out this task in a more informed and strategic manner by examining the effects of demographic traits on the level of tourist satisfaction and the behavioral intention. In other words, differentiated marketing strategies should be stressed and executed by relevant parties. The limitations of this study are as follows; the results of this study cannot be generalized to other cultural tourism festivals because we have not explored the many different kinds of festivals. A future study should be a comparative analysis of other festivals of different visitor segments. Also, further efforts should be directed toward developing more comprehensive temporal models that can explain behavioral intentions of tourists.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.361-373
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• 2015

This study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Glycyrriza uralensis Fisher (Jecheon, Korea) extracts obtained by various extraction conditions (85% ethanol, heating temperatures and times), and to establish the optimal extraction condition of G. uralensis for the application as cosmetic ingredients. The extracts obtained under different conditions were concentrated and made in the powdered (sample-1) and were the crude extract solutions without concentration (sample-2). The antioxidant effects were determined by free radical scavenging activity ($FSC_{50}$), ROS scavenging activity ($OSC_{50}$), and cellular protective effects. Antibacterial activity was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) on human skin flora. DPPH free radical scavenging activity of sample-1 ($100{\mu}g/mL$) was 10% higher in group extracted for 6 h than 12 h, but sample-2 didn't show any significant differences. The extraction yield extracted with same temperature for 12 h was 2.6 times higher than 6 h, but total flavonoid content was 1.1 times higher. These results indicated that total flavonoid content hardly increased with increasing extraction time. Free radical scavenging activity, ROS scavenging activity and cellular protective effects were not dependent on the yield of extraction, but total flavonoid content of extraction. Antibacterial activity on three skin flora (S. aureus, B. subtilis, P. acnes)of sample-1 in different extraction conditions were evaluated on same concentration, and the group extracted at 25 and $40^{\circ}C$ showed 16 times higher than methyl paraben ($2,500{\mu}g/mL$). In conclusion, 85% ethanol extracts of G. uralensis extracted at $40^{\circ}C$ for 6 h showed the highest antioxidant and antibacterial activity. These results indicate that the extraction condition is important to be optimized by comprehensive evaluation of extraction yield with various conditions, yield of active component, and activity test with concentrations, and activity of 100% extract, for manufacturing process of products.