• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.147-152
• /
• 2000

The rodent uterotrophic assay is currently recommended as one of the primary in vivo assays far endocrine disrupting chemicals by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (US EPA EDSTAC). Generally, this assay relies on the rapid increase in uterus and vagina weights when exposed to estrogenic compounds. Phthalate esters have been used extensively as a plasticizer in the manufacture of plastic products such as PVC films and medical devices. Recently, phthalate esters have been shown to induce endocrine system mediated responses. However, a flew studies have been conducted for the screening of their estrogenic activity. In this study the estrogenic activity of seven phthalate esters, butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-butylphthalate (DBP), diethylphthalate (DEP), di-n-pentylphthalate (DPF), di-n-propylphthalate (DPrP) and dicyclohexylphthalate (DCHP), was examined in uterotrophic assay. Phthalate esters dissolved in corn oil were administered to ovariectomized (OVX) female Sprague-Dawley rats by sub-cutaneous injection for three consecutive days. fiats were sacrificed 24h after final treatment, and then uterus and vagina weights were deter mined. All phthalate esters tested in this assay did not change talc uterus and vagina weights at dosage levels up to 200 mg/kg/day treatment. These results demonstrated that phthalate esters did not exhibit estrogenic activity in vivo uterotrophic assay.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.255-263
• /
• 2012

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a group of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which are used in a variety of consumer products. Several of those are produced in large quantities. Their chemical structure similarities to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as their toxicity, has been studied. PBDEs are persistent and lipophilic, which results in their bioaccumulation in the fatty tissues of organisms and enrichment throughout food chains. In addition, a number of studies also reported high levels of PBDEs in animals and food resulting from the use of contaminated animal feed Public concern about PBDEs levels in animals and food has been raised. Feed contamination by toxic chemicals has been the cause of the contamination of poultry products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate PBDEs in pig feed to search the origin chase of POPs in pigs. Feed samples were obtained wheat from East Europe, corn from South America and America, soybean meal from Korea, America, South America and India and tallow from Korea. The preparation of samples was based on the EPA method 1614. Instrumental analysis was based on the use of high resolution gas chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Quantification was carried out by the isotopic dilution method. The analysis of ${\Sigma}PBDEs$ involved 22 PBDE congeners, including BDE-17, 28, 47, 49, 66, 71, 77, 85, 99, 100, 119, 126, 138, 153, 154, 156, 183, 184, 190, 191, 196 and 197.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2003

New breeding method by genetic engineering is expected as a key technology to solve food shortage due to the growing world population in the year 2000s. Many genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were already developed and the commercial cultivation had started. The first GMO, Flavr Savr tomato, which rotted at a much slower pace than ordinary ones, was developed in US in 1994. Since then, over than 70 different agricultural products including corn, cotton, soybean, papaya, potato, and squash made with genetically modified plants are reportedly on sale worldwide. Supporters favor the GMOs because they have greater yields, longer shelf lives and stronger resistance to disease and insects. On the other hand, opponents say that the supporters ignore a potential danger that they may damage the environment as well as human beings. To assure the safe development and use of GMOs as food and other biotech products, the possible risks on biological environment and human health should be throughly examined and regulated by developer and government. Because the biosafety problem is a global, environmental, and trade issue, a new international treaty is under development. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was adopted at the 1 st Extraordinary Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity which was held at Mont-real, Canada, Jan. 29th, 2000. The adoption of the Protocol is seen as a breakthrough in that it is based on the" Precautionary Principle" despite scientific uncertainties surrounding potential risks that GMOs may inflict on human health and the environment and that it has laid the ground for introduction of specific steps to handle international trading of GMOs. In this paper, the authors would like to introduce the current status and perspective of environmental and human risk assessment of GMOs.t of GMOs.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.107-114
• /
• 2002

Rice straw silage added with apple pomace in different ratios were mixed with commercial concentrates and fed to Korean native goats in comparison to the corn silage mixed with the same content of commercial concentrates in whole diet as that of apple pomace added rice straw silage (rice straw : apple pomace = 100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60). Dry matter intake, digestibilities of nutrients and nitrogen retention were investigated for the possibilities of application of agricultural by-products for the diets of Korean native goats. Crude protein contents of rice straw silage added with apple pomace were 6.3~7.3% and the contents of ADF, NDF and crude ash were highest in 100% rice straw mixed ratio (A) as 39.4, 61.6 and 8.9% respectively. Those were lower in corn silage (E) as 30.3, 53.4 and 4.9% respectively, however NSC content of corn silage was highest among the experimental treatments as 31.4%. Daily dry matter intakes per head and also per metabolic basal weight (DM g/kg of $BW^{0.75}$ were significantly (p<0.05) higher in D of the highest mixed ratio of apple pomace (605.3, 69.5g) than those of corn silage (E: 394.0, 46.8g). Daily live weight changes were significantly (p<0.05) higher in 40% (C: 16.7g) and 60% (D: 22.9g) apple pomace mixed ratios than 0% (A: 0.17g) and 20% (B: 4.3g) apple pomace mixed ratios. Digestibilities of dry matter and organic matter were higher in D and E than in A and B and those of ADF and NDF were higher in D as 50.2 and 57.4% respectively than the digestibilities in A, B and E. Nitrogen retention (g, %) was highest in D of the highest mixed apple pomace ratio (1.4g, 20.4%) however lowest in A (-0.3g, -7.75%).

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.547-560
• /
• 2010

The optimum culture condition of Schizophyllum commune for the cellulase production and its enzymatic characteristics for saccharification of cellulosic biomass were analyzed. S. commune secrets ${\beta}$-1,4-xylosidase (BXL) and cellulases, including endo-${\beta}$-1,4-glucanase (EG), cellobiohydrolase (CBH), and ${\beta}$-glucosidase (BGL). The optimum reaction temperature for all cellulases was $50^{\circ}C$ and the thermostable range was $30{\sim}40^{\circ}C$C. The optimum reaction pH for all cellulases was 5.5 in a range of temperature from $0^{\circ}C$ to $55^{\circ}C$. The best nutritions for the cellulase production of S. commune among tested nutrients were 2% cellulose for the carbon source and corn steep liquor or peptone/yeast extract for the nitrogen source without vitamins. The environmental culture condition for the cellulase production was 5.5~6.0 for pH at $25{\sim}30^{\circ}C$. The enzyme activities of EG, BGL, CBH, and BXL were 3670.5, 631.9, 398.5, and 15.2 U/$m{\ell}$, respectively, after concentration forty times from the culture broth of S. commune which was grown at the optimized culture condition. Alternative filter paper unit assay showed 11 FPU/$m{\ell}$ enzyme activity. The saccharification tests using cellulase of S. commune showed the low saccharification rate on tested hardwoods but a high value of 50.5% on cellulose, respectively. The saccharification rate (50.5%) of cellulose by cellulase produced in this work is higher than 45.7% in the commercial enzyme (Celluclast 1.5L, 30 FPU/g, glucan).

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.153-158
• /
• 1998

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of vitamin E supplementation on the lipid peroxidation and activities of antioxidative enzymes in the pancreas of diabetic KK mice. KK mice were fed high ft diet containing 20% corn oil(wt/wt), and sacrificed at 2 months of diabetes. A hish vitamin E diet consisted of the high fat diet supplemented with an excessive amount of 이-$\alpha$-tocopheryl acetate (2080IU/kg diet). The incidence of diabetes mellitus was 61% when mice were fed the high fat diet, but was 44% when mice were fed the high vitamin E diet, Vitamin E supplementation fhus seems to have the effect of decreasing of decreasing the onset of diaetes. In the diabetic group, we found increases of MDA (malondialdehyde) and antioxidative enzyme activities. Treatment with vitamin E did not modify the level of fasting blood glucose. However, MDA and antiosicative enzyme activities in diabetic mice were decreased by the high vitamin E diet. Increased levels of lipid peroxidation products suggests the occurrence of oxidative damage in the pancreas of diabetic mice. The increased level of antiosicative enzyme activities could be due to an adaptive response to conditions of increased peroxidative stress. Significant normalization on catalase activity was noted in vitamin E supplemented animals.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.37-44
• /
• 2011

We investigated the optimum formulation to improve the gelling ability of squid, Dosidicus gigas, surimi. The solubility of minced squid muscle was highest at pH 10.7, and lowest at pH 5.0. The yields of conventional surimi and protein recovery after alkaline pH-shift processing were $68.1{\pm}2.4%$ and $65.3{\pm}2.6%$, respectively, whereas the protein recovery with acidic pH-shift processing was only $21.2{\pm}1.6%$. The addition of 5% starch decreased the breaking force regardless of the kind of starch, while the mixture of corn, potato, and wheat starch (total 15%) increased the breaking force by up to 1.9 fold. The addition of 5% egg white, 5% porcine plasma protein, 0.3% $CaCl_2$, and 0.3% Polymix GA significantly increased the breakingforce (P<0.05). None of the ingredients examined in this study significantly affected the deformation value (P<0.05). The optimum concentrations of egg white and $CaCl_2$ to obtain a breaking force of 55 g and a whiteness of 70 were 2.69% and 0.22%, respectively.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.91-98
• /
• 1994

Planting, transplanting, and harvesting are important processes for the successful production of farm products in Korea because those require the high labor intensity during limitted period. Recently, many researches of using automatic control with a microcomputer are carried in the agricultural field, but are not much spread to the seeder development. Automatic sowing technology would be much attractive if there was a way to assure that each seed was count accurately in the seed metering device. Thus, an automatic seed metering device was designed and constructed to be controlled by microcomputer. This device could be improved in not only counting the number of seeds in but also sowing seeds between row spacings. Automatic seed metering device consisted of conveyor belt and temporary storage device. Performance of seed metering device depends on the apparatus including sensor, stepping motor and DC-solenoid. Research contents and results are summarized as follows. 1. The seed metering device involving seed hopper, sorter and temporary storage device was designed and constructed. 2. A seed counting system with six photo electric sensors, designed and built for this project, was adequate for tranferring and counting seeds accurately. 3. Operating algorithm for stepping motor and photo electric DC-solenoid was developed. The Seed metering device proved to be a smooth and accurate operating device using the algorithm. 4. The performance of second prototype metering device was examined with five kinds of seeds ; mung beans, red beans, white beans, black beans and corn to transfer and count the seeds. The error ratio of seed metering was less than 3.5%.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
• /
• v.20 no.6 s.84
• /
• pp.614-618
• /
• 2004

This study was performed to investigate the nutritional components of yanggeng prepared with different amounts of pumpkin. Three yanggeng products were made, consisting of 87 (sample A), 90 (sample B) and $93\%$ (sample C) pumpkin paste, with the addition of agar, sugar, corn syrup and salt. The amino acids, vitamin E, sugars and mineral contents of the yanggeng were also examined. With regard to the amino acids content of the pumpkin yanggeng those of glutamic and aspartic acid were the highest in all three products. The vitamin E concentration was significantly higher in sample C than those in samples A and B. The glucose and galactose contents were higher in sample C than in samples A and B, whereas the fructose and lactose contents were higher in sample A than in samples A and B. The calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium contents were higher in sample C than in the other two samples, whereas the zinc and manganese contents were higher in sample A than the other two samples. The potassium content of the pumpkin yanggeng was the highest of the tested minerals.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.422-428
• /
• 2004

Raw-starch-digesting $\alpha$-amylase (Amyl III) was purified to an electrophoretically pure state from the extract of a koji culture of Aspergillus awamori KT-11 using wheat bran in the medium. The purified Amyl III digested not only soluble starch but also raw corn starch. The major products from the raw starch using Amyl III were maltotriose and maltose, although a small amount of glucose was produced. Amyl III acted on all raw starch granules that it has been tested on. However, it was considered that the action mode of the Amyl III on starch granules was different from that of glucoamylase judging from the observation of granules under a scanning electron microscope before and after enzyme reaction, and also from the reaction products. Glucoamylase (GA I) was also isolated and it was purified to an electrophoretically pure state from the extract. It was found that the electron micrographic features of the granules after treatment with the enzymes were quite different. A synergistic effect of Amyl III and GA I was observed for the digestion of raw starch granules.