• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.389-396
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• 2016

This study examined the improving effect of DFA IV obtained from bacterial fermentation on the gut health. The effects of the dietary DFA IV on the intestinal mass, short chain fatty acids production and pH were evaluated in vivo. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed the 0% (control) or 1% DFA IV supplemented diets for 3 weeks. Supplementation of DFA IV resulted in a significant increase in cecal tissue and wall weights. Together with the lowering of the cecal and colonic pH, the amount of acetate and butyrate increased by 1.6 and 3.2 fold of the control group in the cecum, respectively, in the rats fed DFA IV diets. The DFA IV diet also significantly increased the cecal lactate 1.5 fold compared to the control diet, indicating that dietary DFA IV stimulated the growth of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria in the intestine. Based on the above results, it is concluded that the dietary DFA IV may be used as a putative prebiotic supplement.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2008

Di-D-fructose-2,6':6,2'-dianhydride (DFA-IV) is a disaccharide consisting of two fructose residues that are prepared from levan by levan fructotransferase. Levan is a homopolysaccharide composed of D-fructofuranosyl residues joined by $\beta$-(2,6) and $\beta$-(2,1) linkages. We compared the immunomodulatory effects of levan with DFA-IV. Tumoricidal activity, phagocytosis and nitric oxide (NO) production were examined in levan- and DFA-IV-treated RAW264.7 cells. The NO production, tumoricidal and phagocytic activities were significantly increased in both treated cells. The results indicate that levan has significantly greater effects on tumoricidal activity than DFA-IV at low concentrations (1 ${\mu}g/mL$) and its effect on NO production shows a similar pattern. These results suggest that tumoricidal activity induced by both samples is mediated by NO production.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.263-272
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• 2004

This study was to investigate single and repeated-dose toxicities of DFA IV, a new candidate of nutraceutical which has preventive effect on anemia and osteoporosis. In single-dose oral toxicity study, the test article were administered once by gavage to rats at dose level of 0, 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg. No dead animal, abnormal sign and abnormal necropsy finding was found in control and treated groups. Thus the approximate lethal dose of DFA IV was considered to be higher than 5,000 mg/kg in rats. In four week repeated dose oral toxicity study, the test article was administered once daily by gavage to rats at dose levels of 0, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg. No abnormality was observed in mortality, clinical findings, body weight changes, food and water consumptions, opthalmoscopic findings, hematological findings, necropsy findings, organ weights and histopathological findings. In urinalysis, specific gravity was increased in 2,000 mg/kg groups of male rats. In serum biochemical analysis, creatine phosphokinase was increased in all treatment groups of male rats. These increases in urine specific gravity and serum creatine phosphokinase activity were not accompanied with related signs such as histopathological changes or clinical findings. In conclusion, four week repeated oral dose of DFA IV to rats did not cause apparent toxicological change at the dose of 500, 1,000 or 2000 mg/kg body weight. Thus it is suggested that no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of DFA IV in rats would be 2,000 mg/kg/day body weight.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.567-570
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• 2000

The condition of immobilization of the partially purified levan fructotransferase and the properties of the immobilized enzyme was investigated. Levan fructotransferase was immobilized on ${\kappa}\;-carrageenan$ beads by entrapment method. The optimal ${\kappa}\;-carrageenan$ concentration was obtained 2%(w/v) (or the matrix. At that time, immobilized enzymes(0.81 units) have relative low activity compare with soluble enzyme(7.7 units). To immobilized and soluble enzyme, optimal activity temperature and pH were measured $55^{\circ}C$, 6.0 in sodium phosphate buffer 20mM solution. If crosslinking agent was added, proper concentration was 0.5%(v/v). At $37^{\circ}C$, immobilized and soluble enzyme converted levan to oligofructose and DFA IV, and the conversion ratio was 32% and 61% at 60 hr.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.1218-1225
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• 2009

Difractose anhydrides (DFAs) is studied as a sweetener for diabetics because of its structural property. DFAs have four types: DFA I, III, IV (degradation of levan) and V (degradation of inulin). Especially, DFA IV has been shown to enhance the absorption of calcium in experiments using rats. Levan fructotransferase is an enzyme for producing di-d-fructose-2,6':6,2-dianhydride (DFA IV). To identify structural characterization, we purified wild-type and mutants (D63A, D195N and N85S) of levan fructotransferase (LFTase) from Microbacterium sp. AL-210. These proteins were purified to apparent homogeneity by Ni-NTA affinity column, Q-sepharose ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography and detected by SDS-PAGE. They were also analyzed by circular dichroism (CD) measurements, JNET secondary structure prediction, activity measurements at various temperatures, and pH analysis. The optimum pH for the enzyme-catalyzed reaction was pH 7.5 and optimum temperature was observed at $55^{\circ}C$. Along with wild-type LFTase, mutants were analyzed by CD measurement, fluorescence analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). N85S showed less $\alpha$-helix and more $\beta$ strand than others. Also, N85S showed almost the same curve as wild-type in their steady-state fluorescence spectra, whereas mutant D63A and D195N showed higher intensity than wild-type. The amino acid sequence of wild-type LFTase was compared to the sequences of exo-inulinase from Aspergillus awamori, a plant fructan 1-exohydrolase from Cichorium intybus, and Thermotogo maritime (Tm) invertase and showed a high identity with Exo-inulinase from Aspergillus awamori.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.102-108
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• 2006

The IscA gene, encoding a levansucrase of 424 amino acids (aa) residues, was cloned from the genomic DNA of Pseudomonas aurantiaca S-4380, and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant levansucrase overexpressed in E. coli was then used to produce levan from sucrose. Levan crystals with 98% purity could be obtained from the reaction mixture with $62\%$ yield using an alcohol precipitation method. The molecular weight of the levan was $7\times10^5$ daltons. Methylation studies showed that the levan was branched: main linkage C-2,6; branched linkage C-2,1; and degree of branching $6\%$. Three bacterial levans from different strains were incubated with levan fructotransferase (LFTase) from Arthrobacter ureafaciens K2032, which produced $di-\beta-D-fructofuranose$ dianhydride IV (DFA IV); final conversion yields from the levans to DFA IV were $39\%$ in Zymomonas mobilis, $53\%$ in Serratia levanicum, and $59\%$ in P. aurantiaca S-4380 levansucrase. The levan from P. aurantiaca S-4380 levansucrase gave the highest conversion yield of levan to DFAIV so far reported.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.603-609
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• 2002

DFA IV is di-D-fructose-2,6':6,2'-dianhydride, consisting of two fructose residues. It can be enzymatically synthesized from levan by levan fructotransferase, and can be used for mineral absorption. Understanding of the structure and composition of levan is important to obtain high-level production of DFA IV. A bacterial strain, Pseudomonas aurantiaca 5-4380, was identified to produce low-branched levan, and the levansucrase gene (lsch) from this bacterium was found to be composed of 1,275 Up coding for a protein of 424 amino acids, with an estimated molecular weight of 47 kDa. The bacterial levansucrase gene was expressed in Escherichia coli DH5${\alpha}$ by its own promoter and lac promoter. The recombinant levansucrase was produced in soluble form with 170U of levansucrase activity from 1-ml E. coii culture broth. The expressed enzyme from the clone showed similar biochemical properties, such as size of active levansucrase, degree of branching, and optimum temperature, with P.aurantiaca 5-4380 levansucrase.