• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.401-418
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• 1999

Many plants and animal have long been known to have medicinal effects and therefore have been used as medicines. There are many substances that show various pharmacologic efficacy such as anti-tumor efficacy, anti-inflammatory efficacy, cholesterol-lowering efficacy, anti-coagulant of blood efficacy and anti-bacterial efficacy. I summarized the recent advances in research on physiologically functional foods. The pharmacological efficacy of dietary fiber, chitin & chitosan, DHA(docosahexaenoic acid), mushroom, alginic acid and herbs have selected as topices for discussion. I was examining the anti-coagulant activity of herbs, I discovered that Eugenia caryophyllata T. (clove) had a relatively high anti-coagulant activity.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.15-24
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• 1996

Essentiality was proposed in the field of lipid by Burr and Burr in 1929. When rats were raised on the fat-free diet, their growth retarded and their skin and tails showed the characteristic deficient symptoms, which were relieved by the addition of ${\omega}6(n-6)$ polyunsaturated fatty acids as linoleic(LA) and arachidonic(AA) acids to the basal diet. LA is dehydrogenated to ${\gamma}-linolenic$ acid(GLNA) by ${\Delta}6$ desaturase, then GLNA is 2 carbon chain elongated by elongase to $dihomo-{\gamma}-linolenic$ acid(DGLNA), which is desaturated by ${\Delta}5$ desaturase to AA. These acids are called LA family or ${\omega}6(n-6)$ polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA). ${\alpha}-Linolenic$ acid(ALNA) is converted through the series of desaturation and elongation steps to docosahexaenic acid(DHA) via eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA). These acids belong to ALNA family or ${\omega}3(n-3)$PUFA. Human who consume large amounts of EPA and DHA, which are present in fatty fish and fish oils, have increased levels of these two fatty acids in their plasma and tissue lipids at the expense of LA and AA. Alternately, vegetarians, whose intake of LA in high, have more elevated levels of LA and AA and lower levels of EPA and DHA in plasma lipids and in cell membranes than omnivores. AA and EPA are metabolized to substances called eicosanoids. Those derived form AA are known as prostanocids(prostaglandins and prostacyclins) of the 2-types and leukotrienes of the 4-series, whereas those derived from EPA are known as prostanoids of the 3-types and leukotrienes of the 5-series. DGLNA is a precursor of the 1-types of prostaglandins. The metabolites of AA and EPA have competitive functions. Ingestion of EPA from fish or fish oil replaces AA from membrane phospholipids in practically all cells. So this leads to a more physiological state characterized by the production of proatanoids and leukotrienes that have antithrombic, antichemotactic, antivasoconstrictive and antiinflammatory properties. It is evident that ${\omega}3$ fatty acids can affect a number of chronic diseases through eicosanoids alone.