• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.289-294
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• 2023

Background: Artificial sweeteners are chemically synthesized substances used to add sweetness to foods. Representative substances include aspartame and acesulfame-K, which are 200 times sweeter than sugar. Recently, the IARC classified aspartame as class 2B, but Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea announced that it would maintain the current usage standards. Acesulfame-K, which has the potential to cause cancer, was excluded from the list of possible carcinogens, raising questions about its safety. According to a survey by the Consumers Union of Korea, 85% of makgeolli includes artificial sweeteners, but the content labelling is not indicated. It is necessary to accurately determine the intake of artificial sweeteners through makgeolli. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the safety of makgeolli consumption by identifying the content of artificial sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfam-K) and preservatives (sorbic acid). Methods: Twenty makgeolli samples were purchased from large supermarkets and convenience stores by referring to the sales ranking of makgeolli products distributed in South Korea and the purchase ranking from online sites. The sample was sonicated to remove alcohol and carbon dioxide. Nine mL of acetonitrile was mixed with 1 mL of the prepared sample, centrifuged, and the supernatant was filtered and analyzed using HPLC. Results: As a result of the analysis, aspartame was detected in 17 products and acesulfame-K was detected in ten. The ADI of aspartame (40 mg/kg·bw/day) is higher than the EDI based on the maximum concentration 126.5 ㎍/mL. The ADI of acesulfame-K (15 mg/kg·bw/day) is higher than the EDI based on the highest concentration of 82.96 ㎍/mL. Although the health risk is low, IARC has raised the possibility of aspartame causing carcinogenesis, so there is a need to reevaluate the standards and regulations for artificial sweeteners. Conclusions: Through this study, we aimed to determine the content of aspartame and acesulfame-K contained in makgeolli currently distributed in South Korea and the safety of exposure to the human body when consumed.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.965-972
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• 2020

Sambucus sieboldiana var. miquelii (Nakai) Hara is distributed in Korea, China, and Japan, and has been used as an anti-rheumatic in folk medicine in oriental countries. The present study aims to investigate the potential use of this species in health functional foods, cosmetics, and food preservatives. Methanol extracts of leaves and branches from this plant were prepared to quantitatively analyze the total phenol and flavonoid contents, and to investigate the antioxidative and enzyme inhibitory activities, and the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production activity. The results showed that the total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of the crude extract were 1.52±0.1 mg/g and 1.73±0.1 mg/g, respectively. S. sieboldiana polyphenols exhibited potent scavenging activity shown by 2, 2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay and 2, 2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation assay. The crude extract also exhibited significant α-glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values of 183.5 ㎍/ml and 323.9 ㎍/ ml, respectively. Additionally, the crude extract exhibited strong anti-inflammatory activity determined through the nitric oxide inhibition assay in a dose-dependent manner with an IC₅₀ value of 36.7 ㎍/ml and no cytotoxic effect on the macrophages. Therefore, we demonstrated that the leaves and branches of S. sieboldiana extract possess antioxidant, anti-diabetic, depigmentation potential, and NO production inhibitory activities. According to recent research, S. sieboldiana has great potential as a source of the bioactive compound which could be used as food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical agents.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.8-17
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• 2004

Antifungal, antibacterial, and antioxidative activities of ethanol extracts from 65 families 263 species were investigated to select tree species for the utilization of natural fungicide or preservative resources. The antifungal activities of extracts from wood, leaf and bark were measured as hyphal growth inhibition rate using four plant pathogenic and five wood rotting fungi. High inhibitory effect on the fungi growth was found in five species of Pinaceae (Pinus koraiensis, P. rigida, P. densiflora, P. banksiana. Cedrus deodara), three species of Cupressaceae (Juniperus rigida, J. chinensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa) and three species of Leguminosae (Albizzia julibrisssin, Sophora japonica, Maackia amurensis), respectively. Antibacterial activities of ethanol extracts were determined by means of disc-agar plate diffusion method using three gram-positive and five gram-negative bacteria. The ethanol extracts, which showed prominent effect on the suppression of bacteria growth, were six species of Betulaceae (Carpinus tschonoskii, C. coreana, C. laxiflora, Alnus hirsuta, A. firma, Betula schmidtii), five species of Fagaceae (Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii, Quercus serrata, Q. mongolica, Q aliena, C crenata), four species of Euphorbiaceae (Aleurites fordii, Sapium sebiferum, S japonicum Mallotus japonicus) and three species of Elaeagnaceae (Elaeagnus umbellata, Elaeagnus glanbra, Elaeagnus macrophylla). According to these results, the extracts from Zelkova serrata, Pinus densiflora, Maackia amurensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa and Juniperus chinensis could be available for natural fungicide or food preservatives, because ethanol extracts from these species indicated excellent antifungal and antibacterial activities. In order to test antioxidative activities of ethanol extracts, free radical scavenging method was adopted with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrohydrazyl (DPPH). Free radical scavenging activity was proved very high in the extracts of eight species of Rosaceae (Eriobotrya japonica, Prunus takesimensis, P yedoensis, P padus, P armeniaca var. ansu, Chaenomeles sinensis, Stephanandra incisa, Rosa multiflora) and five species of Ericaceae (Rhododenron mucronulatum, R. scblippenbacbii, R. yedoense var. poukhanense, Vaccinium bracteatum, V oldbami), resvectively. It turned out from this study that only six species among 48 species of Rosaceae showed less than 80% free radical scavenging activity. As a consequences, it could be deduced that the components effective on antioxidative activity commonly exist in Rosaceae plant family.