• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.49-56
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• 2011

To investigate the toxicological effects of ${\beta}$-glucan, we performed basic studying on ${\beta}$-glucan in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Standard endpoints in this study included mortality, clinical observations, changes of body weights, analysis on food consumption, ophthalmoscopic examination, hematologic examination, serum biochemistry, analysis of organ weights, gross anatomic pathology and histopathology. No clinical signs and mortality were observed in animals treated with beta-glucan throughout the experimental period. The average body weight of each treatment groups showed similar levels at end of experiment. There were no treatment-related changes in mortality, body weights changes, food consumption, ophthalmoscopic examination. Although there were statistically significant differences between the control and treated groups in some relative and absolute organ weights, and hematological and biochemical analysis, the data were in biologically normal ranges and did not show a dose-dependent manner. In the morphological change, hepatic tissue were not showed ballooning degeneration and irregular arrangement of hepatic cell in ${\beta}$-glucan treatment groups with control group. Also, organs weights (liver, heart, kidney and stomach) and hematological indices (WBC, RBC, Hb, Hct and Platelet) did not show statistically significant differences among the experimental groups. In summary of these results, there were no changes in mortality, mean body weight, clinical signs, food consumption. There were no changes in ophthalmological examination, hematology, blood chemistry, necropsy and histopathology. In conclusion, although further investigation of glucan should be performed in the functions registered in many ancient literatures, ${\beta}$-glucan is physiologically safe and may have potential as candidate food for human health.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.245-265
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• 2004

This study was to compare the geological occurrences and geneses of the Myogi, Tsukinuno, Dobuyama and Kawasaki bentonite deposits distributed in the Tertiary sedimentary basins of NE Japan, and to compare the mineralogical and physicochemical properties of their bentonites. The Japanese bentonite deposits are mainly distributed in the Green-tuff region which was formed in Neogene. The shape of ore body of the Myogi, Tsukinuno and Kawasaki deposits formed by the diagenesis are layered and stratiform. In contrast to this, the Dobuyama deposit formed by hydrothermal alteration shows the cone shape. The mineralization age of four deposits are 1.8 ～ 21 Ha from Early Miocene to Pliocene. The Dobuyama bentonite with the highest montmorillonite content shows the highest surface area, CEC, MB adsorption, and strengths. The Tsukinuno bentonite with a little high montmorillonite content is characterized by strong alkalinity, high viscosity and swelling. The Kawasaki bentonite, the Na-Ca mixed type, shows higher viscosity and swelling than the Ca-type Dobuyama bentonite. The Myogi bentonite with the lowest montmorillonite content shows the properties of low viscosity, In adsorption, strengths and a little high CEC and surface area. The high CEC and surface area of this deposit is due to the sufficient occurrence of zeolite. A strong dispersion in the Na-type bentonite and a strong flocculation in the Ca-type bentonite took place, and both the types show a slow flocculation with time. The physicochemical properties of the bentonite are mainly controlled by the montmorillonite content, interlayer cations, and impurity minerals such as zeolite. But bentonites inconsistent to this factors are sometimes occurred. This is maybe due to the crystal chemistry such as layer charge of montmorillonite and crystal morphology of montmorillonite such as aspect ratio.