• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1697-1703
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• 2012

Obesity is a risk factor for numerous metabolic diseases. Recently, naturally occurring compounds that may improve obesity have received increasing attention. Xanthigen is a mixture of fucoxanthin and punicic acid derived from brown seaweed and pomegranate seed, respectively, which have been traditionally used for lipid-lowering effects in humans. In this study, we investigated whether Xanthigen attenuates high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6N mice. The mice were fed on a normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), HFD plus 1% Xanthigen or HFD plus 1% green tea extract (GTE) for 11 weeks. Food efficiency ratio (FER) and body weight were significantly reduced in mice fed HFD plus Xanthigen compared to HFD-fed mice. Consistent with the results in body weight change, Xanthigen also significantly decreased the weights of epididymal adipose tissue, retroperitoneal adipose tissue, and liver in HFD plus 1% Xanthigen-fed mice. The serum level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol was significantly decreased in HFD plus Xanthigen-fed mice compared to HFD-fed mice. These results suggest that Xanthigen may be useful in the development of a functional health food for anti-obesity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.208-214
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• 2012

Chaff-vinegar is known for having a variety of useful purposes in the fields of health and lifestyles. In a previous study we isolated and identified the active fractions of the polyphenol compound 7 species as a potential biomaterial for cosmeceuticals. To further test for its potential use as a functional material, we carried out an MTT assay, collagenase inhibition assay, elastase inhibition assay, tyrosinase inhibition assay, DPPH free radical scavenging assay, SOD-like activity assay and a xanthine oxidase inhibition assay. Chaff-vinegar exhibited potent collagenase and elastase inhibitory activities in a concentration dependent manner, indicating that the agent has the potential to alleviate the skin wrinkling process. Chaff-vinegar also showed 80% tyrosinase inhibition at a concentration of $100{\mu}L/mL$. DPPH radical scavenging, xanthine oxidase inhibition, and SOD-like activity results for each activity were 80%, 80%, and 100%, respectively. Taken together, the present study suggests that chaff-vinegar is a good candidate for use as an anti-wrinkling and/or whitening agent.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.22 no.5 s.95
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• pp.728-735
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• 2006

This study investigated the development of health promoting high quality Mumalangi Kimchi. Angelica gigas Nakai leaves (AGL) were extracted with water and 70% ethanol, and the extracts tested for their electron donating ability (EDA), nitrite scavenging ability (NSA) and inhibitory effects on MDA and A549 cells. The EDA in 100-1,000 ppm water extracts from AGL ranged from 40 to 80%, but that of the ethanol extracts ranged from 37 to 81%. The NSA increased with increasing AGLconcentration in the extracts and decreasing pH. The NSA of the 1,000 ppm water and ethanol extracts from AGL were 29 and 35%, respectively, at pH 1.2. The inhibition ratios of the water and ethanol extracts from AGL on MDA cell growth were 35 and 32%, while those on A549 cell growth were 27 and 23%, respectively, at 1,000 ppm. After sun drying radishes for 15 hours, for the preparation of Mumalangi, the water contents were higher in summer radishes (39.5%) than fall radishes (32.6%) the color of summer radish also changed to brown. During storage of Mumalangi Kimchi, with the addition of 1-3% AGL, at 20?for 4 weeks, the yeast growth was inhibited. The shelf-life of Mumalangi Kimchi was extended by the addition of AGL. In the sensory evaluation of Mumalangi Kimchi, that with the addition 2% AGL had the highest scores for color, flavor, taste, texture, after taste and overall acceptability. Mumalangi Kimchi with the addition of 2% AGL had significant high scores for both taste and overall acceptability (p.0.05).

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.339-347
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• 2019

Background: Adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf.) is an important medicinal and cereal crop that contains high levels of protein, fatty acids and crude fiber, as well as calcium, phosphorus, zinc, minerals, and essential amino acids. Despite its economic significance, little is known about biological activity in adlay sprouts. This study investigated the total free sugar, polyphenol and flavonoid content, and antioxidative activity in adlay sprouts at different growth stages. Methods and Results: The total free sugar and coixol content of germinated adlay sprouts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. The total phenolic content was measured by the Folin and Denis, and flavonoid content by the Davis method. Antioxidative activity was tested by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl method. All measured component, including total phenolic and coixol content ($2.71{\pm}0.02mg/g$ and $59.70{\pm}0.01mg/g$), and antioxidant capacity ($IC_{50}$; $453.93{\mu}g/m{\ell}$) were highest in 3 day old adlay sprouts. In contrast, total free sugar and flavonoid content (3.02% and $0.60{\pm}0.02mg/g$) were highest in sprouts at 5 days after sowing. In addition, there was a strong positive correlation between antioxidative activity and total polyphenol content (r = 0.902, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Adlay sprouts between 3 days and 5 days following germination contain high levels of functional components and free sugar. This study therefore suggests that adlay sprouts can be developed as a valuable health-promoting food and a good source of natural antioxidants.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 2019

Sparassis crispa is an edible mushroom that is distributed in Korea, Japan, Europe, and North America. It exerts various biological activities such as immunopotentiation, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. Recently, we separated the health functional non-aqueous fraction from the chloroform extract of S. crispa (SCF4). In this study, we evaluated the antiangiogenic activity of SCF4 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). SCF4 effectively inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced cell growth at concentrations ($5-25{\mu}g/mL$) showing no cytotoxic effects. SCF4 inhibited VEGF-induced invasiveness and tube formation ability, which are in vitro angiogenic features of HUVECs, in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, SCF4 markedly suppressed in vivo angiogenesis of chorioallantoic membrane from growing chick embryos without cytotoxicity. Furthermore, SCF4 downregulated the phosphorylation of VEGFR2, AKT, and ERK1/2, which are major angiogenic signal mediators. These results suggest that SCF4 inhibited angiogenesis by suppressing the VEGFR2 signaling pathways without cytotoxicity.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.9-18
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• 2022

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the world is in unexpected chaos. In particular, the Korean economy, which has a large number of self-employed people, is experiencing enormous damage from COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to analyze the causal impact of start-ups and closures by industry due to the COVID-19 outbreak. For the causal impact analysis, we collected and analyzed 8,312,224 cases of start-up and closure of 190 businesses that occurred on the local administrative license data public site for 11 years from 2010 to 2020. As a result of the analysis of the causal impact of COVID-19, there were 29 industries in which start-ups increased(increase rate 313.14% ~ 6.39%), 23 industries in which start-ups decreased(decrease rate 70.62% ~ 11.27%), 21 industries in which closures increased(increase rate 157.55% ~ 13.57%), and 18 industries in which business closures decreased(reduction rate 49.45% ~ 12.91%). The industries in which start-ups increased and closures decreased due to the COVID-19 outbreak were disinfection, food transportation, and general sales of health functional food. The industries in where start-ups decreased and closures increased due to the COVID-19 outbreak were youth game providing industry, danran pub business, and general game providing industry. It is expected that the results of this study will help practitioners who manage various infectious diseases to understand the causal impact of infectious disease outbreaks and to prepare countermeasures.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.789-798
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• 2016

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are industrially important microorganisms for probiotics. The recent widespread application of LAB for preparation of functional food is attributable to the accumulating scientific evidence showing their beneficial effects on human health. In this study, we isolated and characterized plant-derived LAB that show angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and antioxidant activities. The selected strain K2 was isolated from Kimchi, and identified as Lactobacillus plantarum by 16S rRNA gene analysis. The strain grew under static and shaking culture systems. They were also able to grow in different culture conditions like $25^{\circ}C{\sim}37^{\circ}C$ temperature, 4~10 pH range and ~6% NaCl concentration. L. plantarum K2 was highly resistant to acid stress; survival rate of the strain at pH 2.5 and 3 were 80% and 91.6%, respectively. The strain K2 also showed high bile resistance to 0.3% bile bovine and 0.3% bile extract with more than 74% of survival rate. The cell grown on MRS agar plate containing bile extract formed opaque precipitate zones around the colonies, indicating they have bile salt hydrolase activity. The strain showed an inhibitory activity against pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes; antibacterial activity was probably due to the lactic acid. The K2 strain showed relatively higher autoaggregation values, antihypertensive and antioxidant activities. These results suggest that L. plantarum K2 could be not only applied as a pharmabiotic for human health but also is also starter culture applicable to fermentative products.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1408-1414
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• 2019

Enzymes are widely used in industrial applications such as detergents, food, feed production, pharmaceuticals and medical applications and major contributors to clean industrial products and processes. To screen, identify, and characterize the enzymes the zymography techniques are routinely used. The zymography technique is a simple, sensitive, and quantifiable technique that is widely used to detect functional enzymes following electrophoretic separation in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels. The method is a versatile two-stage technique involving protein separation by electrophoresis followed by the detection of enzyme activity in polyacrylamide gels under non-reducing conditions. It is based on SDS-polyacrylamide gel (PAG) copolymerization with substrates, which are degraded by the hydrolytic enzymes restored in enzyme reaction buffer after the electrophoretic separation. Any kind of biological sample can be applied and analyzed on zymography, including culture supernatants of microbes, plants extracts, blood, tissue culture fluids, enzymes in foods extracts and metaproteome. The advantage of zymography is that it is possible to directly detect the protein with activity on the electrophoretic gel as well as confirm the activity at the nanogram level. Thus, this zymography technology can be applied in various fields. However, these advantages are rather disadvantageous and can often lead to experimental errors. In this review, the advantages, disadvantages, and problem solving of zymography technique are described.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.199-207
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Fermented Laminaria japonica (FL), a type sea tangle used as a functional food ingredient, has been reported to possess cognitive improving properties that may aid in the treatment of common neurodegenerative disorders, such as dementia. MATERIALS/METHODS: We examined the effects of FL on scopolamine (Sco)- and ethanol (EtOH)-induced hippocampus-dependent memory impairment, using the Passive avoidance (PA) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. To examine the underlying mechanisms associated with neuroprotective effects, we analyzed acetylcholine (ACh) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, brain tissue expression of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR), cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), and immunohistochemical analysis, in the hippocampus of mice, compared to current drug therapy intervention. Biochemical blood analysis was carried out to determine the effects of FL on alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels. 7 groups (n = 10) consisted of a control (CON), 3 Sco-induced dementia and 3 EtOH-induced dementia groups, with both dementia group types containing an untreated group (Sco and EtOH); a positive control, orally administered donepezil (Dpz) (4mg/kg) (Sco + Dpz and EtOH + Dpz); and an FL (50 mg/kg) treatment group (Sco + FL50 and EtOH + FL50), orally administered over the 4-week experimental period. RESULTS: FL50 significantly reduced EtOH-induced increase in AST and ALT levels. FL50 treatment reduced EtOH-impaired step-through latency time in the PA test, and Sco- and EtOH-induced dementia escape latency times in the MWM test. Moreover, anticholinergic effects of Sco and EtOH on the brain were reversed by FL50, through the attenuation of AChE activity and elevation of ACh concentration. FL50 elevated ERK1/2 protein expression and increased p-CREB (ser133) in hippocampus brain tissue, according to Western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall, these results suggest that FL may be considered an efficacious intervention for Sco- and EtOH-induced dementia, in terms of reversing cognitive impairment and neuroplastic dysfunction.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.740-752
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• 2023

Objective: Dietary phytase increases bioavailability of phytate-bound phosphorus (P) in pig nutrition affecting dietary calcium (Ca) to P ratio, intestinal uptake, and systemic utilization of both minerals, which may contribute to improper bone mineralization. We used phytase to assess long-term effects of two dietary available P (aP) levels using a one-phase feeding system on gene expression related to Ca and P homeostasis along the intestinal tract and in the kidney, short-chain fatty acids in stomach, cecum, and colon, serum, and bone parameters in growing gilts and barrows. Methods: Growing pigs (37.9±6.2 kg) had either free access to a diet without (Con; 75 gilts and 69 barrows) or with phytase (650 phytase units; n = 72/diet) for 56 days. Samples of blood, duodenal, jejunal, ileal, cecal, and colonic mucosa and digesta, kidney, and metacarpal bones were collected from 24 pigs (6 gilts and 6 barrows per diet). Results: Phytase decreased daily feed intake and average daily gain, whereas aP intake increased with phytase versus Con diet (p<0.05). Gilts had higher colonic expression of TRPV5, CDH1, CLDN4, ZO1, and OCLN and renal expression of TRPV5 and SLC34A3 compared to barrows (p<0.05). Phytase increased duodenal expression of TRPV5, TRPV6, CALB1, PMCA1b, CDH1, CLDN4, ZO1, and OCLN compared to Con diet (p<0.05). Furthermore, phytase increased expression of SCL34A2 in cecum and of FGF23 and CLDN4 in colon compared to Con diet (p<0.05). Alongside, phytase decreased gastric propionate, cecal valerate, and colonic caproate versus Con diet (p<0.05). Phytase reduced cortical wall thickness and index of metacarpal bones (p<0.05). Conclusion: Gene expression results suggested an intestinal adaptation to increased dietary aP amount by increasing duodenal trans- and paracellular Ca absorption to balance the systemically available Ca and P levels, whereas no adaption of relevant gene expression in kidney occurred. Greater average daily gain in barrows related to higher feed intake.