• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.81-95
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• 2003

Carotenoids are synthesized from the plastidic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GAP)/pyruvate pathway in isoprenoids biosynthetic system of plants. They play a crucial role in light harvesting, work as photoprotective agents in photosynthesis of nature, and are also responsible for the red, orange and yellow colors of fruits and flowers in plants. In addition to biological actions of carotenoids as antioxidants and natural pigments, they are essential components of human diet as a source of vitamin A. It has been also suggested that some kinds of carotenoids might provide protection against cancer and heart disease as human medicines. In this article, we review the commercial applications on the basis of biological functions of carotenoids, summarize the studies of genes involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, and introduce recent results achieved in metabolic engineering of carotenoids. This effort for understanding the carotenoids metabolism will make us to increase the total carotenoid contents of crop plants, direct the carotenoid biosynthetic machinery towards other useful carotenoids, and produce a new array of carotenoids by further metabolizing the new precursors that are created when one or two key enzymes in carotenoid biosynthetic pathway are exchanged through gene manipulation in the near future.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.553-567
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• 2020

Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with obesity and its related metabolic diseases. Adipose tissues store and metabolize vitamin D and expression levels of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes are known to be altered in obesity. Sequestration of vitamin D in large amount of adipose tissues and low vitamin D metabolism may contribute to the vitamin D inadequacy in obesity. Vitamin D receptor is expressed in adipose tissues and vitamin D regulates multiple aspects of adipose biology including adipogenesis as well as metabolic and endocrine function of adipose tissues that can contribute to the high risk of metabolic diseases in vitamin D insufficiency. We will review current understanding of vitamin D regulation of adipose biology focusing on vitamin D modulation of adiposity and adipose tissue functions as well as the molecular mechanisms through which vitamin D regulates adipose biology. The effects of supplementation or maintenance of vitamin D on obesity and metabolic diseases are also discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.919-923
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• 2004

The sk10 isolated from kimchi was identified as W. kimchii on the basis of l6s-rDNA sequencing. Studies were made to analyze the metabolic flux shift of the sk10 on glucose under aerobic growth conditions. The sk10 produced 38.2 mM acetate, 16.3 mM ethanol, and 33.2 mM lactate under aerobic conditions, but 2.4 mM acetate, 48.0 mM ethanol, and 44.1 mM lactate under anaerobic conditions. The NADH peroxidase (NADH-dependent hydrogen peroxidase) activity of sk10 grown under aerobic conditions was 11 times higher than that under anaerobic conditions. Under the low ratio of $NADH/NAD^+$, the metabolic flux toward lactate and ethanol was shifted to the flux through acetate kinase without NADH oxidation. The kinds of enzymes and metabolites of sk10 were close to those in the pathway of Leuconostoc sp., but the metabolites produced under aerobic growth conditions were different from those of Leuconostoc sp. The stoichiometric balance calculated using the concentrations of metabolites and substrate was about 97%, coincident with the theoretical values under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. From these results, it was concluded that the metabolic flux of W. kimchii sk10 was partially shifted from lactate and ethanol to acetate under aerobic conditions only.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3371-3376
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• 2015

Pigmented rice bran has been suggested to be a valuable source of beneficial phytochemicals. We investigated genotoxic and anti-genotoxic effects of purple rice bran extract (PRBE) in rats using a liver micronucleus assay. Purple rice bran was extracted with methanol, obtaining large amounts of phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins and small amounts of gamma-oryzanol. The experimental protocols were divided into two sets. Male rats were divided into three groups. Group 1 was a negative control, while Groups 2 and 3 were fed with 100 and 500 mg/kg bw of PRBE, respectively, for 28 days. PRBE had no effect on micronucleus formation or xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in rat liver. Experiments concerning the effect of PRBE on $AFB_1$ showed that PRBE significantly lessened the amount of micronucleated hepatocytes in $AFB_1$ treated rats. Furthermore, it modulated metabolic activation of $AFB_1$ metabolism in the liver by suppressing activity and protein expression of CYP1A2, CYP3A and CYP 450 reductase, and enhancing phase II enzymes including GST and UGT. Overall, purple rice bran extract was not genotoxic in rats. It exhibited anti-genotoxicity by modulation some xenobiotic enzymes active in $AFB_1$ metabolism.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.88-93
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• 2001

Oxidative stress is one of the major limiting factor in plant productivity. Reactive oxygens species (ROS) generated during metabolic processes damage cellular functions and consequently lead to disease, senescence and cell death. Plants have evolved an efficient defense system by which the ROS is scavenged by antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). Attempts to reduce oxidative damages under the stress conditions have included the manipulation of 갠 scavenging enzymes by gene transfer technology. Increased SOD activities of transgenic plants lead to increased resistance against oxidative stresses derived from methyl viologen (MV), and from photooxidative damage caused by high light and low temperature. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing APX showed reduced damage following either MV treatment of photooxidative treatment. Overexpression of glutathion reductase (GR) leads to increase in pool of ascorbate and GSH, known as small antioxidant molecules. These results indicate through overexpression of enzymes involved in ROS-scavenging could maintain or improve the plant productivities under environment stress condition. In this study, the rational approaches to develop stress-tolerant plants by gene manipulation of antioxidant enzymes will be introduced to provide solutions for the global food and environmental problems in the $21^\textrm{st}$ century.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.138-139
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• 1999

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.543-543
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1993.09a
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• pp.179-186
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• 1993

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.67
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• pp.231-235
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• 2018

In this study, we demonstrate the conversion of starch to (R,R)-2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) in a hybrid cell-free synthesis system containing a mixture of lysates derived from Escherichia coli (E. coli) and cyanobacteria. A sufficient pool of pyruvate required for the synthesis of 2,3-BD was generated by combining metabolic pathways of cyanobacteria and E. coli. Successful synthesis of 2,3-BD was achieved by additional modifications of the hybrid cell-free system with the enzymes required to convert pyruvate to 2,3-BD. The results demonstrate a new approach to harness biological pathways to expand the scope of cell-free metabolic engineering by cross-species combinations of cell lysates.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.91-95
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• 2009

The presence of considerable amount of enzymes of TCA cycle isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH-NADP+, EC1.1.1.42), $\alpha$-ketogluterate dehydrogenase ($\alpha$-KGD, EC1.2.4.2) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH, EC1.1.1.37) in fresh control and in vitro starved adult Isoparorchis hypselobagri establish the functional TCA cycle in this fluke. The major metabolic end products are pyruvate, lactate, oxaloacetate and malate. The ratio of oxaloacetate/malate assess that oxaloacetate is reduced to malate and in this fluke the reverse TCA cycle is active. The pyruvate/lactate ratio shows pyruvate is reduced to lactate and the fluke is homolactate farmenters.