• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.257-266
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Licorice has been shown to possess cancer chemopreventive effects. However, glycyrrhizin, a major component in licorice, was found to interfere with steroid metabolism and cause edema and hypertension. The roasting process of licorice modifies the chemical composition and converts glycyrrhizin to glycyrrhetinic acid. The purpose of this study was to examine the anti-carcinogenic effects of the ethanol extract of roasted licorice (EERL) and to identify the active compound in EERL. MATERIALS/METHODS: Ethanol and aqueous extracts of roasted and un-roasted licorice were prepared. The active fraction was separated from the methylene chloride (MC)-soluble fraction of EERL and the structure of the purified compound was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The anti-carcinogenic effects of licorice extracts and licochalcone A was evaluated using a MTT assay, Western blot, flow cytometry, and two-stage skin carcinogenesis model. RESULTS: EERL was determined to be more potent and efficacious than the ethanol extract of un-roasted licorice in inhibiting the growth of DU145 and MLL prostate cancer cells, as well as HT-29 colon cancer cells. The aqueous extracts of un-roasted and roasted licorice showed minimal effects on cell growth. EERL potently inhibited growth of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast, B16-F10 melanoma, and A375 and A2058 skin cancer cells, whereas EERL slightly stimulated the growth of normal IEC-6 intestinal epithelial cells and CCD118SK fibroblasts. The MC-soluble fraction was more efficacious than EERL in inhibiting DU145 cell growth. Licochalcone A was isolated from the MC fraction and identified as the active compound of EERL. Both EERL and licochalcone A induced apoptosis of DU145 cells. EERL potently inhibited chemically-induced skin papilloma formation in mice. CONCLUSIONS: Non-polar compounds in EERL exert potent anti-carcinogenic effects, and that roasted rather than un-roasted licorice should be favored as a cancer preventive agent, whether being used as an additive to food or medicine preparations.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.546-554
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• 2021

Background: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension often occur together, amplifying cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and emphasizing the need for a multitargeted treatment approach. American ginseng (AG) and Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) species could improve glycemic control via complementary mechanisms. Additionally, a KRG-inherent component, ginsenoside Rg3, may moderate blood pressure (BP). Our objective was to investigate the therapeutic potential of coadministration of Rg3-enriched Korean Red Ginseng (Rg3-KRG) and AG, added to standard of care therapy, in the management of hypertension and cardiometabolic risk factors in type-2 diabetes. Methods: Within a randomized controlled, parallel design of 80 participants with type-2 diabetes (HbA1c: 6.5-8%) and hypertension (systolic BP: 140-160 mmHg or treated), supplementation with either 2.25 g/day of combined Rg3-KRG + AG or wheat-bran control was assessed over a 12-wk intervention period. The primary endpoint was ambulatory 24-h systolic BP. Additional endpoints included further hemodynamic assessment, glycemic control, plasma lipids and safety monitoring. Results: Combined ginseng intervention generated a mean ± SE decrease in primary endpoint of 24-h systolic BP (-3.98 ± 2.0 mmHg, p = 0.04). Additionally, there was a greater reduction in HbA1c (-0.35 ± 0.1% [-3.8 ± 1.1 mmol/mol], p = 0.02), and change in blood lipids: total cholesterol (-0.50 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.01), non-HDL-C (-0.54 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.01), triglycerides (-0.40 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.02) and LDL-C (-0.35 ± 0.2 mmol/l, p = 0.06) at 12 wks, relative to control. No adverse safety outcomes were observed. Conclusion: Coadministration of Rg3-KRG + AG is an effective addon for improving BP along with attaining favorable cardiometabolic outcomes in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Ginseng derivatives may offer clinical utility when included in the polypharmacy and lifestyle treatment of diabetes. Clinical trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier, NCT01578837;

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.612-620
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• 2021

To increase the utilization of Centella asiatica (CA), enzymes such as cellulase and pectinase were added and the physicochemical properties of the treated CA were analyzed. In addition, apple-CA jam was prepared using the enzyme-treated CA, which had the best antioxidant properties, and the physicochemical and sensory qualities of the jam were measured. There was a high content of ascorbic acid, polyphenols, flavonoids, reducing sugar, amino acid, minerals and DPPH radical scavenging activity in the enzyme-treated group. The antioxidant component and activity in the jam prepared by adding enzyme-treated CA increased with an increase in the amount of enzyme-treated CA. In the soluble solids, the higher the amount of enzyme-treated CA, the higher the value, but there was no significant difference in pH. The sensory evaluation of the jam, in particular the taste, showed that the highest preference was observed when the enzyme-treated CA was added in the range of 5.0~6.7%, and the control group showed the lowest preference. There was no significant difference in flavor and spreadability among the treatment groups, however, the control group showed the highest color preference. In the overall acceptability, when 5.0% of enzyme-treated CA was added, the highest acceptability was shown.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.253-256
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the growth characteristics and inorganic components of Codonopsis lanceolata regarding regional differences. The plant height of Japanese Codonopsis lanceolata was 373.6 cm, so it's revealed that it has more vigorous growth than Korean won. The flowering time of Korean Codonopsis lanceolata was 2 weeks faster than Japanese one. Total fresh weight of root was 41.0 g and 39.0 g for Korean and Japanese respectively, thus, no significance difference was found. However, regarding fresh weight, Korean one had a more fresh weight (35.4 g) of main root parts, but Japanese one had a more fresh weight (9.6 g) of the lateral root part. Each inorganic component was found more in the aboveground parts, regardless of the region and the content of K was the largest. Regarding the content of macroelements for each part of Codonopsis lanceolata, the content of Na, Mg, P, S, and Ca in Korean Codonopsis lanceolata was found the highest on the leaf, followed by stem and root. In the case of Japanese Codonopsis lanceolata, same result was found on the content of Mg and Ca, however, the highest content of Na and P was found in the stem.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.231-239
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• 1995

Alley cropping field experiment has been carried out for 24 months in lime-stone based dryland farming area of southern Bali to study the chemical composition and nutritive value of 16 provenances of Gliricidia sepium The design was a completely randomized block: arrangement, consisted of 16 treatments (G. sepium provenances) and 6 blocks as replications with 12 plants per provenance. Of the 16 gliricidia provenances, six were from Mexico (M), four were from Guatemala (G), one each was from Colombia (C), Indonesia (I), Nicaragua (N), Panama (P), Costa Rica (R) and Venezuela (V). After 12 months establishment, the gliricidia were lopped at 150 cm height regularly 4 times a year, twice during the 4 months wet season and twice during the 8 months dry season. The highest ash, mineral, total soluble phenol, prussic acid and digestibility were in V1; the highest crude fiber component was in M39; the highest gross energy was in P13, while the highest organic matter was in M35. Based on the highest nutritive constituents, V1, C24 and G14 were ranked first, second and third respectively, while based on the lowest non-nutritive constituents C24, V1 and N14 were ranked first, second and third, respectively. The importance of such provenances as source of nutrients for the ruminant during the dry season were discussed.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.238-245
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• 2009

The principal objective of this study was to investigate the association of variable salts with the hardness of cubed white radish. We analyzed the contents of domestic sun-dried salt, Chinese sun-dried salt, domestic refined salt, Australian rock salt and Australian industrial sun-dried salt in the radish samples. Our assessment of the water content of variable salts showed that domestic refined salt was highest(7.27%) and Australian rock salt was lowest(0.16%). The NaCl contents of variable salts were as follows : 93.23% in refined salt, 93.76% in Australian rock salt, 87.85% in domestic Shinan sun-dried salt and 87.98% in Chinese sun-dried salt. The content of insoluble matter in water were $0.03{\sim}0.05%$ in all salts except 0.85% in Australian industrial sun-dried salt. The pH values of salts were as follows : 8.93 in domestic sun-dried salt, 8.62 in Chinese sun-dried salt, 6.69 in refined salt, 5.83 in Australian rock salt and 6.41 in Australian industrial sun-dried salt. Regarding the mineral component content assays, domestic salt was found to harbor lower Na content but far higher Mg, K, Ca contents than other salts. In our evaluation of the hardness of cubed white radish, we detected a continuous increase in the hardness of cubed white radish soaking in a 4% salt solution of domestic Shinan natural salt, but an initial increase followed by a decrease in the hardness of cubed white radish soaking in a 4% solution of the other salts.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.390-394
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• 2002

Spikelet number per unit area(SPN) is a major determinant of rice yield. Nitrogen nutrition status and biomass during reproductive stage determine the SPN. To formulate a model for estimating SPN, the 93 field experiment data collected from widely different regions with different japonica varieties in Korea and Japan were analyzed for the upper boundary lines of SPN responses to nitrogen nutrition index(NNI), shoot dry weight and shoot nitrogen content at panicle initiation and heading stage. The boundary lines of SPN showed asymptotic responses to all the above parameters(X) and were well fitted to the exponential function of $f(X)=alphacdot{1-etacdotexp(gamma;cdot;X)}$. Excluding the constant, from the boundary line equation, the values of the equation range from 0 to 1 and represent the indices of parameters expressing the degree of influence on SPN. In addition to those indices, the index of shoot dry weight increase during reproductive stage was calculated by directly dividing the shoot dry weight increase by the maximum value ($800 extrm{g/m}^{-2}$) of dry weight increase as it showed linear relationship with SPN. Four indices selected by forward stepwise regression at the stay level of 0.05 were those for NNI ($I_{NNI}_P$) at panicle initiation, NNI($I_{NNI}_h$) and shoot dry weight($I_{DW}_h$) at heading stage, and dry weight increase($I_{DW}$) between those two stages. The following model was obtained: SPN=48683ㆍ $I_{DWH}$$^{0.482}$ㆍ $I_{NNIp}$$^{0.387}$ㆍ $I_{NNIH}$$^{0.318}$ㆍ $I_{DW}$ $^{0.35}$). This model accounted for about 89% of the variation of spikelet number. In conclusion this model could be used for estimating the spikelet number of japonica rice with some confidence in widely different regions and thus, integrated into a rice growth model as a component model for spikelet number estimation.n.n.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.589-594
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Turmeric and its active component curcumin have received considerable attention due to their many recognized biological activities. Turmeric has been commonly used in food preparation and herbal remedies in South Asia, leading to a high consumption rate of curcumin in this region. However, the amount of curcumin in the Korean diet has not yet been estimated, where turmeric is not a common ingredient. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study utilized the combined data sets obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 2008 to 2012 in order to estimate the curcumin intake in the Korean diet. The mean intake of curcumin was estimated from the amount of curcumin-containing foods (curry powder and ready-made curry) consumed using reported curcumin content in commercial turmeric and curry powders. RESULTS: Only 0.06% of Koreans responded that they consumed foods containing curcumin in a given day, and 40% of them were younger than 20 years of age. Curcumin-containing foods were largely prepared at home (72.9%) and a significant proportion (20.4%, nearly twice that of all other foods) was consumed as school and workplace meals. The estimated mean turmeric intake was about 0.47 g/day corresponding to 2.7-14.8 mg curcumin, while the average curry powder consumption was about 16.4 g, which gave rise to curcumin intake in the range of 8.2-95.0 mg among individuals who consumed curcumin. The difference in estimated curcumin intake by using the curcumin content in curry powder and turmeric may reflect that curry powder manufactured in Korea might contain higher amounts of other ingredients such as flour, and an estimation based on the curcumin content in the turmeric might be more acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the amount of curcumin that can be obtained from the Korean diet in a day is 2.7-14.8 mg, corresponding to nearly one fourth of the daily curcumin intake in South Asia, although curcumin is rarely consumed in Korea.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.398-403
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic inflammatory skin disease, is accompanied by disruption of the epidermal lipid barrier, of which ceramide (Cer) is the major component. Recently it was reported that vitamin C is essential for de novo synthesis of Cer in the epidermis and that the level of vitamin C in plasma is decreased in AD. The objective of this study was to determine the associations among clinical severity, vitamin C in either plasma or epidermis, and Cer in the epidermis of patients with AD. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 17 patients (11 male and 6 female) aged 20-42 years were enrolled. The clinical severity of AD was assessed according to the SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) system. Levels of vitamin C were determined in plasma and biopsies of lesional epidermis. Levels of epidermal lipids, including Cer, were determined from tape-stripped lesional epidermis. RESULTS: The clinical severity of patients ranged between 0.1 and 45 (mild to severe AD) based on the SCORAD system. As the SCORAD score increased, the level of vitamin C in the plasma, but not in the epidermis, decreased, and levels of total Cer and Cer2, the major Cer species in the epidermis, also decreased. There was also a positive association between level of vitamin C in the plasma and level of total Cer in the epidermis. However, levels of epidermal total lipids including triglyceride, cholesterol, and free fatty acid (FFA) were not associated with either SCORAD score or level of vitamin C in the plasma of all subjects. CONCLUSIONS: As the clinical severity of AD increased, level of vitamin C in the plasma and level of epidermal Cer decreased, and there was a positive association between these two parameters, implying associations among plasma vitamin C, epidermal Cer, and the clinical severity of AD.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.177-182
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• 2010

The Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) has been used in folk medicine to treat cancers. However, limited information exists on the underlying anticancer effects of the major component of I. obliquus in vivo. We hypothesize that the pure compounds ($3{\beta}$-hydroxy-lanosta-8,24-dien-21-al, inotodiol and lanosterol, respectively) separated from I. obliquus would inhibit tumor growth in Balbc/c mice bearing Sarcoma-180 cells (S-180) in vivo and growth of human carcinoma cells in vitro. To test this hypothesis, the growth inhibition of each subfraction isolated from I. obliquus on human carcinoma cell lines (lung carcinoma A-549 cells, stomach adenocarcinoma AGS cells, breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells, and cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cells) was tested in vitro. Then, after S-180 implantation, the mice were fed a normal chow supplemented with 0, 0.1 or 0.2 mg of subfraction 1, 2 or 3 per mouse per day. All of the subfractions isolated from I. obliquus showed significant cytotoxic activity against the selected cancer cell lines in vitro. Subfraction 1 was more active than subfraction 2 and subfraction 3 against the A549, AGS and MCF-7 cancer cell lines in vitro. In in vivo results, subfraction 1 isolated from I. obliquus at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.2 mg/mouse per day significantly decreased tumor volume by 23.96% and 33.71%, respectively, as compared with the control. Subfractions 2 and 3 also significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice bearing S-180 as compared with the control mouse tumor. Subfraction 1 isolated from I. obliquus showed greater inhibition of tumor growth than subfractions 2 and 3, which agrees well with the in vitro results. The results suggest that I. obliquus and its compounds in these subfractions isolated from I. obliquus could be used as natural anticancer ingredients in the food and/or pharmaceutical industry.