• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.37 no.9
• /
• pp.1126-1135
• /
• 2008

This study was carried out to investigate the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory actions of genistein in BALB/c mice injected with lopopolysaccharide (LPS), called endotoxin. Mice (10 weeks of age) weighing approximately 20 g were divided into 4 groups. Endotoxin shock was induced by intraperitoneal injection of LPS (100 mg/kg BW). LPS and genistein+LPS groups were injected with LPS 30 min after phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution and genistein (200 mg/kg BW) injections, respectively. Genistein group was injected with genistein, followed by PBS, while PBS group received two injections of PBS. Superoxide anion generation of peritoneal macrophage cells was significantly (p<0.05) lower in the genistein+LPS group than in the LPS injection group at 8 h after intraperitoneal injection, while SOD activity was significantly higher in genistien+LPS group than LPS group. Tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ levels of plasma were significant lower (p<0.05) in the genistein+LPS injection group than LPS group at 8 h after intraperitoneal injection. Plasma TBARS was lower in genistein+LPS group than LPS group, while hepatic TBARS were not different among groups. Hepatic glutathione concentrations and antioxidant enzyme activities were ignificantly higher in the genistein+LPS group than in the LPS group at 1 h and 8 h after intraperitoneal injection. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) transactivation was significantly (p<0.05) inhibited in LPS group. These results demonstrate genistein may ameliorate inflammatory diseases through inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ transactivation and oxidative stress, which may be mediated partially by anti-oxidative effect of genistein.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.995-1001
• /
• 2014

When relations improve between North and South Korea, there will be demand for North Korean edible plants because of the low labor cost and similar environmental conditions. However, there is no reliable information about trace elements, metals, and metalloids in edible plants from North Korea. Selenium (Se) and germanium (Ge) have positive effects on basic human health and are therapeutical in diverse illnesses. Metal and metalloid (Cd, Pb) poisoning, on the other hand, can cause many health problems. Plants collected from North Korea had higher selenium content than those from South Korea. Although none of the collected species exceeded the permissible levels of cadmium and lead, their content in plants was significantly higher in North Korea than in South Korea. The high metal contents in plants collected from North Korea may be associated with the soil physicochemical properties as well as the accumulated amounts of elements in the soil.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.11 no.10
• /
• pp.107-116
• /
• 2013

Purpose - Eggs are nutritionally complete and one of the most popular natural foods. Moreover, the poultry industry is one of the important food industries. However, early industrialization of the poultry industry on its own did not lead to further development compared to other livestock industries. In this study, we investigate what factors influence consumers' behavior and how consumers' understanding of retail business affects their propensity to consume. This study is different from other studies as it analyzes how the brand names of manufacturers and distribution companies affect the purchasing characteristics or actual purchase behavior of consumers in order to suggest how these manufacturers and distribution companies can increase their competitiveness. Research design, data, methodology - This study conducted a survey of 250 randomly selected egg purchasers in discount stores from January to April 2013. Consumers' purchase tendencies were calculated through frequency analysis. This result was then utilized using cluster analysis to draw a conclusion about which purchase tendency influenced consumers buying three different brands of eggs or whether this tendency really affected consumers. As a result, the outcomes of Hypotheses 2 and 3 were not clear so we drew a conclusion with our analysis of Hypothesis 1. Results - While the outcomes of Hypotheses 2 and 3 did not clearly indicate whether purchasing tendencies affected consumers when buying eggs, our analysis of Hypothesis 1 indicated that consumers were affected by the quality of the eggs rather than exterior factors such as the brand name. Thus, we concluded that it is important to promote the excellence of the quality of the eggs. Usually firms buy eggs from farms and repackage them in order to sell them. In this sense, if consumers were aware of this egg production process, and eggs were fairly distributed to retailers, large retail PB businesses would also be able to enhance their competitiveness. Conclusions - The brand, packaging, retail outlet, and other external features influenced the purchase of eggs to a certain degree, while shelf life, grade of the eggs, cleanliness, and other intrinsic characteristics had more influence. In particular, shelf life was the most important factor influencing purchase. Consumers were influenced not only by intrinsic characteristics of the eggs but also by large-scale producers' brands. Consumers relied upon the brand despite reduced competition because they found it difficult to identify shelf life and/or cleanliness. Small businesses and/or large-scale retailers can remain competitive by maintaining the freshness and cleanliness of the eggs. Further studies need to investigate areas in which consumers' cognition of the product is poor and/or the purchase inclination with regard to less developed industries such as eggs. In this study, the greatest problem was that consumers did not consume in accordance with the current situation as consumers have preferred fresh and clean eggs for a long time compared to purchase decisions based on external brands and/or packaging.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.735-742
• /
• 2010

Biogenic amines are synthesized by microbial decarboxylation for the putrefaction or fermentation of foods containing protein. Although biogenic amines such as histamine, tyramine, and putrescine are required for many physiological functions in humans and animals, consumption of high amounts of biogenic amines can cause toxicological effects, including serious gastrointestinal, cutaneous, hemodynamic, and neurological symptoms. In this study, a novel amperometric biosensor wasdeveloped to detect biogenic amines. The biosensor consisted of a working electrode, a reference electrode, a counter electrode, an enzyme reactor with immobilized diamine oxidase, an injector, a peristaltic pump and a potentiostat. A working electrode was fabricated with a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by coating functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-$NH_2$) and by electrodepositing Prussian blue (PB) to enhance electrical conductivity. A sensor system with PB/MWCNT-$NH_2$/GCE showed linearity in the range of $0.5 {\mu}M{\sim}100 {\mu}M$ hydrogen peroxide with a detection limit of $0.5 {\mu}M$. The responses for tyramine, 2-phenylethylamine, and tryptamine were 95%, 75%, and 70% compared to that of histamine, respectively. These results imply that the biosensor system can be applied to the quantitative measurement of biogenic amines.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.456-460
• /
• 2012

This study was carried out as a survey on the level of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) in 5 items of agricultural products (lettuce, pumpkin, head lettuce, cabbage and crown daisy) for which safety guidelines are not yet established in Korea. The 407 samples were collected from local markets in 9 regional places and the levels of metals were measured by ICP-MS and mercury analyzer. The average levels of Pb, Cd, As and Hg were 0.026, 0.018, 0.008 and 0.003 mg/kg for lettuce, 0.002, 0.001, 0.001 and 0.0006 mg/kg for pumpkin, 0.002, 0.005, 0.001 and 0.0005 mg/kg for head lettuce, 0.001, 0.002, 0.0002 and 0.0006 mg/kg for cabbage and 0.022, 0.014, 0.006 and 0.004 mg/kg for crown daisy. For risk assessment, the daily dietary exposures of Pb, Cd and Hg by intake of these agricultural products were calculated and compared with PTWI (provisional tolerable weekly intake) established by JECFA. The daily dietary exposure of heavy metals by intake of these agricultural products were 0.13, 0.56 and 0.09% of PTWI, respectively. These monitoring results will be utilized as fundamental data for the establishment of Korean standards of Pb, Cd, As and Hg in 5 items of agricultural products and valuable source for DB construction for science-based safety control of heavy metals in foods including agricultural products.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.193-201
• /
• 2004

The objective was to evaluate the factors influencing on the growth of children aged 3 - 6 years by mini dietary assessment and anthropometric indices in 556 children and by analyzing mineral contents of hair from 273 children by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The mean concentration of zinc (Zn) in hair was 68.9 $\pm$ 31.1 ppm and the zinc level of 91 ％ children was less than 60％ of the reference value of 180 ppm. The mean content of lead (Pb) in hair was 1.76 $\pm$ 1.20 ppm, but only 67％ of 273 children was within the reference value of 2 ppm and the lead level of 33％ of children was 2 - 4 times higher than the reference value. The level of Zn was negatively correlated with Pb content (r = -0.305, p 〈 0.01). Hair Zn content, regardless of age, was significantly positively correlated with height (r = 0.214) and body weight (r = 0.159). The height of 95.3％ children was belonged to the normal range of 90 - 109.9％ of standard value and the body weight of 49.8％ children was in the range of 90 - 109.9％ of standard value. However, 8.1 ％ children was overweighted (110 - 119.9％ of standard) and 9.4％ children was obese (120 - 149.9％ of standard) and 0.9％ children was severe obese (〉 150％) which resulted in total 10.3％ obese. Contrary to our expectation, 32.8％ children was underweight (70 - 89.9％ of standard) and 36％ of the underweight children showed the low content of zinc (10 - 49 ppm) in hair. There was no significant correlation between dietary intake of Zn and hair Zn content. Hair Zn content was low even though children consumed greater than 75％ of their requirement for zinc. Regardless of dietary intake of Zn, hair Zn level was rather negatively correlated to the content of Pb in hair. 38.8％ children had an unbalanced diet which resulted in lower intake of calorie, Ca, Zn, vitamin B$_2$ compared with those consuming variety of foods. Therefore, it would be needed that new approach for nutrition education to improve eating habit having the unbalanced diet in preschool children. It might be also suggested to develop new food products to complement the nutrients of Zn, Ca, Fe as snacks or dietary supplement for Korean preschool children.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.185-192
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (indirect ELISA) based on a monoclonal antibody (MAb) that is specific to mackerel thermal stable-soluble protein (TSSP), that can be used for the rapid detection of mackerel in processed marine foods. Among the four MAbs (3A5-1, 2, 9, and 12) developed in previous studies, the 3A5-2 MAb that showed high specificity and sensitivity were selected and used to develop the indirect ELISA method. The detection range of the indirect ELISA was 0.02%-0.001% and the detection limit of 0.001% was shown. No cross-reaction to other marine products and food ingredients was observed by the indirect ELISA. Processed marine foods containing mackerel with ${\geq}0.3$ O.D. value at 405 nm were estimated as positive samples by the indirect ELISA. Therefore, the indirect ELISA can be used as a rapid and sensitive method to identify mackerel authenticity and adulteration in processed marine foods.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.334-339
• /
• 2014

The purpose of our study was to investigate the migration level of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), hexavalent chromium ($Cr^{6+}$) and mercury (Hg) from cookwares into food simulants and to evaluate the safety of each heavy metals. The test articles for heavy metals were glassware, ceramics, enamel, earthenware, polypropylene and polyethylene cookwares for Pb and Cd, enamel for Sb, earthenware for As, polyethylene and polypropylene cookwares for $Cr^{6+}$ and Hg. All the article samples of 391 intended for contact with foods were purchased in domestic markets. Pb, Cd, Sb and As were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), $Cr^{6+}$ by UV visible spectrophotometer and Hg by mercury analyzer. The migration levels of heavy metals in all the samples were within the migration limits of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). As a result of safety evaluation, our results showed that the estimated daily intakes (EDI, mg/kg bw/day) were $9.12{\times}10^{-6}$ and $8.83{\times}10^{-7}$ for Pb and Cd from ceramics and $1.19{\times}10^{-5}$, $1.23{\times}10^{-5}$ and $7.52{\times}10^{-6}$ for Pb, Cd and Sb from enamel. Tolerable daily intakes (TDI, mg/kg bw/day) were established respectively as 0.0036, 0.00081, 0.0021, and 0.0006 for Pb, Cd, As and Hg by JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), as 0.0060 for Sb by WHO (World Health Organization). When comparing with TDIs, the EDIs accounted for 0.25% and 0.11% for Pb and Cd from ceramics and 0.33%, 1.52% and 0.13% for Pb, Cd and Sb from enamel.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.223-230
• /
• 2003

This study was conducted to estimate the contents of 6 trace metals in potatoes and root vegetables purchased in wholesale market in the Seoul region, specifically, Cu. As, Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg. The minimum and maximum results obtained for each metal are summarized as follows for potatoes; Cu : 0.094∼0.344, As : N.D∼0.070, Zn : 0.247∼1.547, Pb : N.D∼0.268, Cd : N.D∼0.005, Hg : 0.001∼0.027, and for root vegetables; Cu : 0.021∼0.510, As : 0.004∼0.045, Zn : 0.143∼3.137, Pb : N.D∼0.372, Cd : N.D∼0.009, Hg : 0.001∼0.195. The daily intakes of trace metals from potatoes and root vegetables were estimated on the basis of the daily intake of these foods by Koreans, which were 0.073∼22.253 and 0.567∼156.219$\mu\textrm{g}$ from potatoes and root vegetables, respectively. The weekly intakes of trace metals were 0.009∼2.596 and 0.066∼18.224$\mu\textrm{g}$ for potatoes and root vegetables, respectively. The weekly intakes of trace metals for potatoes and root vegetables were very much lower than the PTWI(provisional tolerable weekly intake), enough to be within a safe range.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.279-284
• /
• 2011

This study was carried out to estimate the heavy metal contents (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn) in avian eggs sold in Seoul area, Korea from August to December, 2010. The contents of lead, cadmium, chrome, copper, manganese were estimated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations of heavy metals (mean${\pm}$standard deviation, mg/kg) in the avian eggs were as follows: Pb $0.010{\pm}0.018$, Cd $0.000{\pm}0.001$, Cr $0.018{\pm}0.022$, Cu $0.637{\pm}0.163$, Mn $0.397{\pm}0.132$. The contents of lead and cadmium in the eggs were lower than that in meat and other foods of previously reported results. Whereas the contents of copper, manganese were similar to the previously previous results. The average daily intakes of lead and cadmium in the avian eggs were 0.1 and 0.8% respectively, as compared with PTWI (Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intakes) established by FAO/WHO Expert Committee for Food Safety Evaluation.