• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.1067-1078
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• 2017

This study was carried out to investigate the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of fermented milk with addition of hot water extract of Cordyceps militaris grown upon Tenebrio molitor. The general components of Cordyceps militaris grown upon Tenebrio molitor are moisture 10.85%, crude protein 18.44%, crude fat 2.07%, crude ash 5.46%. The DPPH radical scavenging activities of different solvents were the highest (74.81 EDA%) with hot water extract sample. The acidity of fermented milk was high with increasing amount of extracts. The pH of fermented milk reached 4.60-4.66 after 4 h of fermentation, and the number of lactic acid bacteria was highest (11.70 log CFU/mL) with 1% fermented milk. The moisture content of fermented milk showed no significant difference. In addition, contents of crude protein were not significantly different according to addition amount. Regarding Hunter's color values, L value decreased as the amount of extract increased, whereas a value and b value increased. The content of free amino acid increased with increasing amount of extract. The DPPH free radical scavenging ability and ABTS free radical scavenging ability of fermented milk were significantly different as the addition amount of extract increased. In the sensory evaluation, fermented milk containing 1% of extract showed the highest preference.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1269-1275
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• 2017

Tenebrio molitor samples were investigated as novel biomaterials and sources of food in several recent studies. However, the insects' effects on hair growth were not sufficiently researched. To develop novel and natural materials for preventing alopecia and promoting hair growth, this study investigated the antioxidant activities and hair-growth promotion effects of TMEs. To determine the antioxidant activities, the TMEs' DPPH radical- and nitrite-scavenging activities were examined. To determine hair-growth promotion effects, proliferations of human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) and the murine fibroblast cell line NIH3T3 were evaluated by using an MTS assay. In addition, estimations were made for cell viabilities against cell death induced by dihydrotesterone (DHT) in DPCs and inhibitory effects against potassium channel blocking induced by tolbutamide (TBM) in NIH3T3 cells. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was 81.17%, and the nitrite scavenging activity was 43.69%; the activities were similar to the activities of blueberry extracts. Moreover, the TMEs promoted the proliferation of human DPCs and NIH3T3 cells, which were concentrated dependently. The TMEs prevented not only DHT-induced DPC cytotoxicity but also TBM's action as a potassium channel blocker in NIH3T3 cells. The results suggested that TME could be used as a functional therapeutic alopecia reagent, to prevent hair loss and to promote hair growth.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.955-961
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• 2017

Edible insects are attracting growing interest as a sustainable source of protein for addition to processed meat and dairy products. The current study investigated the optimal method for protein extraction from mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor), cricket adults (Gryllus bimaculatus), and silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori), for use in further applications. After defatting with n-hexane for up to 48 h, sonication was applied for 1-20 min and the protein yield was measured. All samples showed a total residual fat percentage below 1.36%, and a 35% to 94% improvement in protein yield (%). In conclusion, defatting with n-hexane combined with sonication improves the protein yield from insect samples.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1996.07a
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• pp.37-37
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• 1996

Tenecin fragments are antimicrobial and antifungal peptide from Tenebrio molitor with highly positive charged amino acid residues. To elucidate their membrane selectivity and molecular mechanism, various forms of tenecin fragments were synthesized, and their interaction with acidic phospholipid, Gram (+), fungal and human erythrocyte membrane were investigated by ANTS/DPX leakage, membrane binding and fusion assay. (omitted)

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1171-1171
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• 2019

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.200-207
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• 2015

Various natural products or their derivatives, mostly originating from plants, fungi, and bacteria, have been exploited as therapeutic drugs to treat various human diseases. In addition to previously explored organisms, research on natural compounds has now expanded into unexamined living organisms in order to identify novel bioactive substances. Here, we determined whether or not the larval form of the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle, contains cytotoxic substances that exclusively affect cancer cell viability. Ethanol extract and its solvent partitioned fractions, hexane and ethyl acetate fractions, showed anticancer effects against various human cancer cells derived from the prostate (PC3 and 22Rv1), cervix (HeLa), liver (PLC/PRF5, HepG2, Hep3B, and SK-HEP-1), colon (HCT116), lung (NCI-H460), breast (MDA-MB231), and ovary (SKOV3). Cell death induced by the fractions was a mix of apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. The hexane fraction was administered intraperitoneally to nude mice bearing a hepatocellular carcinoma SK-HEP-1 and showed inhibition of tumor growth in vivo. Therefore, we concluded that worm extracts contain cytotoxic substances, which can be enriched by proper fractionation protocols, and further separation and purification could lead to the identification of novel molecules to treat human cancers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.983-989
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• 2020

The balance between bone-resorbing osteoclasts and bone-forming osteoblasts is key to bone health. An imbalance between osteoclasts and osteoblasts leads to various bone-related disorders, such as osteoporosis, osteomalacia, and osteopetrosis. However, the bone-resorption inhibitor drugs that are currently used may cause side effects. Natural substances have recently received much attention as therapeutic drugs for the treatment of bone health. This study was designed to determine the effect of Tenebrio molitor larvae ethanol extract (TME) on receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation. To measure the effect of TME on osteoclast differentiation, RAW264.7 cells were treated with RANKL with or without TME for 5 days. The tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity was significantly inhibited by treatment of TME without cytotoxicity up to 2 mg/ml. In addition, TME effectively suppressed expression of osteoclast differentiation-related marker genes and proteins such as TRAP, NFATc1, and c-Src. TME also significantly inhibited the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway without affecting ERK and JNK signaling in RANKL-induced RAW264.7 cells. Consequently, we conclude that TME suppresses osteoclast differentiation by inhibiting RANKL-induced osteoclastogenic genes expression through the p38 MAPK signaling pathways. These results suggest that TME and its bioactive components are potential therapeutics for bone-related diseases such as osteoporosis.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.136-144
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• 2018

This study aimed to provide basic evidence regarding the development of materials by analyzing the physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of Streptococcus thermophilus KCCM 3782 strain-fermented Cordyceps militaris grown on Tenebrio molitor. Among the solvents tested, DPPH radical scavenging activity was the highest in the hot water-extracted sample after 30 min of extraction. Moisture content decreased, whereas crude protein and fat content increased, after lactic acid bacteria-mediated fermentation. Sodium, magnesium, calcium, and zinc contents increased, with potassium levels attaining the maximum value, whereas free amino acid content decreased after the fermentation. Among Hunter's color values, a value increased to $66.7{\rightarrow}149.92$ after fermentation, whereas the L and b values decreased to $15.79{\rightarrow}-15.75$ and $54.45{\rightarrow}0.01$, respectively. Cordycepin content assay increased from 7.02 mg% to 8.66 mg%. The DPPH free radical scavenging activity of the fermented product was 91.92 EDA%, which was higher than that of the extract (84.69 EDA%). The ABTS free radical scavenging and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were also higher in the fermented products.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1027-1033
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• 2019

Recently, Korea has seen a rapid increase in the elderly population. As a result, osteoporosis, a geriatric disease, has become a social problem. To investigate the novel and natural materials for promoting osteoblastogenesis, we investigated the osteoblastogenic activity of Tenebrio molitor larvae oil (TMO) on the MG-63 preosteoblast cells. The cytotoxicity and proliferation effects of TMO on MG-63 cells were measured by MTS assay. There was no cytotoxicity up to $80{\mu}g/ml$. At 40 and $80{\mu}g/ml$ of TMO (treated for 48 hr), cell proliferation was elevated about 120% compared to the control. The osteoblastogenic activity of TMO was measured with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity at 5 days. Doses of 5 to $80{\mu}g/ml$ of TMO increased ALP activities significantly compared with the control. In addition, expression of ALP and Runx2 (osteoblastogenic markers) were markedly increased after treatment of TMO for 5 days. These results provide evidence that TMO promotes osteoblastogenesis by increasing the gene and protein expression of ALP and Runx2, and they suggest that TMO may be a potential agent for bone formation and preventing osteoporosis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.854-860
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• 2019

This study investigated the optimum pH conditions for efficient extraction of protein from defatted Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae. We examined the anti-inflammatory effect of protein derived from defatted TM larvae obtained by an alkaline extraction method. Six extraction pH values (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12) and three precipitation pH values (2, 4, and 6) were used. The protein content, browning degree, and recovery yield of the protein obtained under each pH condition were determined. For efficient extraction of protein from defatted TM larvae, a combination of an extraction pH of 9 and precipitation pH of 4 resulted in a 32.4% recovery yield based on the extraction value and degree of browning. To determine whether the protein ameliorated inflammation by inhibition of macrophage activation by lipopolysaccharides (LPS), we measured nitric oxide (NO), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in LPS-stimulated raw 264.7 macrophage cells. The protein markedly inhibited the production of NO without cytotoxicity and reduced the expression level of COX-2 and iNOS protein through the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) signaling. These results suggested that protein derived from TM larvae could have potential applications in anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents and protein supplements.