• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.561-567
• /
• 2012

Ellagic acid (EA) is a phenolic compound in fruits and nuts including raspberries, strawberries, grapes and walnuts. Previous studies have indicated that EA possesses antioxidant activity, growth-inhibition and apoptosis-promoting activity in cancer cells. However, macrophage mediated cytotoxicity and immunomodulating effects on cancer cells have not been clarified. In the present study, we show that EA increased effects on macrophage mediated tumoricidal activity and NO production without direct tumor cell cytotoxicity. To further determine whether TLR4 (toll like receptor 4) is involved in anti-tumor activity, cells were treated TLR4 signaling inhibitor, CLI-095 in the presence of EA. CLI-095 treatment partially reduced macrophage-mediated tumoridial activity. EA also has inhibitory effects of NO production induced by LPS, whereas phagocytic activity was not changed. These results suggest that EA induces macrophage mediated tumoricidal activity which is partially related to TLR4 signaling and has a potential adjuvant in cancer therapy.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.111-115
• /
• 2009

In this study we analysed for peanuts in processed foods using an enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay (ELFA), and compared the results with labeled ingredients. Crude peanut protein (CPP) was immunized into rabbits to produce specific antibodies(Ab). A sandwich ELFA was established using anti-CPP Ab and Ab-horseradish peroxidase (HRP) conjugate. The cross-reactivities of the Ab toward CPP, peanuts, almonds, soybeans, and walnuts were 100, 9.8, $1.1{\times}10^{-2},\;4.4{\times}10^{-3}$, and 0%, respectively. The samples included 19 items consisting of biscuits, snacks, chocolates, and so on. The results from the sandwich ELFA showed that peanuts were contained in 7 of the processed food items, among which, 5 items were labeled as having peanuts present but 2 items were not. One of the 2 items that was peanut-detected but unlabeled was a biscuit labeled to contain almonds and assayed to contain $2.1{\times}10^{-3}%$ peanuts, which might have been due to the weak cross-reactivity of the Ab toward almonds. The other item was a snack labeled to contain soybeans and assayed to contain 0.098% peanuts, which might have been due to peanut cross-contamination during processing, since the crossreactivity of the Ab toward soybeans was very weak. These results suggest that ELFA is a good tool to detect peanuts in processed foods, and allergens in certain processed foods should be labeled correctly.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.58-64
• /
• 2019

In the current study, 109 commercial nut samples were collected from different Korean markets and analyzed for the contamination of 5 different mycotoxins (aflatoxin, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and T-2 toxin) using ELISA kits. The results revealed that the most frequently detected mycotoxin was zearalenone (n=36, 33%), followed by aflatoxin (n=31, 28.4%) and ochratoxin A (n=30, 27.5%). Deoxynivalenol and T-2 toxin were also detected in 22 (20.3%) samples, respectively. Among 109 nut samples, 33 samples (30.3%) were contaminated only with one kind of mycotoxin, whereas 43 samples had at least 2 kinds of mycotoxins. Two samples were contaminated with as many as 4 different mycotoxins, and they were both walnuts. Although the monitoring results revealed the amount of aflatoxin contamination was under the safety criteria, there is no current safety guideline for other kinds of mycotoxins or multiple contaminations in Korea. Therefore, further studies should be performed to reveal the distribution of mycotoxin in different foods and propose appropriate safety guidelines for Korean markets.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.58-63
• /
• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Telomeres are located at the chromosomal ends and progressively shortened during each cell cycle. Telomerase, which is regulated by hTERT and c-MYC, maintains telomeric DNA sequences. Especially, telomerase is active in cancer and stem cells to maintain telomere length for replicative immortality. Recently we reported that walnut phenolic extract (WPE) can reduce cell viability in a colon cancer stem cell (CSC) model. We, therefore, investigated the effect of WPE on telomere maintenance in the same model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: $CD133^+CD44^+$ cells from HCT116, a human colon cancer cell line, were sorted by Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and treated with WPE at the concentrations of 0, 10, 20, and $40{\mu}g/mL$ for 6 days. Telomere lengths were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) using telomere specific primers and DNA extracted from the cells, which was further adjusted with single-copy gene and reference DNA ($ddC_t$). Telomerase activity was also measured by qRT-PCR after incubating the PCR mixture with cell protein extracts, which was adjusted with reference DNA ($dC_t$). Transcriptions of hTERT and c-MYC were determined using conventional RT-PCR. RESULTS: Telomere length of WPE-treated cells was significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner ($5.16{\pm}0.13$ at $0{\mu}g/mL$, $4.79{\pm}0.12$ at $10{\mu}g/mL$, $3.24{\pm}0.08$ at $20{\mu}g/mL$ and $3.99{\pm}0.09$ at $40{\mu}g/mL$; P = 0.0276). Telomerase activities concurrently decreased with telomere length ($1.47{\pm}0.04$, $1.09{\pm}0.01$, $0.76{\pm}0.08$, and $0.88{\pm}0.06$; P = 0.0067). There was a positive correlation between telomere length and telomerase activity (r = 0.9090; P < 0.0001). Transcriptions of both hTERT and c-MYC were also significantly decreased in the same manner. CONCLUSION: In the present cell culture model, WPE reduced telomere maintenance, which may provide a mechanistic link to the effect of walnuts on the viability of colon CSCs.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.739-751
• /
• 2015

This study investigated the table settings used in Bul-chun-wi sacrificial rituals in Sangju, Gyeongpook Province. This study took place from May 2014 to April 2015 and incorporated field research and literature review. The subjects of the study were Sojae jongga (family head), Wolgan jongga, Ubook jongga and Ipjae jongga. There were four rows in the table setting of the Wolgan, whereas there were five rows in the other jonggas. In row 5, there were fruits, seeds and confections. In row 4, there were vegetables. In row 3, there was tang (stew); in row 2, juk (steamed meats or fishes) and pyun (rice cake); and in row 1, meh (boiled rice), geng (soup) and myun (noodles). The common food setting was arranged in the order of meh, geng, myun, ganjang (Korean soy sauce), poh (dried meat/fish), chimchae (water kimchi), dates, chestnuts, pears, persimmons, walnuts, bracken, bellflowers, croaker, pyun, and ssam (rice wrapped in lettuce leaves). Ubook jongga had the most number of stews at seven. Sojae and Ipjae jongga each had five stews, and Wolgan jongga had three. The smaller Wolgan jongga had gehjuk (boiled chicken), uhjuk (steamed fish) and yookjuk (boiled meat) arranged in a neat pile on one dish used for rituals, whereas Ubook jongga had gehjuk, uhjuk and yookjuk arranged separately. Sojae and Ipjae jongga had gehjuk arranged separately while yookjuk and uhjuk were arranged as dojuk (gehjuk, uhjuk, yookjuk). The uhjuk was arranged separately. In Wolgan jongga, po was arranged on the right while in the other jonggas, it was arranged to the left. For raw meat Ubook jongga, raw mackerel; Ipjae jongga, raw croaker, and Sojae jongga Yukhoe (beef tartare) were set. However, pork, chicken and croaker were cooked. Other ritual food were used in seasoning and boiling. In the geng Wolgan and Ipjae jongga used miyeokguk (seawood soup), whereas Sojae and Ubook jongga used tangguk (meat soup with vegetables). For the ritual food, most jongga ordered yoogwa, yakgwa and bonpyun as one part, rice cakes (steamed rice cake, glutinous rice cake, jeungpyun, gyungdan), and jehju (alcohol). The other ritual food was prepared on the day by jongga.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.433-440
• /
• 2015

Several studies suggest that regular consumption of walnuts may have beneficial effects against oxidative stress-mediated disease such as cancer. The present study reports the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, together with the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of several solvent extracts (methanol, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water) obtained from walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husk. MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) values of the walnut extracts for 8 human pathogenic bacteria strain were determined using agar dilution method. Antioxidant activity of extracts were assessed using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)) assays, EC₅₀ of DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities, and determination of total phenolic and flavonoid content and its correlation with DPPH and ABTS scavenging capacities. Among the six extracts, ethyl acetate extract (EtOAc Ex) showed the highest antimicrobial activity at 3.2 mg/ml of MICs against Staphylococcus aureus SG511. Total flavonoids and polyphenol contents of EtOAc Ex were 42.48 mg of quercetin equivalents (QE)/g and 223.25 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g respectively. The highest antioxidative potential was shown by the sample extracted with EtOAc Ex (EC₅₀=13.43 μg/ml for DPPH and EC₅₀=41.83 μg/ml for ABTS radical scavenging activity assay). These results showed that J. regia green husk extracts can be used as an easily accessible source of natural antibacterial agents and natural antioxidants.