• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.146-155
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• 1983

Fundamental study was carried out to elucidate the mechanisms of biological degradation of dyestuff in environments. A few bacterial strains which were capable of degrading amarnath were obtained from soil through an extensive screening program and identified by microbiolological properties. Conditions for bacterial growth and amaranth degradation were characterized and optimized, and the degradation products were identified. The results were as follows. 1. The most active strain A12-1 to be capable of degradation of amaranth was identified as Pseudomonas sp. 2. Optimal conditions for growth of the strain A12-1 were:$35^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.5, and growth was markedly increaesd by aeration. 3. Degradation of amaranth by the strain was accessed under similiar conditions for growth, however significantly inhibited when the culture was aerated. 4. Both bacterial growth and amaranth degradation were gradually decreased with increased concentration of amaranth in the culture. 5. Reaction of the crude enzyme from the strain A12-1 was optimal at $35^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.5 for degrading amaranth. 6. Sodium naphthionate and R-amino salt were found to be the products of amaranth degradation by the strain A12-1.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.321-325
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• 2002

For examination, amaranth was first dried its surface after sufficient soaking in water. Dried amaranth was roasted when the moisture contents reached 30∼50%, its nasty smell disappeared and its color turned to yellow and it was puffed. Pretreated amaranth was added to biscuit for the improvement of apparence and merchandise value. The maximum expansion was reported at the moisture percentage of 130∼160% according to the examination of expansion and moisture percentage. In order to compare gelatinization of different processing, three different amaranth were prepared as follows ; Raw amaranth, steamed/dried amaranth, and roasted amaranth. The degree of gelatinization was increased as the percentage of moisture was increased and the degree of gelatinization of roasted amaranth was higher than the one of steamed/dried amaranth, their moisture contents were 62.10% and 57.59%, respectively In addition, the hardness($\times$10$\^$5/dyn/㎠) of roasted amaranth was showed lower values than that of steamed amaranth and raw amaranth were showed the large values. After examining biscuits containing each amaranth, raw amaranth had problem with nasty smell and bad texture, and streamed/dried amaranth were able to remove viscosity but turned brown. Biscuits containing roasted amaranth had good smell and texture, and besides the color of biscuits became bright because roasted amaranth turned white. Biscuits tasted best when it contained 5% of roasted amaranth. The rancidity of biscuits with 5% roasted amaranth were proceeded slowly while roasted amaranth itself had high acid value and peroxide value. For the safety from oxidation, it was fairly safe for about 6 months.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.664-669
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• 2011

Wet noodles with different percentages of amaranth powder were prepared and their cooking characteristics were evaluated. The cooking quality, mechanical textural properties, and a sensory evaluation was conducted with the prepared noodles. Cooked noodle properties, weight, and volume decreased as amaranth content of the wheat flour increased, whereas turbidity and water absorption of the soup increased, except for cooked noodles with 30% amaranth. The L-value of the raw and cooked noodles decreased significantly with increasing amaranth powder content. The a- and b-values increased with increasing amounts of added amaranth powder. The L-value of the raw and cooked noodles with amaranth was significantly lower than that of the control, and the a-value was lower than that of the control, whereas the b-value was higher than that of the control for both raw and cooked noodles. A texture profile analysis of the raw noodles showed significantly higher levels of hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness, and springiness in the amaranth noodles compared to those in the control; the values for adhesiveness were not significantly different. The hardness, gumminess, springiness, and chewiness of the cooked noodles decreased in proportion to the quantity of added amaranth. The springiness, adhesiveness, and cohesiveness of cooked noodles with amaranth decreased slightly. Overall, the results of a sensory evaluation revealed that the cooked noodles with amaranth had higher values than those of the control, except for overall acceptability. Amaranth added at a concentration of up to 30% increased brown color and the peculiar amaranth odor. In a sensory evaluation, cooked noodles with 20% amaranth powder were preferred more than the other noodles for overall acceptability.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.603-617
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was carried out to investigate the effect of amaranth seed extracts on glycemic regulation in HepG2 cells. The 80% ethanol extracts of amaranth seeds were used to evaluate α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities, cell viability, glucose uptake and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), glucose transporter (GLUT)-2, GLUT-4, insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2. Methods: The samples were prepared and divided into 4 groups, including germinated black amaranth (GBA), black amaranth (BA), germinated yellow amaranth (GYA) and yellow amaranth (YA). Glucose hydrolytic enzyme, α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities were examined using a proper protocol. In addition, cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Glucose uptake in cells was measured using an assay kit. The mRNA expression levels of ACC, GLUT-2, GLUT-4, IRS-1 and IRS-2 were measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: The inhibitory activities of α-amylase and α-glucosidase were highly observed in GBA, followed by BA, GYA and YA. Similar results were observed for glucose. The GBA effect was similar compared to the positive control group. The mRNA expression levels of ACC, GLUT-2, GLUT-4, IRS-1, and IRS-2 were significantly increased. The potential hypoglycemic effects of amaranth seed extracts were observed due to the increase in glucose metabolic enzyme activity, and glucose uptake was mediated through the upregulation of ACC, GLUT-2, GLUT-4, IRS-1, and IRS-2 expression levels. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the amaranth seed is a potential candidate to prevent a diabetes. The present study demonstrated the possibility of using amaranth seeds, especially GBA and BA for glycemic control.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.339-341
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• 2018

Amaranth has the potential for good materials related to nutrients and health benefits. There are several diseases of amaranth such as leaf blight, damping-off, and root rot. As a causal agent of soft rot disease, Pectobacterium spp. could infect various plant species. In this study, we isolated the bacterial pathogen causing soft rot of amaranth in South Korea. In Gangneung, Gangwon province during 2017, amaranth plants showed typical soft rot symptoms such as wilting, defoliation and odd smell. To isolate pathogen, the macerated tissues of contaminated amaranth were spread onto LB agar plates and purified by a single colony subculture. One ml bacterial suspension of a representative isolate was injected to the stem of five seedlings of 2-week-old amaranth with a needle. Ten mM magnesium sulfate solution was used as a negative control. 16S rDNA gene and recA gene were sequenced and compared with the reference sequences using the BLAST. In the phylogenetic tree based on 16S rDNA gene and recA gene, GSA1 strain was grouped in Pcb.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 1987

With the market of food products, the use of food additives is on the increase. The dye as food additives, can be used for some foods which are difficult to preserve their own colors. It can be also classified as tar dye, vegetable dye and mineral dye. Because tar dye has dense toxicity, only 15 articles among them are legally allowed to be used. Among the allowed articles, the azo compound amaranth, tartrazine, sunset yellow, and allura red, were used in determining and comparing rat hepatic azo reductase activity and we observed the flavin's effects as follows: 1. Investigation with amaranth as substrate gave an apparent Km of $645\;\mu\textrm{M}$ and Vmax of 50 n mol/min/mg protein. 2. On investigation using a fixed amaranth concentration over a range of flavin concentration, FAD significantly increased the activity of the azo reductase compared with only minor increases in reaction mediated by the NADPH-generating system alone. 3. On investigation with amaranth, tartrazine, sunset yellow allura red as electron acceptor in the absence or presence of 300 mM-FAD, sunset yellow was reduced at a rat similar to amaranth, tartrazine was reduced at a slower rate and allura red was reduced a little more rapidly.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.812-816
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• 2017

Although amaranth, a red-colored tar dye, is usually used in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutics, its bioavailability and intestinal absorption have not previously been investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics properties and intestinal permeability of amaranth in rats following the intravenous and oral administration of this dye. Amaranth rapidly disappeared from the plasma following the intravenous injection, with a half-life of 38.8 minutes. However, the plasma concentration of amaranth was increased to 400 minutes following the oral administration of amaranth, and the absorption time and bioavailability of amaranth were calculated to be 356 minutes and 55.6%, respectively. This suggests that once amaranth exists in the gut, this dye may be efficiently and effectively absorbed. Consistent with this result, the intestinal permeability of amaranth was comparable to atenolol, a marker compound of moderate permeability, and to one-third of caffeine's intestinal permeability (a highly permeable compound). In conclusion, a significantly long absorption time and substantial intestinal absorption of amaranth was observed following the oral administration of amaranth at a dose of 300 mg/kg in rats, despite the rapid elimination of this dye from the plasma. These results may suggest the necessity of a careful and limited use of amaranth dye when it is added to food, lip-care cosmetics, and orally administered pharmaceutics.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.450-455
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• 1996

In this study isolation and identification of squalene from amaranth and antineoplastic activity of its residue extract except squalene were determined to examine the utilization of grain amaranth in Korea. The content of squalene in amaranth grain was about 0.43%. The isolated squalene showed 99% pureness containing the identical molecular weight and structure provisionally in comparison with that of animal squalene from Sigma Co. by means of GC /Mass spectrum. Antineoplastic activity against human gastric and colon carcinoma cell line was measured in extract (except squalene) from Amaranth using MTT method. Extract from remaining plant good showed significant cytotoxic effect at the concentration of less than 230$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2003

In experiment 1, rats (n＝6) fed diet containing 10 g/kg cholesterol for 4 wk (control) with either no amaranth (control), amaranth grain (300 g/kg, AG) or amaranth oil (90 g/kg, AO). Both the AG and AO groups had lower concentration of serum and hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride than the controls (p < 0.05). Fecal excretions of cholesterol and bile acid in AO group increased about 4 fold and 2 fold, respectively, while AG affected only bile acid excretion (p < 0.05). In experiment 2, rats (n＝6) were fed the cholesterol diet for 4 wk and injected intraperitoneally with saline (control) or amaranth squalene (AS) for 7d. The hypolipidemic effect of AS was evident in both serum and liver. Fecal excretions of cholesterol and bile acid were greater (p < 0.05) in AS than control. HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A) reductase activity was reduced in AS group (11.6%, p=0.13). This study suggests that the cholesterol-lowering effect of AS is mediated by greater fecal elimination of steroids through interference with cholesterol absorption.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.51-64
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the qualities of muffins with 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12% amaranth leaf powder. The specific gravity of muffins prepared by adding amaranth leaf powder was higher than that of the control group. The pH of batter and muffins were decreased with the addition of amaranth leaf powder. The height, weight, volume, and specific loaf volume of muffins were decreased, while the baking loss rate of muffins was increased by the addition of amaranth leaf powder. The moisture content of the samples with amaranth leaf powder was lower than that of the control group. DPPH radical scavenging activity of the control group was 16.23%, whereas the samples with amaranth leaf powder ranged from 23.06~33.63%. In crumb color, the L and a value were decreased, although b value was increased significantly by the addition of amaranth leaves powder. The hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, and brittleness of the textural properties of muffins were significantly decreased by the addition of amaranth leaf powder. Sensory evaluation scores in terms of after swallowing, appearance, odor, taste, texture, and overall preference of groups with 3% and 6% of amaranth leaf powder did not show any significant difference when compared to the control group. Based on the above results, using less than 6% of the amaranth leaf powder appears proper to make muffins.