• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.716-722
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• 2014

Aminopeptidase-active fractions from crude extract of the hepatopancreas of a common squid (Todarodes pacificus) were obtained using acetone (AC; 30-40%) and ammonium sulfate precipitation (AS; 60-70% saturation), anion exchange (AE-II; 0.2 M NaCl) and gel filtration chromatography (GF-I; 30-50 kDa), respectively. The debittering capacity of GF-I fraction based on the aminopeptidase activity (89.2 U/mg), recovery (56.6%) and sensory evaluation (1.0) was better than that of other fractions. Release of amino acids increased as incubation time was increased, and the bitterness of the enzyme reaction mixtures decreased. Incubation with the GF-I fraction for 24 h resulted in the hydrolysis of several peptides, as revealed by reverse-phase HPLC profiles. Peaks 3, 5 and 6 showed the decreased area (%), whereas peaks 1, 2 and 4 showed the increased area. The GF-I fractions were found to be suitable for reducing bitterness in protein hydrolysates by catalyzing the hydrolysis of bitter peptides.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.478-487
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• 2013

Onions were treated with different amounts of sulfur (S) during cultivation and examined for their physicochemical properties and flavor. Onions cultivated without S application were the control group; the treatment groups were grown in soil that had been pretreated with S and received additional S applications or four times before harvest. As the number of S applications increased, the levels of crude protein, quantified with total nitrogen; ash, approximating total amounts of minerals; and dietary fiber of the onions tended to increase. The mineral compositions also improved, with noticeable increases in the levels of Mg, K, Fe, and Zn. In particular, the reducing capacity of the onions increased appreciably (p<0.05), without increases in the levels of S-containing compounds such as thiosulfinate or S-containing amino acids. Nevertheless, the spicy hot taste and flavor, which is generated mainly from S-containing compounds, were perceived more strongly in the onions that had received more S applications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2005

Phosphomannomutase (PMM) is a key enzyme in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, which catalyzes the conversion of ${\alpha}$-D-mannose 6-phosphate to ${\alpha}$-D-mannose 1-phosphate. The latter is the substrate for the synthesis of GDP-mannose, which serves as the mannosyl donor for many metabolic pathways in the cells. We report here on the isolation of a gene from a genomic library of Sphingomonas chungbukensis DJ77, the pmmC gene encoding phosphomannomutase. The gene was cloned into E. coli expression vector, and the sequence was analyzed. The ribosomal binding site GGAAG lays 5 bp upstream of the ORF of 750 bp, which is initiated by ATG codon and terminated by TAG. The predicted sequence of the enzyme consists of 249 amino acids with a molecular mass of 27.4 kDa and showed $86.9\%$ similarity to that of eukaryotic phosphomannomutase after bioinformatical analyses with the conserved domain search of NCBI. The purified gene product revealed the activity of phosphomannomutase. In conclusion, we confirmed that pmmC gene encodes phosphomannomutase actually.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2012

Lactobacillus acidophilus isolated from the feces of a 7-day-old breast-fed infant was characterized to examine the scope of its commercial use. Forty-three Lactobacillus strains, which could grow at pH 5.5, were isolated. From these Lactobacillus isolates, 14 Lactobacillus strains were selected, which demonstrated more than 80% viability and homofermentative lactic fermentation. Finally, 9 L. acidophilus strains (NB 201~NB 209) were identified as candidate strains based upon biochemical properties, carbohydrate utilization, and cellular fatty acid composition. L. acidophilus isolates demonstrated a survival rate of more than 80% when exposed to pH 2.5 for 2 h. In particular, L. acidophilus NB 204 showed a strong acid tolerance, with a 71% survival rate even at pH 2.0. L. acidophilus isolates also manifested high bile acid tolerance; more than 87% of the cells survived on agar containing 1% bile extract, except for L. acidophilus NB 206, which showed a 73% survival rate. All L. acidophilus isolates were confirmed to have proteolytic activity; L. acidophilus NB 204 and NB 209 yielded higher levels of TCA-soluble peptides and free amino acids. The ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity of the L. acidophilus isolates was in the range of 1.97~2.45 units/mL.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.2 s.82
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• pp.272-278
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• 2007

Proteases are enzymes that break peptide bonds between amino acids of other proteins and occupy a crucial position with respect to their applications in both physiological and commercial fields. In order to screen new source of protease, bacteria producing extracellular proteases at low temperature were isolated from deep sea water of East Sea, Korea. A bacterium showing the best growth rate and production of an extracellular protease at low temperature was designated HJ 47. The DNA sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, phenotypic tests and morphology led to the placement of this organism in the genus Pseudoalteromonas. Although maximal growth was observed at $37^{\circ}C$, enzyme production per culture time was maximum at $20^{\circ}C$. At this temperature, extracellluar protease production was detected from the end of the exponential phage to stationary phase, and maximal at 15 hours after initial production. The optimum temperature and pH of the protease were found to be $35^{\circ}C$ and 8.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.507-514
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• 2015

D-Xylulose is phosphorylated to D-xylulose-5-phosphate by D-xylulose kinase before it enters glycolysis via the nonoxidative pentose phosphate pathway. A gene encoding a novel D-xylulose kinase (XK) from K. gwangalliensis strain SJ2 was sequenced and expressed in E. coli. The sequence of the isolated XK gene was 1,419 bp, encoding 472 amino acids. The XK protein was more closely related to the Arthrobacter phenanthrenivorans XK than to the Bifidobacterium catenulatum one, as reflected in the sequence identity (54.9% vs. 38.7%). The XK gene was subcloned into the pCold-II expression vector. The resulting plasmid was transformed into E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) cells and the expression of the recombinant XK protein was induced by the addition of IPTG. The resulting protein was expressed as a fusion protein of approximately 48 kDa containing a N-terminal six-histidine extension that was derived from the expression vector. The expressed protein was homogenized by affinity chromatography and showed enzymatic activity corresponding to D-xylulose kinase. XK enzyme kinetic studies with D-xylulose and ATP showed a Km of 250±20 μM and 1,300±50 μM, respectively. The results obtained from this study will provide a wider knowledge base for the characterization of D-xylulose kinase at the molecular level.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1185-1190
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• 2017

Insects are gaining recognition as an alternative source of protein. As a result, more and more domestic farms have begun mass rearing of edible insects. In order to produce high quality insects, studies on the development of safe and nutritious feed sources are needed. Given the cost of rearing insects, agricultural and industrial by-products are good sources for feed. The efficient utilization of these by-products can help in reducing the cost of production and preventing environmental pollution. In the current study, Citrus unshiu peel (CP), soybean curd cake (SCC), soybean oil meal (SOM), and brewers dried grain (BDG) were investigated for their effects on larval growth and development of Protaetia brevitarsis. Interestingly, the feed with 10% SCC increased larval weight by 3.5 times. For the larval period, the group of 10% SCC was significantly shorter than the control. Furthermore, minerals such as Zn, Ca, K, Mg, Na, and P were recorded to be high in 10% SCC. A total of 17 amino acids were present in 10% SCC, of which tyrosine and arginine were predominant. The heavy metal contents were very small amounts or not detected in any of the investigated groups. These findings provided a scientific basis for the utilization of soybean curd cake as a nutritional feed source to promote larval growth and produce quality insects.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.540-546
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial effects and characteristics of protamine extracted from spermary of tuna. The result of amino acids analysis showed that the contents of arginine were 46%. It was 10% lower when compared to standard protamine (SP: Asama kasei LTD, Japan). Also, there were significant difference in the contents of proline adn glycine. The average molecular weights of main protein in TP were 13,400 Da, whereas those in SP were 11,300 Da and 2,600 Da. To increase antimicrobial activities of TP, pepsin or trypsin was treated at $37^{\circ}C$. After TP was hydrolyzed with pepsin (pepsin hydrolyzed protamine: PHP) for 4hrs, the average molecular weights of the main protein were 11,300 Da and 3,900 Da, and the antimicrobial activities were significantly increased compared to TP. After TP was hydrolyzed with trypsin (trypsin hydrolyzed protamine: THP) for more than 10 min, the average molecular weights of the main protein were below 2,500 Da. PHP had higher antimicrobial effects on some gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus plantarum) than SP. However, THP had no antimicrobial activities. When TP was hydrolyzed with pepsin (PHP), its antimicrobial activities increased in the same level with those of SP, and this increase might be resulted rather from the changes of molecular weights of the main protein than from the contents of arginine in protamine.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.742-746
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• 2000

Quality improvements of soybean sprouts on DSSE(Defatted Sesame Seed Extracts)-treated cultivation were determined in terms of growth rate, nutrient compositions value and the total bacteria. The length, diameter and weight of treated soybean sprouts were increased by 6.2%, 10.0% and 9.1%, respectively, compared with control. The contents of moisture, crude ash, crude fat of the treated soybean sprouts were similar to the control soybean sprouts, whereas crude protein content of the treated sprouts was 17% higher than the control. Both soybean sprouts contained 17 amino acids but the treated sprouts contained the higher contents of glutamic acid, threonine, methionine, tyrosine and valine. Little difference in fatty acid composition was noted between the two soybean sprout samples. Vitamin C contents of the treated soybean sprouts were 18.2 mg%, which corresponds to about 50% more vitamin C than the control. The treated soybean sprouts contained higher contents in minerals such as K, P and Ca than those of the control. The total bacteria of soybean sprouts in the control soybean sprouts increased rapidly after 2-day storage, but treated soybean sprouts increased immediately after 4-day storage.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.72-76
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• 2003

Ultrafiltration (UF) tests performed on traditional soy sauce (kanjang) using UF flat membrane test cell unit with thin film laminar flow similar to the spiral type membrane module in batch operations revealed reduction in permeate flux is proportional to the logarithm values of volume reduction ratio of the retentate kanjang at different feed rate of kanjang. Feed rate of 1.5 L/min was found to be adequate for long-term UF operation of kanjang using the test unit attached with MW cut-off size of 200,000 dalton polyoleffin plastic membrane in batch operation with the least concentration polarization. The higher the feed rate of kanjang, the lower the permeability of total nitrogen and NaCl, resulting in lower optical density at 500 nm and lower permeability of minerals such as Cu, Mn, and Mg. Microbial cells were completely rejected regardless of the feed rate, whereas most free amino acids were not.