• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.1064-1079
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• 2018

In this study, the antimicrobial activity of a bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus faecalis KT11, isolated from traditional Kargı Tulum cheese, was determined, and bacteriocin KT11 was partially characterized. The results showed that bacteriocin KT11 was antagonistically effective against various Gram-positive and Gram-negative test bacteria, including vancomycin- and/or methicillin-resistant bacteria. The activity of bacteriocin KT11 was completely abolished after treatment with proteolytic enzymes (proteinase K, ${\alpha}$-chymotrypsin, protease and trypsin), which demonstrates the proteinaceous nature of this bacteriocin. Additionally, bacteriocin KT11 remained stable at pH values ranging from 2 to 11 and after autoclaving at $121^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. In addition, the activity of bacteriocin KT11 was stable after treatment with several surfactants (EDTA, SDS, Triton X-100, Tween 80 and urea) and organic solvents (chloroform, propanol, methanol, ethyl alcohol, acetone, hexane and ethyl ether). Cell-free supernatant of E. faecalis KT11 was subjected to ammonium sulfate precipitation and then desalted by using a 3.5-kDa cut-off dialysis membrane. The bacteriocin activity was determined to be 711 AU/mL in the dialysate. After tricine-SDS-PAGE analysis, one peptide band, which had a molecular weight of ~3.5 kDa, exhibited antimicrobial activity. Because the bacteriocin KT11, isolated from E. faecalis KT11, exhibits a broad antimicrobial spectrum, heat stability and stability over a wide pH range, this bacteriocin can be used as a potential bio-preservative in foods. Additionally, bacteriocin KT11 alone or in combination with conventional antibiotics may provide a therapeutic option for the treatment of multidrug-resistant clinical pathogens after further in vivo studies.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.98-102
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• 2015

Oleanolic acid and its derivatives are pentacyclic triterpene acids, which are produced in many plants and herbs. These are considered safe and thus, oleanolic acid is now used for cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry. Oleanolic acid affects peptidoglycan in cell wall of bacteria. Hence, the antimicrobial activity of oleanolic acid is not very obvious to Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Shigella flexneri, and Shigella sonnei because the peptidoglycan is covered with outer membrane. However, oleanolic acid derivatives showed improved antimicrobial activity to Gram-negative bacteria. For Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes, oleanolic acid was very effective on reducing the cell counts of the pathogens. In addition, the cytotoxicity of oleanolic acid for human cell lines was minimal. Therefore, oleanolic acid should be considered as an antimicrobial food additive and a therapeutic agent to control foodborne pathogens.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.981-989
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• 2019

Coffee is a popular beverage worldwide, and the scale of consumption is growing rapidly. Many studies have shown that increased coffee consumption has various effects on human health, including beneficial effects on liver diseases, clinical type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson's disease. However, the influences of coffee or caffeine (a component of coffee) on the gut microbiota have not been examined in detail. Here, we tested whether caffeine could alter the antimicrobial activity of L. casei against E. coli. Interestingly, we found that treatment with 0.3 mg/mL caffeine increased the antimicrobial activity of L. casei against E. coli. This activity was not associated with the release of lactic acid but did appear to be related to a heat-labile factor present in the L. casei culture supernatant. Our analyses suggest that the putative antimicrobial factor found in the culture supernatant of L. casei treated with caffeine may be bacteriocin. Taken together, our results suggest that caffeine, which is an ingredient of coffee, increases the antimicrobial activity of L. casei against E. coli through the enhanced production of bacteriocin. These findings also suggest that coffee consumption affects the ability of beneficial bacteria to decrease pathogenic bacteria and/or prevent the progression of bacterial infection-associated diseases in the gut.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.273-278
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• 2015

The induction of angiogenesis is a crucial step in tumor progression, and therefore, efficient inhibition of angiogenesis is considered a powerful strategy for the treatment of cancer. In the present study, we report that the lipophilic antimicrobial peptides from EML-CAP3, a new endophytic bacterial strain isolated from red pepper leaf (Capsicum annuum L.), exhibit potent antiangiogenic activity both in vitro and in vivo. The newly obtained antimicrobial peptides effectively inhibited the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells at subtoxic doses. Furthermore, the peptides suppressed the in vitro characteristics of angiogenesis such as endothelial cell invasion and tube formation stimulated by vascular endothelial growth factor, as well as neovascularization of the chorioallantoic membrane of growing chick embryos in vivo without showing cytotoxicity. Notably, the angiostatic peptides blocked tumor cell-induced angiogenesis by suppressing the expression levels of hypoxia-inducible $factor-1{\alpha}$ and its target gene, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). To our knowledge, our findings demonstrate for the first time that the antimicrobial peptides from EML-CAP3 possess antiangiogenic potential and may thus be used for the treatment of hypervascularized tumors.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.180-187
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• 2017

Background: The incidence of halitosis has a prevalence of 22-50% throughout the world and is generally caused by anaerobic oral microorganisms, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum, Clostridium perfringens, and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Previous investigations on the structure-activity relationships of ginsenosides have led to contrasting results. Particularly, the antibacterial activity of less polar ginsenosides against halitosis-related bacteria has not been reported. Methods: Crude saponins extracted from the Panax quinquefolius leaf-stem (AGS) were treated at $130^{\circ}C$ for 3 h to obtain heat-transformed saponins (HTS). Five ginsenoside-enriched fractions (HTS-1, HTS-2, HTS-3, HTS-4, and HTS-5) and less polar ginsenosides were separated by HP-20 resin absorption and HPLC, and the antimicrobial activity and mechanism were investigated. Results: HPLC with diode-array detection analysis revealed that heat treatment induced an extensive conversion of polar ginsenosides (-Rg1/Re, -Rc, -Rb2, and -Rd) to less polar compounds (-Rg2, -Rg3, -Rg6, -F4, -Rg5, and -Rk1). The antimicrobial assays showed that HTS, HTS-3, and HTS-4 were effective at inhibiting the growth of F. nucleatum, C. perfringens, and P. gingivalis. Ginsenosides-Rg5 showed the best antimicrobial activity against the three bacteria, with the lowest values of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration. One major reason for this result is that less polar ginsenosides can more easily damage membrane integrity. Conclusion: The results indicated that the less polar ginsenoside-enriched fraction from heat transformation can be used as an antibacterial agent to control halitosis.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.706-711
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• 2010

Paeonia lactiflora Pall. was extracted with water and the Paeonia lactiflora Pall. extract (PLE) was tested for antimicrobial activities against Corynebacterium xerosis, Candida albicans, Listeria monocytogenes and Pseudomonas syringae. PLE showed pronounced antimicrobial effects at concentrations at or above 50 ${\mu}g$/mL. The activities were stable at $100^{\circ}C$ and over the pH range of 3-11. PLE may serve as a natural antimicrobial agent in food preservation. It is suggested that hydrophillic components in the extract synergistically perturb microbial membrane functions.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.141-149
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• 1994

To investigate the distribution of Vibrio parahaemopyticus in the southern 4 coastal areas, Vibrio parahaemolyticus was isolated from seawater, shellfish and sediment from May to October in 1991, and antimicrobial effect of grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) on the growth of isolated strains were examined. In the 120 sample from 4 coastal areas, 16 strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus were isolated and identified. The distribution serotype of isolated strains was 10 types of monovalent k-antiserum. Especially k-5 and k-28 were highly distribyted with 3 and 4 strains. 31.3% of isolated strains showed positive on Kanagawa phenomenon test. All isolated Vibrio parahaemolyticus were sensitive to chloramphenicol and gentamycin, 5 and 6 strains were resistant to streptomycin and colistin, respectively. Isolated strains were compared with geographical, month and sample. The distribution of 16 isolated Vibrio parahamolyticus was high at Hadong with 50%(8 strains), on July with 43.8%(7 strains) and from seawater with 37.5%(6 strains) respectively. Minimal inhibitory level of GFSE to Vibrio parahaemolyticus was 50 ppm. With 100 ppm treatment of GFSE, the destroy of cell membrane function, outflow of cell ingredients and ghost morphology of cell were investigated.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.460-466
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• 2011

The activity of an antimicrobial peptide, magainin 2, on lipid membranes was investigated using solid-state NMR and a new sampling method that employed mechanically aligned bilayers between thin glass plates. The experiments were performed at two hydration levels. At 95% hydration about 15% of the lipid bilayers were disrupted and at full hydration 20% were disrupted. From the comparison of two equilibrium states established by two sampling methods the importance of peptide binding to the lipid bilayer for whole membrane disruption was demonstrated.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1386-1394
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• 2013

In our previous study, the 25-mer antimicrobial peptide pleurocidin (Ple) had been thought to induce apoptosis in Candida albicans. This study demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was a major cause of Ple-induced apoptosis. Four truncated analogs were synthesized to understand the functional roles in the N- and C-terminal regions of Ple on the apoptosis. Ple, Ple (4-25), Ple (1-22), and Ple (1-19) produced ROS, including hydroxyl radicals, on the order of [Ple > Ple (1-22) > Ple (4-25) > Ple (1-19)], whereas Ple (7-25) did not induce any ROS production. The results suggested that the N-terminal deletion affected the ROS-inducing activities much more than that of the C-terminal deletion, and net hydrophobicity [Ple > Ple (1-22) > Ple (4-25) > Ple (1-19) > Ple (7-25)] was related to ROS generation rather than other primary factors like net charge. Hence, we focused on the N-terminal-truncated peptides, Ple (4-25) and Ple (7-25), and examined other apoptotic features, including mitochondrial membrane depolarization, caspase activation, phosphatidylserine externalization, and DNA and nuclear fragmentation. The results also confirmed the disappearance of apoptotic activity of Ple (7-25) by the truncation of the N-terminal region (1-6) and the specific activity patterns between Ple and analogs. In conclusion, the N-terminal region of Ple played an important role in apoptosis.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.543-550
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• 2011

Various concentrations of whey protein isolate (WPI), such as 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0%(w/v), containing 1.0%(w/v) eugenol were prepared by high speed homogenization to formulate nanoemulsions (NEs) and to investigate their antimicrobial activity. The results showed that particle size decreased according to increases in WPI concentration. Similarly, the ${\zeta}$-potential value was reduced to a negative charge when using WPI concentrations >0.1%(w/v). In contrast, no significant differences in particle size were observed during 1 mon of storage, except for the 0.1%(w/v) WPI NE. The ${\zeta}$-potential value depended on the increase in WPI concentration and storage duration, except for NE1 and NE5, suggesting that a low or high concentration of emulsifier was not effective for maintaining the droplet form of the eugenol NE. The results of an antibacterial effect investigation indicated that the growth of Escherichia coli was inhibited based on an increase in eugenol concentration in all NE formulations. Moreover, a membrane permeability study showed that total leakage content increased according to incubation time.