• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.428-433
• /
• 2012

Probiotics and their products, such as yogurt and cheese have been widely consumed in many countries with proven health benefits including anti-microbial activity and anti-diarrheal activity. LHFM (Lactobacillus helveticus - fermented milk) is a processed skim milk powder, fermented by a probiotics, L. helveticus IDCC3801. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects and the cognitive improvements of LHFM. LHFM itself did not show any cytotoxicity to the human neuroblastoma cell line, SH-SY5Y; however, it dose-dependently protected against glutamate-induced neuronal cell death. LHFM also attenuated scopolamine-induced memory deficit in Y-maze and Morris-water maze. In the analysis of hippocampus after a behavior test, LHFM significantly increased the acetylcholine level and also inhibited acetylcholine esterase activity. Therefore, the raised acetylcholine release partially contributes to the improvement of learning and memory by a treatment with LHFM. These results suggest that LHFM is an effective material for prevention or improvement of cognitive impairments caused by neuronal cell damage and central cholinergic dysfunction.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.21 no.9
• /
• pp.1214-1218
• /
• 2011

We investigated the fruits of Rubus crataegifolius Bge, a plant which has been traditionally used in Korea in phytotherapy, to describe antioxidant materials from plant sources. R. crataegifolius fruits were extracted with methanol and further fractionated into n-hexane, diethyl ether, and ethyl acetate. The antioxidant activity of each fraction and the residue was assessed using a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), $H_2O_2$ radical scavenging method, and their cytotoxicity on human primary kerationcyte (HK) was determined by an MTS assay. The R. crataegifolius fruit methanol extract showed strong antioxidant activity (75.04%, 50%) compared with vitamin C (79.9%, 54.1%) by the DPPH, and $H_2O_2$ method, respectively. The measured activity from the subsequent extracts of the methanol extract were 20.3% for n-hexane fraction (HF), 68.8% for diethyl ether fraction (DF), 67.1% for ethyl acetate fraction (EF), and 67.1% for the residue fraction (RE) by DPPH and 2.2% for HF, 1.6% for DF, 10% for EF, and 50% for the RE by $H_2O_2$ assay. An oxidative stress model of HK was established under a suitable concentration (1 mM). The cell viability of the RE treated group increased and the percentage of apoptotic cells decreased at concentrations of 0.005-0.02% RE compared with the $H_2O_2$ treated group. Fruit extracts of the medicinal plant R. crataegifolius showed potent antioxidant activity and the ability to relieve cell damage from $H_2O_2$ induced injury to HK.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.9
• /
• pp.975-985
• /
• 2017

To investigate the beneficial effects of an agar gel mask (AGM) on UV-induced photoaging, SKH-1 hairless mice were treated with a topical application of AGM and an AGM dipped in essence (AGMdE). The mice were divided into an no radiation group, UV + AGM, UV + AGMdE, and UV + vehicle (PBS) treatment groups. Alterations in skin wrinkles, skin phenotype, histological structures, oxidative status, and toxicity were then evaluated during 4 weeks of exposure. The topical application of AGM and AGMdE inhibited wrinkle formation, suppressed the erythema index, prevented transepidermal water loss, and enhanced skin hydration. In addition, epidermal thickness recovered to a similar level as that in the no irradiation group in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups compared with the UV + vehicle (distilled water) group. Furthermore, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and tyrosinase were reduced in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups, although the highest level varied. Moreover, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was significantly lower in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups as compared with the UV + vehicle group. No significant alterations induced by most toxic compounds were measured in serum biochemical markers and liver and kidney histological features of the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups. These results suggest that AGM may protect against skin aging by regulating skin morphology, histopathological structures, and oxidative conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.42 no.9
• /
• pp.1370-1377
• /
• 2013

Rice is widely grown in Asia and is one of the major dietary staples in the world. Also, rice contains antioxidants which can prevent from oxidative stress related diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Because the rice is consumed cooked, the effect of the cooking process on the antioxidative and antigenotoxic properties of rice is lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of cooking on the antioxidant and antigenotoxic effects of white rice (WR), brown rice (BR), and germinated brown rice (GBR). The antioxidant activities were measured for total phenolic content (TPC), DPPH radical scavenging activity (DPPH RSA), total antioxidant capacity (TRAP), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). The highest TPC was found in uncooked BR (18.4 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g). After cooking, the TPC of WR significantly increased, while the TPC of BR and GBR were reduced by 47.7% and 36.7%, respectively. The $IC_{50}$ for DPPH RSA was not significantly different in uncooked rice, while the DPPH RSA of WR and GBR decreased after cooking and the DPPH RSA of BR significantly increased. TRAP values in BR and GBR increased after cooking, while the value of WR decreased. The ORAC values of uncooked WR, BR, and GBR were 5.3, 4.3, and $3.9{\mu}M$ trolox equivalent at the concentration of $50{\mu}g/mL$. After cooking, the ORAC value of BR remained unchanged, while the value of GBR increased and the value of WR decreased. The antigenotoxic activities of WR, BR, and GBR were determined by measuring the inhibitory effects of $H_2O_2$-induced DNA damage on human leukocytes using the comet assay. The results showed that all rice tested showed a significant antigenotoxic effect against oxidative stress, except for the cooked white rice. Overall, our results indicate the addition of brown rice and/or germinated brown rice to cooked white rice is a good option for improving the benefits of rice.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.153-194
• /
• 2009

The resources of outer space are for the common exploitation of mankind, and it is a common responsibility of mankind to protect the outer space environment. With the rapid development of space science and technology, and especially with the busy space activities of some major space powers, environmental contamination or space debris is steadily increasing in quantity and has brought grave potential threats and actual damage to the outer space environment and human activities in space. Especially We must mitigate and seek out a solution to remove space debris which poses a threat directly to man's exploitation and use of outer space activities in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and in the Geostationary Orbit (GEO), through international cooperation and agreement in the fields of space science, economics, politics and law, in order to safeguard the life and property of mankind and protect the earth's environment. While the issue of space debris has been the subject of scientific study and discussion for some time now, it has yet to be fully addressed within the context of an international legal framework. During the earlier stages of the space age, which began in the late 1950s, the focus of international lawmakers and diplomats was the establishment of basic rules which sought to define the legal nature of outer space and set out the parameters for space activities and the nature and scope of activities carried out in outer space were quite limited. Consequently, environmental issues and the risks that might arise from the generation of space debris did not receive priority attention within the context of the development international space law. In recent years, however, the world has seen dramatic advances in technology and increases in the type and number of space-related activities which are being carried out. In addition, the number of actors in this field has exploded from two highly developed States to a vast array of different States, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, including private industry. Therefore, the number of artificial objects in the near-Earth space is continually increasing. As has been previously mentioned, COPUOS was the entity that created the existing five treaties, and five sets of legal Principles, which form the core of space law, and COPUOS is clearly the most appropriate entity to oversee the creation of this regulatory body for the outer space environmental problem. This idea has been proposed by various States and also at the ILA Conference in Buenos Aires. The ILA Conference in Buenos Aires produced an extensive proposal for such a regulatory regime, dealing with space debris issues in legal terms This article seeks to discuss the status of international law as it relates to outer space environmental problem and space debris and indicate a course of action which might be taken by the international community to develop a legal framework which can adequately cope with the complexity of issues that have recently been recognized. In Section Ⅱ,Ⅲ and IV of this article discuss the current status of international space law, and the extent to which some of the issues raised by earth and space environment are accounted for within the existing United Nations multilateral treaties. Section V and VI discuss the scope and nature of space debris issues as they emerged from the recent multi-year study carried out by the ILA, Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space ("COPUOS") as a prelude to the matters that will require the attention of international lawmakers in the future. Finally, analyzes the difficulties inherent in the future regulation and control of space debris and the activities to protect the earth's environment. and indicates a possible course of action which could well provide, at the least, a partial solution to this complex challenge.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.260-269
• /
• 2009

Hwabuk Dam has been under construction to reduce flood damage in Nakdong River watershed and to supply stable water for middle area of Gyeongbuk Province. Therefore, fish investigation in up and downstream of the dam was conducted from 2004 to 2008 in order to determine any negative effect on fish community due to dam construction and to use as fundamental data for conserving species diversity and maintaining stream health. According to data analysis on water quality, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, suspended solids, and total E-coli had seasonal variation, but they did not significantly differ in sites. However, biological and chemical oxygen demand, chlorophyll-a, nitrogen, and phosphorus representing organic matter and nutrient concentration were higher in upper site and decreased to lower site so that they differed by site. Concentration of arsenic among the heavy metals was less than 0.05 mg $L^{-1}$, which is regulated for protection of human health in water quality standard, except for 0.092 mg $L^{-1}$ in June 2005. During the study period, the total number of fish caught from the 6 sites was 10,263 representing 7 families 19 species. Among them, dominant and subdominant species were Korean chub (Zacco koreanus, 62.5%) and Chinese minnow (Rhynchocypris oxycephalus, 10.6%) which inhabit mostly in mid and upper streams, Korea. Among the 19 species, Korean endemic species were 9 species (47.4%) including Korean slender gudgeon (Squalidus gracilis majimae), Korean dark sleeper (Odontobutis platycephala), and Korean shiner (Coreoleuciscus splendidus). There was several individuals of the $1^{st}$-class endangered species, Naktong nose loach (Koreocobitis nahtongensis), caught in 2005${\sim}$2007, and no introduced species of fish was found in entire sampling period. According to result of community analysis, dominance index decreased toward lower site, but diversity and richness indices increased toward lower site. The equation of length-weight relationship on the dominant species was TW=0.000003$(TL)^{3.2603}$. The parameter b in the equation was greater than 3.0 indicating good nutritional condition in the populations. Compared to populations of Korean chub in other streams, the population in Hwabuk Dam watershed had higher mean of condition factor by size indicating better growth rate. With fish fauna and multi-metric health assessment model in each sampling attempt, index of biotic integrity (IBI) was evaluated and it resulted mostly in good (26${\sim}$35) and excellent (36${\sim}$40) condition in all sites, and the mean of IBI was the highest in site 5. The results indicate that it is very important to study not only environmental impact assessment with fish composition but also stream health assessment in order to conserve healthy aquatic ecosystem.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.35 no.9
• /
• pp.1127-1132
• /
• 2006

In our previous study, a novel herb mixture (HIM-I) of Angelica gigas radix, Cnidium officinale rhizoma, and Paeonia japonica radix was developed to protect the intestinal and immune systems and promote its recovery against radiation damage. A new herbal composition (HemoHIM) with the high immune modulating activity was developed from HIM-I. HIM-I was fractionated into ethanol fraction (HIM-I-E) and polysaccharide fraction (HIM-I-P). And HemoHIM was prepared by adding HIM-I-P to HIM-I. HemoHIM showed more effective than HIM-I in immune modulation as well as radioprotection. The present study is designed to investigate the protective effects of HIM-I, HIM-I-P, and HemoHIM on hydrogen peroxide $(H_2O_2)$ induced apoptosis of human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells. It was shown that $H_2O_2$ treatment reduced the viability of cells, and increased appearance of DNA ladders, hypodiploid (subG1) cells, and phosphatidylserine translocation level. Pretreatment of HemoHIM significantly reduced the cytotoxic effect induced by $H_2O_2$, associated with reducing the translocation of phosphatidylserine, hypodiploid cells and DNA ladders. HemoHIM appeared to be more protective than HIM-I against $H_2O_2$ induced apoptosis whereas, it exhibited similar activity to HIM-I-P. These results indicated that HemoHIM might be an useful agent for protection against oxidative stress $(H_2O_2)-induced$ apoptosis as well as immune modulation, especially since it is a relatively nontoxic natural product.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.56-60
• /
• 2009

A new naked oat cultivar Daeyang (Avena sativa L.) was developed by Department of Rice and Winter Cereal Crop, NICS, RDA in 2007. It was derived from a cross between 'FLX446-1-84-Q1'. and 'SO92004-B-3-3-5-7'. The FLX446-1-84-Q1, a naked oat cultivar from USA, is early heading and has good seed quality, while the SO92004-B-3-3-5-7, a covered oat breeding line, has a high yield with large grain. Subsequent generations were handled in a bulk method and pedigree selection program, and the SO97013-B-16-4 was selected based on agronomic performance in 2001. The line showed both high yield and good husking rate of seed in the yield trial tested at Suwon from 2002 to 2003, being designated as Gwiri51. The Gwiri51 was subsequently evaluated for winter hardiness, earliness, and yield in four locations, Gimje, Iksan, Jeongeup, and Jinju, from 2004 to 2007 and was designated as "Daeyang" and released. Its heading date was May 8 and maturing time was June 14 in a paddy field condition. The new cultivar Daeyang had 97 cm of culm length and 25.2 cm of spike length, 644 spikes per $m^2$, 65 grains per spike, 30.3 g of 1,000-grain weight, and 635 g of test weight. Daeyang showed better winter hardiness than that of the check cultivar 'Sunyang', and similar seed quality to the check cultivar in respect to percent content crude protein and $\beta$-glucan. However, it showed higher husking rate than the check cultivar. Grain yield of Daeyang in the regional yield trial for 4 years were averaged 4.18 MT $ha^{-1}$, which was 20% higher than that of the check cultivar Sunyang. Fall sowing cropping is recommended only in a south area where daily minimum mean temperatures are averaged higher than $-4^{\circ}C$ in January, and should be excluded in mountain area where frost damage is presumable.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.690-698
• /
• 2017

Vietnam is a marine nation with more than 3,444 km of shorelines, thousands of islands, and 2,360 rivers and canals of over 42,000 km long. As the frequency and the volume of oil transportation by ships increase, the possibility of oil spill incidents becomes higher than ever. Fuel oil and cargo oil spills at sea have widespread impact and long-term consequences on marine ecosystems, coastal resources and human health as well as socio-economy. This study is to show not only the present state of marine oil spills in Vietnam such as the number and the volume of oil spills for two decades, and an overall about Vietnamese national response system like national framework for Oil Spill Response (OSR), etc. but also to present the recommendations for enhancing national capability in response to oil spill incidents in Vietnam, especially, with a comparison of national OSR systems between Vietnam and South Korea. As the result, the number and the volume of marine oil spills in Vietnam showed an upward trend as opposed to a downward trend in South Korea. This means that Vietnam has the possibility of oil spills in coastal waters. Therefore, three main recommendations for the enhancement of national OSR capability in Vietnam are proposed as follows: (1) the development of alternative plan for reenforcing national OSR system involving legal system for preparedness and response to oil spill pollution such as the acceptance and implementation of OPRC Convention as well as the establishment of national fund compensating for the damage and loss caused by oil pollution; (2) the enhancement of a consistent reporting, alerting and monitoring system; and (3) the development of training and exercise programs with standard contents of educational courses.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.512-516
• /
• 2008

A new naked oat cultivar 'Choyang' (Avena sativa L.) was developed by the breeding team at the Department of Rice and Winter Cereal Crop, NICS, RDA in 2007. It was derived from a cross between 'Sikyonggwiri' and 'Gwiri23'. The cultivar, Sikyonggwiri is early heading while the breeding line Gwiri23 has a high yielding potential with large-size grain. Bulk method combined with pedigree selection program was employed in subsequent generations, and the promising line SO96025-B-303-44-2-5 was selected for agronomic performance in 2002. The line showed both high yield and good husking rate of seed in the Yield Trial tested at Suwon in 2003 to 2004, and was subsequently designated as 'Gwiri57'. Gwiri57 was evaluated for winter hardiness, earliness, and yield in four locations, Gimje, Iksan, Jeongeup and Jinju from 2005 to 2007 and was released as Choyang. Choyang headed 11 days earlier and matured 5 days earlier than the check cultivar 'Sunyang' in the paddy field condition. The new cultivar Choyang had 97 cm of culm length and 23.4 cm of spike length, 658 spikes per $m^2$, 75 grains per spike, 28.8 g of 1,000-grain weight, and 636 g of test weight. Choyang showed better winter hardiness than that of the check cultivar Sunyang, and similar seed quality to the check cultivar in respect to crude protein (12.9%) and ${\beta}$-glucan content (4.7%). However, it showed higher husking rate than the check cultivar. The grain yield of Choyang in the regional yield trial for 3 consecutive years was averaged $4.67MT\;ha^{-1}$, which was 38% higher than that of the check cultivar Sunyang. Choyang is recommended for the fall sowing cropping only in the southern area where daily minimum mean temperatures are averaged higher than $-4^{\circ}C$ in January, and is not recommended the in mountain area where frost damage is presumable.