• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.405-411
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• 2005

Chitosan, second largest biomass after cellulose on earth, has potential for use as functional food package due to its antibacterial activity. However, due to high melting temperature of chitosan, chitosan films have been made by casting method. Because gelatin has relatively low molting temperature depending upon amount of plasticizer added, it was added to chitosan to produce commercially feasible film. The objective of the current study was to determine optimum blend ratio and amount of chitosan/gelatin blend solutions against antibacterial activities for extruder resin. Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 15313) and -negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Salmonella enteritidis IFO 3313) were used. Paper (8 mm) diffusion and optical density methods were used to evaluate effect of different blending ratio solutions on the inhibition of bacterial growth. Measured clear none size ranged from 8 mm to 18.07 mm in paper diffusion test. For B. cereus, E. coli, and S. enteritidis, addition of $50\;{\mu}L$ blend solution (chitosan/gelatin = 2/8: 0.3 mg) resulted in clear zone on paper disc. In L. monocytogenes, inhibition effect was observed with 0.6 mg chitosan (chitosan/gelatin=4/6). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of B. cerues, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, and S. enteritidis with addition of chitosan were 0.1461, 0.2419, 0.0980, and 0.0490 mg/mL, respectively, These results indicate possibility of producing commercially feasible film with addition of optimum chitosan/gelatin amount.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.251-259
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• 2008

The plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate(DEHP) is one of the most well known endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) because of its strong anti-androgenic effects on the reproductive and developmental process in male rodents and human. The present study was performed to examine whether prepubertal exposure to DEHP can make any alteration during the maturation of accessory sex organs in male rats. As a result, there was no significant change in body weights, serum T levels and tissue weights except of seminal vesicle and ventral prostate in DEHP-treated animals compared to vehicle-treated ones. The seminal vesicle weights in high-dose group (200 mg/kg) were significantly lower than those from the control group (p<0.05), and ventral prostate weights were significantly lower than those from the control group (p<0.05) in both low-dose (20 mg/kg) and high-dose group. Histological studies revealed that the seminal vesicles from DEHP-treated groups showed reduced areas of mucosal folds. Pseudostratified columnar epithelia were observed in the ventral prostates of DEHP-treated samples while cuboidal epithelia were found in the control group. The transcriptional activities of ER-$\alpha$ in seminal vesicle from high-dose group (p<0.05) were significantly higher than those from the control group, and ER-$\beta$ expression was significantly decreased in low-dose group (p<0.05) compared to the control. In ventral prostate, ER-$\beta$ mRNA levels from low-dose group (p<0.05) were significantly lower than those from the control group, and significantly increased in high-dose group (p<0.01). AR expressions, however, were not significantly different in all experimental groups of both seminal vesicle and ventral prostate. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that (i) adverse effect (s) of DEHP on sexual maturation during prepubertal period could be limited, (ii) seminal vesicle and prostate gland were sensitive targets to DEHP in prepubertal rats and (iii) the deleterious effects of DEHP might be mediated through ER-associated mechanism.