• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.422-427
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the antioxidant effect and properties of unfermented tea and fermented tea made with Rhodotorula yeast. The levels of crude fat and crude protein in the fermented tea were higher than those in the unfermented tea. The water-soluble phenol levels of unfermented tea and fermented tea were 912.5 and 2,445.24 ppm, respectively. The total amino acid content of fermented tea was greater than that of unfermented tea;,- the amino acid concentrations of alanine, valine, leucine, and lysine were 25.58, 24.38, 27.96, and 14.14 ${\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging activities of the unfermented and fermented teas were 32.14 and 41.57%, respectively; this is in contrast to 29.73% for L-ascorbic acid(150 ppm). The reducing power activity of fermented tea was 41.57%, and that of unfermented tea was 32.14%.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.5646-5657
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• 2013

In this study, to evaluate the anti-obesity effects of mulberry leaf tea and its fermented product by Monascus pilosus, we investigated body and organ weight, blood and liver biomarkers in mice fed 1% tea infusions instead of water for 8 weeks. Mice were divided into three groups such as a normal control (NC), unfermented mulberry leaf tea infusion (UMI) and fermented mulberry leaf tea infusion (FMI). Although it is not significant, tea infusion groups showed reduction of body weight gains compared with NC group. Moreover, contents of LDL-cholesterol and lipid peroxide (LPO), altherogenic index, and xanthin oxidase (XO) activity were significantly decreased, and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was significantly elevated. The results from this study suggested that UMI and FMI may have an anti-obesity activity, upregulate antioxidant enzymes and reduce levels of oxidants related to liver damage.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.706-713
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• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the contents of monacolin K and citrinin, along with the sensory quality and antioxidant activity of mulberry leaf tea fermented by $Monascus$ $pilsous$ (FMM). Total monacolin K content of FMM was 0.058%, but citrinin was not detected. Redness of brewed FMM was remarkably higher than that of unfermented mulberry leaf tea (UFM). In sensory evaluation of brewed FMM, while astringent taste and savory taste were lower, flavor, color, and overall acceptability were significantly higher than those of UFM. Total polyphenol contents of UFM and FMM were 83.1 and 23.61 mg/g (dry basis), total flavonoid contents of UFM and FMM were 17.96 and 3.99 mg/g (dry basis), respectively. Xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activity and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity of FMM were lower than those of UFM. Electron-donating ability and ferric-reducing antioxidant power of FMM were slightly lower than those of UFM. However, the antioxidant activities of FMM per polyphenol content were markedly higher than those of UFM. These results suggest that FMM may scavenge excessive reactive oxygen spices (ROS) via inhibition of XO and SOD-like activity. Furthermore, FMM demonstrated relatively higher acceptability and antioxidant ability along with functionality of $Hongguk$ (red yeast rice), and therefore could be utilized to prevent various ROS-induced diseases.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2011

Wild grape juice was fermented by Gluconacetobacter hansenii TF-2 isolated from tea fungus, to develop a new acidic beverage (fermented wild grape beverage, WGB). Broth was prepared by fermentation of 11~17% (v/v) juice, and sweetened with sucrose (initial sucrose level: $10^{\circ}$ Brix). Fermentation was initiated by addition of 5% (w/v) seed gel (the pellicle of the tea fungus) which had been previously cultured in the same medium (freshjuice broth), and fermentation proceeded in the dark at $29{\pm}1^{\circ}C$ for about 15 days. The major acids produced were succinic acid, malic acid, and acetic acid. After 15 days of fermentation, the organic acid content (principally succinic acid) was 49.6 ppm in WGB 11 and 77.4 ppm in WGB 17. The free sugar content of WGB was 1063.6-1082.5 mg/mL, composed of unfermented fructose, glucose, and sucrose, in that order. The microbial inhibitory effects of the fermented beverage were most apparent when Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium) were tested; the inhibition rate was 34.46-88.00%. The new fermented beverage thus displays effective antimicrobial activity against some species of bacteria.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.1037-1043
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• 2008

In this experiment, citrus juice was fermented by Gluconacetobacter hansenii TF-2, an isolate from tea fungus to develop a new type of acidic beverage. The juice broth is made by fermenting of $11{\sim}17%$ (v/v) juice and sweetened with sucrose (initial sucrose $10^{\circ}Brix$). The fermentation by G. hansenii TF-2 was initiated by adding 5% (w/v) of seed gel (pellicle, tea fungus) which was previously cultured in the same medium (fresh juice broth) and the fermentation was carried out in a dark incubator at $28{\sim}30^{\circ}C$ for about 15 days. During the fermentation a pellicle grew on the surface of the fermenting fluid and acids were produced. Fermented fluid (beverage) was centrifuged at 7,000 rpm for 15 min for further analyses. The highest amount of the other metabolites including organic acids were observed in 5 to 10 days. Major acids were acetic acid (fermented citrus beverage, CB). After 15 days of fermentation, organic acid content such as acetic acid in fermented beverage was measured to be $183.5{\sim}186.6\;ppm$. Free sugars content in CB were 56.8%, 35.1%, 40.7% and 63.2% of unfermented sucrose, glucose, fructose and sorbitol, respectively. When the growth rate of inhibitory effect of the fermented beverage was measured by using several species of food-related bacteria, the beverage fermented with CB exhibited the strongest inhibition against gram-negative (E. coli and Sal. Typhimurium). Its inhibition rate was between $71.9{\sim}94.0%$ at CB. Fermented beverage has shown effectiveness for antimicrobial activity against some species of food-related bacteria.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1162-1162
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• 2001

Whereas NIR spectroscopy has been applied in agriculture for more than 20 years, few studies refer to those plant substances occurring only in smaller amounts. Nevertheless there is a growing interest today to support efficiently activities in the production of high-quality medicinal and spice plants by this fast and non-invasive method. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to develop new NIR methods for the reliable prediction of secondary metabolites found as valuable substances in various plant species. First, sophisticated NIR methods were established to perform fast quality analyses of intact fennel, caraway and dill fruits deriving from single-plants [1]. Later on, a characterization of several leaf drugs and the corresponding fresh material has been successfully performed. In this context robust calibrations have been developed for dried peppermint, rosemary and sage leaves for the determination of their individual essential oil content and composition [2]. A specially adopted NIR method has been developed also for the analysis of carnosic acid in the leaves of numerous rosemary and sage gene bank accessions. Carnosic acid is an antioxidative substance for which several health promoting properties including cancer preservation are assumed. Also some other calibrations have been developed for non-volatile substances such as aspalathin (in unfermented rooibos leaves), catechins (in green tea) and echinacoside (in different Echinacea species) [3]. Some NIR analyses have also been successfully performed on fresh material, too. In spite of the fact that these measurements showed less accuracy in comparison to dried samples, the calibration equations are precise enough to register the individual plant ontogenesis and genetic background. Based on the information received, the farmers and breeders are able to determine the right harvest time (when the valuable components have reached their optimum profile) and to select high-quality genotypes during breeding experiments, respectively. First promising attempts have also been made to introduce mobile diode array spectrometers to collect the spectral data directly on the field or in the individual natural habitats. Since the development of reliable NIRS methods in this special field of application is very time-consuming and needs continuous maintenance of the calibration equations over a longer period, it is convenient to supply the corresponding calibration data to interested user via NIRS network. The present status of all activities, preformed in this context during the last three years, will be presented in detail.