BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: We investigated the anti-osteoarthritic effects of deer bone extract on the gene expressions of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and collagen type II (COL2) in interleukin-$1{\beta}$-induced osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes. MATERIALS/METHODS: Primary rabbit chondrocytes were treated as follows: CON (PBS treatment), NC (IL-$1{\beta}$ treatment), PC (IL-$1{\beta}+100{\mu}g/mL$ glucosamine sulphate/chondroitin sulphate mixture), and DB (IL-$1{\beta}+100{\mu}g/mL$ deer bone extract). RESULTS: The results of the cell viability assay indicated that deer bone extract at doses ranging from 100 to $500{\mu}g/mL$ inhibits cell death in chondrocytes induced by IL-$1{\beta}$. Deer bone extract was able to significantly recover the mRNA expression of COL2 that was down-regulated by IL-$1{\beta}$ (NC: 0.79 vs. DB: 0.87, P < 0.05) and significantly decrease the mRNA expression of MMP-3 (NC: 2.24 vs. DB: 1.75) and -13 (NC: 1.28 vs. DB: 0.89) in OA chondrocytes (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that deer bone extract induces accumulation of COL2 through the down-regulation of MMPs in IL-$1{\beta}$-induced OA chondrocytes. Our results suggest that deer bone extract, which contains various components related to OA, including chondroitin sulphate, may possess anti-osteoarthritic properties and be of value in inhibiting the pathogenesis of OA.

BACKGROUNG/OBJECTIVES: The study was performed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of action of high maysin corn silk extract on body weight and fat deposition in experimental animals. MATERIALS/METHODS: A total of 30 male C57BL/6J mice, 4-weeks-old, were purchased and divided into three groups by weight using a randomized block design. The normal-fat (NF) group received 7% fat (diet weight basis), the high-fat (HF) group received 25% fat and 0.5% cholesterol, and the high-fat corn silk (HFCS) group received high-fat diet and high maysin corn silk extract at 100 mg/kg body weight through daily oral administration. Body weight and body fat were measured, and mRNA expression levels of proteins involved in adipocyte differentiation, fat accumulation, fat synthesis, lipolysis, and fat oxidation in adipose tissue and the liver were measured. RESULTS: After experimental diet intake for 8 weeks, body weight was significantly lower in the HFCS group compared to the HF group (P < 0.05), and kidney fat and epididymal fat pad weights were significantly lower in the HFCS group compared to the HF group (P < 0.05). In the HFCS group, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-${\beta}$, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-${\gamma}1$ (PPAR-${\gamma}1$), and PPAR-${\gamma}2$ mRNA expression levels were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in the epididymal fat pad, whereas cluster of differentiation 36, lipoprotein lipase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase-1, sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, isozyme-4, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 mRNA expression levels were significantly decreased in liver and adipose tissues (P < 0.05). In the HFCS group, mRNA expression levels of AMP-activated protein kinase, hormone-sensitive lipase, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 were elevated (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that high maysin corn silk extract inhibits expression of genes involved in adipocyte differentiation, fat accumulation, and fat synthesis as well as promotes expression of genes involved in lipolysis and fat oxidation, further inhibiting body fat accumulation and body weight elevation in experimental animals.

BACKDROUND/OBJECTIVE: Constipation is a condition that can result from intestinal deformation. Because humans have an upright posture, the effects of gravity can cause this shape deformation. Oligosaccharides are common prebiotics and their effects on bowel health are well known. However, studies of the physiological functionality of a product that contains both lactulose and galactooligosaccharides are insufficient. We investigated the constipation reduction effect of a dual-type oligosaccharide, Dual-Oligo, in loperamide-treated rats. MATERIALS/METHODS: Dual-Oligo consists of galactooligosaccharides (15.80%) and lactulose (51.67%). Animals were randomly divided into four groups, the normal group (normal), control group (control), low concentration of Dual-Oligo (LDO) group, and high concentration of Dual-Oligo (HDO) group. After 7 days of oral administration, fecal pellet amount, fecal weight, watercontent of fecal were measured. Blood chemistry, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), gastrointestinal transit ratio and length and intestinal mucosa were analyzed. RESULTS: Dual-Oligo increased the fecal weight, and water content of feces in rats with loperamide-induced constipation. Gastrointestinal transit ratio and length and area of intestinal mucosa significantly increased after treatment with Dual-Oligoin loperamide-induced rats. A high concentration of Dual-Oligo tended to produce more acetic acid than that observed for the control group, and Dual-Oligo affected the production of total SCFA. Bifidobacteria concentration of cecal contents in the high-concentration oligosaccharide (HDO) and low-concentration oligosaccharide (LDO) groups was similar to the result of the normal group. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that Dual-Oligo is a functional material that is derived from a natural food product and is effective in ameliorating constipation.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine whether plasma lipid profiles are affected differently by snack kinds with equal calorific values. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We compared a Korean traditional confectionery (dasik) with Western confectionery (cookie) in this regard. Controlled cross-over study consisted of two 3-week snack intake phases and for separating, a 2-week washout period (3-2-3) was carried out with 30 healthy women aged between 40-59 years old. Brown rice based Korean traditional confectionery and wheat flour based Western confectionery were used. The participants consumed either dasik or cookie every day for 3 weeks, providing 93 kcal a day. RESULTS: The total cholesterol (TC) in the dasik group had decreased significantly after 3 weeks (P < 0.05). Furthermore, in the dasik group, reduction in TC and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were greater than those in the cookie group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prioritizing functional snacks like dasik improves plasma lipid profiles; this may be useful information for individuals who cannot refrain from snacking.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Childhood obesity has increased in recent decades in Korea. This study was designed to examine differences in the eating habits, physical activity (PA), nutrition knowledge, and self-efficacy of children by obesity status. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Subjects were 5th-grade children from 70 elementary schools in 17 cities nationwide. Two-stage stratified cluster sampling was employed. Survey questionnaire included items related to general characteristics, eating habits, PA, nutrition knowledge and self-efficacy. Excluding incomplete responses, 3,531 data were analyzed using SPSS. Subjects were categorized into overweight obesity (OW) and normal weight (NW) groups based on body mass index percentiles for age by sex. RESULTS: A total of 21.5% of subjects was overweight or obese. There were significant differences in gender, perceived stress, perception of body shape, body satisfaction, and interest in weight control between the OW and NW groups (P < 0.001). With respect to eating habits, the OW group ate breakfast (P < 0.05) and snacks (P < 0.01) less frequently, ate bigger meals (P < 0.001), and demonstrated less desirable behaviors during meals (P < 0.05 in boys) compared to the NW group. The OW group participated in less PA than the NW group, especially boys. OW boys spent less time walking during weekdays (P < 0.05) or the weekend (P < 0.001), spent more time being sedentary during weekdays or the weekend (P < 0.001), and exercised a fewer number of days (P < 0.01). For girls, the OW group spent more time being sedentary during the weekend (P < 0.01) and exercised a fewer number of days by walking or bicycle riding (P < 0.05) than the NW group. Nutrition knowledge was not significantly different between the OW and NW groups. Self-efficacy (P < 0.01 in boys), especially PA self-efficacy (P < 0.01), was significantly lower in the OW than NW group. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed differences in eating habits, PA, and self-efficacy between OW and NW children. Obesity management programs for children need to focus on increasing self-efficacy, modifying eating habits, and increasing PA.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The nutritional quality of lunches is an important factor related to workers' health. This study examined the nutritional quality of Korean workers' lunches with a focus on comparing institutional and commercial lunches. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The data from a 1-day, 24-hour dietary recall from the $5^{th}$ Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012) were analyzed. A total of 2,192 subjects aged 19 to 64 years, who had consumed lunches served by institutional or commercial food service vendors, were included for analysis. The nutritional quality of the lunches of the institutional lunch group (n=626) and the commercial lunch group (n=1,566) was compared in terms of the number of servings, food groups, nutrient intake, Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR), and Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR). RESULTS: The NAR and MAR were significantly higher in the institutional lunches than in the commercial lunches, but more than half of workers in both groups obtained over 65% of their energy from carbohydrate. The average sodium intake from the lunches exceeded the daily intake goal (2,000 mg) in both groups. More than half of workers in both groups presented less than one-third of their respective recommended daily intake of riboflavin and calcium. With the exception of riboflavin, the nutrient intake from lunches accounted for more than 35% of the daily nutrient intake. CONCLUSIONS: The overall nutritional quality of institutional lunches was higher than that of commercial lunches. However, institutional lunches had room for improvement in terms of nutritional quality.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: In Argentina, obesity prevalence rose from 14.6% in 2005 to 20.8% in 2013. Although the number of studies on noncommunicable diseases and dietary patterns as a unique dietary exposure measure has increased, information on this topic remains scarce in developing countries. This is the first population-based study investigating the association between diet and obesity using a dietary pattern approach in Argentina. We aimed (a) to identify current dietary patterns of the population of $C{\acute{o}}rdoba$ city, (b) to investigate its association with obesity prevalence, and (c) to identify and describe dietary patterns from the subgroup of people with obesity. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The $C{\acute{o}}rdoba$ Obesity and Diet Study (CODIES) was conducted in $C{\acute{o}}rdoba$ city by using a random sample of n = 4,327 subjects between 2005 and 2012. Empirically derived dietary patterns were identified through principal component factor analysis. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association of dietary patterns with obesity. RESULTS: Four dietary patterns were identified, called "Starchy-Sugar", "Prudent", "Western", and "Sugary drinks". High scores for the "Western" pattern (with strongest factor loading on meats/eggs, processed meats, and alcohol) showed a positive association with obesity (OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.06-1.67, for third versus first tertile of factor score). "Meats/Cheeses" and "Snacks/Alcohol" patterns emerged in people with obesity. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that high adherence to the "Western" pattern promoted obesity in this urban population. In addition, people with obesity showed characteristic dietary patterns that differ from those identified in the overall population.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Obesity-induced steatohepatitis accompanied by activated hepatic macrophages/Kupffer cells facilitates the progression of hepatic fibrinogenesis and exacerbates metabolic derangements such as insulin resistance. Heme oxyganase-1 (HO-1) modulates tissue macrophage phenotypes and thus is implicated in protection against inflammatory diseases. Here, we show that the flavonoid quercetin reduces obesity-induced hepatic inflammation by inducing HO-1, which promotes hepatic macrophage polarization in favor of the M2 phenotype. MATERIALS/METHODS: Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a regular diet (RD), high-fat diet (HFD), or HFD supplemented with quercetin (HF+Que, 0.5g/kg diet) for nine weeks. Inflammatory cytokines and macrophage markers were measured by ELISA and RT-PCR, respectively. HO-1 protein was measured by Western blotting. RESULTS: Quercetin supplementation decreased levels of inflammatory cytokines ($TNF{\alpha}$, IL-6) and increased that of the anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) in the livers of HFD-fed mice. This was accompanied by upregulation of M2 macrophage marker genes (Arg-1, Mrc1) and downregulation of M1 macrophage marker genes ($TNF{\alpha}$, NOS2). In co-cultures of lipid-laden hepatocytes and macrophages, treatment with quercetin induced HO-1 in the macrophages, markedly suppressed expression of M1 macrophage marker genes, and reduced release of MCP-1. Moreover, these effects of quercetin were blunted by an HO-1 inhibitor and deficiency of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in macrophages. CONCLUSIONS: Quercetin reduces obesity-induced hepatic inflammation by promoting macrophage phenotype switching. The beneficial effect of quercetin is associated with Nrf2-mediated HO-1 induction. Quercetin may be a useful dietary factor for protecting against obesity-induced steatohepatitis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The aim of this experiments was to show anti-obesity effects of Korean solar salt from different salt fields in diet-induced obese mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: Diet-induced obesity (DIO) was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD; 45% cal from fat) in C57BL/6J mice for eight weeks. The mice were fed with the designated diets (chow diet for Normal, HFD for Control, 0.47%-salt-mixed HFD for purified salt (PS), Guerande solar salt from France (SS-G), solar salt from Y salt field (SS-Y), solar salts from T salt field (SS-T) and S salt field (SS-S)) for another eight weeks. We checked body weight, food efficiency ratio (FER) and tissue weights (liver and epididymal adipose tissue (EAT)), and observed serum concentrations of triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), leptin and insulin. We also evaluated gene expressions of adipogenic / lipogenic mRNAs of $C/EBP{\alpha}$, $PPAR{\gamma}$ and FAS and beta-oxidation-related factors ($PPAR{\alpha}$ and CPT-1) in liver and EAT. The mineral composition of salt samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). RESULTS: SS-T and SS-S significantly reduced body weight gain, FER, and weight of EAT compared to control and other samples (P < 0.05). SS-T and SS-S also significantly decreased serum levels of TG, TC, leptin and insulin (P < 0.05). SS-T and SS-S suppressed expressions of adipogenic / lipogenic mRNAs in liver and EAT, while promoting expression of beta-oxidation-related factors. The lowest sodium concentration was observed in SS-T ($30.30{\pm}0.59%$), and the lowest sodium-to-potassium (Na/K) ratio was found in SS-S (17.81). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that well-processed Korean solar salt may have anti-obesity effects in vivo, probably owing to its differences in mineral composition and other components, presumably resulting from the manufacturing processes. Further research is needed into the mechanism and to explore optimal manufacturing processes.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of a sodium reduction program at local restaurants through nutrition education and examination of the health of restaurant owners and cooks.SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study was a single-arm pilot intervention using a pre-post design in one business district with densely populated restaurants in Seoul, South Korea. The intervention focused on improving nutrition behaviors and psychosocial factors through education, health examination, and counseling of restaurant personnel. Forty-eight restaurant owners and cooks completed the baseline survey and participated in the intervention. Forty participants completed the post-intervention survey. RESULTS: The overweight and obesity prevalences were 25.6% and 39.5%, respectively, and 74.4% of participants had elevated blood pressure. After health examination, counseling, and nutrition education, several nutrition behaviors related to sodium intake showed improvement. In addition, those who consumed less salt in their baseline diet (measured with urine dipsticks) were more likely to agree that providing healthy foods to their customers is necessary. This study demonstrated the potential to reduce the sodium contents of restaurant foods by improving restaurant owners' and cooks' psychological factors and their own health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: This small pilot study demonstrated that working with restaurant owners and cooks to improve their own health and sodium intake may have an effect on participation in restaurant-based sodium reduction initiatives. Future intervention studies with a larger sample size and comparison group can focus on improving the health and perceptions of restaurant personnel in order to increase the feasibility and efficacy of restaurant-based sodium reduction programs and policies.