• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.647-654
• /
• 1992

In order to study the physiological properties of the intestinal bacteria, we isolated the intestinal bacteria of Koreans and tested the enzymatic patterns. Isolated Bifidobacterium sp. Int-57 had the higher activity of $\alpha$-glucosidase, $\beta$-glucosidase, $\alpha$-galactosidase, $\beta$-galactosidase. $\beta$-xylosidase and $\alpha$-arabinofuranosidase than other intestinal microorganisms. The effect of the carbon sources on the production of each enzymes of Bijidobacterium sp. Int-57 was investigated. The most suitable carbon source for the production of $\beta$-glucosidase was maltose, for a-glucosidase cellobiose, for $\alpha$-galactosidase raffinose, for $\beta$-galactosidase lactose, and for $\beta$-xylosidase and $\alpha$-arabinofuranosidase xylose, respectively. In addition, we investigated the optimal conditions and pH stability of each crude enzymes. The optimal condition of a-glucosidase was pH 6.0 and $40^{\circ}C$. that of Jj-glucosidase pH 7.0 and 50oe, that of $\beta$-galactosidase pH 7.0 and $50^{\circ}C$, that of $\beta$-xylosidase pH 6.0 and $40^{\circ}C$ , and that of $\alpha$-arabinofuranosidase pH 5.0 and $50^{\circ}C$. respectively. a-Glucosidase was stable at pH 4.0-9.0. Jj-glucosidase at pH 4.0-7.0. $\beta$-galactosidase at pH 4.0-9.0, $\beta$-xylosidase at pH 4.0-6.0, and /3-arabinofuranosidase at pH 7.0-9.0, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.277-282
• /
• 1998

The microbial degradation of $poly-{\beta}-hydroxybutyrate$ (PHB) films was studied in soil microco는 incubated at a constant temperature of 2, 10, 20, 30 and $40^{\circ}C$ for up to 49 days. The degradation rate measured through loss of weight was enhanced by incubation at a higher temperature. At the soil temperature $40^{\circ}C$, $poly-{\beta}-hydroxybutyrate$ was rapidly degraded at a decay rate of 3.5% weight loss per day. The degradation of $poly-{\beta}-hydroxybutyrate$ did not affected significantly the chemical properties of soils such as pH and electric conductivity. However, microbial activity of soil in terms of dehydrogenase activity was increased by the degradation of $poly-{\beta}-hydroxybutyrate$.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.414-419
• /
• 1995

${\beta}-carotene$ was extracted from freeze-dried carrot by supercritical carbon dioxide $(SC-CO_2)$ and mixtures of $CO_2$ doped with ethanol or methanol as a cosolvent at temperatures of 40 to $60^{\circ}C$ and pressures of 138 to 276 bar. Solubility of ${\beta}-carotene$ in $SC-CO_2$ increased with the increase of extraction pressure and the decrease of extraction temperature. The highest solubility observed was $4.90\;{\mu}g/g\;CO_2\;for\;{\alpha}-carotene\;and\;0.604\;{\mu}g/g\;CO_2$ for ${\alpha}-carotene\;at\;40^{\circ}C$ and 276 bar. Addition of ethanol increased the solubility being the largest increase of 82% using a mixture of $CO_2$ and 17.4% ethanol. $SC-CO_2$ extraction can be used to selectively obtain natural carotenoids, free of solvent residuals, which can be used as food additives.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.33-40
• /
• 2005

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of ${\beta}-eudesmol$, one of various ingredients isolated and identified from the bark of Magnolia obovata Thunberg, on arterial blood pressure and vascular contractile responses in the normotensve rats and to establish its mechanism of action. ${\beta}-Eudesmol\;(30{\sim}300\;{\mu}g/kg)$ given into a femoral vein of the normotensive rat produced a dose-dependent depressor response. These ${\beta}-eudesmol-induced$ hypotensive responses were markedly inhibited in the presence of chlorisondamine (1.0 mg/kg, i.v.) or phentolamine (2.0 mg/kg, i.v.). Interestingly, the infusion of ${\beta}-eudesmol$ (1.0 mg/kg/30min) into a femoral vein made a significant reduction in pressor responses induced by intravenous norepinephrine. Furthermore, the phenylephrine $(10^{-5}\;M)-induced$ contractile responses were depressed in the presence of high concentrations of ${\beta}-eudesmol\;(10{\sim}40\;{\mu}g/ml)$, but not affected in low concentration of ${\beta}-eudesmol\;(2.5{\sim}5\;{\mu}g/ml)$. Also, high potassium $(5.6{\times}10^{-2}\;M)-induced$ contractile responses were greatly inhibited in the presence of ${\beta}-eudesmol\;(10{\sim}40\;{\mu}g/ml)$ in a dose-dependent fashion. Taken together, these results obtained from the present study demonstrate that intravenous ${\beta}-eudesmol$ causes a dose-dependent depressor action in the anesthetized rat at least partly through the blockade of vascular adrenergic ${\alpha}_1-receptors$, in addition to the some unknown mechanism of direct vasorelaxation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.188-191
• /
• 1985

A thermophilic and cellulolytic bacterium, Herpetosiphon geysericola CUM 317 isolated from the compost, produced ${\alpha}-amylase,\;{\beta}-amylase$, and glucoamylase. Mutual relationships on the production of the three amylases were studied by changing the cultivation conditions. ${\alpha}-Amylase$ and glucoamylase were produced highly after 40 hrs on wheat bran medium at $50^{\circ}C$ and after 30 hrs on liquid medium at $40^{\circ}C$, though ${\beta}-amylase$ was produced best at 10 hrs of initial cultivation phase. The production of the amylases was generally repressed by the addition of carbon sources in liquid medium containing polypeptone. ${\alpha}-Amylase$ production was enhanced relatively by the addition of cupric sulfate in the liquid medium, ${\beta}-amylase$ was enhanced by cadmium sulfate, and glucoamylase was enhanced by calcium chloride.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.149-154
• /
• 1996

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of ${\beta}$-sitosterol in the unsaponifiable fraction of Zea mays L. and its related drug preparations using a cholesterol as an internal standard was investigated. They were saponified with 20% methanolic KOH solution. Phytosterols in the reaction mixture were extracted with diethyl ether and separated on silica gel TLC plate with n-hexane-diethyl ether(40:60) as the solvent and then were scraped off. They were separated by reversed phase high perfomance liquid chromatography on Inertsil ODS-2 column with detection at 205nm. Cholesterol and ${\beta}$-sitosterol were resolved from interferences by adjusting the acetonitrile content in the MeOH-tetrahydrofuran-$H_2O$ eluent. The detection limit of ${\beta$-sitosterol was 0.43${\mu}$g.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.1009-1015
• /
• 2007

In this communication, we report the efficacy of $\beta$-carotene towards differentiation and apoptosis of leukemia cells. Dose ($20{\mu}M$) and time dependence (12 h) tests of $\beta$-carotene showed a higher magnitude of decrease (significance p < 0.05) in cell numbers and cell viability in HL-60 cells than U937 cells but not normal cell like Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC). Microscopical observation of $\beta$-carotene treated cells showed a distinct pattern of morphological abnormalities with inclusion of apoptotic bodies in both leukemia cell lines. When cells were treated with $20{\mu}M$ of $\beta$-carotene, total genomic DNA showed a fragmentation pattern and this pattern was clear in HL-60 than U937 cells. Both the cell lines, on treatment with $\beta$-carotene, showed a clear shift in $G_1$ phase of the cell cycle. In addition the study also revealed anti-oxidant properties of $\beta$-carotene since there was reduction in relative fluorescent when treated than the control at lower concentration. Collectively this study shows the dual phenomenon of apoptosis and differentiation of leukemia cells on treatment with $\beta$-carotene.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.83-89
• /
• 2005

HtrA2/Omi is a mammalian mitochondrial serine protease homologous to the E. coli HtrA/DegP gene products. Recently, HtrA2/Omi was found to have a dual role in mammalian cells, acting as an apoptosis-inducing protein and being involved in maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis. By screening a human brain cDNA library with $A{\beta}$ peptide as bait in a yeast two-hybrid system, we identified HtrA2/Omi as a binding partner of $A{\beta}$ peptide. The interaction between $A{\beta}$ peptide and HtrA2/Omi was confirmed by an immunoblot binding assay. The possible involvement of HtrA2/Omi in $A{\beta}$ peptide metabolism was investigated. In vitro peptide cleavage assays showed that HtrA2/Omi did not directly promote the production of $A{\beta}$ peptide at the ${\beta}/{\gamma}$-secretase level, or the degradation of $A{\beta}$ peptide. However, overexpression of HtrA2/Omi in K269 cells decreased the production of $A{\beta}40$ and $A{\beta}42$ by up to 30%. These results rule out the involvement of HtrA2/Omi in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. However, the fact that overexpression of HtrA2/Omi reduces the generation of $A{\beta}40$ and $A{\beta}42$ suggests that it may play some positive role in mammalian cells.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.327-333
• /
• 2015

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder symptomatically characterized by impairment in memory and cognitive abilities. AD is characterized pathologically by the deposition of ${\beta}$-amyloid ($A{\beta}$) peptides of 40-42 residues, which are generated by processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP). $A{\beta}$ has been believed to be neurotoxic and now is also considered to have a role on the mechanism of memory dysfunction. In this study, we tested that EtOH extract of the fruits of Chaenomeles sinensis Koehne (CSE) affects on the processing of APP from the APPswe over-expressing Neuro2a cell line. We found that CSE increased over 2 folds of the $sAPP{\alpha}$ secretion level, a metabolite of ${\alpha}$-secretase. We showed that CSE reduced the secretion level of $A{\beta}42$ and $A{\beta}40$ by down regulation of ${\beta}$-secretase (BACE) without cytotoxicity. Furthermore, we found that CSE inhibited BACE and acetylcholinesterase activity in vitro. We suggest that Chaenomelis Fructus may be an useful source to develop a herbal medicine for AD.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.141-149
• /
• 2015

"G protein-coupled receptor 40" (GPR40), a receptor for long-chain fatty acids, mediates the stimulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion. We examined the profiles of differential gene expression in GPR40-activated cells treated with linoleic acid, and finally predicted the integral pathways of the cellular mechanism of GPR40-mediated insulinotropic effects. After constructing a GPR40-overexpressing stable cell line (RIN-40) from the rat pancreatic ${\beta}$-cell line RIN-5f, we determined the gene expression profiles of RIN-5f and RIN-40. In total, 1004 genes, the expression of which was altered at least twofold, were selected in RIN-5f versus RIN-40. Moreover, the differential genetic profiles were investigated in RIN-40 cells treated with $30{\mu}M$ linoleic acid, which resulted in selection of 93 genes in RIN-40 versus RIN-40 treated with linoleic acid. Based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway (KEGG, http://www.genome.jp/kegg/), sets of genes induced differentially by treatment with linoleic acid in RIN-40 cells were found to be related to mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase- and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathways. A gene ontology (GO) study revealed that more than 30% of the genes were associated with signal transduction and cell proliferation. Thus, this study elucidated a gene expression pattern relevant to the signal pathways that are regulated by GPR40 activation during the acute period. Together, these findings increase our mechanistic understanding of endogenous molecules associated with GPR40 function, and provide information useful for identification of a target for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.