• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1152-1160
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• 2017

A unicellular green alga was axenically isolated from a tidal pool on Ulleung-do, Korea. Morphological, molecular, and biochemical analyses revealed that the isolate belonged to Auxenochlorella protothecoides. The current study is the first record of this species in Korea. The microalgal strain was named as A. protothecoides MM0011 and its growth, lipid and pigment compositions, and biomass properties were investigated. The strain is able to thrive in a wide range of temperatures ($5{\sim}35^{\circ}C$) and to withstand up to 1.5 M NaCl. The results of GC/MS analysis showed that the isolate was rich in nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Its major fatty acids were linoleic acid (27.6%) and ${\alpha}-linolenic$ acid (39.6%). Thus, this indigenous microalga has potential as an alternative source of ${\omega}3$ and ${\omega}6$ PUFAs, which currently come from fish and plant oils. Also, the HPLC analysis revealed that the value-added antioxidant, lutein, was biosynthesized as the accessory pigments by the microalga. A proximate analysis showed that the volatile matter content was 85.6% and an ultimate analysis indicated that the gross calorific value was $20.3MJ\;kg^{-1}$. Since 40.5% of total nitrogen and 27.9% of total phosphorus were removed from the medium, respectively, it also has potential as a feedstock for biofuel applications which could be coupled to wastewater treatment. In addition, the biomass may also serve as an excellent animal feed because of its high protein content (51.4%). Therefore, A. protothecoides MM0011 shows promise for application in production of microalgae-based biochemicals and as a biomass feedstock.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1199-1206
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• 2017

The lymphotoxin ${\beta}$ receptor ($LT{\beta}R$), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family, plays an important role in lymphoid tissue's architecture and organogenesis. We found that $LT{\beta}R$ stimulation induced changes in stress fibers (SFs) in fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs). MLCK and ROCK play critical roles in the regulation of SF formation in cells. The present study was performed to investigate the antifibrotic effects on SF regulation of $LT{\beta}R$ signaling, with a focus on MLCK inhibition. The effect of $LT{\beta}R$ on the SF change was analyzed using immunoblot and fluorescence assays and agonistic $anti-LT{\beta}R$ antibody-treated FRCs. In addition, we checked the level of Rho-guanosine diphosphate (GDP)/guanosine triphosphate (GTP) exchange activity with FRC lysate. Phospho-ezrin proteins acting as membrane-cytoskeleton linkers completely de-phosphorylated in agonistic $anti-LT{\beta}R$ antibody-treated FRCs. The actin bundles rearranged into SFs, where phospho-myosin light chain (p-MLC) co-localized in FRCs. ML7-treated FRCs completely blocked SFs and showed retraction and shrinkage processes comparable to those observed in agonistic $anti-LT{\beta}R$ antibody-treated cells. Inhibition of ROCK activity induced changes in the actin cytoskeleton organization; however, some SFs remained in the cells, while they were completely disrupted by MLCK inhibition with ML7. We showed that the phosphorylation of MLC was completely abolished with $LT{\beta}R$ stimulation in FRCs. When $LT{\beta}R$ was stimulated with the agonistic $anti-LT{\beta}R$ antibody, the Rho-GDP/GTP exchange activity was reduced, however, the activity was not completely abolished. Collectively, the results illustrated that MLCK was potently responsible for the SF regulation triggered via $LT{\beta}R$ signaling in FRCs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1315-1323
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• 2017

Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant (Curcuma longa (CL)) of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. A yellow-pigmented fraction isolated from the rhizomes of CL contains curcuminoids belonging to the dicinnamoyl methane group. Curcumin is an important active ingredient responsible for the biological activity of CL. However, CL is not usually used as a food source due to its bitter taste. The present study was designed to determine the effect of the CL fermented by Rhizopus oryzae (FCL) on pro-inflammatory factors such as nuclear factor ${\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$), tumor necrosis factor alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cell line. The cell viability was determined by MTT assay. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of FCL 80% EtOH extracts, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ were measured by ELISA kit. Also, the amount of $NO/PGE_2/NF-{\kappa}B$ was measured using the $NO/PGE_2/NF-{\kappa}B$ detection kit and the iNOS/COX-2 expression was measured by Western blotting. The results showed that the FCL reduced NO, $PGE_2$, iNOS, COX-2, $NF-{\kappa}B$, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ production without cytotoxicity. These results suggest that FCL extracts may be a developed the functional food related to anti-inflammation due to the significant effects on inflammatory factors.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1245-1255
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• 2017

Most cancer cells produce ATP predominantly through glycolysis instead of through mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, even in the presence of oxygen. The phenomenon is termed the Warburg effect, or the glycolytic switch, and it is thought to increase the availability of biosynthetic precursors for cell proliferation. EMTs have critical roles in the initiation of the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. The glycolytic switch and EMT are important for tumor development and progression; however, their correlation with tumor progression is largely unknown. The Snail transcription factor is a major factor involved in EMT. The Snail expression is regulated by distal-less homeobox 2 (Dlx-2), a homeodomain transcription factor that is involved in embryonic and tumor development. The Dlx-2/Snail cascade is involved in Wnt-induced EMTs and the glycolytic switch. This study showed that in response to Wnt signaling, the Dlx-2/Snail cascade induces the expression of PFKFB2, which is a glycolytic enzyme that synthesizes and degrades fructose 2, 6-bisphosphate (F2,6BP). It also showed that PFKFB2 shRNA prevents Wnt-induced EMTs in the breast-tumor cell line MCF-7. The prevention indicated that glycolysis is linked to Wnt-induced EMT. Additionally, this study showed PFKFB2 shRNA suppresses in vivo tumor metastasis and growth. Finally, it showed the PFKFB2 expression is higher in breast, colon and ovarian cancer tissues than in matched normal tissues regardless of the cancers' stages. The results demonstrated that PFKFB2 is an important regulator of EMTs and metastases induced by the Wnt, Dlx-2 and Snail factors.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.615-620
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• 2018

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), one of catechins of green tea, has been known to possess anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-cancer effects. The present study analyzed global gene expression changes in EGCG-treated HCT116 cells and p53-null HCT116 cells by oligo DNA microarray analysis. Among the differentially expressed genes in EGCG-treated HCT116 cells, four were selected that are known as tumor suppressor genes (activating transcription factor 3 [ATF3], cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A [CDKN1A], DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 [DDIT3] and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug activated gene [NAG-1]) and their expression was compared to the expression of genes in p53-null HCT116 cells. We found that the expression of these genes was not dependent on their p53 status except for NAG-1, which was only up-regulated in HCT116. The results of RT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that ATF3 up-regulation by EGCG was not affected by the presence of p53, whereas NAG-1 expression was not induced in p53-null HCT116 cells. We also detected ATF3 and NAG-1 expression changes through genistein and resveratrol treatment. Interestingly, genistein could not up-regulate ATF3 regardless of p53 status, but genistein could induce NAG-1 only in HCT116 cells. Resveratrol could significantly induce NAG-1 as well as ATF3 independent of p53 presence. These results indicate that EGCG, genistein and resveratrol may have different anti-cancer effects. Overall, the results of this study may help to increase our understandings of molecular mechanisms on anti-cancer activities mediated by EGCG, genistein and resveratrol in human colorectal cancer cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.606-613
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• 2020

This study investigated the effect of olive oil substitution ratio on physicochemical quality of pork patty. Five treatments were performed as follows: control (T0, 20% pork fat), T1 (pork fat 15% and olive oil gel 5%), T2 (pork fat 10% and olive oil gel 10%), T3 (pork fat 5% and olive oil gel 15%), and T4 (olive oil gel 20%). The moisture increased and fat amount was decreased in proportion to olive oil substitution ratio. The L^* and a^* values were highest levels in raw and cooked pork patty of T0, and the b^* value was highly enhanced in of cooked pork patty of T4. The water holding capacity, moisture and fat retention were significantly increased, and the cooking loss, diameter reduction and shrinkage ratio were decreased by olive oil substitution ratio. The hardness, springiness and chewiness showed the highest level in T4, and the cohesiveness and gumminess were highest in T0. The reduction ratio of cholesterol in T1, T2, T3 and T4 were 13.8%, 21.6%, 34.5% and 49.0%, respectively, indicating that the content was lowest level in T4. The palmitic acid was the most abundant saturated fatty acid, and the oleic acid was the most abundant unsaturated fatty acid. The unsaturated fatty acid of pork patty was increased in proportion to olive oil substitution ratio. Therefore, the olive oil gel substitution of low-fat pork patty results in a positive effect on the physicochemical qualities due to reduced cholesterol and saturated fatty acids.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.151-160
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• 1998

Tangerine peel is mostly discarded as waste in citrus processing. However, tangerine peel contains besides dietary fibers bioflavonoids such as naringin and hesperidin which act as antimicrobials and blood pressure depressants, respectively. A continuous membrane separation process was optimized for the production of bioflavonoids relative to feed flow rate, transmembrane pressure, temperature, and pH. The tangerine peel was blended with 7.5 times water volume and the extract was prefiltered through a prefiltration system. The prefiltered extract was ultrafiltered in a hollow fiber membrane system. The flux and feed flow rate didn't show any apparent correlation, but we could observe a mass-transfer controlled region of over 8 psi. When temperature increased from $9^{\circ}C\;to\;25^{\circ}C$, the flux increased about $10\;liters/m^2/min\;(LMH)$ but between $25^{\circ}C\;and\;33^{\circ}C$, the flux increased only 2 LMH. At every transmembrane pressure, the flux of pH 4.8 was the most highest and the flux at pH 3.0 was lower than that of pH 6.0, 7.0, or 9.0. Therefore, the optimum operating conditions were 49.3 L/hr. 10 psi, $25^{\circ}C$, and pH 4.8. Under the optimum conditions, the flux gradually decreased and finally reached a steady-state after 1 hr 50 min. The amount of dietary fibers in 1.0 g retentate in each separation step was analyzed and bioflavonoids concentration in each permeate was measured. The contents of total dietary fiber in the 170 mesh retentate and soluble dietary fiber in the prefiltered retentate were the highest. Naringin and hesperidin concentration in the permeate were $0.45{\sim}0.65\;mg/g\;and\;5.15{\sim}6.86\;mg/g$ respectively, being $15{\sim}22$ times and $79{\sim}93$ times higher than those in the tangerine peel. Therefore, it can be said that PM 10 hollow fiber membrane separation system may be a very effective method for the recovery of bioflavonoids from tangerine peel.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.112-118
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• 1995

The effect of various packaging methods on kimchi quality was investigated in order to develop the packaging techniques for preventing commercial kimchi products from inflation and explosion, due to fermentative gas evolved during storage and distribution. Kimchi was packaged in different methods; 1) atmospheric packaging(AP), 2) check valve packaging(CV), 3) double packaging(DP), and 4) vacuum packaging(VP). The quality of kimchi during storage at $10^{\circ}C$ was evaluated in terms of gas composition, free volume, pH, titratable acidity color index and sensory properties. The gas composition inside packages showed different curves according to the packaging methods. Due to fermentative gas accumulation in both AP and CV, $CO_2$ concentration increased by 2 stepwise pattern, while $O_2$, concentration decreased exponentially. In DP, $O_2$ concentration remained constant, but $CO_2$ concentration increased by 2 stepwise pattern and then decreased. In contrast, VP produced low $O_2$ and high $CO_2$ concentrations only at the end of storage. The free volume in both AP and CV showed typical sigmoidal curves similar to $CO_2$ concentration changes. It remained constant in DP, but started to increase at the late stage of storage in VP. There was no significant effect of packaging methods on pH changes of kimchi. In titratable acidity, DP maintained relatively higher than others. Regarding to the color change of crushed kimchi juice in all packages, L and b values decreased exponentially but a value remained constant during storage. Color index(L b/a) of crushed kimchi juice decreased exponentially and remained constant at the end of storage. The growth of lactic acid bacteria was VP, CV, AP, DP in increasing order. In sensory test, the sourness scores of DP were fairly higher than those of others, but the texture was not significantly affected by the packaging methods. The preference for kimchi showed VP>AP, CV>DP in order of score. In this study, it could be proposed to employ DP and VP method as the effective packaging techniques for preventing commercial kimchi products from inflation.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 1994

As a foundational study for processing persimmon leaves tea, the physico-chemical characters were investigated in persimmon leaves from Chungdo Bansi, Sagoksi, Kyungsan Bansi and Hiratanenasi during growth. Flesh weights increased rapidly until the middle of May and then decreased slightly. Moisture contents decreased continuously from $79{\sim}81%$ at the beginning of May during growth. Water soluble tannin contents reached $1.55{\sim}2.25%$, maximum values at the middle of May and at the beginning of June, and increased again at the middle of July and then decreased. Contents of catechins, precursor of condensed tannin, indicated $12{\sim}27\;mg%$ at the middle of May and reached $17{\sim}34\;mg%$, maximum values at the middle of June. Contents of catechin were low in order of (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epicallocatechingallate, (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechingallate. Sugars present in persimmon leaves were composed of sucrose, glucose, fructose, raffinose and mannitol. Sucrose increased continuously, glucose and fructose decreased during growth. Raffinose content was less than 0.1%. Glucose and fructose took more than 90% until the beginning of May, and then sucrose took up $60{\sim}80%$ of total sugar contents. Total vitamin C contents indicated maximum values at the middle of May and at the beginning of June in Chungdo Bansi, Sagoksi and Kyungsan Bansi, maximum vaule at the middle of July in Hiratanenasi. From the basis of these data It was suggested that proper period for picking persimmon leaves prior to processing persimmon leaves tea was from the middle of May to the beginning of June. Since maximum values for most of chemical components occurred at the middle of May and at the beginning of June and persimmon leaves thicken after the middle of June.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.263-268
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• 2002

Bacillus polyfermenticus SCD, which is commonly called a 'Bisroot' strain, has been appropriately used for the treatment of long-term intestinal disorders, since the live strains, in the form of active endospores, can successfully reach the target intestine. Goal of this study was to develop an industrial medium for growth and sporulation of B. polyfermenticus SCD. From the results of effect of mixed carbon sources on growth and sporulation of B. polyfermenticus SCD, glucose 2% and starch 2% was particularly found to be the most effective for the maximum number of spore production, resulting in spore cells of $4.3{\times}10^9\;spores/mL$ with a sporulation yield of 91%. For the effect of nitrogen sources, the maximum spore cells of $5.7{\times}10^9\;spores/mL$ of B. polyfermenticus SCD with a sporulation yield of 97% was obtained when B. polyfermenticus SCD was cultivated in an optimum nitrogen source medium containing 5% soybean flour. A medium involving proper phosphate salt yielded the maximum number of a spore cells of $6.0{\times}10^9\;spores/mL$ with a sporulation yield of 95%. Finally, the efficacy of an industrial medium (KH5 medium) on growth and sporulation of B. polyfermenticus SCD was investigated in jar fermenter. The higher number of viable cells $(3.3{\times}10^{10}\;cells/mL)$ and spore cells $(3.0{\times}10^{10}\;spores/mL)$ were obtained in 5 L fermenter when compared with a 500 mL baffle flask cultivation. Thus, KH5 medium developed in this study shows promise as an industrial medium because of higher cells and sporulation yield.