• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.9
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• pp.1264-1269
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• 2015

To evaluate the functional effect of ornithine produced by isolated lactic acid bacteria, we examined the anti-lipid accumulation effect of ornithine produced by isolate lactic acid bacteria on 3T3-L1 cells. Lactic acid bacteria (Pediococcus strain) were isolated from nuruk, which is made from wheat, rice, and barley (whole grain, grits, or flour) by fermenting microorganisms (Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and yeasts). Pediococcus strain was identified by 16S rDNA sequencing analyses, and cells were collected by centrifugation and developed as an ornithine starter. makgeolli, an ornithine-containing Korean traditional alcoholic beverage, was made with isolated lactic acid bacteria and arginine. makgeolli was made with the help of ornithine starter using a makgeolli making kit. We evaluated the anti-proliferation effect of ornithine makgeolli on 3T3-L1 cells. To determine the anti-proliferation effect of ornithine makgeolli on preadipocytes, lipid droplets were quantified and stained with Oil Red O. makgeolli made with ornithine starter and arginine showed a 3-fold higher concentration of ornithine compared to makgeolli without starter and arginine. In the results of 3T3-L1 cell line experiment, lipid accumulation was significantly reduced by adding 0.05 mg/mL of ornithine makgeolli compare to the control (adipocyte without sample). In conclusion, ornithine makgeolli containing ornithine starter isolated from nuruk showed an anti-lipid accumulation effect with increased ornithine content without toxicity.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.124-132
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• 2010

This study evaluated the effects of gamma ray and electron beam (E-beam) to improve the safety of spices for meat processing. The spices (garlic powder, curry powder, turmeric powder, black pepper, white pepper, oregano, parsley, laurel leaf powder, basil, and rosemary) were irradiated by gamma ray and E-beam at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 kGy. Total bacterial populations were then enumerated on total plate count agar, and bacteria isolated from the samples were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In addition, $D_{10}$ values for Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus inoculated in spices was determined, and the Ames test was conducted for genotoxicity analysis. The contaminated total bacterial populations in spices ranged from 1.5 to 3.8 Log CFU/g, and most of identified bacteria were Bacillus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. However, the bacterial populations decreased below the detection limit (2 Log CFU/g) after irradiation at 4 kGy except for parsley, which required 6 kGy in gamma ray and 8 kGy in E-beam to decrease total bacterial populations below detection limit. $D_{10}$ values were also higher (p<0.05) in E-beam treated samples than gamma-ray treated samples. No genotoxicity was observed in both conditions with and without metabolic activation. These results indicate that gamma ray (>4 kGy and <6 kGy) could be more useful to improve food safety of meat processing spices compared to E-beam.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.219-227
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate water purification properties of porous concrete by using effective microorganisms through the long-term continuous flow test. To solve the problems such as desorption of conventional microorganisms, in this study, tertiary treatment of the effective microorganisms identified by 16S rDNA sequence analysis was adopted per each step in the manufacturing process of porous concrete. And concentration for optimum continuous flow test and operation conditions through basic experiments according to retention time were investigated. Based on the experimental results, the porous concrete applying effective microorganisms showed no toxicity on the biological water quality and exhibited excellent removal efficiency than normal porous concrete. Therefore, contaminated water quality would be improved by treatment performance investigation of contaminants through long-term continuous flow test. If problems are complemented during the experiment process, it is expected to be able to reduce the non-point pollution sources flowing into river.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.664-670
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• 2016

Cheonggukjang (CKJ) is a Korean traditional food made of fermented soybeans. In comparison to normal intake of soybeans, Cheonggukjang has high digestibility with bioactive, antioxidant substances, and thrombolytic enzymes. Recent studies have reported anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity activities as well as inhibitory activities against osteoporosis for CKJ. In this study, we identified the effects of CKJ on osteoblast differentiation by increasing the polyglutamic acid (PGA) content of CKJ. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralization significantly increased in response to treatment with both natural CKJ (CKJ A) and PGA-increased CKJ (CKJ B). However, CKJ B exhibited higher ALP activity and mineralization than CKJ A. Real-time reverse transcription PCR demonstrated that mRNA expression of osteoblastic-associated genes such as type I collagen, alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and osteopontin in C2C12 cells was significantly up-regulated by CKJ A or B treatment. These results indicate that treatment with CKJ has an anabolic effect on bone by increasing osteoblastic differentiation and ALP activity. Increasing PGA content in CKJ had a greater effect than CKJ A on up-regulation of osteoblastic gene expression in osteoblast cells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.1422-1429
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• 2016

Kombucha is a slightly sour beverage fermented by symbiotic micro-organisms, including bacteria and yeasts. In this study, we examined the biological activities of citrus Kombucha (CK) produced by addition of citrus extract to original Kombucha (K). After fermentation for 10 days, radical scavenging activity examined by ABTS and DPPH assays increased by approximately 20% compared to that of K. Moreover, content of total phenolic compounds significantly increased by 60% compared to that of K. Cell proliferation assays utilizing MTT showed that CK treatment significantly inhibited growth of bladder cancer cells, T-24 and 5637, in a dose-dependent manner with $IC_{50}$ values of 4 and 7 mg/mL, respectively. Annexin V staining showed that CK treatment led to apoptosis of cells in a dose-dependent manner. T-24 cells were more sensitive to CK treatment than 5637 cells, as 8 mg/mL of CK resulted in 97% apoptosis of T-24 cells. Western blotting showed that CK treatment led to up-regulation of apoptotic proteins, including caspases-3, -8, -9, and PARP, in bladder cells not in K-treated cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that CK may be developed as a functional beverage.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.1476-1480
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• 2016

Anti-microbial effects of the medium extracts from three different lactic acid bacteria (LB1, Lactobacillus acidophilus; LB2, Lactobacillus casei; LB3, Lactobacillus sicerae) were investigated. Three different extracts of lactic acid bacteria media (ELAM) did not show significant changes in pork loin quality after 3 and 14 days of cold storage such as general contents, colors, pH, and TBARS. To determine anti-bacterial activity of three ELAM, three pathogenic bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus) were obtained and incubated with ELAM-absorbed paper discs. ELAM of LB2 and LB3 showed significantly larger bacterial growth inhibitory zones compared with that of LB1 (P<0.05). When the pathogenic bacteria inoculated in pork loin with three ELAM, total microbial contents of pork loin treated with ELAM of LB3 after 14 days of cold storage showed significantly lower microbial contents compared to those of control, LB1 and LB2 (P<0.05). In conclusion, ELAM of LB3 derived from L. sicerae had the most effective pathogenic bacteria inhibitory activity on agar and pork loin. This is the first result to report the antibacterial effect of L. sicerae. If the safety and toxicity characteristics of L. sicerae are further investigated, this new lactic acid bacterium would have potential as an effective and nature-friendly food preserving agent.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1252-1257
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• 2014

While dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is the most commonly used cryoprotectant agent in the cryopreservation of cultured mammalian cells, it has been reported to cause differentiation of some cell lines by DNA methylation and associated histone modifications. To avoid the side effects of DMSO in cryopreservation, other agents might be more appropriate for maintaining the stable differentiation of cultured cell phenotypes through cryopreservation. All cryoprotectants should be highly soluble in water and display low cell toxicity. Cryoprotective agents have been shown to be effective in animal sperm preservation, and eight types of amides were examined in the cryopreservation of cultured mouse endothelial cells. Among the amides examined, acetamide and lactamide were effective cryoprotectants for cultured mammalian cells. The most effective concentration of lactamide, 1.5 M, had an even lower cryoprotective ability than 1M DMSO. Because successful cryopreservation of cultured cells is hampered by osmotic stress, the adequate ionic concentration was determined by diluting phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in the 1.5M lactamide solution. The most effective concentration was $0.4{\times}PBS$, which minimized osmotic stress during the cryopreservation of cultured cells. As the addition of high molecular weight materials in cryopreservation media improves the viability of cells, the effects of bovine serum albumin (BSA), hydroxyethyl-starch (HES), and dextran were examined. The best combination of lactamide-based media for cryopreservation was found to be 1.5 M lactamide in $0.4{\times}PBS$ with 1% BSA.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.674-683
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• 2010

The current study was performed to examine the agricultural suitability of the cultivated upland nearby abandoned mining areas in Korea using three different scientific risk assessment models of Korea, USA and UK. For this, three mining sites DM, MG and KS were selected among 687 abandoned mines through preliminary risk assessment. A wide range of parameters were obtained through analysis of both soil and crop samples from the selected areas for heavy metal concentration and questionnaires to the communities along with the selected mining sites. Heavy metal concentration in soil samples was lower than the values previously reported by the Ministry of Environment (ME, 2002). However, both As and Cd concentration in the soil samples exceeded the concern level for agricultural area of the Soil Environment Conservation Act. Judging from the contaminant criteria for the crops, only Zn level in pepper, soybean and corn from the mining area DM exceeded the criteria whereas As, Cd, $Cr^{6+}$, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb did not exceed the criteria. It was demonstrated that there would be human health risk by Pb accumulated in crops from both mining areas MG and KS when estimated by the risk assessment models of Korea and USA. Against it, results of the risk assessment model of UK showed human health risk by Pb in the crops from all study areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1246-1251
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• 2004

To investigate the effects of plant extracts on the protection against liver damage by $CCl_4$ in rat, two kinds of experiment were performed, firstly by the primary hepatocyte culture and secondly by the animal feeding. The primary hepatocyte culture with the extracts of pine leaf, soybean sprout and mugwort showed significantly low activities (p<0.01∼0.05) of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), indicating an excellent protective effect against liver damage by $CCl_4$. In the second experiment, the microsomal malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of the above same groups were also significantly lower (p<0.01) than the $CCl_4$-treated group without plant extracts, but shiitake showed less effect. Among four kinds of plant extracts, extracts of pine leaf and mugwort showed also much higher activities of the microsomal cytochrome P-450 in comparison to soybean sprout and shiitake. In the test of xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity, all of three groups except shiitake showed significantly low activities (p<0.01). These consistent results in vitro and in vivo suggest that the extracts of pine leaf, soybean sprout and mugwort may have strong protective effects against liver damage induced by the potential toxicants such as $CCl_4$.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.490-505
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• 2000

Mugwort (Artemisia sp.) abounds on hedgebank, waysides and grassy places in most part of Europe, Asia and Northern America. This herb has long been associated with witch-craft and magic as a protective charm. Mugwort has been a value as a foodstuff of relieving famine. Proximate composition of mugwort is similar to green vegetables, but it has high level in calcium, potassium and vitamin A content. For medicinal uses, the leaves are harvested twice in spring and autumn before the plant comes into flower and are dried for later uses. Aqueous or organic solvents extracts often have physiologically active constituents. Some extracts of mugwort include cineol, thujone, borneol, camphor, caryophyllene, coumarin, cubebene, pinene, linalool, absinthin etc. The dried leaves have traditionally been used as an antihelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antitumor, hepatic stimulant, chologogue, emmenagogue, febrifuge, stomachic, tonic etc. Mugwort has been used the dried or green leaves as a flavoring and coloring agents for tea, cake. pastry, bread, noodle, alcoholic liquor, soap and hygienic band.