• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2023

Dictyopteris divaricata, a type of marine brown algae, has been studied for its various biological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and whitening effects. However, its potential antiobesity effects have not been extensively explored. This study aimed to examine the impact of D. divaricata ethanol extract (DDE) on adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis using 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Our results showed that when 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were treated with noncytotoxic concentrations of DDE there was a concentration-dependent decrease in fat accumulation rate and triglycerid production compared with the control. Furthermore, DDE significantly reduced the expression of transcription factors (PPARγ, C/EBPα, and SREBP-1) and fatty acid transport protein (FABP4), which are crucial for 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. These findings suggest that DDE may exhibit antiobesity effects by suppressing the expression of lipogenic transcription factors and fatty acid transport proteins. Therefore, DDE holds potential as a therapeutic agent for obesity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.407-414
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• 2024

Phosphorus is an essential but non-renewable nutrient resource critical for agriculture. Luxury phosphorus uptake allows microalgae to synthesize polyphosphate and accumulate phosphorus, but, depending on the strain of algae, polyphosphate may be degraded within 4 hours of accumulation. We studied the recovery of phosphorus from wastewater through luxury uptake by an engineered strain of Synechocystis sp. with inhibited polyphosphate degradation and the effect of this engineered Synechocystis biomass on lettuce growth. First, a strain (∆phoU) lacking the phoU gene, which encodes a negative regulator of environmental phosphate concentrations, was generated to inhibit polyphosphate degradation in cells. Polyphosphate concentrations in the phoU knock-out strain were maintained for 24 h and then decreased slowly. In contrast, polyphosphate concentrations in the wild-type strain increased up to 4 h and then decreased rapidly. In addition, polyphosphate concentration in the phoU knockout strain cultured in semi-permeable membrane bioreactors with artificial wastewater medium was 2.5 times higher than that in the wild type and decreased to only 16% after 48 h. The biomass of lettuce treated with the phoU knockout strain (0.157 mg P/m²) was 38% higher than that of the lettuce treated with the control group. These results indicate that treating lettuce with this microalgal biomass can be beneficial to crop growth. These results suggest that the use of polyphosphate-accumulating microalgae as biofertilizers may alleviate the effects of a diminishing phosphorous supply. These findings can be used as a basis for additional genetic engineering to increase intracellular polyphosphate levels.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.102-111
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• 2024

Objective: Given the noteworthy implications of alcohol consumption and its association with male infertility, there has been a notable focus on investigating natural alternatives to mitigate its adverse effects. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the potential protective effect of phycocyanin extract derived from the blue algae Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis against ethanol-induced oxidative stress, disturbances in testicular morphology, and alterations in sperm production. Methods: Male rats were divided into four groups (five rats each): the control group received a saline solution, the ethanol exposed group (EtOH) was subjected to intraperitoneal injections of 10 mL/kg of ethanol solution at a concentration of 38% (v/v), the phycocyanin alone treated group (P) received oral administration of phycocyanin at a dosage of 50 mg/kg, and the phycocyanin-cotreated group (PE) was given oral phycocyanin followed by ethanol injections. All treatments were administered over a period of 14 days. Results: Our findings demonstrated that ethanol exposure induced reproductive toxicity, characterized by reduced sperm production and viability, alterations in testicular weight and morphology, increased lipid peroxidation levels, and elevated oxidative enzyme activity. In addition, the ethanol-intoxicated group showed perturbations in serum biochemical parameters. However, the simultaneous exposure to ethanol and phycocyanin exhibited a counteractive effect against ethanol toxicity. Conclusion: The results showed that supplementation of phycocyanin prevented oxidative and testicular morphological damage-induced by ethanol and maintained normal sperm production, and viability.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 1992

To study the effect of alginic acid on modulation of the aging process, Sprague-Dawley(SD) male rats were fed the diets containing 0, 3, 6 and $9\%$ alginic acid isolated from brown algae(Undaria pinnatifida) for 16 weeks. The effects of alginic acid on body weight, malondialdehyde(MDA) content, peroxidizability index, cholesterol and phospholipid levels, cholesterol/phospholipid(Ch/Ph) molar ratio, and fatty acid compositions in liver membranes were investigated. Increasing alginic acid level in diets did not alter food intakes but effectively decreased body weights gain(p<0.01-0.005). Malondialdehyde(MDA) contents of diets containing 6 and $9\%$ alginic acid were effectively decreased in ranges of $54.1-43.0\%$ in mitochondria, and $65.5-87.7\%$ in microsome compared with $100\%$ of control group. Cholesterol levels of all diets containing alginic acid were significantly decreased in ranges of $87.0-72.3\%$ in mitochondria, and $87.4-68.1\%$ in microsome compared with $100\%$ of control group. Phopholipid levels in microsome were significantly decreased by diets containing 3 and $ 6\%$ alginic acid but Ch/Ph molar ratios in both membranes were decreased by diets containing 3 and $6\%$ alginic acid. Increasing alginic acid level in diets significantly decreased total fatty acid but effectively increased linoleic acid in microsome except for diet containing $9\%$ alginic acid. These data on liver membranes suggest that alginic acid added to diets can modulate the physiological changes if the aging process.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.393-408
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate how chlorella dry powder added to the feed of laying hens influences on the egg quality and the composition of egg yolk's fatty acid. Moisture content, ash content, crude protein content, and crude fat content were 12.8%, 10.8%, 18.0% and 2.5%, respectively. The moisture content of the chlorella powder added to the feed was about 1.54%, the ash content was 6.53%, the crude protein content was 54.56%, and the crude fat content was 2.45 %. After feeding chlorella, compared to the control, the color of egg shell significantly became darker. The hardness of egg shell was increased for 10 days after chlorella feeding and was significantly strengthened. Thickness of egg shell was significantly thicker. The height of egg whites was increased. After 10 days of providing chlorella, the quality of egg white was 92.0 HU (Haugh Unit), which was significantly higher than 84.8 HU, the quality of the control. The color of egg yolk significantly revealed more yellow than that of the control. Egg weight was increased by 7.5% after 15 days of feeding chlorella. Protein content was increased by 11.9% and 10.7% after 10 and 15 days of feeding, respectively. The major compositions of fatty acid content of egg yolk fed with chlorella diet were oleic acid, trans-linoleic acid, palmitic acid, ${\alpha}$-linolenic acid, stearic acid, DHA, EPA, palmitoleic acid, and heptadecanoic acid, respectively. Palmitoleic acid was decreased in the eggs fed with chlorella diet compared to the control. The Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA) content of the control was higher than that of the eggs fed with chlorella. The content of Unsaturated Fatty Acid (UFA) was higher in egg yolks fed with chlorella than in the control. The ratio of UFA to Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA) was higher in egg yolks fed with chlorella than in the control. These results suggest that the addition of chlorella to the feed of the laying hens brings positive effects on the improvement of egg quality and lowering of the Unsaturated Fatty Acid of egg yolk.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2012

Worldwide development of harmful algal blooms causes serious problem for public health and fisheries industries. To evaluate the algicidal impact on the harmful algae bloom species in aquatic ecosystems of coast, a new algicide thiazolidinedione derivative (TD49) were tentatively examined in the growth stages (i.e., lag, logarithmic and stationary phase) of rapidophyceae $Heterosigma$ $akashiwo$, $Chattonella$ $marina$ and $Chattonella$ sp..Three strains could easily destroy in the lag phase due to relatively weak cell walls than those of the logarithmic and stationary phase. It is thought that inoculation of TD49 substances into initial or developmental natural blooms with a threshold concentration ($2{\mu}M$) can maximize the algicidal activity. Also, bio-chemical assays revealed that the algicidal substances from all culture strains were likely to be extracellular substances because those cells have easily destroyed in cell walls. On the other hand, natural zooplankton communities were influenced within the exposure experiments of $2{\mu}M$, which is showed the maximum algcidal activity of tested organisms. These results indicate that although the TD49 substance is potential agents for the control of $H.$ $akashiwo$, $C.$ $marina$ and $Chattonella$ sp. in the enclosed eutrophic bay and coastal water, more detailed research of acute toxicity effect on high trophic organism in marine ecosystems need to be conducted.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2014

Rainwater harvesting is a process by which rainwater collected from rooftop or other catchment is purified so that the water can be directly or indirectly used by human beings for beneficial uses. As rainwater is increasingly considered for high quality purposes, membranes have gained an important place in rainwater treatment. It has advantages such as the production of high quality water, small footprint, and affordable energy consumption. Nevertheless, membrane fouling is regarded as a serious problem similar to the cases of water treatment and wastewater reclamation. In this study, we applied microfiltration (MF) membranes for rainwater treatment. In addition, a low pressure ultraviolet (UV) process was also use as a pretreatment to control notonly. To quantify the effect of UV on organic matters, both total organic carbon (TOC) and UV absorbance (UVA) were measured. Moreover, the effect of UV pretreatment on membrane fouling was investigated. Experimental results indicated that the pretreatment of membranes using LPUV was effective to control fouling of MF membranes only when the rainwater was contaminated by algae. This was attributed the reduction and modification of organics after UV treatments. It is likely that the UV/MF process is a promising option for water treatment in decentralized water treatment such as micro water grid systems.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.2 s.90
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• pp.136-144
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• 2000

M. aeruginosa isolated from Lake Paldang was cultured in CB medium, and then each wet plants put into the cultured medium at a rate of 0.5 g and 2.5 g wet wt/l. There was slight inhibition by the input of cattail and iris of each 0.5 g wet wt/l cultured medium, but showed no reduction in algal growth in other flasks. Among the applied plants, ginkgo, pine needles, big cone pine, waterreed and water chestnut had an effect on inhibition of algal growth at the input of 2.5 g wet wt/l. Plants which were dried for 3 days at $50^{\circ}C$ introduced into the testing flask for 10days cultured at dose rates of 2.5 g/l. When chlorophyll a concentration was remarkably high as $802.6\;{\mu}g/l$ after five days, there was noticeably less chlorophyll compared with control at a rate of 98% by big cone pine, 96% by ginkgo, 95% by pine needles and 86% by rice straw, respectively. To examine the effect of plant extracts on algal growth, big cone pine and water chestnut were put to the amount of 1.25 g liquid extracts/l. Chlorophyll a concentration and cell density decreased to the extent of average 43% as compared with the beginning of experiment, but when concentration of chlorophyll a increased a most high, the inhibition of algal growth by liquid extracts did not affect at all. When a quantity of plant equivalent to 2.5 g liquid extracts/l inhibited the growth of algae by 95% after nine days.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.326-332
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• 2013

Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) are volatile organic compounds responsible for the majority of unpleasant taste and odor events in drinking water. Geosmin and 2-MIB are byproducts of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) with musty and earthy odors. These compounds have odor threshold concentration at ng/L levels. It is needed to develop a sensitive method for determination of geosmin and 2-MIB to control the quality of drinking water. In this study, geosmin and 2-MIB in water samples were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SMPE). The detection limits of this method were 1.072 ng/L and 1.021 ng/L for geosmin and 2-MIB, respectively. Good accuracy and precision was also obtained by this method. Concentrations of the two compounds were measured in raw waters from Nakdong River in the cyanobacterial blooming season. Water bloom formed by cyanobacteria has been occurred currently in Nakdong River. It is needed to investigate the concentrations of geosmin and 2-MIB to control the quality of drinking water from Nakdong River. Both geosmin and 2-MIB were detected in raw waters from Nakdong River at concentrations ranging from 4 to 24 ng/L and 6 to 16 ng/L, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 1980

In this study, two species of algae, Ecklonia stolonifera, Sargassum thunbergii and one species of marine plant, Zostera marina(rhizoid and stem) were collected and extamined to determine the extractability of water soluble protein and the influences of various factors including extraction time, temperature, ratio of sample vs solvent and pH upon the extractability were tested. The effects of precipitation treatments for isolation of algal protein from the extracts(TCA treatment, methanol treatment and pH control) were also tested. Amino nitrogen and total nitrogen of purified samples made by obtained optimum conditions were estimated. The effect of the ratio of sample vs solvent on extractability differed from species to species which was enhances at 1:100(w/v) in Sargassum thunbergii and Zostera marina while 1:150(w/v) for Ecklonia stolonifera. The effect of extraction time and temperature was revealed differently in all species which might be considered to be caused by differences in the constitution of algal tissues. But in case of TCA insoluble nitrogen, it was showed the maximum extractability at $40-50^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour extraction. The optimum pH for the ext action of total nitrogen was 9-12 while the optimum pH was 6-7 for TCA insoluble nitrogen. And the pH control appeared to be most effective in the influence of precipitation treatment for isolation of algal protein.