• The Korean Journal of Food & Health Convergence
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.15-20
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• 2024

The global movement towards sustainable food systems has given rise to a growing interest in alternative protein sources, including plant proteins, insect proteins, cultured meats, and microbially derived proteins. This study focuses on the latest trends and future developments in this field, with a particular emphasis on state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies designed to overcome the obstacles associated with alternative proteins, including taste, flavor and texture. A principal objective of this research is to identify proteins that will facilitate the large-scale production of cyclic dipeptides (CDPs), based on the hypothesis that CDPs can leverage their distinctive biochemical attributes to enhance the appeal of alternative protein sources. One of the key challenges in this research is identifying the proteins required for CDP production. Previous studies have shown that lactic acid bacteria, such as Weissella cibaria, Lactobacillus sakei, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Pediococcus pentosaceus which were isolated from kimchi exhibit strong antimicrobial activity, with CDPs identified among their metabolites. This observation has prompted the utilization of these bacteria in the present study. The findings of this study suggest that CDPs could be an effective solution for developing alternative protein sources and could represent a significant advancement in food technology innovation.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.27-36
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• 2024

Purpose: As the number of vegetarians continues to rise in tandem with the development of consumer culture, a novel economic trend named 'Vegenomics' has surfaced. In addition, as interest in social and environmental sustainability such as health, environment, and animal welfare grows due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the alternative protein food market is expanding, focusing on plant-based alternative meat. Research design, data, and methodology: Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of the consumption value of alternative protein products on self-efficacy and purchase intention. This study collected a total of 187 questionnaires by conducting an online survey from May 1 to July 10, 2023, to verify the research model and hypothesis. The collected data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and discriminant validity analysis using SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 programs for structural equation modeling. Results: The results of analyzing consumers' self-efficacy and purchase intention regarding the functional value, health-oriented value, ethical value, and ecological value of alternative protein products are as follows. First, among the consumption values of alternative protein products, ecological value was found to have a significant positive (+) effect on self-efficacy. Second, consumers' self-efficacy for alternative protein products was found to have a significant positive (+) effect on purchase intention. Conclusion: This study is anticipated to provide valuable insights for the formulation of effective marketing strategies for alternative protein products and the development of products that align with consumer needs.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.1156-1166
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• 2024

Texture is a major challenge in addressing the need to find sustainable meat alternatives, as consumers desire alternative meat to have a sensory profile like meat. In this study, the fabrication of imitated muscle fiber (IMF) is performed by introducing different kinds of protein sources, with an effective bottom-up technique- wet spinning. Herein, the protein sources (pea protein isolate, wheat protein, and myofibrillar paste) were combined with sodium alginate to stimulate the bonding with the coagulation solution for fabrication. It has been found that the fabrication of IMF is possible using all the protein sources, however, due to the difference in protein structure, a significant difference was observed in quality characteristics compared to conventional meat. Additionally, combination of wheat protein and pea protein isolate has given similar values as conventional meat in terms of some of the texture profiles and Warner-Bratzler shear force. In general, the optimization of protein sources for wet spinning can provides a novel way for the production of edible fiber of alternative meat.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.234-243
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• 2013

N-terminal kinase-like (NTKL) protein was initially identified as a protein binding to protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt). Though NTKL-BP1 (NTKL-binding protein 1) has been identified as an NTKL binding protein, its functions related to binding have not yet been elucidated. Here, a new alternative spliced variant of NTKL and its association with integrin ${\beta}1$ is described, in addition to the kinase activity of NTKL and its substrate candidates. Although the phosphorylation of the candidates must be further confirmed using other experimental methods, the observation that NTKL can phosphorylate ROCK1, DYRK3, and MST1 indicates that NTKL may act as a signaling protein to regulate actin assembly, cell migration, cell growth, and to facilitate differentiation and development in an integrin-associated manner.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2_spc
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• pp.317-331
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• 2022

The aim of the present investigation is to determine the nutritional composition of various insects and their potential uses as alternative protein sources in animal diets. The feeding industry requires production systems that use accessible resources, such as feed resources, and concentrates on the potential impacts on production yield and nutritional quality. Invertebrate insects, such as black soldier flies, grasshoppers, mealworms, housefly larvae, and crickets, have been used as human food and as feed for nonruminants and aqua culture while for ruminants their use has been limited. Insects can be mass-produced, participating in a circular economy that minimizes or eliminates food- and feed-waste through bioconversion. Although the model for formula-scale production of insects as feed for domestic animals has been explored for a number of years, significant production and transformation to being a conventional protein resource remains to be deeply investigated. This review will focus on the nutritional composition of various insects and their potential use as alternative protein sources, as well as their potential use to promote and support sustainable animal production. Furthermore, nutritional compositions, such as high protein, lauric acid omega 6, and omega 3, and bioactive compounds, such as chitin, are of great potential use for animal feeding.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2016

This study was performed to develop and evaluate cookies prepared with various amounts (0 g, 12.5 g, 25 g and 37.5 g) of mealworm powder to serve as not only sports snacks but also for the general population as a new protein source. In the chromaticity of mealworm cookies, lightness and yellowness decreased whereas redness increased with more mealworm powder. The hardness of the mealworm cookies increased as more mealworm powder was added. In sensory evaluation, higher preference was shown with the measure of color, taste, and overall preference for mealworm cookies prepared with 50% mealworm powder (MP2). For the general composition of MP2, the moisture, carbohydrate, crude protein, crude fat and crude ash were higher compared with the control cookie. For the mineral contents of MP2, the contents of Ca (33.44 mg/100 g), P (225.13 mg/100 g), Mg (82.21 mg/100 g), Na (246.22 mg/100 g), and K (503.49 mg/100 g) were higher compared with the control cookie. The essential amino acids (valine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, and histidine) in MP2 were also higher compared with the control cookie. It was concluded that MP2 can be used as a new protein source for not only the maintenance of muscle but also for the prevention of muscle loss in old people.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.296-308
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• 2019

Although the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) is a promising alternative protein source, the effects of processing conditions on functional properties are unclear. In this study, a protein extract of yellow mealworm larvae (PEYM) was subjected to different heat temperature ($55^{\circ}C$, $75^{\circ}C$, and $95^{\circ}C$) with different time (20, 40, and 60 min) to evaluate the functional properties and protein oxidation. Different heat temperature treatment significantly affected the exposure of surface hydrophobicity of the proteins and protein molecule aggregation, which reached maximum levels at $95^{\circ}C$ for 60 min. Protein oxidation was inversely proportional to the temperature. Both the highest carbonyl value (1.49 nmol/mg protein) and lowest thiol value (22.94 nmol/mg protein) were observed at $95^{\circ}C$ for 60 min. The heating time-temperature interaction affected several functional properties, including solubility, emulsifying potential, and gel strength (GS). Solubility decreased near the isoelectric point (pH 5 to 6). As the temperature and heating time increased, emulsifying properties decreased and GS increased. The oil absorption capacity and foaming properties decreased and the water absorption capacity increased. These results confirmed that PEYM is a suitable source of proteins for processing and applications in the food industry.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.723-737
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• 2024

Yeast protein can be a nutritionally suitable auxiliary protein source in livestock food. The breakdown of proteins and thereby generating high-quality peptide, typically provides nutritional benefits. Enzyme hydrolysis has been effectively uesed to generate peptides; however, studies on the potential applications of different types of enzymes to produce yeast protein hydrolysates remain limited. This study investigated the effects of endo- (alcalase and neutrase) and exotype (flavourzyme and prozyme 2000P) enzyme treatments on yeast protein. Endotype enzymes facilitate a higher hydrolysis efficiency in yeast proteins than exotype enzymes. The highest degree of hydrolysis was observed for the protein treated with neutrase, which was followed by alcalase, prozyme 2000P, and flavourzyme. Furthermore, endotype enzyme treated proteins exhibited higher solubility than their exotype counterparts. Notably, the more uniform particle size distribution was observed in endotype treated yeast protein. Moreover, compared with the original yeast protein, the enzymatic protein hydrolysates possessed a higher content of β-sheets structures, indicating their higher structural stability. Regardless of enzyme type, enzyme treated protein possessed a higher total free amino acid content including essential amino acids. Therefore, this study provides significant insights into the production of protein hydrolysates as an alternative protein material.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.967-974
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• 2016

Zearalenone (ZEA) is an estrogenic mycotoxin that is produced by several Fusarium species, including Fusarium graminearum. One of the ZEA biosynthetic genes, ZEB2, encodes two isoforms of Zeb2 by alternative transcription, forming an activator (Zeb2L-Zeb2L homooligomer) and an inhibitor (Zeb2L-Zeb2S heterodimer) that directly regulate the ZEA biosynthetic genes in F. graminearum. Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) signaling regulates secondary metabolic processes in several filamentous fungi. In this study, we investigated the effects of the PKA signaling pathway on ZEA biosynthesis. Through functional analyses of PKA catalytic and regulatory subunits (CPKs and PKR), we found that the PKA pathway negatively regulates ZEA production. Genetic and biochemical evidence further demonstrated that the PKA pathway specifically represses ZEB2L transcription and also takes part in posttranscriptional regulation of ZEB2L during ZEA production. Our findings reveal the intriguing mechanism that the PKA pathway regulates secondary metabolite production by reprograming alternative transcription.

• The Korean Journal of Food & Health Convergence
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.11-21
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• 2022

Spirulina is known to be more useful abroad than in Korea because it contains more protein than Chlorella, the same microalgae. In the past, sources of animal protein were diverse, but since it takes a long time to receive protein along with environmental pollution, we thought that spirulina could attract attention as a new protein source. In this study, application cases were analyzed in foods in the fields of acorn cake, tofu, dumpling skin, fish cake, white bread, pound cake, salad dressing, and yogurt and so on. As a result of centrally analyzing antioxidant and sensory evaluation, it was confirmed that the results were effective enough to develop products in tofu, dumpling skin, fish cake, and pound cake. It is thought that development of food in other fields will be possible if an additive amount that can match the consumer's preference is found by supplementing the mixing ratio. If it is used as a main raw material for existing food rather than as a raw material for health functional food, consumer preference can increase and quality can be further improved, and it can be suggested as a good alternative for an aging society.