• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.27-35
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• 2022

Objectives : 3-Acetyl-11-keto-𝛽-boswellic acid (AKBA) is a major active compound in Boswellia serrata. We investigated the arthritic changes following AKBA administration in monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis rats. Methods : All rats were randomly divided into five groups: Normal, Control, INDO (indomethacin 2 mg/kg treated), AKBA30 (AKBA 30 mg/kg treated), and AKBA60 (AKBA 60 mg/kg treated); drugs were given 2 weeks before MIA injection. For all groups except the normal group, 50 µL of sterile saline with MIA (80 mg/mL) was injected into the right knee joint 2 weeks after drug administration. The drug administration was continued for 4 weeks from 1 week after osteoarthritis induction. The histomorphological changes of knee joint cartilage were observed by H&E staining. Also, the levels of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), 5-LOX-activating protein (FLAP), and leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄) in the knee joint were determined by the ELISA kits. The expressions of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), inflammatory cytokines, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in knee joint were detected by Western blot. Results : Data show that levels of 5-LOX, FLAP, LTB4, and COMP were downregulated significantly in the AKBA treated groups when compared to those in the Control group. On the other hand, GAG levels were significantly elevated. As a result of Western blot, the AKBA-treated groups significantly inhibited phosphorylation of MAPKs. In addition, significant downregulation of the expression of inflammatory cytokines and MMPs was found in the AKBA-treated groups. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that administration of AKBA could exert better chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects for MIA-induced osteoarthritis rats.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.265-271
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• 2021

Intertidal mud crab (Macrophthalmus japonicus) is an organism with a hard chitinous exoskeleton and has function for an osmotic control in response to the salinity gradient of seawater. Crustacean exoskeletons change in their natural state in response to environmental factors, such as changes in the pH and water temperature, and the presence of pollutant substances and pathogen infection. In this study, the ecotoxicological effects of irgarol exposure and heavy metal distribution were presented by analyzing the surface roughness of the crab exoskeleton. The exoskeleton surface roughness and variation reduced in M. japonicus exposed to irgarol. In addition, it was confirmed that the surface roughness and variation were changed in the field M. japonicus crab according to the distribution of toxic heavy metals(Cd, Pb, Hg) in marine sediments. This change in the surface roughness of the exoskeleton represents a new end-point of the biological response of the crab according to external environmental stressors. This suggests that it may affect the functional aspects of exoskeleton protection, support, and transport. This approach can be utilized as a useful method for monitoring the aquatic environment as an integrated technology of mechanical engineering and biology.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2022

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.), one of the four major fiber crops, is attracting attention for its efficient CO₂-absorbing ability and versatility for producing daily supplies, including textiles. In Korea, a new cultivar 'Jangdae' was established in 2013. The ease of cultivation and seed gathering of 'Jangdae' has led to its nationwide cultivation. However, evaluation of the bioactivities of the different parts of kenaf, and especially the 'Jangdae' cultivar, remains rudimentary. In this study, the antithrombosis and antioxidant activities of extracts prepared from different parts of the 'Jangdae' cultivar were evaluated by determining their effects on blood clot formation. Extracts prepared from seeds (HC-SD), seedpods (HC-SP), leaves (HC-L), stems (HC-S), and roots (HC-R) of the 'Jangdae' cultivar strongly inhibited blood clot formation. In particular, the HC-SD, HC-SP, and HC-S extracts showed strong inhibition against the coagulation factors prothrombin, and thrombin. The HC-SP extract showed strong antioxidant activities, such as scavenging ability against DPPH anion, ABTS cation, nitrite, and reducing power. Since blood clot formation is closely related to oxidative stress, the HC-SP extract could be developed as a novel anticoagulation and antioxidant resource. This is the first report of the antithrombosis activities of different parts of H. cannabinus L. cv. 'Jangdae'.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.484-493
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the supplementation of diets of broiler chickens with hot-melt extruded CuSO₄ (HME-Cu) on their growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gut microbiota, small intestinal morphology, meat quality, and copper (Cu) bioavailability. Methods: A total of 225 broilers (Ross 308), one-day old and initial weight 39.14 g, were weighed and distributed between 15 cages (15 birds per cage) in a completely randomized experimental design with 3 treatments (diets) and 5 replicates per treatment. Cages were allotted to three treatments including control (without supplemental Cu), IN-Cu (16 mg/kg of CuSO₄), and HME-Cu (16 mg/kg of HME processed CuSO₄). Results: The HME-Cu treatment tended to increase the overall body weight gain (p<0.10). The apparent digestibility of Cu was increased by supplementation of HME-Cu at phase 2 (p<0.05). The Escherichia coli count in cecum tended to decrease with the supplementation with Cu (p<0.10). In addition, the HME-Cu treatment had a higher pH of breast meat than the control and IN-Cu treatments (p<0.05). Significant increases in the cooking loss, water-holding capacity, and lightness in the breast were observed in the HME-Cu treatment compared to the control (p<0.05). The Cu content of excreta increased with the Cu supplementation (p<0.05). The concentration of excreta Cu in broilers was decreased in the HME-Cu compared to the IN-Cu in phase 2 (p<0.05). The Cu concentration in the liver was increased with the HME-Cu supplementation, compared with the control diets (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that HME-Cu supplementation at the requirement level (16 mg/kg diets) in broiler diets did not affect the growth performance and the physiological function of Cu in broilers. However, supplementation of Cu in HME form improved the meat quality and the bioavailability of Cu.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.sup1
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• pp.134-146
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Accumulating evidence has shown the beneficial effects of isoflavone on health. There is limited information on the usual isoflavone intake for Koreans. This study examined the usual intake of total isoflavone and its major food sources in Koreans according to age and gender. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The dietary intake data of 21,271 participants aged 1 yrs and older from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) VII 2016-2018 were analyzed. The average isoflavone intake was estimated based on the 24-h dietary recall data in KNHANES and the isoflavone database from the Korea Rural Development Administration (RDA) and literatures. The usual isoflavone intake was estimated by applying the ratio of within- and between-participant variance estimated from the 2009 KNHANES data to the 7th KNHANES (2016-2018) data. The variance of the isoflavone intake was calculated using MIXTRAN macro with intake data for two days in the 2009 KNHANES. Complex sample analysis with stratified variables and integrated weights was conducted. RESULTS: The mean total isoflavone intake in the Korean population aged 1 yrs and older (n = 21,271) was 139.27 mg/d, which was higher than the usual intake of 47.44mg/d. Legumes were a major contributing food group (91%), with arrowroot being a major individual contributor to the isoflavone intake (67.2%), followed by 21.3% of soybean, 5.4% of bean sprouts, and 2.1% of tofu. The usual isoflavone intake was highest in the participants aged 50 to 64 yrs old and increased with age until 50 to 64 yrs and then decreased with further increases in age. The usual isoflavone intake of participants aged 65 yrs and older was higher for men than for women, showing gender differences. CONCLUSIONS: The usual dietary intake of isoflavone varied according to age and gender in the Korean population. This study showed that the usual isoflavone intake was lower than the average isoflavone intake. The difference between percentiles of the usual isoflavone intake was similarly smaller than the average intake. An estimation of average intake can be hindered by the occasional consumption of foods high in isoflavones, suggesting that the usual intake estimation method can be more appropriate. Further research will be needed to establish isoflavone dietary guidelines regarding the effects of isoflavone intake on health outcomes.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.275-281
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• 2008

Endocrine disrupting chemiclas (EDCs) such as bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol (NP) have estrogenic activity and can alter reproduction in fish. In the present study, the effects of BPA and NP on in vitro steroid production from oocytes of maturation stage (oocyte diameter$\fallingdotseq$1.88 mm) from the greenling (Hexagrammos agrammus) were evaluated. Oocytes were incubated with different concentrations of BPA and NP (0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 ng/$m{\ell}$) in the presence or absence of 50 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) for 48 hours. After incubation, levels of $17{\alpha},\;20{\beta}$-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one ($17{\alpha}20{\beta}OHP$), estradiol-$17{\beta}(E_2)$ and testosterone (T) from incubated media were quantified by radioimmunoassay (RIA). In BPA treatment, 100 ng/$m{\ell}$ of BPA stimulated $E_2$ production regardless HCG supplement. Every concentration of BPA inhibited T production without HCG although 0.1 ng/$m{\ell}$ of BPA stimulated T production with HCG. In NP treatment, 10 ng/$m{\ell}$ of NP stimulated $17{\alpha}20{\beta}OHP$ and T production without HCG. 1 ng/$m{\ell}$ of NP inhibited $E_2$ production. Taken toghther, these results suggest that BPA might have weak estrogen-agonistic effect and NP has estrogenantagonistic effect at final oocyte maturation stage of H. agrammus.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.173-183
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• 2011

Gabensis village is one of the biggest village In the Wampar Local Level Government area within the Huon Gulf District of Morobe Province with a population of around 3,000. The major staple food is banana which is well complemented by minor staples yam, cassava, Singapore/Chinese taro and sweet potato. Apart from gardening for own consumption, the villagers engage in selling of vegetables, garden staples, cocoa beans, coconuts, timber, chicken, fish and pig meat to supplement their livelihood. Livestock like pigs and chickens are also kept for meat and for commercial purpose. Bettlenut which was once one of the main cash crops has now been overtaken by cocoa due to a disease that had attacked almost the entire bettlenut tree population in the area. Even though the Wau-Bulolo highway cuts through the village and all have access to transport infrastructure, the majority of the population still encounter problems in communication due to poor telecommunication coverage. On average most people earn not more than K50 per week due to constrains in production and marketing among others. Gabensis village has the potential to develop a tourism industry given its natural attraction of Lake Wanam. Beside there is also the natural eel farming and the fish pond at the nearby Potsie village. These natural attractions pose huge tourism potential for the community. As part of government services delivery and development, education and health issues is very much important in the community however there is lack of infrastructural development and poor service delivery especially in the area of health. However, the responsibility is on the community to organize themselves to realize that potential. A well developed agro-ecotourism investments would have positive spillover effects to the community thus contributing towards improving the livelihoods of the many farming families.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.16.1-16.20
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• 2022

The gastrointestinal tract is the first organ directly affected by fasting. However, little is known about how fasting influences the intestinal immune system. Intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) capture antigens, migrate to secondary lymphoid organs, and provoke adaptive immune responses. We evaluated the changes of intestinal DCs in mice with short-term fasting and their effects on protective immunity against Listeria monocytogenes (LM). Fasting induced an increased number of CD103⁺CD11b^- DCs in both small intestinal lamina propria (SILP) and mesenteric lymph nodes (mLN). The SILP CD103⁺CD11b^- DCs showed proliferation and migration, coincident with increased levels of GM-CSF and C-C chemokine receptor type 7, respectively. At 24 h post-infection with LM, there was a significant reduction in the bacterial burden in the spleen, liver, and mLN of the short-term-fasted mice compared to those fed ad libitum. Also, short-term-fasted mice showed increased survival after LM infection compared with ad libitum-fed mice. It could be that significantly high TGF-β2 and Aldh1a2 expression in CD103⁺CD11b^- DCs in mice infected with LM might affect to increase of Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells. Changes of major subset of DCs from CD103⁺ to CD103^- may induce the increase of IFN-γ-producing cells with forming Th1-biased environment. Therefore, the short-term fasting affects protection against LM infection by changing major subset of intestinal DCs from tolerogenic to Th1 immunogenic.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.949-956
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• 2003

For the Exp. 1, a total of sixty pigs(15.95${\pm}$0.09kg average initial body weight) were used in a 28-d growth assay to determine the effects of extruded chinese corn on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in nursery pigs. Dietary treatments included 1) UCORN(U.S. corn-SBM based diet), 2) CCORN(Chinese corn-SBM based diet) and 3) ECCORN(Extruded Chinese corn-SBM based diet). Overall period, average daily gain of pigs fed ECCORN diet was higher than that of pigs fed CCORN diet(547 vs 522 g/d), however, there was not significant difference. On day 10 of the experiment, pigs fed UCORN and ECCORN diet had significantly increased in DM and DE digestibilities compared to pigs fed CCORN diet(P〈0.05). Also, on day 24 of the experiment, pigs fed UCORN and ECCORN diet had a significant increase in DM digestibility compared to pigs fed CCORN diet(P〈0.05). Pigs fed ECCORN diet had significantly increased DE digestibility compared to pigs fed CCORN diet(P〈0.05). For the Exp. 2, three cannulated barrows(54.09kg average initial body weight) were used to determine the apparent ileal digestibilities of amino acids and nutrient digestibility of extruded corn in finishing pigs. Dietary treatments were the same as in Exp. 1. Apparent ileal digestibility of cystine was greater for UCORN and ECCORN than for CCORN(P〈0.05). Apparent digestibility of DM at the total tract was greater for UCORN and ECCORN than for CCORN(P〈0.05). Pigs fed UCORN and ECCORN diet had a significant increase in apparent total tract digestibility of N compared to pigs fed CCORN diet(P〈0.05). In conclusion, the results obtained from these feeding trials suggest that the extruded corn for nursery pigs had affected growth performance and DM and DE digestibilities. In finishing pigs, extruded corn was an effective means to improve apparent total tract digestibilities of DM and N.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.1206-1211
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• 2015

Grape juice is consumed worldwide and studied due to the high antioxidant activities and contents. The color of grape juice is due to the presence of phenolic compounds such as anthocyanins. Therefore, color values can be an indicator of antioxidant capacities of grape juice. However, the correlation between color values and antioxidant activities in grape juice has not been well studied. In this study, the physicochemical characteristics and correlation between color values and antioxidant capacities of Korean red grape juices (five commercial juices from market and two juices prepared in the laboratory) were investigated to estimate antioxidant capacities. Antioxidant capacities were determined by 1,1-diphenlyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay, ferric ion reducing antioxidant power assay, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay. Total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents, and total anthocyanin contents, including five kinds of polyphenolic compounds, were examined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results for physicochemical properties showed similar values, except titratable acidity. The color hue values of the prepared juices were higher than those of commercial juices, which was in contrast to the lower color intensity values (P<0.05). The Hunter L, a, and b values showed almost no difference between commercial and prepared juices. The antioxidant activities and total phenolic contents of commercial juices were higher than those of prepared ones. Gallic acid, catechin, and quercetin were confirmed by HPLC in all samples. The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents showed positive correlation with antioxidant activities. In addition, antioxidant activities and contents correlated with color values. Thus, estimation of antioxidant capacity could be feasible through the spectrophotometric measurement of color values.