• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.801-810
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• 2003

Chronic alcoholism is considered a common cause of malnutrition. Especially, micronutrient deficiency may playa critical role in the incidence of alcoholic liver diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of folate deficiency and ethanol consumption on cholesterol metabolism and the antioxidative system in rats. Plasma concentration of total cholesterol was increased by ethanol administration in folate-fed rats. HDL-cholesterol tended to be higher in the folate-fed group, but it was not significant. The plasma and hepatic levels of malondialdehyde were increased after chronic ethanol feeding, but dietary folate depressed the plasma malondialdehyde content of rats. Ethanol or folate feeding did not significantly change alcohol dehydrogenase activity. But folate feeding increased catalase activity in ethanol-fed rats. There was no significant change in superoxide dismutase activity among the experimental groups. Glutathione peroxidase activity tended to decrease by chronic ethanol feeding, but dietary folate did not affectthe glutathione peroxidase activity of chronic ethanol-fed rats. Glutathionine-S-transferase activity was not affected by ethanol feeding or folate deficiency. The plasma and hepatic levels of retinol decreased after chronic ethanol feeding. The hepatic level of retinol significantly decreased in ethanol-fed rats by folate deficiency. The plasma level of $\alpha$-tocopherol tended to be low in the folate deficient group with ethanol feeding, but there was no difference among the experimental groups in the hepatic level of $\alpha$-tocopherol. These results demonstrate that chronic ethanol consumption changes the plasma cholesterol metabolism and antioxidative system of rats, and optimal folate feeding in ethanol-fed rats exerts protective effects to some extent.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.159-167
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• 2023

The prevalence of diabetes continues to increase worldwide, and the problem is also important in Korea, and about 14% of Korean adults have diabetes. Alcohol consumptions are increasing rapidly around the world and are recognized as one of the major problems in the country. Alcohol consumption is an environmental factor previously known to be associated with the risk of developing diabetes. Alcohol consumption can cause problems in the endocrine system and gastrointestinal function, and oxidative stress of acetaldehyde, an ethanol metabolite, can damage beta cells in the pancreas. In the present study, we found the effect of alcohol intake on fasting blood sugar and the difference between men and women in the risk of diabetes according to alcohol intake. In men, the high-drinking group had a higher risk of diabetes than the non-drinking group (OR, 1.41; P=0.058). In women, the Moderate-drinking group had a lower risk of diabetes compared to the non-drinking group (OR, 0.42; P=0.039). The high-drinking group had a higher risk of diabetes than the non-drinking group (OR, 2.97; P=0.034). The group that consumed more than the WHO's daily alcohol intake risk standard tended to have a higher risk of diabetes than the group that did not (OR, 5.48; P=0.001). This study suggest that moderate alcohol consumption reduce the risk of developing diabetes, and high alcohol consumption increase the risk of developing diabetes.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.351-356
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• 2010

To increase the production of ethanol by using sugar from lignocellulosic biomass, pentose and hexose have to be fermented simultaneously by yeast. The effects of mixed sugar and nitrogen on ethanol production by immobilized Pichia stipitis KCCM 12009 were investigated. When optimal mixed sugar and nitrogen concentration were 5% (Glucose/Xylose = 3:1) and 1%, respectively, ethanol concentration produced by immobilized P. stipitis was 19-20 g/L. In repeated fed-batch by immobilized P. stipitis, all glucose was consumed very quickly at 1-3% mixed sugar concentration. But, xylose consumption was decreased as the mixed sugar concentration increased. Also, ethanol (5.6 g/L) was stably produced and ethanol production rate was 0.13 g/$L{\cdot}h$ in immobilized cell reactor (ICR) with 1% mixed sugar (Glucose/Xylose = 3:1) as feeding media.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.358-364
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• 2016

The combustion and exhaust emission characteristics in a spark ignition (SI) engine with various test fuels (bioethanol - gasoline blends) and air-fuel ratio were investigated in this research. To investigate the influence of the excess air ratio and ethanol blends on the combustion characteristics such as the cylinder pressure, rate of heat release (ROHR), and fuel consumption rate were analyzed. In addition, the reduction effects of exhaust emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon (HC), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) were compared with those of neat gasoline fuel under the various excess-air ratios. The results showed that the peak combustion pressures and the ROHR of bioethanol fuel cases were slightly higher than those of gasoline fuel at all test ranges and fuel ratio. As compared with gasoline fuel (G100) at each given excess air ratio, BSFC of bio-ethanol was increased. The CO, HC, NOx emissions of bio-ethanol blends were lower than those of gasoline fuel under overall experimental conditions.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.525-531
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• 2001

The present study investigated the protective effects of green tea against acute ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation and the change of antioxidative enzyme activities in various regions of rat brain : cortex, cerebellum, striatum and hippocampus. The following parameters were examined : malondialdehyde(MDA) levels and activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were given the experimental containing 1% green tea powder or control diet for 4 weeks, and at the end of feeding diet group received acute ethanol(5g/kg body weight) or equicaloric sucrose solution intragastrically. Green tea powder significantly decreased MDA levels in the striatum compared to control-non alcohol treated group to 1% green tea-non alcohol treated group without altering the antioxidative enzyme activities. Green tea resulted in a significant increase in GSH-Px activities in the hippocampus compared to either control-non alcohol treated group(0.043units/mg protein) or 1% green tea-non alcohol treated group(0.071units/mg protein). In conclusion, these results suggest that moderate consumption of green tea leaves can exert protective effects against ethanol-induced oxidative stress in brain regions, by reducing MDA concentrations in the striatum and enhancing GSH-Px activities in the hippocampus. (Korean J Nutrition 34(5) : 525∼531, 2001)

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.335-340
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• 2011

Glucose and xylose are the most abundant materials in nature which can be used to produce ethanol by yeast fermentation. Three combinations of cultivation with glucose and xylose were carried out; separated, co-culture, and sequential fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis. In the separated fermentation, S. cerevisiae fermented glucose to produce 14.5 g/l ethanol from 29.4 g/l glucose but hardly used xylose. However, P. stipitis utilized not only glucose but also xylose to produce ethanol 11.9 g/l and 11.6 g/l from 29.4 g/l glucose and 29.0 g/l xylose, respectively. In the mixture of glucose and xylose, P. stipitis fermented both sugars, producing 21.1 g/l ethanol while S. cerevisiae fermented only glucose, producing 13.4 g/l ethanol. In the co-culture and sequential fermentation, the co-culture showed more efficient ethanol productivity with 18.6 g/l ethanol than the sequential fermentation with 12.4 g/l ethanol. To investigate the effect of nutrients in the growth of microorganisms and ethanol production, yeast nitrogen base (YNB) was used in the sequential fermentation with S. cerevisiae and P. stipitis. YNB supplemented some nutrients which S. cerevisiae used up in the broth and the culture showed increased growth rate, increased consumption of xylose, and increased ethanol productivity producing 22.5 g/l ethanol from 54.6 g/l sugar with a yield of 0.41 g/g.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.309-318
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• 2015

Alcohol consumption increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, its effects on prediabetes or early diabetes have not been studied. We investigated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the pancreas and liver resulting from chronic alcohol consumption in the prediabetes and early stages of diabetes. We separated Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a type-2 diabetic animal model, into two groups based on diabetic stage: prediabetes and early diabetes were defined as occurrence between the ages of 11 to 16 weeks and 17 to 22 weeks, respectively. The experimental group received an ethanol-containing liquid diet for 6 weeks. An intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test was conducted after 16 and 22 weeks for the prediabetic and early diabetes groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in body weight between the control and ethanol groups. Fasting and 120-min glucose levels were lower and higher, respectively, in the ethanol group than in the control group. In prediabetes rats, alcohol induced significant expression of ER stress markers in the pancreas; however, alcohol did not affect the liver. In early diabetes rats, alcohol significantly increased most ER stress-marker levels in both the pancreas and liver. These results indicate that chronic alcohol consumption increased the risk of diabetes in prediabetic and early diabetic OLETF rats; the pancreas was more susceptible to damage than was the liver in the early diabetic stages, and the adaptive and proapoptotic pathway of ER stress may play key roles in the development and progression of diabetes affected by chronic alcohol ingestion.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.294-300
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• 2011

Takju is a Korean alcoholic beverage made from rice, and is brewed with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of exercise training and moderate Takju consumption on learning ability in 6-week old Sprague-Dawley male rats. The rats were treated with exercise and alcohol for 4 weeks in six separate groups as follows: non-exercised control (CC), exercised control (EC), non-exercised consuming ethanol (CA), exercised consuming ethanol (EA), non-exercised consuming Takju (CT), and exercised consuming Takju (ET). An AIN-93M diet was provided ad libitum. Exercise training was performed at a speed of 10 m/min for 15 minutes per day. Ethanol and Takju were administered daily for 6-7 hours to achieve an intake of about 10 ml after 12 hours of deprivation, and, thereafter, the animals were allowed free access to deionized water. A Y-shaped water maze was used from the third week to understand the effects of exercise and alcohol consumption on learning and memory. After sacrifice, brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was analyzed. Total caloric intake and body weight changes during the experiment were not significantly different among the groups. AChE activity was not significantly different among the groups. The number of errors for position reversal training in the maze was significantly smaller in the EA group than that in the CA and ET groups, and latency times were shorter in the EA group than those in the CC, EC, CT, and ET groups. The latency difference from the first to the fifth day was shortest in the ET group. The exercised groups showed more errors and latency than those of the non-exercised groups on the first day, but the data became equivalent from the second day. The results indicate that moderate exercise can increase memory and learning and that the combination of exercise and Takju ingestion may enhance learning ability.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.242-248
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• 2007

It is known that onion increases antioxidative and antibiotic capacity, and decreases blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The study was carried out to investigate whether ethanol extract of onion can enhance blood lipid profiles in hypercholesterolemic patients. Foully three hypercholesterolemic patients were randomly divided into 2 groups; 25 in controls and 18 in experimental group. The control group was offered to take placebo for 4 weeks (200 ml/day), and experimental group was offered to consume ethanol extract of onion for 8 weeks (200 ml/day that corresponds to 500 g of onion). There were no differences in sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and educational levels between groups before treatment. After 8 weeks of onion extract consumption, plasma triglycerides level was significantly decreased in experimental group compared to control (p<0.05). Total cholesterol level was tended to decrease in experimental group, but there was no significant difference of change between control and experimental group. The levels of plasma glucose and LDL-cholesterol were not changed significantly after onion extract consumption. In summary, alcohol extract of onion may have a positive effect on the lipid profiles of hypercholesterolemia patients through decreasing plasma triglyceride concentration.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.168-176
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• 2018

Objectives: Ma-al-shaeer is a popular beverage in Islamic countries. The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of methanol and ethanol in most consumed brands of Ma-al-shaeer in Iran. Methods: Eighty-one Ma-al-shaeer samples which commonly used in Iran were provided. Methanol and ethanol contents were determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. Results: The mean methanol concentrations in Iranian and foreign brands was $129.84{\pm}205.38mg/L$ and $110.157{\pm}135.98mg/L$, respectively. Although mean ethanol contents of Iranian brands was $1.2{\pm}2.41mg/L$, ethanol level in foreign ones was lower than LOQ. Conclusion: Since the most Ma-al-shaeer brands had methanol pollution at different levels establishment of a definitive relationship between the methanol content and toxicological effects seem to be vital. EDI of methanol for Iranian people through consumption of Maal-shaeer was determined 0.023mg/kg bw/day.