• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.682-697
• /
• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Tibetan tea is a kind of dark tea, due to the inherent complexity of natural products, the chemical composition and beneficial effects of Tibetan tea are not fully understood. The objective of this study was to unravel the composition of Tibetan tea using knowledge-guided multilayer network (KGMN) techniques and explore its potential antioxidant and hypolipidemic mechanisms in mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: The C57BL/6J mice were continuously gavaged with Tibetan tea extract (T group), green tea extract (G group) and ddH2O (H group) for 15 days. The activity of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mice was detected. Transcriptome sequencing technology was used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the antioxidant and lipid-lowering effects of Tibetan tea in mice. Furthermore, the expression levels of liver antioxidant and lipid metabolism related genes in various groups were detected by the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. RESULTS: The results showed that a total of 42 flavonoids are provisionally annotated in Tibetan tea using KGMN strategies. Tibetan tea significantly reduced body weight gain and increased T-AOC and SOD activities in mice compared with the H group. Based on the results of transcriptome and qPCR, it was confirmed that Tibetan tea could play a key role in antioxidant and lipid lowering by regulating oxidative stress and lipid metabolism related pathways such as insulin resistance, P53 signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway, fatty acid elongation and fatty acid metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first to use computational tools to deeply explore the composition of Tibetan tea and revealed its potential antioxidant and hypolipidemic mechanisms, and it provides new insights into the composition and bioactivity of Tibetan tea.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.212-221
• /
• 2008

In order to investigate the information for effective detection and developing of latent fingerprints, we identified fatty acids composition of latent fingerprints on non-porous evidence surface and the chemical changes of latent fingerprint residue after print deposition during 7 months. Fingerprints from eight Korean male donors (aged 29-50 years) and one female donor (aged 36 years) were collected. All fingerprints were found to contain lauric acid (C12:0), myristic acid (C14:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), elaidic acid (C18:1n9t), oleic acid (C18:1n9c), linoleic acid (C18:2n6c), arachidic acid (C20:0), linolenic acid (C18:3n3), erucic acid (C22:1n9) and docosadienoic acid (C22:2) and primarily palmitic acid (35.45-48.37%), oleic acid (14.84-28.49%), stearic acid (9.71-24.96%) and linoleic acid (7.68-18.8%) occupied 75% of total fatty acids. When the fingerprints were deposited at dark room for 7 months, total fatty acids components decreased about 12-25%. It can be explained that significant degradation of long-chain fatty acids such as elaidic acid (C18:1n9t), arachidic acid (C20:0), linolenic acid (C18:3n3), erucic acid (C22:1n9), and docosadienoic acid (C22:2) resulted in the generation of myristic acid (C14:0), myristoleic acid (C14:1) and pentadecanoic acid (C15:0).

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.10
• /
• pp.1545-1555
• /
• 2022

Objective: Our study aimed to investigate the effects of a 2% increase in dietary total digestible nutrients (TDN) value during the growing (7 to 12 mo of age) and fattening (13 to 30 mo of age) period of Hanwoo steers. Methods: Two hundred and twenty Hanwoo steers were assigned to one of two treatments: i) a control group (basal TDN, BTDN, n = 111 steers, growing = 70.5%, early fattening = 71.0%, late fattening = 74.0%) or high TDN (HTDN, n = 109 steers, growing = 72.6%, early = 73.1%, late = 76.2%). Growth performance, carcass traits, blood parameters, and gene expression of longissimus dorsi (LD) (7, 18, and 30 mo) were quantified. Results: Steers on the BTDN diets had increased (p≤0.02) DMI throughout the feeding trial compared to HTDN, but gain did not differ appreciably. A greater proportion of cattle in HTDN received Korean quality grade 1 (82%) or greater compared to BTDN (77%), while HTDN had a greater yield grade (29%) than BTDN (20%). Redness (a^*) of LD muscle was improved (p = 0.021) in steers fed HTDN. Feeding the HTDN diet did not alter blood parameters. Steers fed HTDN diet increased (p = 0.015) the proportion of stearic acid and tended to alter linoleic acid. Overall, saturated, unsaturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids of LD muscle were not impacted by the HTDN treatment. A treatment by age interaction was noted for mRNA expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC) IIA, IIX, and stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD) (p≤0.026). No treatment effect was detected on gene expression from LD muscle biopsies at 7, 18, and 30 mo of age; however, an age effect was detected for all variables measured (p≤0.001). Conclusion: Our results indicated that feeding HTDN diet could improve overall quality grade while minimum effects were noted in gene expression, blood parameters, and growing performance. Cattle performance prediction in the feedlot is a critical decision-making tool for optimal planning of cattle fattening and these data provide both benchmark physiological parameters and growth performance measures for Hanwoo cattle feeding enterprises.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.315-325
• /
• 2023

This study analyzed the disturbance process of river wetlands based on modern and contemporary maps and aerial photographs, and analyzed land cover and NDVI changes in the hydro-ecological impact zone around the Wangjin District. A stable sandbar was formed near Wangjinnaru and was naturally connected to the agricultural land within inland, but after the sandbar and river wetland were destroyed due to heavy floods, embankment construction, land readjustment, and comprehensive river management, artificial replaced wetlands and ecological parks were created, and sandbars in the form of river island were restored again. The change in land cover in the hydro-ecological impact zone showed that rice paddies and fields in agricultural areas decreased from 36.3% in 2013 to 22.9% in 2022, with the largest change in area to 814,476m². It was confirmed that the land cover was undergoing vegetation over time. Since the vegetation condition is good, a healthy food chain is formed in the waterfront ecosystem, which can be expected to be biodiversity-positive. Summarizing seasonal changes in the vegetation index, the overall change in the vegetation index was the largest in spring (March), followed by summer (June), and the change in autumn (September) was the smallest except for water. By land use, the overall vegetation index (NDVI) increased, including 39.1% improvement in alternative wetlands, 38.2% improvement in load, 44.3% improvement in ecological parks, 35.6% improvement in agricultural areas, and -8.1% decrease in water.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.106-119
• /
• 2024

Drug shortage is a persistent phenomenon that poses a public health risk worldwide and occurs due to a range of causes. The purpose of this study is to review key policies to prepare for and respond to drug shortages in selected countries, such as the United States, Canada, and some European countries in order to draw implications. This study reviewed the reports and articles derived from search engines and Google Scholar by using keywords such as drug shortage and stock-out. Over the last decade or so, the United States have strengthened requirements on advance notification for disruption and interruption of drug manufacturing, established the Inter-agency Drug Shortages Task Force to promote the communication and coordination of responses, and expedited drug regulatory processes. Similarly, Canada established the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee on drug shortages by involving representatives from central and local governments and private sectors. Canada also adopted a tiered approach to the communication of drug shortages based on the assessment of the severity of the shortage problem and released a detailed information guide on communication. In 2019, the joint task force between the European Medicines Agency and the Heads of Medicines Agencies issued guidelines on drug shortage communication in the European Economic Area. The countries reviewed in this paper focus on communication across different stakeholders for the monitoring of and timely response to drug shortages. The efforts to protect public health from the negative impact of the drug shortage crisis would require multi-sectorial and multi-governmental coordination and development of guidelines.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.788-795
• /
• 2002

This study described the effect of levan (9-2,6-linked fructose polymer) feeding on serum lipids, adiposity and uncoupling protein (UCP) expression in growing rats. Levan was synthesized from sucrose using bacterial levansucrase. UCP is a mitochondrial protein that uncouples the respiratory chain from oxidative Phosphorylation and generates heat instead of ATP, thereby increase energy expenditure. We observed that 3% or 5% levan containing diet reduced serum triglyceride levels, visceral and peritoneal fat mass and induced the UCP expression in rats fed high fat diet in previous study. To determine whether the intake of low level of levan may have the hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effect, 4 wk old Sprague Dawley male rats were fed AIN-76A diet for 6 wk, and sub-sequently fed 1% or 2% levan solution for further 5 wk. Intake of 1% levan in liquid form reduced serum triglyceride and serum total cholesterol levels to 50% and 66% of control group, respectively. Although epididymal and peritoneal fat masses were not affected by levan feeding, visceral fat mass was lower in 1% levan group compared to control group. The expression of UCP2 mRNA in brown adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and hypothalamus and UCP3 mRNA in skeletal muscle were not changed by levan feeding, while the UCP2 mRNA in white adipose tissue was up-regulated by levan feeding. In conclusions, intake of low level of levan solution reduced serum triglyceride and total cholesterol, restrained the visceral fat accumulation and increased UCP expression in white adipose tissue in rats. This study suggests that hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effect of levan attributed to anti-lipogenesis and inefficeint energy utilization by up-regulation of UCPs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.54-63
• /
• 2010

Baicalin, a flavonoid, was shown to have diverse effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and others. Recently, we found that the baicalin inhibits adipogenesis through the modulations of anti-adipogenic and pro-adipogenic factors of the adipogenesis pathway. In the present study, we further characterized the molecular mechanism of the anti-adipogenic effect of baicalin using microarray technology. Microarray analyses were conducted to analyze the gene expression profiles during the differentiation time course (0 day, 2 day, 4 day and 7 day) in 3T3-L1 cells with or without baicalin treatment. We identified a total of 3972 genes of which expressions were changed more than 2 fold. These 3972 genes were further analyzed using hierarchical clustering analysis, resulting in 20 clusters. Four clusters among 20 showed clearly up-regulated expression patterns (cluster 8 and cluster 10) or clearly down-regulated expression patterns (cluster 12 and cluster 14) by baicalin treatment for over-all differentiation period. The cluster 8 and cluster 10 included many genes which enhance cell proliferation or inhibit adipogenesis. On the other hand, the cluster 12 and cluster 14 included many genes which are related with proliferation inhibition, cell cycle arrest, cell growth suppression or adipogenesis induction. In conclusion, these data provide detailed information on the molecular mechanism of baicalin-induced inhibition of adipogenesis.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.248-256
• /
• 2008

To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of 68 Listeria monocytogenes isolates, including 11 reference strains and 57 isolates from imported US beef, domestic meats(beef, pork, chicken meat), raw milk, and milk plants. L. monocytogenes was to evaluate the production of virulence proteins, such as hemolysin(LLO) and lecithinase(LCP), the adsorption of Congo red(CRA), and to detect virulence genes using the polymerase chain reaction(PCR). In the study of virulence protein production, 68(100%), 62(91.2%), and 54(79.4%) of the 68 L. monocytogenes strains were positive for LLO production, the LCP test, and the CRA test, respectively, while strains of other species, such as L. innocua, L. gray, L. murrayi, and L. welshimeri, were not. There were no significant differences between L. monocytogenes serotypes and the ability to produce LLO or LCP. L. monocytogenesstrains had very high hemolytic titers(2 to 16 fold), while the other Listeria species, other than L. ivanovii and L. seeligeri, did not. The hemolysin activities of L. monocytogenes, L. ivanovii, and L. seeligeri usually exceeded 1.0 HU/mg, while those of other Listeria spp. were less than 0.04 HU/mg. In the PCR assay, all of the L. monocytogenes strains contained the hlyA, plcA, plcB, inlA, and inlB virulence genes and produced a product of the expected size. In the PCR of the actA gene, the expected 385-bp product was seen in 39(57.4%) L. monocytogenesstrains, while an unexpected 268-bp product was seen in 29(42.6%) strains. Most L. monocytogenes strains isolated from Hanwoo beef produced the 385-bp actA gene product, while strains of imported US beef usually produced the 268-bp actA gene product. By contrast, no virulence gene products were amplified in the other Listeria spp.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.8-13
• /
• 2017

Octenyl succinylated (OSA) potato starch was dextrinized by two methods: ultrasound (at 25, 50, or $70^{\circ}C$ for 1 h; OSA-25UT, OSA-50UT, and OSA-70UT, respectively) and acid hydrolysis (for 1 or 4 h; OSA-AD1H or OSA-AD4H, respectively), and the properties of the resulting starch were analyzed. The melting enthalpy of OSA-70UT decreased the most (from 14.0 to 10.0 mJ/mg), indicating chain degradation. For pasting properties, as ultrasound treatment temperature increased, peak viscosity decreased (2884, 2550, and 1888 cP, respectively), whereas acid hydrolysis increased peak viscosity and decreased pasting temperature. The relative crystallinity of OSA-dextrin produced by ultrasound or acid hydrolysis significantly decreased (from 33.61 to 14.90-26.03 and 19.28-20.05, respectively) as temperature or time increased, yet a B-type crystal pattern was maintained. Regarding emulsifying stability and sensory tests of mayonnaise prepared with OSA potato dextrin, mayonnaise with OSA-70UT was stable for short storage period (1 week), however mayonnaise with OSA-AD1H was the most suitable for long storage periods (from 2 to 4 weeks). In addition, the OSA-70UT was the most acceptable for mayonnaise in the sensory test.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.49 no.6
• /
• pp.575-583
• /
• 2017

Germination is a well-known economical technique that has been utilized to enhance the nutritional value of brown rice. Owing to its higher nutritive quality, germinated brown rice has received significant attention in the past decade. In this study, the physicochemical and cooking properties of specialty brown rice (SBR) were analyzed before and after germination. Germination enhanced cooking properties such as water absorption, expanded volume, and increased solid solubility of cooked SBR. The SBR texture measured using tensipresser, was significantly improved by germination. The hardness of cooked SBR was decreased by germination, but stickiness was increased. Pasting analysis of the SBR flours revealed a decrease in all viscosity values (peak viscosity, breakdown, setback, and final viscosity) after germination. However, the gelatinization temperature remains unchanged upon germination. Additionally, amylose content and amylopectin chain length distribution of SBR starch were slightly changed by germination. These results indicate that germination leads to a substantial improvement in the cooking properties and texture of SBR.