• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.408-415
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• 2018

This study aimed to investigate the changes in the ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) cultivated from different regions, with different harvest times and at various maturation stages. Methods for observing the changes in GABA content were validated by determining the specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and precision and accuracy using the HPLC-FLD system. Results showed high linearity in the calibration curve with a coefficient of correlation ($R^2$) of 0.9999. The LOD and LOQ values for GABA were 0.29 and $0.87{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The relative standard deviations for intra- and inter-day precision of GABA were less than 5%. The recovery rate of GABA was in the range of 98.77% to 100.50%. The average content of GABA was 0.93 mg/g and Cheongju showed highest GABA content of 1.88 mg/g. As the time of harvest increased from May to September, the GABA content decreased from 1.56 to 0.86 mg/g. Also, maturation of the bitter melon fruit was associated with a decreased in GABA content.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.940-946
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• 2008

In the development of a nutrient enhanced functional food, kimchi was produced by using high $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) producing lactic acid bacterium as a starter strain. The strain isolated from kimchi was identified by using an API kit and named Lactobacillus sp. OPK 2-59. Kimchi was produced by 3 methods 1) monosodium glutamate (MSG) added (M group); 2) starter added (S group); 3) MSG+starter added (M&S group). The produced kimchi was fermented for 24 hr in an incubator at a temperature of $15^{\circ}C$ and stored at $0-1^{\circ}C$ to examine its characteristics. The M&S group exhibited a sharper increase in acidity and a steeper fall in pH as well as a higher number of lactobacilli. The M&S group kimchi had 18 mg/100 g (fresh weight, f.w.) of GABA, whereas the M and S group each had 6 mg/100 g (f.w.) GABA. According to functional evaluation, the M&S group kimchi, which has higher GABA, was not significantly different in taste, color, texture, or smell, but the M&S group was generally superior. In summary, using Lactobacillus sp. OPK 2-59 and MSG, a high quality kimchi with increased GABA content can be produced as a functional food.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1661-1669
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• 2007

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid. It is well known for its role as an inhibitory neurotransmitter of developing and operating nervous systems in brains. In this study, a novel function of GABA in the healing process of cutaneous wounds was presented regarding anti-inflammation and fibroblast cell proliferation. The cell proliferation activity of GABA was verified through an MTT assay using murine fibroblast NIH3T3 cells. It was observed that GABA significantly inhibited the mRNA expression of iNOS, IL-$1{\beta}$, and TNF-${\alpha}$ in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. To evaluate in vivo activity of GABA in wound healing, excisional open wounds were made on the dorsal sides of Sprague-Dawley rats under anesthesia, and the healing of the wounds was apparently assessed. The molecular aspects of the healing process were also investigated by hematoxylineosin staining of the healed skin, displaying the degrees of re-epithelialization and linear alignment of the granulation tissue, and immunostaining and RT-PCR analyses of fibroblast growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor, implying extracellular matrix synthesis and remodeling of the skin. The GABA treatment was effective to accelerate the healing process by suppressing inflammation and stimulating re-epithelialization, compared with the epidermal growth factor treatment. The healing effect of GABA was remarkable at the early stage of wound healing, which resulted in significant reduction of the whole healing period.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.464-468
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• 2015

The production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) using GABA-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been considered to be an attractive strategy. However, some LAB may produce biogenic amines (BA), which may be of concern from the safety viewpoint. The aim of the present study was to characterize the production of GABA and BA in the soybean pastes fermented by Aspergillus oryzae (A. oryzae) FMB S46471 and GABA-producing Lactobacillus brevis (L. brevis) GABA 100. After a ripening period of 90 days, the levels of BA (putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, and tyramine) and GABA in the fermented soybean were assessed by highperformance liquid chromatography. The soybean pastes fermented by A. oryzae and L. brevis showed a range of 7,130-11,592 mg/kg for GABA, 178-305 mg/kg for tyramine, 139-163 mg/kg for putrescine, 7.4-10.8 mg/kg for histamine, and 7.1-7.9 mg/kg for cadaverine, whereas the soybean pastes fermented by A. oryzae only showed a range of 30-1,671 mg/kg for GABA, 0.8-189 mg/kg for tyramine, 1.3-85 mg/kg for putrescine, up to 3.6 mg/kg for histamine, and 0.2-2.4 mg/kg for cadaverine. The results showed that the production of GABA was accompanied by the increase in the production of BA, even though the production levels of histamine and cadaverine were very low. This is the first study to simultaneously characterize the production of BA and GABA in GABA-enriched fermented soybean pastes, and warrants further study to minimize the production of BA while optimizing the production of GABA.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 1967

In order to find out the effects of GABA on the rabbit's intestinal motility, the following experiments were carried out using Magnus method and the results obtained were as follows: 1. GABA inhibited the intestinal motility of rabbits initially. 2. GABA potentiated the inhibitory action of adrenaline and nor-adrenaline. 3. GABA inhibited the accelerating activity of acetylcholine on the intestinal motility by its anti acetylcholine effect. 4. The inhibitory action of GABA was unaffected with atropinization, strychnin, picrotoxin treatment, but the accelerating activity of GABA observed in some cases was only in the picrotoxin treatment.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 1998

The fractions of Uncariae Ramulus et Uncus seemed to be closely related with the levels of amino acids and other components which concerns with formation and metabolism of neurotransmitters in brain. The pretreatments of methanolic extract and its fractions prohibited the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsion. In such cases, lowered levels of ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid and glutathione in brain were significantly recovered. And also the increased levels or activities of lipid peroxide, ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid aminotransferase, xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase by PTZ-convulsion were lowered to normal state.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1592-1596
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• 2014

To evaluate the effect of Lactobacillus brevis G-101 on absorption of monosodium glutamate (MSG), we orally administered MSG with or without G-101 in mice and measured the maximum concentration (Cmax) and blood concentration curve (AUC) of MSG and ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Oral administration of G-101 ($1{\times}10^9CFU/mouse$) potently inhibited Cmax and AUC of MSG by 97.8% and 94.3%, respectively (p < 0.05), but increased those of GABA by 32.1% and 67.7%, respectively (p < 0.05). G-101 inhibited the absorption of MSG. These results suggest that G-101 may reduce the side effect of MSG by inhibiting the absorption of MSG.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 2010

This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of a microbial fermentation procedure to improve the functional qualities of seaweeds. Aspergillus oryzae, which has been used in traditional Korean fermented foods, was inoculated and cultivated in an aqueous extract of sea tangle (Laminaria japonica). Fermentation of the sea tangle extract by A. oryzae for 4 days resulted in a 3-fold increase in $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content. GABA is known to be a bioactive compound. Fungal fermentation of the extract also enhanced its antioxidant activity and increased its total content of phenolic compounds. It was assumed that these changes stemmed from the biodegradation of active compounds of the sea tangle packaged within its rigid structural matrix or occurred as result of fungal fermentation. These results suggested that the application of microbial fermentation to the processing of seaweeds will help in the development of processed foods to meet consumer demands.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.567-574
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• 2017

This study is to isolate and identify ${\gamma}$-amino butyric acid (GABA) producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from Makgeolii, traditional Korean rice wine and then establish the optimal culture conditions for GABA production. Sixty four LAB from Makgeolli were isolated according to the characteristics of the shape and color of the colony grown on MRS agar plate. The GABA production of the isolated strain cultured in MRS broth contained 1% MSG (mono-sodium glutamate) were determined and evaluated by TLC and HPLC analysis. Strain B-134 was selected for highest GABA production. From the analysis of 16S rRNA and glutamate decarboxylase B (gadB) gene sequences, strain B-134 was tentatively identified as a Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum B-134. Effects of culture parameters, including glutamic acid level, culture temperature, NaCl level, and pH on GABA production were investigated for culture optimization. The optimum culture condition for GABA production by B-134 were culture temperature of $37^{\circ}C$, pH of 5.7, NaCl content of 0% (w/v) and MSG content of 3% (w/v), which produced 25 mM of GABA during cultivation time of 48 hr. From these results, strain B-134 is expected to be utilized as useful microorganisms for GABA-enriched health beneficial food.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.53-53
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• 2003