• Title/Summary/Keyword: Health Food

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Aged Garlic Extract and Its Components Inhibit Platelet Aggregation in Rat (흰쥐에서 흑마늘 추출물과 그 성분들에 의한 혈소판 응집억제 효과)

  • Choi, You-Hee;Jeong, Hyung-Min;Kyung, Kyu-Hang;Ryu, Beung-Ho;Lee, Kwang-Youl
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.21 no.10
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    • pp.1355-1363
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    • 2011
  • Many clinical trials have demonstrated the beneficial effects of garlic (Allium sativum) on general cardiovascular health. Aged garlic extract (AGE) is known to display diverse biological activities such as in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. However, few studies have been directed on the effect of AGE on cardiovascular function. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of AGE and its components on platelet activation, a key contributor in thrombotic diseases. In freshly isolated rat platelets, AGE and its components have shown inhibitory activities on thrombin-induced platelet aggregation. These in vitro results were further confirmed in an in vivo platelet aggregation measurement where tail vein injection of garlic oil and S-Allylmercapto-cysteine (SAMC) significantly reduced thrombin and ADP-induced platelet aggregation. Potential active components for antiplatelet effects of AGE were identified to be SAMC and diallyl sulphide through agonist-induced platelet aggregation assay. These results indicate that aged garlic extract can be a novel dietary supplement for the prevention of cardiovascular risks and the improvement of blood circulation.

Analysis of Microbial Diversity in Makgeolli Fermentation Using PCR-DGGE (PCR-DGGE를 이용한 막걸리발효에서 미생물 다양성 분석)

  • Kwon, Seung-Jik;Ahn, Tae-Young;Sohn, Jae-Hak
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.232-238
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    • 2012
  • Kumjungsansung-Makgeolli$^{(R)}$ is a traditional Korean rice wine that is fermented from traditional nuruk and rice. In this study, we performed the PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis targeting the 16S and 28S rRNA genes to characterize bacterial and fungal diversity during Makgeolli fermentation. The predominant bacteria in the PCR-DGGE profile during Makgeolli fermentation were Lactobacillus spp. (Lactobacillus curvatus, L. kisonensis, L. plantarum, L. sakei, and L. gasseri), Pediococcus spp. (P. acidilactici, P. parvulus, P. agglomerans, and P. pentosaceus), Pantoea spp. (P. agglomerans and P. ananatis), and Citrobacter freundii; these were identified on the base of analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. The dominant bacterium during Makgeolli fermentation was L. curvatus. The predominant fungi in PCR-DGGE profile during Makgeolli fermentation were Pichia kudriavzevii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Asidia idahoensis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, and Torulaspora delbrueckii, and these were identified on the basis of analysis of 28S rRNA gene sequences. The dominant fungal species during Makgeolli fermentation changed from P. kudriavzevii at 0-2 days incubation to S. cerevisiae at 3-6 days incubation. This study suggests that PCR-DGGE analysis could be a suitable tool for the understanding of microbial diversity and structure during Makgeolli fermentation.

Probiotic Potential of Lactobacillus Isolates (Lactobacillus 분리균주의 프로바이오틱스로서의 가능성 검토)

  • Bang, Ji-Hun;Shin, Hwa-Jin;Choi, Hye-Jung;Kim, Dong-Wan;Ahn, Cheol-Soo;Jeong, Young-Kee;Joo, Woo-Hong
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.251-258
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    • 2012
  • The purpose of this study was to investigate the probiotic properties of lactic acid bacterial strains isolated from animal feces. BCNU 9041 and BCNU 9042 isolates were assigned to Lactobacillus brevis on the basis of their physiological properties and 16S ribosomal DNA sequences analysis. They were confirmed as safe bioresources because of their non-hemolytic activities and non-production of harmful ${\beta}$-glucosidase, ${\beta}$-glucuronidase, tryptophanase, or urease. These isolates were also highly resistant to acid (at pH 2.5) and bile acids (at concentration of 0.3%, 0.6%, and 1% oxgall). In addition, they exhibited good antibacterial activity against food-borne bacteria, especially Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Shigella sonnei. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that they have the highest levels of hydrophobicity and that they showed bile salt hydrolytic and cholesterol assimilation activity. These results suggest that BCNU 9041 and 9042 have good potential for application in functional foods and health-related products.

Characterization of Cellulase and Xylanase from Bacillus subtilis NC1 Isolated from Environmental Soil and Determination of Its Genes (Bacillus subtilis NC1 유래 cellulase와 xylanase의 특성 규명 및 효소 유전자의 규명)

  • Park, Chang-Su;Kang, Dae-Ook;Choi, Nack-Shick
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.22 no.7
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    • pp.912-919
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    • 2012
  • A Bacillus sp. strain producing celluase and xylanase was isolated from environmental soil with LB agar plate containing carboxymethylcellulose (CM-cellulose) and beechwood xylan stained with trypan blue as substrates, respectively. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence and API 50 CHL test, the strain was identified as B. subtilis and named B. subtilis NC1. The cellulase and xylanase from B. subtilis NC1 exhibited the highest activities for CM-cellulose and beechwood xylan as substrate, respectively, and both enzymes showed the maximum activity at pH 5.0 and $50^{\circ}C$. We cloned and sequenced the genes for cellulase and xylanase from genomic DNA of the B. subtilis NC1 by the shot-gun cloning method. The cloned cellulase and xylanase genes consisted of a 1,500 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 499 amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 55,251 Da and a 1,269 bp ORF encoding a 422 amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 47,423 Da, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences from the genes of cellulase and xylanase showed high identity with glycosyl hydrolases family (GH) 5 and 30, respectively.

A Study on the Expansion of Arbitration's Area of Coverage in Korea (한국중재의 영역확대 방안에 관한연구)

  • Kim, Suk-Chul
    • Journal of Arbitration Studies
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.47-69
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    • 2010
  • From the review of Korean arbitration systems with the comparison of those of other countries, we can summarize some issues to be tackled as follows: First, Korean arbitration system started with the purpose of export promotion. This may be the main reason that various domestic disputes have not been resolved by arbitration. Second, the Korean Arbitration Law applies to private disputes. The Law's arbitration scope is wider than that of China and France, but narrower than that of the U.S.A. that encompasses a variety of disputes in the filed of consumer, labor, medical services, patents, etc. Third, active judges or public officials in Korea can not be arbitrator and there is no arbitration court. However, if chief judge allows the necessity, court's judges in the UK can be arbitrator with the mutual agreement of the parties and also arbitration system is operated in the court. Fourth, the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board(KCAB), the only representative institution for arbitration in Korea, is under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy(MKE). This makes it difficult for the KCAB to handle other disputes related to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, etc. Fifth, as mentioned, the KCAB is the unique institution for arbitration by the Law in Korea, while other countries allow have a diversity of arbitration agencies such as maritime arbitration organization, consumer arbitration institution, arbitration court, etc. Therefore, we suggest some ideas to expand the arbitration's area of coverage in Korea as follows: First, there should be more active policies that promote various domestic disputes to be settled by the arbitration system. Second, it is quite needed to expand the scope of arbitration to cover many disputes in the fields of consumer, labor, medical service, advertising, fair trade, etc. Third, there should be discussions to allow court judges as arbitrator and to introduce the arbitration court. Fourth, the KCAB should strengthen its status and roles as general arbitration organization to overcome the limited scope of commercial disputes. For this, there should be the strong support and coordination among the MKE and other government agencies. Fifth, to reduce the burden of the court's complicated and expensive procedures, more efficient disputes resolution systems should be established on the basis of the parties' free will. Each central government agency should streamline the legal barriers to allow industrial organizations under its control to establish their own or joint arbitration system with the KCAB.

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Effects of Maqui Berry Extract on Blood Lipids and Liver Function in Normal Rodents (마키베리 추출물이 정상 설치류의 혈중지질과 간기능에 미치는 영향)

  • Hwang, Mi Sun;Lee, Joo Hee;Kim, In Joo;Kim, Tae Hee;Kim, Kang Min
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.30 no.9
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    • pp.791-797
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    • 2020
  • Maqui berry are known as one of the "superfoods" and can purportedly improve health. The effects of orally administered maqui berry extract on biological parameters such as serum lipids and blood cells in healthy subjects were investigated in rats in vivo for 2 weeks. Possible causes of harmful effects on liver and kidney function were also examined. After oral administration of maqui berry extract, levels of serum triglyceride (TG) were decreased to almost 30% less from the control, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was increased to 18% more; thus, serum lipids profile seemed to be improved. The administration of maqui berry extract increased red blood cell concentration by 10% from the control, while both the hemoglobin and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were increased by 12%. Maqui berry extract also increased the concentration of serum total proteins by 30% of the control and that suggests protein metabolism might be improved. Moreover, maqui berry decreased serum levels of glutamin oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamin pyruvate transaminase (GPT) by 12% from the control group so maqui berry improved liver function. This study suggests that oral administration of maqui berry extract may be helpful to improve those heath parameters like serum lipids profile, red blood cell level, liver protection. It would also be very useful for the development of high value products such as functional foods and pharmaceutics in the future.

Screening for Biological Activity of Crude Extracts from Medicinal plants (생약추출물로부터 생리활성의 검색)

  • Kwag, Jung-Sook;Oh, Hyun-Ju;Lee, Hyun-Ok;Perry, Nigel B.;Baek, Seung-Hwa
    • Journal of dental hygiene science
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.67-70
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    • 2003
  • The biological effects of the crude extracts from medicinal plants, Brachyglottis monroi and Trichocolea hatcheri were investigated. The crude ethanol extract inhibited the growth of the Gram positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 19659, 1 mm inhibition zone at $150{\mu}g/disc$) and the dermatophyte Trichophyton mentagrophytes (ATCC 28185, 6 mm inhibition zone at $150{\mu}g/disc$), and was toxic to P388 murine leukaemia cells ($IC_{50}$ $23.96{\mu}g/mL$ at $75{\mu}g/disc$). B. monroi ethanol extract showed stronger antiviral activity than that of T. hatcheri against Herpes simplex Type I virus (ATCC VR 733) and Polio Type I virus (Pfizer vaccine strain) (50% activity, @ 5 mg/ml at $150{\mu}g/disc$). The crude ethanol extract of T. hatcheri showed stronger antimicrobial activity than that of B. monroi. However, this extract was inactive against P388 murine leukaemia cells.

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Effects of Applying Microbial Additive Inoculants to Spent Mushroom Substrate (Flammulina velutipes) on Rumen Fermentation and Total-tract Nutrient Digestibility in Hanwoo Steers (팽이버섯 부산물 발효에 따른 한우 거세우 반추위 성상 및 소화율에 미치는 영향)

  • Baek, Youl-Chang;Jeong, Jin-Young;Oh, Young-Kyoon;Kim, Min-Seok;Lee, Sung-Dae;Lee, Hyun-Jeong;Do, Yoon-Jung;Ahmadi, Farhad;Choi, Hyuck
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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    • v.25 no.3
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    • pp.569-586
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    • 2017
  • We inoculated a spent mushroom substrate from Flammulina velutipes (SMSF) with a microbial additive and assessed the effects on chemical composition, ruminal fermentation parameters, and total-tract nutrient digestibility. In Exp. 1, three cannulated Hanwoo steers were used in an in situ trial to determine the degradation kinetics of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP). In Exp. 2, three Hanwoo steers were randomly assigned to experimental diets according to a $3{\times}3$ Latin square for a 3-week period (2 weeks for adaptation and 1 week for sample collection). Experimental diets included the control diet (3.75 kg/d formulated concentrate mixture + 1.25 kg/d rice straw), SMSF diet (3.19 kg/d formulated concentrate mixture + 1.25 kg/d rice straw + 0.56 kg/d SMSF), and inoculated SMSF (ISMSF) diet (3.19 kg/d formulated concentrate mixture + 1.25 kg/d rice straw + 0.56 kg/d ISMSF). The chemical composition of ISMSF did not differ from that of SMSF. Microbial additive inoculation decreased pH (P<0.05) and improved preservation for SMSF. The percentages of DM, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in ISMSF were slightly lesser than those in SMSF. Ruminal fermentation characteristics and total-tract nutrient digestibility were not affected by diet. Overall, microbial additive inoculation improved preservation for SMSF and may allow improved digestion in the rumen; however, the total digestible nutrients (TDN) of SMSF and ISMSF diets were slightly lesser than the control diet. The ISMSF can be used as an alternative feedstuff to partially replace formulated concentrate feed.

Expression of Digestive Enzyme Genes in the Digestive Tract of the Two-spotted Cricket During Starvation (쌍별 귀뚜라미의 소화기관에서 기아에 의한 소화효소 유전자의 발현)

  • Lee, Nuri;Lee, Eun-Ryeong;Kwon, Kisang;Kwon, O-Yu
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.30 no.1
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    • pp.82-87
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    • 2020
  • The gene expression of amylase, trypsin, and lipase in the digestive organs of the two-spotted cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) was tested to understand how it overcomes starvation. Amylase gene expression in the foregut was reduced by digesting no food until starvation-3 days. Although that expression persisted to starvation-6 days, it returned to normal at refeeding-2 days. The expression of trypsin peaked at around 8 times as starvation started and at around 4 times at starvation-3 days. After refeeding, trypsin expression rose up to 14 times and then fell back to normal as feeding continued. Lipase gene expression remained elevated at 1.5-2 times when starvation started and returned to normal at refeeding-2 days. In the midgut, amylase expression decreased until starvation-3 days, increasing to about 2 times at starvation-6 days; it did not rise again by refeeding. Trypsin was constantly expressed regardless of starvation and refeeding, while lipase expression was reduced by 0.6-0.7 times by starvation and refeeding. Amylase gene expression in the hindgut was 0.2-0.3 times lower than starvation-6 days, and it increased by 0.5 times on refeeding-1 day and more than 1.5 times on refeeding-3 days. The gene expression of trypsin was almost identical to amylase.

The effects of the standardized extracts of Ginkgo biloba on steroidogenesis pathways and aromatase activity in H295R human adrenocortical carcinoma cells

  • Kim, Mijie;Park, Yong Joo;Ahn, Huiyeon;Moon, Byeonghak;Chung, Kyu Hyuck;Oh, Seung Min
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.31
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    • pp.10.1-10.8
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    • 2016
  • Objectives Aromatase inhibitors that block estrogen synthesis are a proven first-line hormonal therapy for postmenopausal breast cancer. Although it is known that standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb761) induces anti-carcinogenic effects like the aromatase inhibitors, the effects of EGb761 on steroidogenesis have not been studied yet. Therefore, the effects of EGb761 on steroidogenesis and aromatase activity was studied using a H295R cell model, which was a good in vitro model to predict effects on human adrenal steroidogenesis. Methods Cortisol, aldosterone, testosterone, and $17{\beta}$-estradiol were evaluated in the H295R cells by competitive enzyme-linked immunospecific assay after exposure to EGb761. Real-time polymerase chain reaction were performed to evaluate effects on critical genes in steroid hormone production, specifically cytochrome P450 (CYP11/ 17/19/21) and the hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases ($3{\beta}$-HSD2 and $17{\beta}$-HSD1/4). Finally, aromatase activities were measured with a tritiated water-release assay and by western blotting analysis. Results H295R cells exposed to EGb761 (10 and $100{\mu}g/mL$) showed a significant decrease in $17{\beta}$-estradiol and testosterone, but no change in aldosterone or cortisol. Genes (CYP19 and $17{\beta}$-HSD1) related to the estrogen steroidogenesis were significantly decreased by EGb761. EGb761 treatment of H295R cells resulted in a significant decrease of aromatase activity as measured by the direct and indirect assays. The coding sequence/Exon PII of CYP19 gene transcript and protein level of CYP19 were significantly decreased by EGb761. Conclusions These results suggest that EGb761 could regulate steroidogenesis-related genes such as CYP19 and $17{\beta}$-HSD1, and lead to a decrease in $17{\beta}$-estradiol and testosterone. The present study provides good information on potential therapeutic effects of EGb761 on estrogen dependent breast cancer.