• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.545-551
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• 2010

In this study, Sulgidduk samples were prepared with 0%, 3%, 5% and 7% yacon powder. Sulgidduk samples were then examined for quality characteristics such as moisture content, general components, color, texture profile analysis, sensory qualities, and sugar content, in order to determine the optimal ratio of yacon powder in the formulation. Regarding the general components of yacon Sulgidduk, the contents of crude protein and lipid decreased as the ratio of yacon powder increased. The L-value for color decreased, whereas a- and b-values increased. In the texture profile analysis, 7%-added yacon showed significantly lower hardness, whereas 7% yacon powder showed the highest values for cohesiveness, springiness, and chewiness. The contents of sucrose, fructose, and glucose in yacon Sulgidduk were found to be 3%, 5%, and 7% by LC, respectively. Sucrose showed a decreasing trend with increased yacon powder content, but fructose and glucose increased with increased amount of yacon powder. For sensory qualities, taste/flavor, texture, hardness, and overall acceptability were not significantly different among the 0%, 3%, and 5% yacon powder samples.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.153-160
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• 2013

We screened the pharmacological effects of a 50% ethanol extract of Yacon tubers and leaves on spermatogenesis in rats. As a result, we found that Yacon tuber extracts increased sperm number and serum testosterone level in rats. It has been reported that the crude extract of Yacon tubers and leaves contain phenolic acids, such as, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid by HPLC/MS analysis. We were interested in the contributions made by phenolic acid, particularly chlorogenic acid of Yacon tuber extract to the spermatogenic activity. After administering Yacon tuber extract or chlorogenic acid to rats for 5 weeks, numbers of sperm in epididymis were increased by 34% and 20%, respectively. We also administered ferulic acid, which has been reported to be a metabolite of chlorogenic acid and a constituent of Yacon tuber extract to investigate its spermatogenic activity in rats. Yacon tuber extract and ferulic acid increased sperm numbers by 43% and 37%, respectively. And, Yacon tuber extract, and chlorogenic acid showed significantly inhibition effect of testoeterone degradation in rat liver homogenate. We considered that the spermatogenic effect of Yacon tuber extract might be related to phenolic compounds and their inhibitory effect of testosterone degradation. Yacon showed the possibility as ameliorable agents of infertility by sperm deficiency and late onset hypogonadism syndrome with low level of testosterone.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.263-271
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to measure the antioxidant activity of yacon root and to manufacture yacon pickles for commercialization as a functional food. The total phenol content in yacon roots were the highest, 29.96 mg GAE/ 100 g, in the ethyl acetate fraction and the DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity was 37.07%, and 91.60%, respectively, in the ethyl acetate fraction. The optimum recipe for the pickling solution was determined to be vinegar, water and high fructose corn syrup, at 34%, 22% and 44%, respectively. The quality characteristics of yacon pickles using this solution were monitored during storage at $25^{\circ}C$ for 43 days. The pH value decreased to 2.98 (42 days) during storage and $^{\circ}Brix$ gradually increased during storage. The L-value decreased significantly during storage but there were no significant changes detected in the a and b values. No significant changes were detected in the hardness of the yacon pickles. According to the sensory evaluation, no significant changes in taste, texture and overall acceptance of yacon pickle were observed during storage. These results indicated that yacon was an excellent functional food in terms of its antioxidant activity and that pickling might be a promising methods to maintain the taste and quality of yacon during storage.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.600-606
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to develop functional rice coated with yacon roots extracts and to evaluate the antioxidant properties and physiological activity of rice coated with yacon extract. The washed rice was coated by spraying yacon extract at 10, 20, 30, and $40^{\circ}Brix$ and dried at room temperature. The moisture contents, color changes, antioxidant properties as total polyphenolics and DPPH radical scavenging activity and instrumental texture property and sensory evaluation change in the yacon root extracts coated rice and uncoated cooked rice were observed during 3 days of storage. Increasing the coating concentration was associated with lower color values(L value) and moisture contents. Total phenolics and DPPH radical scavenging properties generally increased in the cooked rice coated with yacon root extract more than the control (non-coated rice). However, D-20($20^{\circ}Brix$ of the yacon root concentration) resulted in better textural properties and sensory overall acceptability in cooked rice on 0 and 3 storage days. It was concluded that the optimum coating ration of rice and added functional yacon rice were $20^{\circ}Brix$ and 7% respectively, in proportion to the total weight of raw rice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.107-113
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• 2013

Yacon (Smallanthussonchifolius) is a root crop that contains high amounts of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). FOS has a sweet taste, is low in calories, and is known to promote intestinal tract health. In this study, various yacon concentrates were substituted for sugar in white pan bread to obtain healthy benefits from the use of FOS. The quality characteristic changes during storage of the white pan breadswith 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of added yacon concentrates instead of sugar were investigated. During storage, the water contents and water activities of the breads made with high amounts of yacon concentrates changed less than in those made with only sugar. The hardness and chewiness of the breads made with high amounts of yacon concentrates had lower values than those made with only sugar. Thus, bread made with yacon concentrates might exhibit increased moisture retention and decreased aging velocity. The substitution of yacon concentrates for sugar in pan bread improved the bread quality.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.921-926
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to investigate the quality characteristics of blanched and non-blanched yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) soaked in Doenjang sauce. The yacon was treated by blanching ($100^{\circ}C$, 4 min), then soaked in Doenjang sauce at $20^{\circ}C$. The pH and total acidity of blanched yacon were not changed significantly after 42 days of soaking. But, the pH and total acidity of non-blanched yacon were rapidly increased and decreased, respectively. The salinity of blanched yacon was higher than that of non-blanched yacon until 35 days. Also, the $Brix^{\circ}$ of blanched yacon was higher than that of non-blanched yacon from 7 days to 35 days. Textural properties of both non-blanched and blanched yacon showed that hardness increased until 21 days but decreased afterwards. The total polyphenol contents of non-blanched yacon decreased after 14 days, but blanched yacon remained constant. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of both blanched and non-blanched yacon decreased gradually as aging continued in the Doenjang sauce. There were no significant differences in sensory characteristics between blanched and non-blanched yacon soaked in Doenjang sauce.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.79-88
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• 2012

To evaluate the possibility of low-salinity of traditional fermented food, we investigated quality characteristic of low-salted Yacon Jangachi using soybean sauce with sugar or vinegar for 50 days. Sugar content, titration acidity, and salinity of all Yacon Jangachi was increased as storage time increased. All of the Yacon Jangachi had less than 3.0% salinity. Especially, the salinity of the Yacon Jangachi with sugar and vinegar was the lowest during storage time. The L value was decreased as storage time increased but the results of the a and b values were reversed. Cutting force was not significant among samples and storage periods. In the results of sensory evaluation, preference of all samples were increased as storage time increased. The preference of color was not significant among samples from 30 days but the taste was reversed. The preference of flavor was significant between samples in 40 days, texture was not significant during storage time. Overall preference was not significant after 30 days, which suggested that Yacon Jangachi using soybean sauce retains overall preference in steady level from 30 days. Yacon Jangachi using soybean sauce showed the highest preference when produced with sugar and vinegar.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.95-103
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to develop a functional vinegar beverage using yacon roots, and examine the components' changes during fermentation. The alcohol fermentation was conducted by inoculation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae into yacon root juice with sugars. After 10 days of fermentation at $27^{\circ}C$, yacon wine contained 13% alcohol and $7.8^{\circ}Brix$ sugar contents. The yacon wine at 5% alcohol was fermented by Acetobacter aceti(KCTC1010) with 250 rpm agitation rate at $29^{\circ}C$ for 12 days. The acidity of yacon vinegar reached 4.4% after 12 days' fermentation. Statistically (p<0.05), the amount of Acetobacter aceti, pH, alcohol, with total polyphenol content of samples decreased with acidity, whereas individual sugar contents increased. Furthermore organic acids, total sugar, phenolic acids content, total antioxidant capacity, and color were not different among the five samples. The yacon vinegar beverage was prepared with high fructose syrup through the dilution of yacon vinegar. After making the yacon vinegar beverage, the pH, acidity, total sugar, and total microbial content were examined every week over 4 weeks' storage. There were no changes in the samples during that time.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2008

The authors screened the pharmacological effects of 50% ethanol extracts of Yacon on spermatogenesis in rats. Numbers of sperm in animals treated with 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks of Yacon tuber extracts (YTE) were approximately 1.51, 1.61 and 1.78 times higher, respectively, than in the untreated control group. Moreover, the spermatogenic effect of Yacon leaf extract was found to be $1.03{\sim}1.38$ times higher than that of YTE. The ameliorative effect of Yacon tuber extracts on 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induced toxicities in the rat were also investigated. Rats were assigned to three groups (6 rats/group), a control group, a TCDD exposed group, and a group treated with Yacon tuber extract (YTE) after TCDD exposure (TCDD/YTE group). 40 ${\mu}g/kg$ of TCDD was injected i.p., and 200 mg/kg/day of YTE was also administered for 4 weeks by oral gavage. The TCDD/YTE group showed a significant increase in sperm number as compared with the TCDD exposed group. In conclusion, TCDD induced testicular toxicity was significantly ameliorated by YTE. The results of the present study suggest that Yacon extract is a possible therapeutic for the treatment of spermatogenic disorder.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.100-112
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• 2014

This study investigates the characteristics of cookies added with yacon. The addition of yacon powder did not affect the density of the cookies and decreased pH level. The moisture content was the highest in the cookies with 12% of yacon. Spread ratio was the highest in the cookies containing yacon powder. The loss rate and leavening rate of the cookies decreased with increasing amounts of yacon powder. Lightness and yellowness decreased significantly while redness increased significantly with a high content of yacon powder in the formulation. The hardness of the control group was higher than that of the cookies prepared with different levels of yacon powder. The antioxidant activity was estimated by DPPH free radical scavenging activity and the total phenolic acid content in yacon powder and cookies. The consumer acceptability score for the 6% yacon cookie group ranked significantly higher than the other groups in overall preference, appearance, flavor, taste and color. Through this experiment, this study exhibited both the functional and health based benefits of yacon when it is added to cookies and confirmed the development feasibility of yacon cookies considering consumer satisfaction.