• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.325-333
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• 2007

One bacterium with high proteinase production and spore-forming ability was isolated from korean traditional soybean paste(doenjang). The isolated strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis, based on gram-staining, biochemical properties and l6S rRNA gene sequencing, and designated as B. subtilis DJI. Its growth rate was very fast, and it reached its stationary phase within 9 h, and then started to form spores. Bacterial-koji and doenjang were prepared using B. subtilis DJI. Chemical components of the doenjang were determined after 2 months of aging period: amino nitrogen 507 mg%, crude protein 14.3%, crude fat 4.8% and water 54.9%. The composition of total and free amino acids and their ratios of doenjang were changed during the aging period. Among total amino acids in DJI doenjang, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine and arginine were the major amino acids. The fibrinolytic activities of DJI doenjang and traditional doenjangs were 909.7 units/ml and $363.3{\sim}618.6\;units/ml$, respectively. Flavor compounds of DJI doenjang and traditional doenjang were extracted by SDE(simultaneous steam distillation and extraction), and analyzed by GC/MS; DJI doenjang possessed the typically favorable flavor compounds in traditional korean doenjang, with reduced off-flavor compounds.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.322-328
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• 2006

This study was designed to investigate the Quality of salted eggplants with mixed rice bran and salt during 7 days at $4^{\circ}\C$ for the quality improvement and arrangement of eggplants exported to Japan. It was carried out to analyze the changes of the color, organic acids, amino acids and minerals during salting. L and b values of eggplants were decreased, and a value of eggplants was increased during salting. Organic acids such as acetic, citric, lactic, malic, and succinic acids were analyzed from eggplants. The content of acetic and malic acid were decreased during salting, but citric and succinic acid contents were increased The major amino acids were alanine, glycine, valine and leucine. Total amino acid content of Chukyang was decreased but that of Shikibu was not changed during salting. The major free amino acid was $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid and contents of $\alpha$-aminoadipic acid and $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid were increased during salting. Sodium and potassium were major minerals of eggplants. Sodium, potassium and magnesium were increased during salting.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.687-694
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• 2012

$Jeot-gal$ is a traditional Korean fermented seafood with a salt concentration of 15~20%. However, today's consumers prefer low-salted foods as they have become aware that high levels of salt cause hypertension and diabetes. In this study, the quality characteristics and shelf-life of low-salted squid $Jeot-gal$ were investigated at different fermentation temperatures and salt concentrations. The shelf-lives of 3%-salted squid $Jeot-gal$ fermented at -1, 4, and $10^{\circ}C$ were 45, 31, and 23 days, respectively, whereas those of 5%-salted squid $Jeot-gal$ were 52, 36, and 25 days. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the ethanol extract of squid $Jeot-gal$ was stronger than that of the water extract. However, the other antioxidative activities, such as hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging activities, as well as enzyme inhibitory activities were very low at 20 mg/mL of water and ethanol extracts. Based on the results of the sensory evaluation, the quality of low-salted fermented squid $Jeot-gal$ was almost similar to that of commercial squid $Jeot-gal$ with a high salt concentration.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.1162-1167
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• 2008

This study was to investigate the chemical compositions of germinated (GSS)- and ungerminated (UGSS)-safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seeds. GSS had higher amount of sugar and crude fiber than UGSS, but less amounts of protein and lipid. Levels of $\alpha$-tocopherol and essential amino acids of GSS were higher than those of UGSS, although there are no difference in fatty acid composition between GSS and UGSS. Among the nine phenolic compounds detected, five phenolic compounds, except for two lignans and two flavonoids, were found in both GSS and UGSS. Four serotonin derivatives accounted for about 80 per cent of total phenolic compounds, and levels of five phenolic compounds decreased slightly with germination. These results suggest that germination may enhance the functionality of safflower seed by increasing nutritional compositions and by decreasing phenolic compounds with bitter taste and cathartic effects.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.85-93
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• 1999

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in immunologic defense, and influences upon the functioning of secretory tissues and cells. It also exhibits cytotoxic/cytostatic activity as one of major operating effectors of the cellular immunity system. We investigated the effects of serum on the cell damages and NO production in the mouse liver cell line BNL CL.2 to establish the role of NO. We observed that, when BNL CL.2 cells were cultured in serum-free medium, they were induced to cell damage by the stimulation of IFN-$\gamma$ alone or IFN-$\gamma$ plus LPS. Serum-starved cells showed large amount of nitrite accumulation and NO synthase (NOS) expression in response to IFN-$\gamma$ alone in dose- and time- dependent manners, but serum-supplied cells did not The production of NO was blocked by protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitors, genistein and herbimycin. These results suggest that the deprivation of serum in the BNL CL.2 cell culture medium might primed with the cells to produce NO when the cells are triggered by IFN-$\gamma$ and the involvement of PTK signal transduction pathway in the expression of NOS gene in murine hepatocytes.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.107-115
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• 2018

Background: Depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed neuropsychiatric diseases, but the underlying mechanism and medicine are not well-known. Although Panax ginseng has been reported to exert protective effects in various neurological studies, little information is available regarding its antidepressant effects. Methods: Here, we examined the antidepressant effect and underlying mechanism of P. ginseng extract (PGE) in a chronic restraint stress (CRS)-induced depression model in mice. Results: Oral administration of PGE for 14 d decreased immobility (depression-like behaviors) time in forced swim and tail suspended tests after CRS induction, which corresponded with attenuation of the levels of serum adrenocorticotropic hormone and corticosterone, as well as attenuated c-Fos expression in the amygdala. PGE enhanced messenger RNA expression level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor but ameliorated microglial activation and neuroinflammation (the level of messenger RNA and protein expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase) in the amygdala of mice after CRS induction. Interestingly, 14-d treatment with celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, and $N_{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride, a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, attenuated depression-like behaviors after CRS induction. Additionally, PGE inhibited the upregulation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 and heme oxygenase-1 pathways. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings suggest that PGE exerts antidepressant-like effect of CRS-induced depression by antineuroinflammatory and antioxidant (nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 activation) activities by inhibiting the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis mechanism. Further studies are needed to evaluate the potential of components of P. ginseng as an alternative treatment of depression, including clinical trial evaluation.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.883-908
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• 1997

Bone remodeling is characterized by the coupling of osteoclast-mediated bone resorption and osteoblast-mediated bone formation. The process is tightly regualted at the local level by an incompletely known netwotk of peptide and non-peptide fators. Nitric oxide(NO), synthesized by nitric oxide synthetase(NOS) from L-arginine, is becoming recognized as an important bioregualtory molecule in a variety of tissue, but little is known about its possible role in periodontal tissue. The purpose of this study is to investigate the expression of nitric oxide synthetase(NOS) in inflamed gingiva and the effects of cytokine on the expression of NOS protein. The expression of NOS in gingival tissue was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for $NOS_1$, $NOS_2$, $NOS_3$. The effect of cytokine on the expression of NOS in human periodontal ligament cells and osteoblast-like HOS cells by western blot analysis. Further, we studied that NO functions in periodontal ligament cells as a regulatory molecule. PDL cells incubated with NOS inhibitor and donor. The protein expression, type I collagen & non-collagenous protein, nitrate production and cell proliferation were evaluated The results were as follows. 1. $NOS_1$, $NOS_2$, $NOS_3$ was rarely distributed in healthy gingiva, but stronger stained in gingival epithelium, endothelial cells, and mononuclear cells of inflammed gingiva. 2. The cytokine stimulated $NOS_1$, and $NOS_3$ protein were not inducing or inhibitory effect to compared with control in PDL and HOS cells. 3.Incubation of cells with combination of $TNF-{\alpha}$, $IFN-{\gamma}$, LPS result in a time dependant increase in $NOS_2$ expression, reaching a maximal level after 24 hours of stimulation. 4. The osteonectin protein inhibitory effect of NMA, inhibitor of NOS, was reversed by Larginine in dose dependant manner. 5. NMA decreased cell poliferation and nitrate production, but the inhibitory efffect of NMA was also prevented by the NO donor, sodium nitropruiside. These results suggest that exogenously synthesized NO was playing a stimulating effect on cell proliferation or on non-collagenous protein expression. Therefore NO have an important role in mediation of localized bone destruction associated inflammatory bone disease such as periodontitis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.117-129
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• 2008

Background & Objective : Naeso-san(NSS) has been used for the treatment of functional dyspepsia, regarded as a gastric dysmotility disease. A main cause of gastric dysmotility is antral dilatation or antroduodenal uncoordination. Therefore, we investigated the effect of NSS on gastric motility and its mechanism of action, as well as the morphologic changes in antral dilatated rats. Methods : Antral dilatated rats were induced by wrapping a nonabsorbable rubber ring(D:6mm, W:4mm, T:1mm) around the 1st portion of the duodenum for 8 weeks. Then morphologic changes were investigated and compared with normal intact rats before and after 8 weeks. Gastric emptying was measured by administration of normal saline(NS) or NSS in normal intact and antral dilatated rats. In another series of experiments to evaluate the mechanism of NSS under delayed conditions, normal intact rats were treated with atropine sulfate(1mg/kg, s.c.), quinpirole HCl(0.3mg/kg, i.p.), $NAME(N^{G}-nitro-L-arginine$ methyl ester, 75mg/kg, s.c.) and cisplatin(10mg/kg, i.p.), respectively. The myoelectrical activity of the gastric smooth muscle was recorded in normal intact and antral dilatated rats. The contractile waves were measured for 30 minutes before and after administration of each solution(NS, NSS). Results : Body weight gain of antral dilatated rats was significantly lower than that of the controls. Futhermore, we found the thickness of the mucosal and muscular layers and surface area of the stomach increased significantly compared with controls. NSS 278㎎/㎏ improved gastric emptying more than normal saline or NSS 93mg/kg in normal intact(p=0.026) and antral dilatated rats(p=0.03). NSS enhanced gastric emptying significantly in the NAME treated group(p=0.002). NSS 278mg/kg increased the significant postprandial dominant power than that of NS in normal intact rats, whereas there was no statistical significance in antral dilatated rats. Conclusions : NSS stimulates gastric motility through the cholinergic pathway. We expect that pathologic model with antral dilatation can be used as an exprimental tool which is similar to dyspepsia and NSS would be effective especially in dysmotility-like functional dyspepsia with antral dilatation or impaired reservoir functions such as gastric adaptive relaxation.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.113-120
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• 1999

Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical synthesized from L-arginine by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). It is believed that NO is an important mediator in numerous physiological and inflammatory responses. Particularly, a large amount of NO released from the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is mostly associated with inflammatory processes. Overproduction of NO in these processes including sepsis and autoimmune diseases can have deleterious consequences and pathophysiologic relevance. Therefore, for the discovery of new inhibitory agents against iNOS activity, we have evaluated about 100 kinds of natural products after partition into three layers (n-hexane, ethyl acetate and aqueous) from 100% methanol extracts to study inhibitory effects on iNOS activity induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW264.7 cells culture system. As a positive control, curcumin, which is known as an anti-tumor promoter, anti-inflammatory agent as an iNOS inhibitor, was used and showed the dose-dependent inhibitory effect $(IC_{50},\;2.5\;{\mu}g/ml)$. Among tested fractions, the n-hexane fraction of Cimicifuga heracleifolia $(IC_{50}:\;9.65\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Forsythiae fructus $(IC_{50}:\;6.36\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Saposhnikovia divaricata $(IC_{50}:\;5.92\;{\mu}g/ml)$, and the ethyl acetate fraction of Chrysanthemum sibiricum $(IC_{50}:\;2.56\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Gastrodia elata $(IC_{50}:\;3.46\;{\mu}g/ml)$, and the aqueous fraction of Dianthus chinensis $(IC_{50}:\;6.73\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Euonymus alatus $(IC_{50}:\;6.78\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Mechania urticifoloria $(IC_{50}:\;8.01\;{\mu}g/ml)$ showed strong inhibitory activity against LPS-stimulated iNOS. Especially, the ethyl acetate fraction of Chrysanthemum sibiricum $(IC_{50}:\;2.56\;{\mu}g/ml)$, which exhibited the strongest inhibition against iNOS, was fractionated with silica-gel column chromatography. These subfractions exhibited dose-dependent inhibition against iNOS activity in the range of $2.59-5.6\;{\mu}g/ml$ except for fraction No. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 16. Our study shows that Chrysanthemum sibiricum has the strongest inhibitory effect against iNOS activity and has similar effect to curcumin. Therefore, further studies for the identification of active principles from Chrysanthemum sibiricum and investigation for the mechanism of the inhibition of iNOS by active principles will be performed.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 2009

Twelve Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) isolates were isolated from genetically modified (GM) and non-GM Capsicum annuum in two GM fields, Namyangju and Anseong, and their properties were investigated in this study. Coat protein (CP) gene of the CMV isolates were synthesized by RT-PCR using genus-specific primers which designed to amplify a DNA fragment of 950 bp. Purified cDNA fragments were cloned into the pGEMT easy vector for sequence determination. Nucleotide sequences (internal 657 bp) of CMV isolates were compared with Fny-CMV CP sequences and there were no significant collection site specific sequence similarities found. When predicted amino acid sequences (219 amino acids) were compared with Fny-CMV CP amino acids sequences, there were 96.8% to 97.3% similarities found from Namyangju collections and 95.9% to 96.8% similarities from Anseong collections. The phylogenetic analysis with nucleotide sequences showed definite differences in CMVs which have been isolated from the two regions.