• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.597-604
• /
• 2016

This study was performed to investigate the quality characteristics of lotus root tea (LT) prepared with Gardenia jasminoides powder (GLT) and Rubus coreanus Miquel powder (RLT). The proximate compositions, physicochemical properties, mineral contents, and sensory evaluations of samples were measured. GLT sample showed higher contents of crude protein, crude fat, crude ash, and moisture (p<0.001) as well as pH (p<0.001) compared to LT and RLT. In terms of color, lightness (L) and yellowness (b) of GLT were the highest among the samples, whereas redness (a) of GLT was the lowest. The results of mineral analysis showed that the mineral contents of K, Ca, and Fe of LT were the highest, whereas the content of Mg of GLT was the highest. The results of browning color intensity of all samples showed that LT had the lowest. GLT showed higher contents of water soluble solids than LT and RLT. In the sensory evaluation, the scores of color, flavor, aftertaste, feeling of throat, and overall preference of LT and GLT were significantly higher than those of RLT. From the findings, this study suggests that addition of Gardenia jasminoides powder was effective for preparation of lotus root tea in the aspects of consumer acceptability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.333-340
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study was to develop functional lotus root bugak with plasma lipid reduction capacity by controlling the color of batter used for bugak preparation. Lotus root, nearly colorless, was selected to observe color effects. Gardeniae fructus (GF), Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten (OF), and green tea (GT), which are colored yellow, red, and green, respectively, were used as coloring agents. Fermented glutinous rice was prepared naturally during winter season by placing glutinous rice and water (1:2, w/w) together in a crock pot for 7 days. Coloring materials (10%, w/w) were blended with glue made from fermented glutinous rice flour to prepare the batter. Cooked lotus root was then mixed with a 1.1-fold amount of batter (w/w) and dried at room temperature. Lotus root bugak (LRB) is pan-fried with un-roasted sesame oil, which is traditionally used as frying oil in Korea. Low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout ($LDLr^{-/-}$) mice (n=36) were fed an atherogenic diet (AD) containing various types of LRB (10 g%) for 10 weeks. Plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL-C concentrations decreased significantly in mice fed LRB prepared with OF batter (OFB) and GT batter (GTB) (P<0.05). Protein expression levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) in the OFB and GTB groups were suppressed compared with the LRB group (P<0.05). In accordance with the results on FAS and HMGCR expression, sterol regulatory element binding protein-I and II (SREBP-I and II), which are responsible for the regulation of FAS and HMGCR gene expression, respectively, were down-regulated compared to the LRB group (P<0.05). In conclusion, the plasma lipid reduction activities of OFB and GTB could be mediated through down-regulation of FAS and HMGCR mRNA expression via suppression of regulatory molecules, SREBP-I and II, in $LDLr^{-/-}$ mice.