• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2009

Yam (Dioscorea batatas Decne) has been recognized as healthy food due to its various biological activities, such as anti-obesity, anti-constipation, anti-proliferation, anti-mutagenic activity, and decrease of blood glucose and cholesterol level. In this study, the methanol extract and its organic solvent fractions were prepared from dried Dioscorea batatas Decne, and their antimicrobial, antithrombin, and antioxidant activity were evaluated, respectively. The 66.7% of methanol extract was fractioned into water residue, and most of total-polyphenol/total-flavonoids were found in ethylacetate fraction. This ethylacetate fraction at $500\;{\mu}g/disc$ concentration showed strong antibacterial activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, except Staphylococcus aureus. Antifungal activity was not observed in methanol extract and its fractions. But, strong antithrombin activity was found in methanol extract. At 4.8 mg/mL concentration, thrombin time was 99.5 sec, which is coincides with 30% activity of aspirin, a commercial available antithrombosis agent. The ethylacetate fraction showed strong DPPH scavenging activity ($IC_{50}$ of $80.5\;{\mu}g/mL$), compared to vitamin C ($IC_{50}$ of $15.2\;{\mu}g/mL$). Also, the ethylacetate fraction showed strong SOD-like activity and reducing power, which are coincide with 43% of vitamin C and 82.7% of butylated hydroxytoluene activity, respectively.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.303-310
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• 2007

Sweetpotato shoot tops (leaves, tips and petioles) are known to be very useful parts as vegetables because of their high nutritive values and great biomass yield. In this study, the phenolic compound contents, antibacterial activity, mutagenic activity, and antimutagenic activity were investigated in sweetpotato tips that were 10-15cm of shoot top including stems, petioles and tender leaves after sprout of storage roots. The study was done by extracting sweetpotato tips with 80% ethanol and the ethanol fraction was re-extracted with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water. In ethyl acetate and butanol fractions, total phenolic compounds contained 95. 6mg/g extract and 69.3 mg/g extract, respectively, The antibacterial activity was measured using the paper disk method with concentrations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 mg/disk of butanol and ethyl acetate fractions against L. monocytogenes and S. Typhimurium strains. Higher doses of solvent extracts showed the higher antibacterial activities. In addition, 5, 10 and 20 mg/mL of the extracts were tested to determine the antibacterial activity in liquid culture. The sweetpotato leaf extract by ethyl acetate showed 1 log reduction compared to control after 24 hrs on Listeria monocytogenes, but 20 mg/ml of butanol extract completely inhibited the growth of the pathogen after 12 hrs. The extracts from ethyl acetate or butanol on Salmonella Typhimurium did less than 1 log reduction during cultivation compared to control. The numbers of S. Typhimirium TA98 and TA100 revertant colonies were 29-33 and 159-188 CFU/plate, respectively, indicating that solvent extracts were no mutagenic activity. The antimutagenic test was performed by adding direct mutagen 2-NF and MMS, and butanol and ethyl acetate showed antimutagenic effect. Thus, this study showed that sweetpotato tips had high phenolic contents and both antimicrobiol and antimutagenic properties. Sweetpotato tips would be good nutritive source because of their high nutrient content without any toxicity in consuming.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.346-349
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• 2001

The antimutagenic activity of polysaccharides extracted from soybeans fermented with Agrocybe cylindracea (AC) or Phellinus igniarius (PI) against 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidaxo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) was examined using a Salmonella/Ames test and host-mediated assay in mice. The polysaccharides from the soybeans fermented with A. Cylindracea and P. igniarius inhibited the mutagenic acitivity of the cooked food mutagen, MeIQx, by 31.2% and 35.3%, respectively. The polysaccharides also inhibited MeIQx genotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner in micel. These results suggest that the polysaccharides from soybeans fermented with A. cylindracea or P. igniarius exhibit antimutagenic properties against MeIQx in vitro and in vivo.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.183-193
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• 2020

Recently, as a natural substance has been emphasized interest in research to enhance the immune function. Green lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a popular vegetable used fresh and it contains various phytochemicals and antioxidant compounds, and has been reported to have various physiological activities such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor and anti-mutagenic. However, only a few studies have investigated on the mechanism of action of immune-enhancing activity of lettuce. Therefore, in this study, the immunomodulatory activities and potential mechanism of action of Green lettuce extracts (GLE) were evaluated in the murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7. GLE significantly increased NO levels by RAW264.7 cells, as well as expressions of immunomodulators such as iNOS, COX-2, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α and MCP-1. Although GLE activated ERK1/2, p38, JNK and NF-κB, GLE-mediated expressions of immunomodulators was dependent on p38, JNK and NF-κB. In addition, TLR4 inhibition blocked GLE-mediated expressions of immunomodulators and activation of p38, JNK and NF-κB. Taken together, these results demonstrated that TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB signalling pathways participated in GLE-induced macrophage activation and GLE could be developed as a potential immunomodulating functional food.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.403-408
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• 2002

A hypothetical 21.0 kDa protein (ORF O197) from Escherichia coli K-12 was cloned, purified, and characterized. The protein sequence of ORF O197(termed EcO197) shares a 33.5% identity with that of a novel NTPase from Methanococcus jannaschii. The EcO197 protein was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, protease digestion, and gel filtration column. It hydrolyzed nucleoside triphosphates with an O6 atom-containing purine base to nucleoside monophosphate and pyrophosphate. The EcO197 protein had a strong preference for deoxyinosine triphosphate (dITP) and xanthosine triphosphate (XTP), while it had little activity in the standard nucleoside triphosphates (dATP, dCTP, dGTP, and dTTP). These aberrant nucleotides can be produced by oxidative deamination from purine nucleotides in cells; they are potentially mutagenic. The mutation protection mechanisms are caused by the incorporation into DNA of unwelcome nucleotides that are formed spontaneously. The EcO197 protein may function to eliminate specifically damaged purine nucleotide that contains the 6-keto group. This protein appears to be the first eubacterial dITP-and XTP-hydrolyzing enzyme that has been identified.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.110-117
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• 1999

Free radicals formed during the metabolism of environmental chemicals are known to induce mutagenicity, while different types of antioxidants suppress this event. The purpose of this study was to determine the antioxidative and antimutagenic effects of soybean saponins, and to examine the relationship between these two effects for the elucidation of mechanisms involved in the anticarcinogenicity of soybean saponins. Also, antioxidative and antimutagenic effects of soybean saponins were compared with those of kinown antioxidants. For the measurement of antioxidative capacity, soybean saponins, L-ascorbic acid, $\alpha$-tocophoerol, and BHT at concentrations between 005 and 1.0mg/ml were tested for their ability to donate hydrogens and to reduce the formation of thiobarbituric substances(TBARS). Antimutagenic activity was examined using the Ames salmonella test system at concentrations of 600, 900 or 1200ug/ml. Study results showed soybean saponins and all of the other antioxidants tested possessed dose-dependent antioxidative activities. The ability of hydrogen-donation to DPPH was in the order of L-ascorbic acid>$\alpha$-tocopherol=>BHT>soybean saponins. TBARS formation was also inhibited by these compounds, in the order of BHT>$\alpha$-tocopherol=L-ascorbic acid>soybean saponins. Soybean saponins and other antioxidants also showed antimutagenicity in a dose-dependent manner. Especially, soybean saponins and BHT were excellent antioxidants compounds, inhibiting near 80% of the mutagenic effects at a concentration of 1200ug/ml. The correlation coefficients between antioxidative capacity and antimutagenicity for each compund was statistically significant at p<0.05. These results indicate that soybean saponins possess antioxidative and antimutagenic capacities. Also, antimutagenicity of saponins and other antioxidats is partly due to their antioxidative activities.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2013

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) has been known for having strong anti-oxidant, anti-mutagenic, and anti-carcinogenic activities. The free radical theory of aging, also known as the oxidative stress theory of aging, claims that cellular oxidative damage accumulated with time is a major causal factor of aging. In the present study, we investigated the effect of buckwheat extracts on resistance to oxidative stress and aging using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system. Survival under an oxidative-stress condition induced by paraquat increased markedly following 500mg/L buckwheat extracts treatment, suggesting lower cellular oxidative damage by buckwheat extracts. A lifespan assay also revealed that treatment of buckwheat extracts significantly extended both the mean and maximum lifespan in C. elegans. Interestingly, this lifespan-extension by buckwheat extracts was not accompanied by reduced fertility. These findings suggest that buckwheat extracts can confer longevity phenotype to C. elegans through its strong anti-oxidant activity and support the aging theory which emphasizes a pivotal role of oxidative stress during aging.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.47-60
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• 2004

Higher plants can be valuable genetic assay systems for monitoring environmental pollutants and evaluating their biological toxicity. Two assays are considered ideal for in situ monitoring and testing of soil, airborne and aqueous mutagenic agents; the Tradescantia stamen hair assay for somatic cell mutations and the Tradescantia micronucleus assay for chromosome aberrations. Both assays can be used for in vivo and in vitro testing of mutagens. Since higher plant systems are now recognized as excellent indicators and have unique advantages over in situ monitoring and screening, higher plant systems could be accepted by regulatory authorities as an alternative first-tier assay system for the detection of possible genetic damages resulting from the pollutants or chemicals used and produced by industrial sectors. It has been concluded that potential mutagen and carcinogen such as the heavy metals among indoor air particulates, volatile compounds in the working places, soil, and water pollutants contribute to the overall health risk. This contribution can be considerable under certain circumstances. It is therefore important to identify the level of genotoxic activity in the environment and to relate it to the biomarkers of a health risk in humans. The results from the higher plant bioassays could make a significant contribution to assessing the risks of pollutants and protecting the public from agents that can cause mutation and/or cancer. The plant bioassays, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle, are recommended for the scientists who are interested in monitoring pollutants and evaluating their environmental toxicity to living organisms.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.375-378
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• 1989

The effect of lipid content and saline seasoning on the mutagenicity during the charcoal-broiling Process of beef, Pork and fish samples was examined by Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains. Chloroform; methanol(1:1) extract of broiled samples showed a higher sensitive response toward TA98 strain than TA100 strain, indicating a frameshift mutation. The three samples of low lipid content demonstrated a slightly higher mutagenic activity, and the beef and pork samples treated with 20% saline solution showed a remarkable reduction in mutagenicity than the untreated samples.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Biology Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.1-15
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• 2004

Higher plants can be valuable genetic assay systems for monitoring environmental pollutants and evaluating their biological toxicity. Two assays are considered ideal for in situ monitoring and testing of soil, airborne and aqueous mutagenic agents; the Tradescantia stamen hair assay for somatic cell mutations and the Tradescantia micronucleus assay for chromosome aberrations. Both assays can be used for in vivo and in vitro testing of mutagens. Since higher plant systems are now recognized as excellent indicators and have unique advantages over in situ monitoring and screening, higher plant systems could be accepted by regulatory authorities as an alternative first-tier assay system for the detection of possible genetic damages resulting from the pollutants or chemicals used and produced by industrial sectors. It has been concluded that potential mutagen and carcinogen such as the heavy metals among indoor air particulates, volatile compounds in the working places, soil, and water pollutants contribute to the overall health risk. This contribution can be considerable under certain circumstances. It is therefore important to identify the level of genotoxic activity in the environment and to relate it to the biomarkers of a health risk in humans. The results from the higher plant bioassays could make a significant contribution to assessing the risks of pollutants and protecting the public firom agents that can cause mutation anuor cancer. The plant bioassays, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle, are recommended for the scientists who are interested in monitoring pollutants and evaluating their environmental toxicity to living organisms.