• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.540-547
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• 2011

High consumption of fruits and vegetables has been suggested to provide some protection to smokers who are exposed to an increased risk of numerous cancers and other degenerative diseases. Carrot is the most important source of dietary ${\beta}$-carotene. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether carrot juice supplementation to smokers can protect against lymphocyte DNA damage and to compare the effect of supplementationof capsules containing purified ${\beta}$-carotene or a placebo (simple lactose). The study was conducted in a randomized and placebo-controlled design. After a depletion period of 14 days, 48 smokers were supplemented with either carrot juice (n = 18), purified ${\beta}$-carotene (n = 16) or placebo (n = 14). Each group was supplemented for 8 weeks with approximately 20.49 mg of ${\beta}$-carotene/day and 1.2 mg of vitamin C/day, as carrot juice (300 ml/day) or purified ${\beta}$-carotene (20.49 mg of ${\beta}$-carotene, 1 capsule/day). Lymphocyte DNA damage was determined using the COMET assay under alkaline conditions and damage was quantified by measuring tail moment (TM), tail length (TL), and% DNA in the tail. Lymphocyte DNA damage was significantly decreased in the carrot juice group in all three measurements. The group that received purified ${\beta}$-carotene also showed a significant decrease in lymphocyte DNA damage in all three measurements. However, no significant changes in DNA damage was observed for the placebo group except TM (P = 0.016). Erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme was not significantly changed after supplementation. Similarly plasma lipid profiles were not different after carrot juice, ${\beta}$-carotene and placebo supplementation. These results suggest that while the placebo group failed to show any protective effect, carrot juice containing beta-carotene or purified ${\beta}$-carotene itself had great antioxidative potential in preventing damage to lymphocyte DNA in smokers.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2011

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by neuronal loss and extracellular senile plaques containing $\beta$-amyloid peptide (A$\beta$). The deposition of the A$\beta$ peptide following proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by $\beta$-secretase (BACE1) and $\gamma$-secretase is a critical feature in the progression of AD. Among the plant extracts tested, the ethanol extract of Petasites japonicus leaves showed novel protective effect on B103 neuroblastoma cells against neurotoxicity induced by A$\beta$, as well as a strong suppressive effect on BACE1 activity. Ethanol extracts of P. japonicus leaves were sequentially extracted with methylene chloride, ethyl acetate and butanol and evaluated for potential to inhibit BACE1, as well as to suppress A$\beta$-induced neurotoxicity. Exposure to A$\beta$ significantly reduced cell viability and increased apoptotic cell death. However, pretreatment with ethyl acetate fraction of P. japonicus leaves prior to A$\beta$ (50 ${\mu}M$) significantly increased cell viability (p<0.01). In parallel, cell apoptosis triggered by A$\beta$ was also dramatically inhibited by ethyl acetate fraction of P. japonicus leaves. Moreover, the ethyl acetate fraction suppressed caspase-3 activity to the basal level at 30 ppm. Taken together, these results demonstrated that P. japonicus leaves appear to be a useful source for the inhibition and/or prevention of AD by suppression of BACE1 activity and attenuation of A$\beta$ induced neurocytotoxicity.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.335-341
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• 2019

Beta-carotene is the most prominent member of the group of carotenoids, natural colorants that occur in the human diet. Beta-carotene is also an effective source of vitamin A in both conventional foods and vitamin supplements, and it's generally safe. In this study, we explored the beta-carotene contents in agricultural products widely and specifically grown in Korea. The beta-carotene contents were ranging from 223 to $27,908{\mu}g/100g$ in leaves, and 0 to $7,588{\mu}g/100g$ in vegetables. In leaves and vegetables, the amount of beta-carotene was the highest in green tea powder ($27,908{\mu}g/100g$), followed by pepper ($7,588{\mu}g/100g$). In fruits, the beta-carotene content was found to range from $0{\mu}g/1,011g$ to maximum of $293.66{\mu}g/100g$(plumcot). However, there beta-carotene was not detected in strawberry. In the case of cereals and specialty crops, the beta-carotene contents were $326{\mu}g/100g$ for non-glutinous rice, $313{\mu}g/100g$ for glutinous rice, $57{\mu}g/100g$ for amaranth and $15{\mu}g/100g$ for pine nut, respectively. However, the beta-carotene content was not detected in other samples. This study revealed the presence of beta-carotene content in agricultural products specifically grown in Korea for nutritional information and food composition database.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.2046-2055
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• 2007

Wild-type V. vulnificus cannot grow using lactose as the sole carbon source or take up the sugar. However, prolonged culture of this species in media containing lactose as the sole carbon source leads to the generation of a spontaneous lactose-utilizing (LU) mutant. This mutant showed strong ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity, whereas the wild-type strain showed a barely detectable level of the activity. A mutant with a lesion in a gene homologous to the lacZ of E. coli in the bacterium no longer showed ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity or generated spontaneous LU mutants, suggesting that the lacZ homolog is responsible for the catabolism of lactose, but the expression of the gene and genes for transport of lactose is tightly regulated. Genetic analysis of spontaneous LU mutants showed that all the mutations occur in a lacI homolog, which is located downstream to the lacZ and putative ABC-type lac permease genes. Consistent with this, a genomic library clone containing the lad gene, when present in trans, made the spontaneous LU mutants no longer able to utilize lactose as the sole carbon source. Taken together with the observation that excessive amounts of exogenously supplemented possible catabolic products of lactose have negative effects on the growth and survivability of V. vulnificus, we suggest that V. vulnificus has evolved to carry a repressor that tightly regulates the expression of lacZ to keep the intracellular toxic catabolic intermediates at a sublethal level.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.72-77
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• 2015

One of the most common forms of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder symptomatically characterized by impairment in memory and cognitive abilities. AD is characterized pathologically by the presence of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and deposition of ${\beta}$-amyloid ($A{\beta}$) peptides, believed to be neurotoxic and now is also considered to have a role on the mechanism of memory dysfunction. In this study, we tested that MeOH extract of Impatiens balsamina L. (IBM) affects on the processing of APP from the APPswe over-expressing Neuro2a cell line. We found that IBM increased over 2 folds of the $sAPP{\alpha}$ secretion level, a main metabolite of ${\alpha}$-secretase. We shown that IBM reduced the secretion level of $A{\beta}42$ and $A{\beta}40$ without cytotoxicity. BACE (${\beta}$-site APP cleaving enzyme) FRET assay shown that BACE activity was specifically decreased in the presence of IBM. We suggest that Impatiens balsamina L. may be an useful source to develop a herbal medicine of BACE inhibitor for Alzheimer's disease.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 2010

The ${\beta}$-glucosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.21) production capabilities of lactic acid bacteria isolated from a variety of kimchi (fermented vegetables) were examined. When grown in a medium containing cellobiose as carbon source, most lactic acid bacteria showed significantly higher intracellular levels of ${\beta}$-glucosidase than the extracellular levels. A maximum intracellular ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity of 3.7${\pm}$0.5 (unit/mg protein) was obtained in the case of Weissella cibaria KFRI88010 isolated from kimchi. The optimum reaction conditions for W. cibaria KFRI88010 ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity were pH 5.0 and ${37^{\circ}C}$, and addition of divalent cations to the reaction mixture resulted in a notable decrease in enzyme activity. The ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity was enhanced twofold when W. cibaria KFRI88010 was grown in a medium containing fructose as compared with to a medium containing glucose or cellobiose.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.60-66
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• 1996

To investigate a possible application of three strains of lactic acid bacteria(strain No. 49. No. 61. No. 75) from kimchi in milk fermentation industry, the optimal condition for production of intracellular ${\beta}-galactosidase$ from Lactobacillus(L.) plantarum and its enzymatic properties were examined. The preferable carbon source of the medium for strain No. 49 in production of ${\beta}-galactosidase$ was MRS broth with 1.0% lactose instead of dextrose of pH 65. for strain No. 75 with 1.0% galactose and for strain No. 61 with 3.0% lactose at pH 7.5, respectively. The maximum enzyme production from strain No. 49, No. 75 was observed after 48 hours culture at $30^{\circ}C$ in a medium containing the appropriate carbon source, from strain No. 61 after 48 hours culture at room temperature. The optimum temperature for ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activity from L. plantarum was $60^{\circ}C$ for strain No. 49, $37^{\circ}C$ for strain No. 61 and $50^{\circ}C$ for strain No. 75, respectively. The heat stability of enzyme activities for all three strains remained 90% at $45^{\circ}C$. The optimal pH was pH 6.5 and enzyme activities were most stable at pH for all three bacteria.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2018.10a
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• pp.109-109
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• 2018

Bacillus subtilis B22, a chemotrophic and aerobic bacterial strain was isolated from homemade kimchi, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. B22 was primarily screened by biochemical, carbon source utilization tests. B22 was used to produce pectinase and ${\beta}$-glucosidase by submerged fermentation under different light sources. B22 was incubated in pectin media and basal media (pH 7.0) under blue, green, red and white light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fluorescent white light, and in darkness at $37^{\circ}C$, orbital shaker 150 rpm for 24 hours. Fermentation under blue LEDs maximized pectinase production ($71.59{\pm}1.6U/mL$ at 24 h) and ${\beta}$-glucosidase production ($56.31{\pm}1.6U/mL$ at 24 h). Further, the production of enzyme increased to pectinase ($156{\pm}1.28U/mL$) and ${\beta}$-glucosidase ($172{\pm}1.28U/mL$) with 3% glucose as a carbon source. Activity and stability of the partially purified enzymes were higher at pH 6.0 to 8.0 and $25-55^{\circ}C$. The effect on the metal ions $Na^+$ and $K^+$ and (moderateactivity) $Mn^{2+}$ and $Ni^{2+}$ increased activity, while $Hg^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$, and $Fe^{2+}$ inhibited activity. EDTA, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and 5,5-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoicacid) reduced activity, while tetrafluoroethylene and 1,10-phenanthroline inhibited activity. The amylase was highly tolerant of the surfactants TritonX-100, Tween-20, Tween-80 and compatible with organic solvents methanol, ethanol, isoamylalcohol, isopropanol, t-butylalcohol and the oxidizing agents hydrogen peroxide, sodium perborate and sodium hypochlorite, although potassium iodide and ammonium persulfate reduced activity. These properties suggest utility of pectinase and ${\beta}$-glucosidase produced by B. subtilis B22 under blue LED-mediated fermentation for industrial applications.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.99-108
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• 1998

Intraperitoneal administration of radioisotopes is suggested to treat the metastatic ovarian cancer in the peritoneal cavity. Administering beta-emitting radioisotopes into the peritoneal cavity allows the maximum energy delivery to the cancerous cells of the peritoneal wall surface while sparing the normal cells located in deep site of the peritoneal wall. In this study, dose estimates of the peritoneal wall are provided to be used for prescribing the amount of $^{166}Ho$-chitosan complex administered. The $^{166}Ho$-chitosan complex diffused in the peritoneal fluid may attach to the peritoneal wall surface. The attachment fraction of $^{166}Ho$-chitosan complex to the peritoneal wall surface is obtained by simulating the ascites with Fischer rats. Both volume source in the peritoneal fluid and the surface source over the peritoneal wall surface are counted for the contribution to the peritoneal wall dose. The Monte Carlo code EGS4 is used to simulate the energy transfer of the beta particles emitted from $^{166}Ho$. A plane geometrical model of semi-infinite volume describes the peritoneal cavity and the peritoneal wall. A semi-infinite plane of $10{\mu}m$ in thickness at every 1 mm of depth in the peritoneal wall is taken as the target in dose estimation. Greater than 98 percents of attachment fraction has been observed from the experiments with Fischer rats. Given $1.3{\mu}Ci/cm^2$ and $2.4{\mu}Ci/ml$ of uniform activity density, absorbed dose is 123 Gy, 8.59 Gy, 3.00 Gy, 1.03 Gy, and .327 Gy at 0 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm in depth to the peritoneal wall, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.224-230
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• 1973

The culture used wheat bran as media for four kind of mold strains such as Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus kawachii, Aspergillus usamii and Rhizopus javanicus to examine which strain could higher the activity of amylase most which is used for alcohol fermentation. It also provided three different kind of wheat bran media containing starch of 47%, 51% and 55% respectively for each strain. For each media it also added three different kind of nitrogen sources; ammonium sulfate, casein, and ammonium sulfate and casein equally mixed. Each nitrogen source added was subordinately differentiated into three different percentages, 2%, 4% and 6% respectively, except the 2% for the ammonium sulfate. The results obtained were summarized as follows (1) The activity of ${\alpha}-amylase$ was highest in the media of starch value 47% of wheat bran with 6% of casein added. (2) The activity of ${\beta}-amylase$ was highest in the media of starch value 51% of wheat bran with 2% of the equal mixture of ammonium sulfate and casein added. (3) The activities of both ${\alpha}-amylase$ and ${\beta}-amylase$ of Aspergillus usamii were highest in the media of starch value 47% wheat bran with no addition of nitrogen source. (4) Of the four strains examined, the activities of ${\alpha}-amylase$ and ${\beta}-amylase$ cultured in Rhizopus javanicus were both relatively higher. (5) The activities of ${\alpha}-amylase$ and ${\beta}-amylase$ of the strains examined became lower as the percentage of starch contents increased except in Rhizopus javanicus.