• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.493-499
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• 2023

In this study we evaluated the immune-enhancing effects of β-glucan, the main component of Euglena gracilis (Euglena), and Euglena on inflammatory factor expression in RAW264.7 macrophages and ICR mice with cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression. Macrophages were treated with β-glucan or Euglena for 48 h. The β-glucan and Euglena groups exhibited higher levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase, nitric oxide, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α than the control (vehicle alone) group. Animals were fed saline and β-glucan (400 mg/kg body weight (B.W.)) or Euglena (400 or 800 mg/kg B.W.) for 19 days, and on days 17-19, cyclophosphamide (CCP, 80 mg/kg B.W.) was administered to induce immunosuppression in the ICR mouse model. CCP reduced the body weight, spleen index, and cytokine expression of the mice. To measure cytokine and receptor expression, splenocytes were treated with concanavalin A (ConA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a mitogen for 24 h. In vivo, ConA stimulation significantly upregulated the expression of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12 receptor β1, IL-1β, and IL-2 in splenocytes from the β-glucan- or Euglena-treated groups compared with those in the splenocytes from the CCP-treated group; LPS stimulation increased the levels of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in splenocytes from the β-glucan- or Euglena- treated groups compared with those from the CCP-treated group, but most of these differences were not significant. These results demonstrate the effect of Euglena in ameliorating macrophages and immunosuppression in CCP-treated mice. Thus, Euglena has the potential to enhance macrophage- and splenocyte- mediated immune-stimulating responses.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.751-756
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• 2015

Sodium chloride is known to contribute to the quality and safety of foods. However, there is an increasing interest in reducing the sodium content in foodstuffs, owing to health-related concerns related to its overconsumption. Therefore, the possible use of enzymatically hydrolyzed anchovy protein (eHAP) in enhancing the intensity of the salty taste in model broth was investigated in this study. The sodium chloride content of eHAP was 67.7 g/L. The lightness (L) and yellowness (b) of the model broth increased with increasing eHAP concentration. Additionally, the perceived intensity of the salty taste of eHAP solutions increased with increasing amounts of eHAP at a given NaCl concentration in the model broth. The intensity of the salty taste was enhanced by 0.37-35.58% as eHAP was added. The results suggest that it may be possible to reduce the sodium chloride content in foods by enhancing the salty taste with eHAP.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.135-142
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• 2016

This study was conducted to compare the general composition and immunomodulatory activity of breast and thigh meats from four lines of Korean native chickens: Yeonsan Ogye, Hyunin Black, Hwangbong, and Hoengseong Yakdak. White Leghorn was used as a control. Fifteen male chickens (three chickens in each line) were grown under the same conditions and slaughtered at 13 weeks old. The four lines of Korean native chickens, regardless of the part, had higher contents of crude fat (p<0.05) than White Leghorn. The cholesterol contents were significantly higher in Hyunin Black and significantly lower in Hoengseong Yakdak than those of other chickens (p<0.05). The immunomodulatory effect, assessed by macrophage cell proliferation and nitric oxide production, was only observed in the breast meat of the four lines of Korean native chickens. The phagocytic activity of macrophage cells was significantly augmented by the breast meat of Hyunin Black and Hoengseong Yakdak. Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-4, IL-10 and $IFN-{\gamma}$, was significantly suppressed by Korean native chickens compared with White Leghorn. These results suggested that the four lines of Korean native chickens exhibited greater immune-enhancing activity than White Leghorn.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.411-419
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated in vitro immune-enhancing and anti-obesity activity of Abelmoschus manihot roots (AMR) in mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells and mouse adipocytes 3T3-L1 cells. AMR increased the production of immunostimulatory factors such as nitric oxide (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in RAW264.7 cells. The inhibition of toll like receptor (TLR) 2 and 4 blocked AMR-mediated production of immunostimulatory factors in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, the inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathway reduced AMR-mediated production of immunostimulatory factors. From these results, AMR is considered to have immune-enhancing activity through TLR2/4-mediated activation of MAPKs signaling pathway. In addition, AMR inhibited lipid accumulation and reduced the protein level such as CCAAT enhancer-binding protein alpha (CEBPα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), perilipin-1, adiponectin and fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) associated with lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells, indicating that AMR may have anti-obesity activity. Based on these results, AMR is expected to be used as a potential functional agent for immune enhancement and anti-obesity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.761-770
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• 2021

In this study, the optimal medium composition for enhancing protease production was established by the Bacillus strain isolated from Makgeolli, a traditional fermented food, using the response surface methodology. B. amyloliquefaciens SRCM115785 was selected as the protease producer by productivity analysis and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Plackett-Burman design (PBD) was introduced to analyze the effect of each component on protease production among the 11 selected medium components. As a result, glucose, yeast extract, and beef extract were finally selected as factors for enhancing protease production. Central composite design (CCD) analysis was designed as a method to determine the optimal concentration of each component for protease production and the concentration of each medium composition for maximum protease production was predicted to glucose 6.75 g/l, yeast extract 12.42 g/l and beef extract 17.48 g/l. The suitability of the experimental model was proved using ANOVA analysis and as a result of quantitative analysis to prove this, the amount of increase was 230.47% compared to the LB medium used as a control. Through this study, the optimization of medium composition for enhancing protease production was established, and based on this, it is expected that it can be efficient use of protease as an industrial enzyme.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.1665-1673
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to compare the compositions and immuno-enhancing effects of 6-year-old red ginseng powder (RGP) with those of its fractions. RGP was subjected to extraction with 100% ethanol to obtain an ethanol fraction (E) and residue 1 (R1). Then, R1 was subjected to extraction with distilled water to obtain water fraction (W) and residue 2 (R2). Chemical compositions were as follows: 4.94% acidic polysaccharides and 1.56% ginsenosides (amounts of Rg1, Re, Rf, Rg2, Rb1, Rc, Rd, and Rg3) in RGP, 0.11% acidic polysaccharides and 6.99% ginsenosides in E, 4.93% acidic polysaccharides and 0.40% ginsenosides in R1, 0.50% acidic polysaccharides and 0.30% ginsenosides in R2, and 7.46% acidic polysaccharides and 0.61% ginsenosides in W. Immuno-enhancing effects of fractions from RGP were examined based on suppression of immune responses by cyclophosphamide. In the first fraction test, the antibody response to SRBCs increased significantly in the R1-treated group, but not the E-treated group. In the second fraction test, W showed higher immuno-enhancing effect than R1 and R2. W, which contained the highest amount of acidic polysaccharides, restored numbers of T and B cells, macrophages, as well as $CD4^+$ and $CD8^+$ T cells in the spleen suppressed by cyclophosphamide. These results suggest that acidic polysaccharides from red ginseng may be more effective than saponin in enhancing immune functions and reducing immunotoxicity of cyclophosphamide.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.317-322
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• 2005

Isoflavones are reported to playa role in menopausal women as a phytoestrogen, which can replace estradiols in hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Recently; due to the risk of breast cancer by HRT, phytoestrogens (e.g. isoflavones) have been focused as an alternative therapy in menopause. In the study, we investigated whether isoflavones derived from Sophorae fructus (SISO) have more benefit than that of soybean isoflavones in estrogen deficient rats. We found that SISO effectively controled $H_2O_2$ comparing with the baseline (p<0.01 vs. post value of OVX-Cont), and the blood sugar and weight were also controlled with decreasing patterns. Additionally, in LDH assay for cytoprotective effect in Neuro-2a cell line, SISO protected cells from the damage by SNAP (p<0.05). In conclusion, SISO may have more beneficial effect in enhancing the menopausal signs than that of soybean isoflavones and the cytoprotective effect in neuron cells suggests that SISO can play a certain role in neuroprotection after menopause.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2016

The pregnane X receptor (PXR), a liver and intestine specific receptor,, has been reported to be related with the repression of inflammation as well as activation of cytochromosome P450 3A (CYP3A) expression. We examined the effect of PXR on tetrachloromethane (CCl4)-induced mouse liver inflammation in this work. Ginkgolide A, one main component of Ginkgo biloba extracts (GBE), activated PXR and enhanced PXR expression level, displayed both significant therapeutic effect and preventive effect against $CCl_4$-induced mouse hepatitis. siRNA-mediated decrease of PXR expression significantly reduced the efficacy of Ginkgolide A in treating $CCl_4$-induced inflammation in mice. Flavonoids, another important components of GBE, were shown anti-inflammatory effect in a different way from Ginkgolide A which might be independent on PXR because flavonoids significantly inhibited CYP3A11 activities in mice. The results indicated that anti-inflammatory effect of PXR might be mediated by enhancing transcription level of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ through binding of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$. Inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ activity by NF-${\kappa}B$-specific suppressor $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ is one of the potential mechanisms of Ginkgolide A against CCl4-induced liver inflammation.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.79-89
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of organizational/job suitability and self-efficacy on the job enthusiasm of public officials to enhance the government's organizational performance and goal achievement, and to examine what mediating effects of self-efficacy have. As the subject and method of the study, a survey was conducted with 248 civil servants from three cities (P, U, Y) in Gyeonggi-do, and structural equation analysis was used for the collected surveys. As a result of the study, organizational suitability of public officials had a positive effect on job enthusiasm, and self-efficacy was found to have a partial mediating effect on organizational suitability and job enthusiasm. In the case of job suitability, job enthusiasm was not significant, and self-efficacy had a fully mediated effect. Based on the results of this study, administrative and policy implications for enhancing the enthusiasm for the job of front-line civil servants of administrative organizations were presented.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.223-238
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was a) to examine the effect of positive family relationships on post-traumatic growth in cancer patients, and b) to verify the moderating effect of spiritual sensitivity. Methods: The subjects were cancer patients, both outpatients and inpatients selected from major hospitals specialized in cancer treatment using judgement sampling. A self-administered questionnaire survey was given to cancer patients, and a total of 208 cases were collected but only 201 cases were used in the final analysis due to seven unclear and inadequate questionnaires. We performed descriptive statistics to identify the prevalence for each variable, and the moderating effect was verified through multiple regression analysis. Results: The main results are as follows. First, the average post-traumatic growth of the subjects was 3.01 (0-5 points). Second, the positive family relations of the subjects were 2.58 (0-5 points) and the average of spiritual sensitivity was 2.93 (1-5 points). Third, positive family relationship of cancer patients was positively correlated to post-traumatic growth, and spiritual sensitivity was verified as a moderator to positive family relationship enhancing the post -traumatic growth. Conclusion: These findings imply the importance of post-traumatic growth in cancer patients as a key intervention point to overcome pain and frustration from cancer. We suggest to develop family therapy programs and services aimed at fostering positive family relationships and meeting the needs of spiritual sensitivity for cancer patients and their families. This study also provides ways to promote post-traumatic growth in social welfare facilities in medical institutions and religious foundations.