• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.236-244
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• 2024

Melanin is a natural pigment found in most plants and animals, and it is involved in determining the color of the skin and hair. Melanogenesis is a reactive occurrence in melanocytes aiming to protect the skin from external stimuli, such as ultraviolet rays. Tyrosine is involved in the biosynthesis of the substrate tyrosine into melanin. However, melanin overproduction can lead to skin diseases, such as melasma, blotching, hyperpigmentation, and skin cancer. Although many studies have been conducted on whitening substances, such as kojic acid and arbutin, some countries have banned or refrained from using them due to their side effects. Therefore, this study assessed the potential of horseradish (HR) as a new whitening agent in cosmetic products. For efficient extraction, subcritical water extraction was conducted. The results showed that the horseradish subcritical water 200℃ (SW 200) extract showed high DPPH radical scavenging ability, total phenolic contents (TPC), inhibiting tyrosinase activity and inhibiting melanin production of B16-F10 melanoma cell lines. To investigate its cytotoxicity to the B16-F10 melanoma cell lines, MTT reduction assay and morphological changes were observed. No cytotoxicity was found in horseradish methanol extract and SW 200. In conclusion, this research suggests the possibility of horseradish subcritical water may be useful as a natural whitening ingredient to be used in cosmetic products.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.826-832
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• 2015

This study describes the effects of activated charcoal on the removal of salts, detergents, and pigments from protein extracts of ginseng leaves and roots. Incubation of protein extracts with 5% (w/v) activated charcoal (100-400 mesh) for 30 min at 4℃ almost removed the salts and detergents including NP-40 as can be observed on SDS-PAGE. In addition, analysis of chlorophyll content showed significant depletion of chlorophyll (~33%) after activated charcoal treatment, suggesting potential effect of activated charcoal on removal of pigments too along with the salts and detergents. 2-DE analysis of activated charcoal treated protein samples showed better resolution of proteins, further indicating the efficacy of activated charcoal in clearing of protein samples. In case of root proteins, although not major differences were observed on SDS-PAGE, 2-DE gels showed better resolution of spots after charcoal treatment. In addition, both Hierarchical clustering (HCL) and Principle component analysis (PCA) clearly separated acetone sample from rest of the samples. Phenol and AC-phenol samples almost overlapped each other suggesting no major differences between these samples. Overall, these results showed that activated charcoal can be used in a simple manner to remove the salts, detergents and pigments from the protein extracts of various plant tissues.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.549-561
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• 2020

This study aimed to assess the performance and life of nine natural mineral dancheong pigments: Seokganju, Jinsa, Hwangto, Jahwang, Wunghwang, Seokrok, Noerok, Seokcheong, and Baekto. The design of the accelerated weathering test considered the domestic climate characteristics and the location of Dancheong. Outdoor weathering tests were conducted at the Research Institute in Daejeon and the Sungnyemun Gate in Seoul to confirm the field reproducibility of the accelerated weathering test. Monitoring of the physical changes in pigments through accelerated and outdoor weathering tests are based on ultraviolet exposure dose. Despite small cracks at the beginning of the tests, the monitoring showed that Seokganju and Baekto had no marked physical changes, but the surface cracks of Jinsa and Seorok continue to expand. Hwangto and Noerok were marked with water or were resin stained, and the particles of Jahwang, Wunghwang, and Seokcheong had lost their luster. Despite the absolute difference in color change in each test, the final chromaticity change patterns of pigments were similar in that the color difference between Baekto and Noerok was below five, and Jina was above 28. The physical and surface color pigment changes were more concentrated in outdoor weathering tests than in accelerated tests, and the Seoul site was more intense than the Daejeon site. This is because outdoor weathering tests are exposed to severe variations of temperature and moisture or deposition of dust particles and, in the case of Seoul, the site is more exposed to the external environment than the Daejeon site.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.4
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• pp.609-615
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• 2011

Forsythia saxatilis is a Korean endemic plant designated as rare and endangered by the Korea Forest Service (KFS). Growth and physiological characteristics of F. saxatilis were investigated under two different light intensities in order to figure out an appropriate growth environment for conservation and restoration of the species in its natural habitat. Shoot length, leaf size and weight, photosynthetic pigment content and photosynthetic parameters were measured for F. saxatilis grown at two experimental plots under relative light intensities (RLI) of 20% and 60% of the full sun, respectively. Fresh leaf weight of plants grown under high relative light intensities (RLI-60) exceeded that of plants grown at 20% RLI. The ratio of fresh leaf weight to leaf size at RLI-60 was 1.47 times superior comparing to that recorded at RLI-20. The content of photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid were higher in plants grown at RLI-60, whereas the ratio of total chlorophyll to carotenoid content was higher in the leaves at RLI-20. Photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate at RLI-60 were, respectively, 2.5, 2.65 and 1.79 times higher comparing to those recorded at RLI-20. Water use efficiency, however, was higher at RLI-20. The chlorophyll/nitrogen ratio was 1.83 times higher at RLI-20 than at RLI-60. In contrast, the ratio of net photosynthesis to chlorophyll content at RLI-60 was 2.58 times higher than that of RLI-20. In conclusion, light intensity might be the major factor affecting growth and physiological characteristics of F. saxatilis grown under canopy of tall tree species.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.142-148
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• 2008

We conducted this analysis to make consumers have useful information about consumed foods on the market by investigating the additives contained in food. Korean food additive code (2007) allowed 634 kinds of food additives to be used in domestic products. The food additives consisted of 426 kinds of synthetic additives, 201 kinds of natural additives and 7 kinds of mixture additives. We purchased total 117 kinds of samples; 94 items including sorts of nuts, vegetables and dried fishery products from local markets and discount marts, and 23 kinds of traditional liquors from March to November, 2007, and we researched for various food additives like artificial sweetener, tar pigments and sulfur dioxide. We detected 11.5 to 4,452.3 mg/kg of sulfur dioxide in 18 out of 94 samples except liquors, finding out some artificial sweetener of sodium saccharin in 2 out of 23 liquors, however, no tar pigments were detected from all of the samples. We found out that 2 cases of shredded jujube from china (2476.6 and 4,452.3 mg/kg) proved to exceed regulatory guidance (2000 mg/kg) in sulfur dioxide. Also, we found out that one dried cherry tomato from china contained 88.9 mg/kg and one domestic dried pumpkin 1653.7 mg/kg of sulfur dioxide which should not be detected in vegetables. In traditional liquors, 2 items out of all samples contained 0.4 and 11.1 mg/kg of sodium saccharin which is strictly prohibited to use in liquors.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.26 no.4 s.87
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• pp.466-477
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• 1998

Twenty-two Phellinus strains were characterized using colony morphologies and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to divide into Phellinus linteus. There were some differences in mycelial growth and colony shapes among the strains when they were grown on various media such as PDA, MCM, MEA and YM. Phellinus linteus was slowly growing, formed golden-yellow colony, and produced blue pigment on PDA media. When the regions of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were amplified from ribosomal RNA (rRNA) coding genes of P. igniarius and P. linteus strains by means of PCR, two types of band (700 bp and 800 bp) were appeared, respectively. For the amplified intergenic region I (IGRI), P. igniarius strains showed a different band among 500, 600, 700 and 800 bp according to the strains, whereas P. linteus strains did one specific band of 700 bp. By polymorphism analysis after digesting the amplified products with 6 different restriction enzymes, a band specific to P. linteus was generated when the products for ITS region were digested with HaeIII, suggesting that the enzyme digestion could provide effective method to distinguish between P. igniarius and P. linteus. And also, the analysis of genetic relationship showed that the genetic similarities were 89% and 95% in P. igniarius and P. linteus strains, respectively. Random amplification polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis using multiple primer sets and arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR) with ITS3 primer could also result in a reproducible way to identify P. linteus strains.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.339-347
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• 2014

This study investigated the classification of olive oils that are mainly distributed in Korea via imports. The fatty acid contents, degree of color, pigments, anti-oxidants, and sterol contents are analyzed on the different types of olive oil as follows: 10 kinds of extra virgin olive oil, 5 kinds of pure olive oil, and 5 kinds of refined olive-pomace oil. As a result of fatty acid analysis, the majority of oleic acid ($C_{18:1}$) and palmitic acid ($C_{16:0}$), and minority of linoleic acid ($C_{18:2}$) and stearic acid ($C_{18:0}$) were detected without any significant differences between the grades of olive oils. The UV spectrum is related to the ${\Delta}K$, and it is a part of the analysis factor for the purity and degree of degradation of the oil. Extra virgin olive oil had ${\Delta}K$ of almost 0, pure olive oil had 0.07~0.12, and refined olive-pomace oil had 0.1~0.13. These differed from extra virgin oil, and the pure or pomace oil ${\Delta}K$ had a confirmed distinct difference. The color degrees of chlorophyll with a low $L^*$ value and $(-)a^*$ (green) and carotenoid with $(+)b^*$ (yellow) were confirmed to have correlation between extra virgin and other olive oils. To compare chlorophyll and carotenoid as natural pigment in olive oils, 417 nm and the ratio of the absorbance at 480 nm (417/480) was calculated at 1.62 of extra virgin, 1.85 of pure olive oil, and 3.32 of refined olive-pomace oil. Therefore, it will be possible to distinguish when the extra virgin or pure olive oil are mixed with olive-pomace oil. The total amount of tocopherol, an anti-oxidant, were 19.06 in extra virgin, 10.91 in pure olive oil, and 27.88 in refined olive-pomace oil. The high content of tocopherol in pomace oil caused recovery of solvent extraction from olive pulp. Thus, extra virgin oil and pure olive oil were distinguished by olive-pomace oil. Polyphenol compounds in extra virgin olive oil measured high only in ferulic acid with 0.543 mg/kg, caffeic acid with 0.393 mg/kg, and other vanillic acid, vanillin, and p-coumaric acid had similar amount of 0.3 mg/kg. All grade of olive oils had the highest ${\beta}$-sitosterol content. Af (Authenticity factor) value were estimated with campesterol and stigmasterol content ratio (%). Af value was 19.2 in extra virgin olive oil, 17.1 in pure olive oil, 16.9 in refined olive-pomace oil, which were distinctive from sunflower oil with 3.7, corn oil with 2.4, and soybean oil with 2.0. It can provide important indicator of olive oil adulteration with other cheap vegetable oils. The results of this study can be used as a database for the classification of olive oil grade and distinguishing between the different types of oils.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 1994

The purplish red pigment from the roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon, a Korean edible wild plant, has been investigated concerning it's value as a natural colorant for Korean traditional foods. An attempt was made to isolate pigments and define their characteristics. Two compounds of isobutylshikonin and acetylshikonin were identified by melting point determination and spectra of UV, IR, and $^{1}H-NMR$. To examine the utility of these naphthoquinone pigments for foods, the effect of various pH values on stability were determined over a period of storage. Buffered solutions of acetylshikonin and isobutylshikonin at pH 3 and 5 showed stable purplish red. The absorption maxima if acetylshikonin and isobutylshikonin over the range of pH 3 to 7 were 518 nm and 520 nm, respectively. A bathochromic shift to 588 nm at pH 10 was observed on these two naphthoquinone pigments. Sensory evaluation was performed with acetylshikonin and isobutylshikonin of identical absorbance. These two pigments revealed purplish red color in Munsell system.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.395-401
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to research any effect on vision protecting or decreasing VDT syndrome of extracted anthocyanine from fermented purple sweet potato and blueberry. Methods: Subjects were aged 19-20 years old who do not have ophthalmic and systemic diseases and over -N4.00 D of refraction error. 40 mg of extracted anthocyanine from fermented purple sweet potato, from blueberry, and control group, placebo were dosed at separate try. After 2 hours later, subjects were directed perform visual display terminal (VDT) work for 2 hours. Objective refractive error was measured before dosing anthocyanine and after VDT work for 2 hours. Degree of head ache, eye pain and strain and subjective symptoms of neck, shoulder and waist was also examined through interviews by dividing its degree into severe, moderate, slight or none. Results: After 2 hours VDT work, vision protection effect in terms of refractive error for dominant eye was decreased by $0.031{\pm}0.21$ D in the group of extracted anthocyanine from fermented purple sweet potato, $0.006{\pm}0.32$ D in the group of extracted anthocyanine from blueberry. However, there was significantly myopic progression in the placebo group by $0.144{\pm}0.28$ D (t=2.27, p=0.03). Conclusions: It is considered that extracted anthocyanine from fermented purple sweet potato inhibits increase of refraction anomalies of dominant eye rather than non-dominant eye after VDT work.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.607-612
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• 2013

Soil ecological risk assessment requires terrestrial toxicity data based on trophic levels including plants, earthworms, nematodes, and springtails. To expand the trophic levels, it is needed to consider primary producer algae, nearly distributed in terrestrial environment, as representative terrestrial test species. In this study, we collected research cases focused on soil-related test species and exposure media from SCI papers, and analyzed exposure media, test species, test chemicals, and other test methods, for reviewing research trends of soil-related algal toxicity. Up to now, in the soil-related algal toxicity, test species were 8 cases (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus bijugatus, Chlorococcum infusionum, Scenedesmus subspicatus, Nostoc linckia, Synechococcus elongatus, and Chlorococcum sp.) and endpoints were cell count or photosynthetic pigment content. Also, 5 of exposure media were liquid medium, soil extracts, porewater, agar medium, and soil. Most of papers used algae isolated from natural soils or soil extracts. There were only one case for assessing algal toxicity in soil medium. More researches regarding algal toxicity in soil environments need to be conducted consistently.