• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.1130-1142
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• 2023

Objective: Cow urine possesses several bioactive properties but the responsible components behind these bioactivities are still far from identified. In our study, we tried to identify the possible components behind the antimicrobial activity of cow urine by exploring the peptidome and metabolome. Methods: We extracted peptides from the urine of Sahiwal cows belonging to three different physiological states viz heifer, lactation, and pregnant, each group consisting of 10 different animals. The peptides were extracted using the solid phase extraction technique followed by further extraction using ethyl acetate. The antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract was evaluated against different pathogenic strains like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae. The safety of urinary aqueous extract was evaluated by hemolysis and cytotoxicity assay on the BuMEC cell line. The urinary peptides were further fractionated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify the fraction(s) containing the antimicrobial activity. The HPLC fractions and ethyl acetate extract were analyzed using nLC-MS/MS for the identification of the peptides and metabolites. Results: A total of three fractions were identified with antimicrobial activity, and nLC-MS/MS analysis of fractions resulted in the identification of 511 sequences. While 46 compounds were identified in the metabolite profiling of organic extract. The urinary aqueous extract showed significant activity against E. coli as compared to S. aureus and S. agalactiae and was relatively safe against mammalian cells. Conclusion: The antimicrobial activity of cow urine is a consequence of the feeding habit. The metabolites of plant origin with several bioactivities are eliminated through urine and are responsible for their antimicrobial nature. Secondly, the plethora of peptides generated from the activity of endogenous proteases on protein shed from different parts of tissues also find their way to urine. Some of these sequences possess antimicrobial activity due to their amino acid composition.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.361-367
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• 2020

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation on the antioxidant activity of kelp Saccharina japonica water extract. Three LAB strains that had exhibited superior antioxidant activity in a previous study were selected for the kelp fermentation starter. The antioxidant activity of the fermented extracts was analyzed during fermentation. After 48 h of fermentation, the extract-fermented Lactobacillus plantarum D-11 strains showed the highest antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging, ABTS [2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] radical scavenging, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) assay. Furthermore, the analysis of total phenolic and flavonoid contents revealed that the enhanced antioxidant activity was mainly due to the increased antioxidant content from fermentation. Thus, this study suggests that probiotic LAB fermentation is an attractive approach for the development of various kelp fermentation products.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.377-382
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• 2017

The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize lactic acid bacteria (LAB) exhibiting cholesterol-lowering activity from the Korean traditional fermented food, kimchi. The previously isolated LAB strains were assessed for cholesterol-lowering efficacy in the presence of 0.1% cholesterol. All LAB strains tested in this study were able to assimilate cholesterol at varying levels, ranging from 35.0 to 99.4%. Among them, the Lactobacillus plantarum FMB 31 strain exhibited the highest cholesterol-lowering effect with 99.4% cholesterol removal efficiency. The strain was stable in the presence of acid, bile, and salt stress, and showed high adherence on HT-29 cells, a human colon line. In addition, the LAB strain showed no pathogenic properties such as the production of hemolysin and biogenic amines. Thus, this study suggests that the L. plantarum FMB 31 strain isolated from kimchi can be a potential source of probiotic products with strong cholesterol-lowering effect.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.44.1-44.17
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• 2023

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health concern around the globe. Antimicrobial peptides exhibit broad-spectrum and efficient antibacterial activity with an added advantage of low drug resistance. The higher water content and 3D network structure of the hydrogels are beneficial for maintaining antimicrobial peptide activity and help to prevent degradation. The antimicrobial peptide released from hydrogels also hasten the local wound healing by promoting epithelial tissue regeneration and granulation tissue formation. Objective: This study aimed at developing sodium alginate based hydrogel loaded with a novel antimicrobial peptide Chol-37(F34-R) and to investigate the characteristics in vitro and in vivo as an alternative antibacterial wound dressing to treat infectious wounds. Methods: Hydrogels were developed and optimized by varying the concentrations of crosslinkers and subjected to various characterization tests like cross-sectional morphology, swelling index, percent water contents, water retention ratio, drug release and antibacterial activity in vitro, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected wound mice model in vivo. Results: The results indicated that the hydrogel C proved superior in terms of cross-sectional morphology having uniformly sized interconnected pores, a good swelling index, with the capacity to retain a higher quantity of water. Furthermore, the optimized hydrogel has been found to exert a significant antimicrobial activity against bacteria and was also found to prevent bacterial infiltration into the wound site due to forming an impermeable barrier between the wound bed and external environment. The optimized hydrogel was found to significantly hasten skin regeneration in animal models when compared to other treatments in addition to strong inhibitory effect on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α). Conclusions: Our results suggest that sodium alginate -based hydrogels loaded with Chol-37(F34-R) hold the potential to be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics in treating infectious skin wounds.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2000

The objective of this experiment is to investigate neurobehavioral and developmental effects of fumonisin B1 (FB1) after prenatal FB1 administration in rats. FB1 (0.8 or 1.6 mg/kg) was orally exposed to pregnant rats during gestational days 13 to 20, whereas the vehicle alone was administered to control group. Maternal and offspring body weights, physical landmarks of incisor eruption, eye opening, testes descending and vaginal opening, open field activity, running wheel activity, and complex maze performance were included as endpoints for developmental and neurobehavioral measurement. Maternal body weights were not signfficantly altered after FB1 exposure. Percentage of maternal weight gain difference between control and 1.6 mg/kg FBI groups was about 4%. Pre- and post-weanling weight of offsprings after prenatal exposure to FB1 was not signfficantly changed, suggesting that FB1 at 0.8 or 1.6 kg/kg doses may not cross the placenta. Significant gender difference in running wheel activity on postnatal days 57 to 63 and complex maze performance on postnatal days 75 to 78 was observed.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.12-22
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• 2013

Objective: We investigated the norepinephrine transporter (NET) expression in normal and pre-eclamptic placentas and analyzed the invasion activity of trophoblastic cells based on norepinephrine (NE)-NET regulation. Methods: NET and NE expression levels were examined by western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Trophoblast invasion activity, depending on NE-NET regulation, was determined by NET-small interfering RNA (siRNA) and NET transfection into the human extravillous trophoblast cells with or without NE treatment and invasion rates were analyzed by zymography and an invasion assay. Results: NET mRNA was expressed at a low level in pre-eclamptic placentas compared with normal placentas and NE concentration in maternal plasma increased significantly in pre-eclamptic women compared to normal pregnant women (p<0.05). NET gene upregulation and NE treatment stimulated trophoblast cell invasion up to 2.5-fold (p<0.05) by stimulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity via the phosphoinositol-3-kinase/AKT signaling pathway, whereas NET-siRNA with NE treatment reduced invasion rates. Conclusion: NET expression is reduced by inadequate regulation of NE levels during placental development. This suggests that a complementary balance between NET and NE regulates trophoblast cell invasion activities during placental development.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.351-360
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• 2020

Previous studies have suggested that microbial fermentation is an attractive process to develop food products using seaweed. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are used as starters for seaweed fermentation. The isolation of LAB strains was conducted using kelp Saccharina japonica kimchi, a well-known fermented seaweed in southeastern Korea. Based on the assay of acid tolerance, bile tolerance and antioxidant activity, 15 strains of LAB were selected for further study. The LABs exhibited cholesterol lowering activity in the range of 15.50 to 94.77%. Among the LABs suitable for food production, Lactobacillus plantarum D-11 had the highest antioxidant and cholesterol lowering activities. This probiotic strain will be applied to develop various kelp fermentation products.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.1999-2007
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• 2020

Objective: This study was aimed to investigate the muscle-specific beef color stability at normal and high ultimate pHs. Methods: The impact of muscle (Longissimus lumborum [LL] vs psoas major [PM]) and pH (normal ultimate pH [Np] vs high pH dark cutting beef [Hp]) on color stability, indicated by basic color traits, metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA) and oxygen consumption (OC), as well as the lipid oxidation, were determined over 7 days of display at 4℃. Results: Hp-LL had the highest pH (6.92), followed by Hp-PM (6.01), Np-PM (5.76), and Np-LL (5.52). Hp-LL had increased (p<0.05) a^⋆, chroma and % oxymyoglobin during display. Hp-LL also had the highest metmyoglobin (MMb) reducing activity and OC among all the samples, thus, the greatest color stability, although very dark throughout storage, with lowest values for lightness (L^⋆) and yellowness (b^⋆). Np-LL also exhibited relatively high color stability, as a result of its lower % MMb and OC and higher MRA than psoas muscle samples. The 0.2 unit difference of the pH between Hp and Np psoas muscle, resulted in the difference of the color intensity, not the color stability. Interestingly, high pH psoas muscle (Hp-PM) did not have better color stability than Np-PM, and in fact had lower color stability than even Np-LL. The similar level of OC and lipid oxidation cannot explain the difference in color stability between Hp-PM and Np-LL. Conclusion: The Hp does not always show better color stability compared with Np beef, which depends on the muscle type. The balance of MRA and OC is important to keep the color in great intensity and stability in the meantime.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.236-242
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of the application of kimchi LAB as starter culture in the production of fermented sausages. For this, the solid-state model media composed to simulate the substantial conditions of meat mixtures were fermented for 120 h after the treatment with different concentrations of kimchi (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 3.0, and 5.0%) and lyophilized kimchi-powder (0.2 % and 0.5%). During the fermentation period, the growth of total viable cells and LAB, and the changes of pH and titratable acidity were investigated. The initial LAB counts ranged from 7.18 to 8.34 Log CFU/ mL for kimchi media and from 6.93 to 6.94 Log CFU/mL for kimchi-powder media depending on the added concentrations. The kimchi LAB in this study were not influenced by the immobilized condition for their adaptation and growth by showing no lag phase and thus acted similar as in the submerged medium. The initially increased counts reached around 9 Log CFU/ mL in 12 h independent of the concentrations of a ded kimchi. However, the growth and metabolic activity of kimchi-powder LAB were influenced by the immobilized condition. Supposedly, as the nutrient supply in solid-state depended solely on diffusion, these differences in the souring properties were caused by the LAB topography in the medium matrix. Nevertheless, the differences in the numbers of LAB between two media were less than 0.5 Log units and the pH drop in the solidstate batches was quite rapid and reached low values. Therefore, it can be assumed that kimchi and kimchi-powder LAB showed the utility as the substitute of commercial starter culture even without a rehydrating pretreatment.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.205-212
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• 2024

Objective: The purpose of this study is to confirm the exercise effect when combining wearable exercise assist robot, Bot fit's resist mode (Samsung Electronics) and stair climbing. Design: Cross-section study Methods: Targeting 53 adults and seniors, foot pressure and muscle activity were measured when climbing 3-story stairs using foot pressure measurement equipment (W-insole Science System) and surface muscle activity measurement equipment (sEMG; FreeEMG, BTS Bioengineering, Italy) using Bot Fit's resist mode. All subjects were measured without wearing Bot Fit, and the data between the two conditions were compared and analyzed. Results: The front area(p<0.01) and middle area(p<0.05) foot pressures of adults significantly increased when wearing the Bot fit. Frontal area foot pressure significantly increased in elderly people with knee arthritis and obesity(p<0.05). The gastrocnemius activity in all subjects significantly decreased after wearing Bot Fit(p<0.01). In elderly people with knee arthritis, the muscle activity of the rectus femoris was significantly reduced(p<0.05)., and in obese elderly people, the muscle activity of the gastrocnemius muscle was significantly reduced(p<0.05). Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it is possible to induce correct stair climbing posture when climbing stairs using Bot fit resistance mode. In particular, it is expected to be an effective exercise for strengthening muscle endurance by increasing the activity of the rectus femoris muscle.