• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.172-181
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• 2022

Pubertal onset is known to result from reactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, which is controlled by complex interactions of genetic and nongenetic factors. Most cases of precocious puberty (PP) are diagnosed as central PP (CPP), defined as premature activation of the HPG axis. The cause of CPP in most girls is not identifiable and, thus, referred to as idiopathic CPP (ICPP), whereas boys are more likely to have an organic lesion in the brain. ICPP has a genetic background, as supported by studies showing that maternal age at menarche is associated with pubertal timing in their offspring. A gain of expression in the kisspeptin gene (KISS1), gain-of-function mutation in the kisspeptin receptor gene (KISS1R), loss-of-function mutation in makorin ring finger protein 3 (MKRN3), and loss-of-function mutations in the delta-like homolog 1 gene (DLK1) have been associated with ICPP. Other genes, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor subunit alpha-1 (GABRA1), lin-28 homolog B (LIN28B), neuropeptide Y (NPYR), tachykinin 3 (TAC3), and tachykinin receptor 3 (TACR3), have been implicated in the progression of ICPP, although their relationships require elucidation. Environmental and socioeconomic factors may also be correlated with ICPP. In the progression of CPP, epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation, histone posttranslational modifications, and non-coding ribonucleic acids may mediate the relationship between genetic and environmental factors. CPP is correlated with short- and long-term adverse health outcomes, which forms the rationale for research focusing on understanding its genetic and nongenetic factors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.8
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• pp.1012-1017
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• 2017

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (Family: Aizoaceae) is an annual plant consisting of ice crystal-shaped bladder cells, which is responsible for its common name ice plant. This study investigated biological activities according to general components and extraction solvent in order to examine the functionality of ice plant. The total content of free amino acids was 32.57 mg/g, including 4.64 mg/g of L-alanine as the most abundant and 2.60 mg/g of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid. Regarding angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activities of solvent fractions of ice plant, ethyl acetate fraction and chloroform fraction showed activities of $33.17{\pm}3.20{\sim}88.19{\pm}3.20%$ and $23.72{\pm}2.89{\sim}86.78{\pm}2.24%$, respectively, similar to $Captopril^{(R)}$ ($19.51{\pm}3.44{\sim}84.72{\pm}1.06%$) and $Enalapril^{(R)}$ ($24.93{\pm}1.12{\sim}91.32{\pm}3.62%$) as positive control groups. Regarding inhibition of lipid droplet production in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by ice plant, anti-adipogenic activities were $53.00{\pm}0.45{\sim}65.75{\pm}0.31%$ and $44.16{\pm}0.29{\sim}63.32{\pm}0.36%$ in the ethyl acetate fraction and butanol fraction, respectively, showing the lowest lipid droplet production. The chloroform fraction and hexane fraction showed activities of $38.33{\pm}0.09{\sim}56.55{\pm}0.50%$ and $31.17{\pm}0.50{\sim}55.10{\pm}1.93%$, respectively, whereas the water fraction showed activity of $26.32{\pm}2.27{\sim}49.48{\pm}0.05%$. Therefore, all solvent fractions inhibited fat accumulation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes according to treatment concentration. According to the results above, it would be possible to utilize ice plant as a new health functional material.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2009

In order to develop a new starter for fermented milk, 2082 bacteria were isolated from raw milk. The strain that showed excellent acid forming and ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production ($711.40{\mu}g/g$ D.W) characteristics after incubation at $37^{\circ}C$ for 18 hr was selected and identified as Lactobacillus acidophilus by the result of API carbohydrate fermentation pattern and 16S rDNA sequence. L. acidophilus RMK567 was investigated for its physiological characteristics. RMK67 strain showed good GABA production compared with commercial lactic acid bacteria. The optimum growth temperature of L. acidophilus RMK567 was $40^{\circ}C$ and cultures took 15 hr to reach pH 4.3. L. acidophilus RMK567 showed higher sensitivity to penicillin-G, novobiocin, as compared to other 14 different antibiotics. However, it showed more resistance to kanamycin, neomycin, streptomycin. It showed higher leucine arylamidase and ${\beta}$-galactosidase activities compared to 16 other enzymes. It was comparatively tolerant to bile juice and able to survive at pH 2 for 3 hr. It showed resistence to Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus with rates of 29.2%, 39.1% and 51.4%, respectively. Based on these and previous results, L. acidophilus RMK567 could be an excellent starter culture for fermented milk with excellent GABA contents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.9
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• pp.1295-1303
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• 2015

Berry fruits are rich in phytochemicals, including polyphenols, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, and organic acids, which are known to have beneficial effects on health. The aim of this study was to investigate chemical composition, functional constituents, and antioxidant activities of mulberry, black raspberry, raspberry, and blueberry cultivated in Korea. Acidity of the four berries ranged from 0.26% to 1.10%, and pH ranged from 3.3 to 5.2. Total mineral contents of the four berries ranged from 92.9 to 256.0 mg/100 g. Among the berries, mulberry contained the most abundant total free sugars, and glucose and fructose were the major sugars in the berries. Mulberry contained more than three times as much ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid as the content of the other berries. Blueberry contained more free phenolic acid than the other berries. Especially, chlorogenic acids were the major free phenolic acids in blueberry. Black raspberry had the highest amount of polyphenols, anthocyanins, and flavonoids among the berries and showed the highest antioxidant activity.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.1080-1095
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• 2024

In contemporary society, the increasing number of pet-owning households has significantly heightened interest in companion animal health, expanding the probiotics market aimed at enhancing pet well-being. Consequently, research into the gut microbiota of companion animals has gained momentum, however, ethical and societal challenges associated with experiments on intelligent and pain-sensitive animals necessitate alternative research methodologies to reduce reliance on live animal testing. To address this need, the Fermenter for Intestinal Microbiota Model (FIMM) is being investigated as an in vitro tool designed to replicate gastrointestinal conditions of living animals, offering a means to study gut microbiota while minimizing animal experimentation. The FIMM system explored interactions between intestinal microbiota and probiotics within a simulated gut environment. Two strains of commercial probiotic bacteria, Enterococcus faecium IDCC 2102 and Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301, along with a newly isolated strain from domestic dogs, Lactobacillus acidophilus SLAM AK001, were introduced into the FIMM system with gut microbiota from a beagle model. Findings highlight the system's capacity to mirror and modulate the gut environment, evidenced by an increase in beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium and a decrease in the pathogen Clostridium. The study also verified the system's ability to facilitate accurate interactions between probiotics and commensal bacteria, demonstrated by the production of short-chain fatty acids and bacterial metabolites, including amino acids and gamma-aminobutyric acid precursors. Thus, the results advocate for FIMM as an in vitro system that authentically simulates the intestinal environment, presenting a viable alternative for examining gut microbiota and metabolites in companion animals.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.319-327
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• 2022

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a multi-functional compound with broad applications for food industry. GABA producing bacteria were isolated from cabbage kimchi. Among them, B737 was the best GABA producer when culture supernatants were analyzed by TLC. B737 was identified as Levilactobacillus brevis by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Its glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) gene was cloned by PCR and the nucleotide sequence determined. B737 GAD consisting of 485 amino acids is the largest in size among GADs reported from LAB so far. gadB from L. brevis B737 was overexpressed in Escherichia. coli BL21(DE3) using pET26b(+).pET26b(+). The recombinant GAD was purified and its size was 55 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Maximum GAD activity was observed at pH 5 and 40℃ and the activity was dependent on pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. K_m and V_max of recombinant GAD were 6.2 ± 0.06 mM and 0.34 ± 0.002 mM/min, respectively. L. brevis B737 can be used as a starter for fermented foods with high GABA contents.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2011

This study was to examine the quality characteristics and biological activities of the yogurt containing dual fermentation MFCY (Monascus-Fermented Chinese Yam) powder. Six different contents (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0%, w/v) of MFCY powder were added to raw milk and 5% skim milk followed by fermentation with lactic acid bacteria at $37^{\circ}C$ for 12 h, and then the biological activities of the samples were investigated. Biological activities of the prepared yogurt were evaluated for acid production (pH, titratable acidity), number of viable cells, total polyphenol contents, DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory effects and GABA contents. In this study, the results show that after fermentation in raw milk and 5% skim milk added with MFCY powder. The yogurt can produced pH, titratable acidity, number of viable cells, total polyphenol contents, DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power at 4.12-4.25 (pH), 0.94-0.97% (TA), $7.50{\times}10^9-1.14{\times}10^{10}$ CFU/ml, 161.4-329.9 (TP, mg/L), 54-94% (DPPH), and 1.13-1.53 (R.P), respectively. In addition, the showed ACE inhibitory activity and GABA contents was 67.1-87.7% and 304.6-685.4 (mg/L).

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.692-698
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• 2014

In this study, we investigated cancer cell growth inhibitory effects of kimchi extracts obtained from cabbage kimchi. Kimchi extracts (S46h, S47h, S48h) were obtained from the samples fermented at $15^{\circ}C$ for 46 h, 47 h, and 48 h during the first 10 days, which were subsequently stored at $-1.4^{\circ}C$ in kimchi refrigerator (hereinafter DV kimchi extracts). The samples showed a higher anti-proliferative effect against AGS (human, gastric adenocarcinoma) cell lines compared to control kimchi extract (S0h) obtained from sample stored at $-1.4^{\circ}C$ without fermentation. The DV kimchi contained higher levels of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and ornithine compared to the control kimchi extract. Among the DV kimchi extracts, the S46h sample showed a higher anti-proliferative effect against the cancer cell growth and contained higher amount of GABA than the other kimchi samples. These results suggest that the consumption of DV kimchi can be more beneficial, as it is rich in GABA and ornithine. Therefore, it could be helpful in retarding the proliferation of cancer cells compared to the control kimchi.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.285-294
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• 2004

We investigated the morphology, distribution and synaptic connectivity of cholinergic neurons in the mouse retina by immunocytochemistry, using antisera against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). ChAT-immunoreactive amacrine cells fall into two groups according to the localization of their somas in the retina: one is situated in the inner nuclear layer (INL), near the border of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), and the other is displaced in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). The dendrites of amacrine cells from the INL ramify in sublamina a and that of the displaced amacrine cells ramify in sublamina b of the IPL. Double labeling with an antisera against ChAT and r-aminobutyric acid (GABA) demonstrated that these labeled cells formed a subpopulation of GABAergic amacrine cells. The synaptic connectivity of ChAT-immunoreactive amacrine cells was identified in the IPL by electron microscopy. The most frequent synaptic input of ChAT-labeled amacrine cells was from bipolar cells in both sublaminae a and b of the IPL, followed by labeled amacrine cells and unlabeled amacrine cells. Their primary output targets were onto ganglion cells in both sublaminae a and b and output onto ganglion cells was more frequently observed in sublamina b of the IPL. Our results suggest that cholinergic amacrine cells in the mouse retina are very similar to their counter parts in other mammals, and they can attribute a major role in the pathway feeding into directionally selective ganglion cells.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.124-134
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• 2019

An analytical method was developed for the determination of broflanilide and its metabolites in agricultural products. Sample preparation was conducted using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) method and LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer). The analytes were extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up using d-SPE (dispersive solid phase extraction) sorbents such as anhydrous magnesium sulfate, primary secondary amine (PSA) and octadecyl ($C_{18}$). The limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.004 and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. The recovery results for broflanilide, DM-8007 and S(PFP-OH)-8007 ranged between 90.7 to 113.7%, 88.2 to 109.7% and 79.8 to 97.8% at different concentration levels (LOQ, 10LOQ, 50LOQ) with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 8.8%. The inter-laboratory study recovery results for broflanilide and DM-8007 and S (PFP-OH)-8007 ranged between 86.3 to 109.1%, 87.8 to 109.7% and 78.8 to 102.1%, and RSD values were also below 21%. All values were consistent with the criteria ranges requested in the Codex guidelines (CAC/GL 40-1993, 2003) and the Food and Drug Safety Evaluation guidelines (2016). Therefore, the proposed analytical method was accurate, effective and sensitive for broflanilide determination in agricultural commodities.