Earticle

The mobility of water in set yogurt during fermentation was studied using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry. The spin-spin relaxation was analyzed using a 2-fraction model, resulting in 2 spin-spin relaxation time constants T21 and T22. Both T21 and T22 exhibited rapid changes between 2 and 4 hr of fermentation, coinciding with the drop in pH and the rise in lactic acid bacteria count. The spin-lattice relaxation time T1 increased over the fermentation period. Both T1 and T2 showed an increase in the mobility of water upon gel formation during fermentation. Water redistribution within the gel matrix due to casein aggregation and structure forming may be responsible for the changes in mobility.

This study was conducted in order to elucidate the optimum conditions for the extraction of clove that can be used to elicit antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans using the evolutionary operation (EVOP)-factorial design technique. Higher antibacterial activity was achieved in a higher extraction temperature of 80oC (r=0.7983**) and in a longer extraction time of 26 hr (r=0.6867*). Antibacterial activity was not effected by differentiation of ethanol concentration in the extraction solvent (r= −0.0683). The maximum antibacterial activity of clove against S. mutans as determined by the EVOPfactorial design technique was obtained at an extraction temperature of 80oC, an extraction time of 26 hr and a 50% ethanol concentration. Furthermore, the population of S. mutans decreased from an initial concentration of 6.850 to 4.195 log CFU/mL in the third set that is more than 2.6 log cycles by EVOP-factorial design technique.

Covalent cross-links between a number of proteins and peptides explain why transglutaminase may be widely used by food processing industries. The objective of this work was optimization of the fermentation process to produce transglutaminase from a new microbial source, the Streptomyces sp. P20. The strategy adopted to modify the usual literature media was: (1) fractional factorial design (FFD) to elucidate the key medium ingredients, (2) central composite design (CCD) to optimise the concentration of the key components. Optimization of the medium resulted in not only an 86% increase in microbial transglutaminase activity as compared to the media cited in the literature, but also a reduction in the production cost. Optimal fermentation conditions - namely temperature and agitation rate - were also studied, using CCD methodology. Usual conditions of 30°C and 100 rpm were within the optimal area. All other parameters for enzyme production were experimentally proven to be optimum fermentation conditions.

The aim of this study was to observe the changes in allergenicity of saeujeot (salted and fermented shrimp) using a competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Ci-ELISA). The fermentation conditions tested for saeujeot consisted of various temperatures (25, 15, and 5oC) and salt concentrations (25, 15, and 10%). When saeujeot was fermented at a low salt concentration and high temperature, the binding ability of mAb and shrimp-allergic patient serum to allergen was significantly decreased. In particular, the binding ability of mAb to allergen in saeujeot fermented with 10% salt at 25oC for 5 days decreased to 5%. Also, the binding ability of shrimp-allergic patient serum to allergen in saeujeot fermented for 5 days with 10% salt at 25oC was 8%. In conclusion, the binding of mAb and shrimp-allergic patient serum to tropomyosin in saeujeot decreased with longer fermentation periods, lower salt concentrations (10%), and higher temperatures (25oC).

Norovirus has become the most common cause of human gastroenteritis in developed countries. Detection procedures of foodborne viruses from foods require several steps. The concentration step using polyethylene glycol (PEG) is time-consuming and the detection efficiency of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is affected by inhibitors from food components. In this study, a rapid detection method based on buoyant density centrifugation was developed to replace the time-consuming chloroform-polyethylene glycol-Tris·Tween method. Feline calicivirus that belongs to the family Caliciviridae was used as a surrogate model for norovirus. After artificial inoculation of feline calcivirus (FCV) to oyster and lettuce, 830 μL of homogenized sample suspension was layered on the top of 670 μL 20% percoll and centrifuged. Then RNA extraction step was proceeded with the supernatant. By varying several physical conditions, the detection limits were lowered to 2.4×102 PFU per 1 g in oyster and 2.4×100 PFU per 1 g in lettuce. The protocol obtained in this study could be used to develop new detection method for norovirus in foods.

The objective of this study was to investigate the enolization reaction and the antioxidant activity of caramelization products (CPs) obtained by caramelization browning of glucose and fructose solutions prepared at a pH ranging from 7.0 to 12.0 at varying temperatures (80-180oC). The degradation of sugars rapidly increased at a high alkaline pH (10.0-12.0), and fructose degraded more rapidly than glucose (p<0.05). As the pH increased, the degree of sugar enolization was higher in fructose than in glucose. Browning and the formation of intermediate degradation products increased with the increase in heating temperatures. The browning development was dependent upon the type of sugar, and it was generally higher at alkaline pH than at neutral pH. The reducing power and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of the CPs increased with the increase in browning and formation of large amounts of intermediates. Therefore, the CPs with pronounced antioxidant activity can be prepared by heating fructose or glucose solutions that have a very alkaline pH to high temperatures.

In the development of a nutrient enhanced functional food, kimchi was produced by using high γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) producing lactic acid bacterium as a starter strain. The strain isolated from kimchi was identified by using an API kit and named Lactobacillus sp. OPK 2-59. Kimchi was produced by 3 methods 1) monosodium glutamate (MSG) added (M group); 2) starter added (S group); 3) MSG+starter added (M&S group). The produced kimchi was fermented for 24 hr in an incubator at a temperature of 15oC and stored at 0-1oC to examine its characteristics. The M&S group exhibited a sharper increase in acidity and a steeper fall in pH as well as a higher number of lactobacilli. The M&S group kimchi had 18 mg/100 g (fresh weight, f.w.) of GABA, whereas the M and S group each had 6 mg/100 g (f.w.) GABA. According to functional evaluation, the M&S group kimchi, which has higher GABA, was not significantly different in taste, color, texture, or smell, but the M&S group was generally superior. In summary, using Lactobacillus sp. OPK 2-59 and MSG, a high quality kimchi with increased GABA content can be produced as a functional food.

The unripe fruit of Momordica charantia (MC) has been shown to possess antidiabetic activity. However, the mechanism of its antidiabetic action has not been fully understood. In this study, the effects of the aqueous ethanolic extract of MC (AEE-MC) were evaluated on the apoptosis in pancreatic β-cells treated with a combination of the cytokines, interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interferon (IFN)-γ. In MIN6N8 cells, the inhibitory effect of AEE-MC was significantly observed at 2 to 50 μg/mL: a 26.2 to 55.6% decrease of cytoplasmic DNA fragments quantified by an immunoassay. The molecular mechanisms, by which AEE-MC inhibited β-cell apoptosis, appeared to involve the inhibition on the expression of p21, Bax, and Bad, the up-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, and the inhibition on the cleavage of caspase-9, -7, and -3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. This study suggests that MC may inhibit cytokine-induced apoptosis in β-cells and, thus, may contribute via this action to the antidiabetic influence in diabetes.

The object of this study was to investigate the immune-enhancing effects of Chlorella vulgaris (CV) on a deteriorated immune function by a protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) diet. Unicellular algae, CV were used as a biological response modifier. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed for 15 days with standard diet or a PEM diet, which is associated with decreased host immune defense. After 8 days, mice in the PEM diet group were orally administered by 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 g/kg body weight of CV or distilled water. Nutritional parameters, and interferon (IFN)-γ levels were significantly increased in the blood serum of the CV (0.15 g/kg)-treated group (29.6±2.8 pg/mL) compared to the non-treated PEM group (4.1±0.4 pg/mL, p<0.05). In addition, cell proliferation and production of cytokines were investigated via a CV (0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg/mL) treatment using a human T cell line MOLT-4 cell. The CV treatment (1 mg/mL) significantly increased the production of both IFN-γ and interleukin (IL)-2 (51.3±3.4 and 285.9±18.8 pg/mL, respectively) compared to the control (51.3±3.4 and 442.6±14.3 pg/mL, respectively), but did not affect the production of IL-4. These results suggest that CV may be useful in improving the immune function.

This study evaluated the effects of dietary fiber extracted from rice bran (rice bran fiber) on the quality of low-fat tteokgalbi. The controls were formulated with 20% added fat. Test samples of tteokgalbi were produced with 5 different formulations containing 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% rice bran fiber as a fat replacer, in addition to 10% fat. The control had the highest fat content, energy value, cooking loss, reduction in diameter, reduction in thickness, CIE L*-value (lighness), and color of sensory properties. The tteokgalbi containing rice bran fiber had higher moisture, protein, ash, and carbohydrate contents than the controls. Tteokgalbi with 3% rice bran fiber had the lowest cooking loss, reduction in diameter, and reduction in thickness. Meat products containing 2 and 3% rice bran fiber had a higher overall acceptability similar to the high fat control.

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between instrumental tenderness parameters and histochemical characteristics in the porcine longissimus dorsi muscle, and to investigate a comparison between tenderness parameters such as the Warner-Bratzler shear-force (WBS) and texture profile analysis (TPA). A negative relationship between WBS and fiber area was observed. However, there was no significant relationship between hardness and muscle fiber area. The percentage of fiber type IIb exhibited a positive correlation with hardness. There was a negative relationship between the type IIa composition percentage and hardness. This study showed that some muscle fiber characteristics were related to WBS and TPA parameters, especially hardness.

This study was to examine the potential disinfection efficiencies of 10 compounds by determining their antimicrobial capacity and ichthyotoxicity. Antimicrobial effects against Vibrio sp., Edwadsiella tarda, Streptococcus sp., and Staphylococcus sp. were tested using 10 different disinfectants; hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, povidon iodine, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC), ortho-dichlorobenzen, and copper sulfate. Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) containing 5% ClO2 and copper sulfate had no effects on bactericidal activity, while the other disinfectants resulted in 99.99% bactericidal activity against 4 strains of fish pathogenic bacteria. The ichthyotoxicity of the 10 disinfectants was investigated using 3 kinds of fish species; flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), rockfish (Sebastes pachycephalus), and black sea bream (Acanthopagrus schlegelii). Median lethal concentration (LC50) values of the 10 disinfectants were estimated to determine toxicity ranges of the doses within 24 hr. Among test disinfectant solutions, hydrogen peroxide showed the highest LC50 in flounder (201.3), rockfish (269.7), and black sea bream (139.3 ppm). DDAC revealed the lowest LC50 in flounder (2.1), rockfish (1.0), and black sea bream (1.5 ppm). These results suggest that DDAC, quaternary ammonium compounds, glutaraldehyde, and sodium hypochlorite are effective disinfectants for fish and bacterial species examined in this study.

The 10 species of marine green algae was collected from Jejudo(Island) in Korea. Methanolic and aqueous extracts were prepared and screened for inhibition activities against tumor cell growth. Of the tested samples, the sea staghorn (Codium fragile) aqueous extract (CFAE) showed the highest activity on CT-26 cell growth. Therefore, CFAE was selected for further experiments and the possibility to induce apoptosis by the CFAE was investigated. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that it dosedependently increased apoptotic cells with hypodiploid DNA contents in CT-26 cell line. These results indicated that CFAE can suppress the growth of CT-26 cells through apoptosis. The CFAE decreased the protein expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL and led to the activation of caspase-3 and -7. A crude polysaccharide was separated from CFAE and it mainly constituted with 61.2% galactose and 30.5% arabinose as analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Two flavonoids, isorhamnetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), from slander glasswort (Salicornia herbacea, Korean name hamcho) were isolated. Antioxidative and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) inhibitory effects of these compounds were investigated in HT 1080 cell lines. These compounds suppressed the electron spin resonance (ESR) signal intensity on generation of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical in a freecellular system. Their scavenging effects on generation of intercellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) also exhibited similar trends with DPPH radical in the free cellular system. Also, a control group combined only with Fe(II)-H2O2 resulted in DNA apoptosis by oxidative stress, whereas treatments with these compounds suppressed radical-mediated DNA damage. Intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels were slightly increased in the presence of compound 1 and 2. Moreover, these compounds led to the reduction of the expression levels of MMP-9 without cytotoxic influence. These results suggest that these compounds have a potential as a valuable natural antioxidant and MMP inhibitor related to oxidative stress. Therefore, these compounds not only can be developed as a candidate for a therapeutic potential but also a source for use as ingredients of health foods or functional foods to prevent metastasis involving MMP-9, closely related to ROS.

A thermostable α-L-arabinofuranosidases (α-L-AFase) is an industrially important enzyme for recovery of Larabinose from hemicellulose. The recombinant α-L-AFase from Thermotoga maritima was expressed in Escherichia coli by using a constitutive pHCE or an inducible pRSET vectors. In batch fermentation, the constitutive expression system resulted in slightly faster growth rate (0.78 vs. 0.74/hr) but lower enzyme activity (2,553 vs. 3,723 units/L) than those of the induction system. When fed-batch fermentation was performed, biomass and enzyme activity reached the highest levels of 36 g/L and 9,152 units/L, respectively. The fed batch cultures performed superior results than batch culture in terms of biomass yield (4.62-5.42 folds) and enzyme synthesis (3.39-4.00 folds). In addition, the fed-batch induction strategy at high cell density resulted in the best productivity in cell growth as well as enzyme activity rather than the induction method at low cell density or the constitutive expression.

Pickled hen egg dipped in brewed apple vinegar for 7 and 14 days was prepared and changes of weight, pH, viscosity, calcium content, antioxidative effect, and sensory characteristics were determined. During a pickling, the egg weight was increased from 62.03 g at day 0 to 91.13 and 94.93 g at day 7 and 14, respectively. The pH of the egg white and yolk, initially at pH 10.24 and 6.56, was decreased, while that of the pickling solution was increased by the pickling days. Viscosity of the pickled egg white was significantly decreased with the pickling days (p<0.05). Significant antioxidative effect was found from the pickled egg mixture (egg white:yolk=1:1). Calcium content of the egg white after 7 and 14 days of the pickling was 280-300 times higher than the fresh egg white and 1.9 times higher than fresh egg yolk. Addition of plain yogurt and honey improved the sensory quality of a pickled egg and was able to mask the unpleasant sour taste. Results suggest that, in addition to the use of pickled egg by itself, egg-based foods such as mayonnaise with enforced calcium content can be developed using a pickled egg.

This study was performed to determine the effects of γ-irradiation on the antiallergic activity of alginate. An alginate aqueous solution was γ-irradiated at 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 100 kGy. First, the molecular weight (Mw) of alginate rapidly decreased as the γ-irradiation dose increased up to 20 kGy. Then, the antiallergic activity of the γ-irradiated alginate was measured. Interlukin (IL)-4 cytokine and IgE level were significantly decreased in the γ-irradiated alginate groups as compared to the control group in vitro. The mice intraperitoneally administered with the γ-irradiated alginate exhibited lower ovalbumin-specific IgE and IgG1 level in serum than the control mice. Furthermore, the γ-irradiated alginate suppressed total and ovalbumin-specific IgE secretions in the splenocytes. Increased IL-2 level was observed in the culture supernatants of the splenocytes that were obtained from the mice administerd with the γ-irradiated alginate, while IL-4 level decreased. The present study indicates that γ-irradiated alginate can suppress allergy in a mouse allergy model.

The effects of heat treatment on the physicochemical properties and mineral composition of sun-dried salt were investigated. The salts parched at high temperature were appeared the higher alkalinity and the lower oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) than the samples without heat treatment. The commercial salts (bamboo salt and yellow loess salt) and the sun-dried salt parched at high temperature had relatively higher sodium ion content (418-450 ppm) compared to that (418.0 ppm) of refined salt. The increase of calcium ion occurred in the salts parched at high temperature compared to the sundried salt without heat treatment, but the magnesium ion was vice versa. The commercial salt, yellow loess salt had highest turbidity (0.973) whereas sun-dried salt showed lowest level (0.097) among the tested samples. Turbidity of heat treatment samples decreased as solubility increased. The maximum concentration of dialyzed salt was reached after 4 hr regardless of various processed salts, but those had no difference significantly among the tested samples. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the parched sun-dried salts showed different peak intensity with common salts, and they were similar to the patterns of oxide salts, especially MgO. The maximum value (2.56%) of MgO appeared in the sun-dried salt parched at 1,400oC.

Parameters of soluble solids, amino acids, catechins, and color difference of 24 green tea samples from China and Korea were determined. The levels of soluble solids, amino acids, total catechins, and infusion lightness in tea samples from Korea were higher than those from China. Concentrations of epigallocatechin galate and epigallocatechin in teas from China were higher than tea samples from Korea. Geographical origin of teas from the 2 countries was discriminated using parameters of infusion lightness, gallocatechin, and total catechins and applying principal component analysis.

Genistein, one of the isoflavones in doenjang, is generally known to prevent various cancers, osteoporosis, climacterium, and menopause symptoms, and has better bioavailability and healthful physiological effects than its glucoside, genistin. In both traditional and commercial doenjangs, genistein content ranged from 370 to 1,510 mg/kg, however, significant amounts of genistin also existed at the level of 190 to 350 mg/kg. After treating with corn β-glucosidase, over 84% of genistin in doenjang was converted to genistein. However, physiochemical characteristics such as pH, viscosity, 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, and color were not changed significantly after corn β-glucosidase treatments. Therefore, this study shows that the improved doenjang with the increased genistein content can be produced using corn β-glucosidase.

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) exerts several beneficial effects on depression, chronic diseases, and cognitive impairments. Bifidobactrium bifidum BGN4 reportedly produces higher amounts of SAM than any other lactic acid bacterium used in yogurt. The aim of this study was to develop a SAM-reinforced probiotic yogurt using Bifidobacterium. The sensory aspects of the yogurt via response surface methodology (RSM) and the texture and SAM content of the yogurt were assessed. Based on the sensory assessments for sweetness, sourness, and thickness evaluated by 48 panelists, the optimized conditions for preparation of SAM-reinforced yogurt were 4.0-4.4%(w/w) sugar, 3.2-3.5%(w/w) skim milk, and a pH of 4.7-4.8. The SAM content of the developed yogurt was 0.05 nmol/mL. In conclusion, SAM-reinforced probiotic yogurt may provide a vehicle for the potential exploitation of the benefits of increased dietary SAM.

Lowly volatile heterocyclic sulfur compounds generated in autoclaved garlic extract were isolated and identified, and their antimicrobial activity was determined. Two kinds of unusual volatile sulfur compounds were separated from heated garlic by preparative recycling high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and identified by gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). They had heterocyclic structures with 4 to 5 sulfur atoms in the molecules. 4-Methyl-1,2,3-trithiolane (MTTT) is highly volatile and was not able to be concentrated, and was identified by GCMS only. MTTT and 6-methyl-1,2,3,4,5-pentathiepane (MPTP) are lowly volatile and were obtained in pure states to be positively identified for the first time. All 3 heterocyclic sulfur compounds began to appear by the time when the early-formed diallyl sulfides started to disappear. The minimum inhibitory concentration range of MTTT and MPTP was determined to be between 1 and 6 ppm against all yeasts tested. MTTT and MPTP were lowly volatile and sparingly soluble in water.

This study was carried out to develop a small-sized biosensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for the rapid identification of insecticide residues for food safety. The SPR biosensor module consists of a single 770 nm-light emitting diodes (LED) light source, several optical lenses for transferring light, a hemisphere sensor chip, photo detector, A/D converter, power source, and software for signal processing using a computer. Except for the computer, the size and weight of the sensor module are 150 (L)×70 (W)×120 (H) mm and 828 g, respectively. Validation and application procedures were designed to assess refractive index analysis, affinity properties, sensitivity, linearity, limits of detection, and robustness which includes an analysis of baseline stability and reproducibility of ligand immobilization using carbamate (carbofuran and carbaryl) and organophosphate (cadusafos, ethoprofos, and chlorpyrifos) insecticide residues. With direct binding analysis, insecticide residues were detected at less than the minimum 0.01 ppm and analyzed in less than 100 sec with a good linear relationship. Based on these results, we find that the binding interaction with active target groups in enzymes using the miniaturized SPR biosensor could detect low concentrations which satisfy the maximum residue limits for pesticide tolerance in Korea, Japan, and the USA.

Overexpression of HER2 in breast cancer cells is considered to induce the expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase α (ACACA) and fatty acid synthase (FASN) through activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Resveratrol, a red wine polyphenol, has been shown to induce apoptosis in several cancers by interfering in several signaling pathways. Present study elucidated the mechanism by which resveratrol downregulates ACACA and FASN in breast cancer cells. Resveratrol activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and downregulated mTOR in BT-474 cells. These effects of resveratrol were mimicked by AICAR, an AMPK activator, and exogenously expressed constitutively active AMPK, while they were abolished by a dominant-negative mutant of AMPK. The downregulation of mTOR was not accompanied with changes in Akt, the upstream regulator of mTOR. These findings indicate that the downregulation of ACACA and FASN by resveratrol is mediated by the downregulation of mTOR signaling pathway via activation of AMPK.

Sequential Sensitivity Analysis (SSA) and conditional stimulus model have been developed to describe sequence effects in difference tests and proposed to generate prediction of differences in sensitivity between various test protocols and to assist the appropriate selection of difference test. Yet, such models did not furnish a complete explanation of the relative sensitivity in 4 different versions of 3-alternative forced choice (AFC) tests where various interstimulus rinses were introduced. In the present study, the vector of the contrasts between various conditional stimuli were measured using same-different and 2-AFC and a new 16-distribution conditional stimulus model was developed by refining Lee and O’Mahony’s contrast model. This new model gave superior predictions than previous models.

A novel benzoyl glucoside (4) and 13 known phenolic compounds were isolated from the leaves of Camellia japonica by a guided 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The structure of 4 was determined to be 4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenol 1-O-β-D-(6'-O-p-hydroxylbenzoyl)-glucopyranoside (camelliadiphenoside). The 13 known compounds were identified as (E)-coniferyl alcohol (1), (-)-epicatechin (2), 4-hydroxyphenol 1-O-β-D-(6-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl) glucopyranoside (3), naringenin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), quercetin 3-O-β-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), kaempferol 3-O-β-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), (+)-catechin (8), 1,6-di-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl-β-Dglucopyranoside (9), phloretin 2'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10), quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (11), quercetin 3-O-β-Dgalactopyranoside (12), kaempferol 3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside (13), and kaempferol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (14). Their chemical structures were determined by the spectroscopic data of fast atom bondardment mass spectrometry (FABMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Flavonoids having the catechol moiety showed significantly higher DPPH radical scavenging activity than other isolated compounds having monohydroxy phenyl group.

Sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) tasting predicts sensitivity to food qualities as well as rejection of some strong tasting foods. Using consumer rejection threshold (CRT) method, this study aimed to assess whether systematic changes in the taste intensities of familiar foods would lead to earlier rejection of these products by PROP tasters than by PROP non-tasters. Subjects rated the intensity of PROP solution and were divided into tasters (Ts) and non-tasters (NTs). And Ts were further divided into medium-tasters (MTs) and super-tasters (STs). Difference thresholds and CRTs were then evaluated for caffeine in coffee, citric acid in orange juice, and for NaCl in beef soup. For each food, Ts were more sensitive to variations in tastants than NTs. Ts also rejected more bitter coffee, more sour orange juice, and less salty beef soup more readily than did NTs. Comparisons among NTs, MTs, and STs gave fewer clear differences.

To investigate the antiviral activity of marine algae against fish pathogenic viruses, which are often the causes of viral disease in aquaculture, the 80% methanolic extracts of 21 species collected from the coast of Korea were screened for their in vitro antiviral activities on infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), using a flounder spleen (FSP) cell-line. Among them, Monostroma nitidum (10 μg/mL) exhibited the strongest inactivation on IHNV, showing a 2 log reduced virus titre as compared to the control in the determination of direct virucidal activity. In addition, Polysiphonia morrowii (100 μg/mL) remarkably reduced the virus titres of treated cells by 2-2.5 log, for both IHNV and IPNV, in the determination of cellular protective activity, implying the existence of substances that may modulate innate host defense mechanisms against viral infections. These results reveal that some marine algae could be promising candidates as sources of antiviral agents or as health-promoting feeds for aquaculture.

The chemopreventive activity of sulforaphane (SFN) occurs through its inhibition of carcinogen-activating enzymes and its induction of detoxification enzymes. However, the exact mechanisms by which SFN exerts its anti-carcinogenic effects are not fully understood. Therefore, the mechanisms underlying the cytoprotective effects of SFN were examined in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Exposure of cells to SFN (10 μM) induced a transcriptional change in the AKR1C3 gene, which is one of aldo-keto reductases (AKRs) family that is associated with detoxification and antioxidant response. Further analysis revealed that SFN elicited a dose- and time-dependent increase in the expression of both the NRF2 and AKR1C3 proteins. Moreover, this up-regulation of AKR1C3 was inhibited by pretreatment with antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), which suggests that the up-regulation of AKR1C3 expression induced by SFN involves reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling. Furthermore, pretreatment of cells with LY294002, a pharmacologic inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), suppressed the SFNaugmented Nrf2 activation and AKR1C3 expression; however, inhibition of PKC or MEK1/2 signaling with Gö6976 or PD98059, respectively, did not alter SFN-induced AKR1C3 expression. Collectively, these data suggest that SFN can modulate the expression of the AKR1C3 in MCF-7 cells by activation of PI3K via the generation of ROS.

The antioxidant activities of the extracts of dangyuja (Citrus grandis Osbeck) leaves were evaluated. The highest phenolic content was obtained from the ethyl acetate fraction (EF) (202.1±0.8 mg GAE/g dried extract) and it exhibited the highest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity. The cytoprotective effects of EF on oxidative damage induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) in a human hepatoma cell line, HepG2 cells, were investigated to understand the intracellular antioxidant mechanisms. Treatment of HepG2 cells with EF prior to oxidative stress was found to inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, lipid peroxidation, and DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) studies on EF resulted in tentative identification of 19 compounds representing 94.3% of the total content. Taken together, these results demonstrated that EF has excellent antioxidant activities and thus dangyuja leaves have great potential as a source for natural antioxidant which can be applied in food products.