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Translational research (TR) as high quality research can accelerate collaboration strongly between biotechnology- based researchers and clinical-research experts for overcoming diseases. TR facilitates basic science translated to clinical efficacy and effectiveness from bench (basic science) to bedside (clinical practice) for the enhancement of human health. Disease-oriented TR programs were defined as unilateral, bilateral and multilateral TR in this patent performance analysis. Patent performance was measured in a R&D project on Health and Medical Technology to enhance the productivity of R&D investment on disease-oriented TR in Health Technology (HT). Patent Map (PM) analysis and Bibliometrics were conducted to collect information for the assessment of research patents of TR programs. Futhermore, PIAS (Patent Information Analysis System) and Thinklear programs were applied for quantitative and qualitative analysis successfully. These indicate that multi-dimensional analysis of patent performance for disease-oriented TR could promote the connection of R&D-IP (Research and Development-Intellectural Property) and R&BD (Research and Business Development) supporting system significantly.

A polysaccharide degrading enzyme, strain SC092 was isolated from the seawater. This strain was identified as Microbulbifer sp. using the comparative sequence analysis against known 16S rRNA sequence. A polysaccharide degrading enzyme from this strain was used to acquire the enzymatic extracts of Sargassum fulvellum. DPPH radical scavenging and SOD activity of the enzyme extracts of S. fulvellum were about 61.9% and 82.9% at 2 mg/mL, respectively. Nitrite scavenging activities was 52.5% at 2 mg/mL on pH 1.2. In addition, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was also increased in a dose-dependent manner and was about 52.7% at 2 mg/mL. To determine the influence of enzyme extracts of S. fulvellum on alcohol metabolism, the generating activity of reducednicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) were measured. ADH and ALDH activities were 118.0% and 177% at 2 mg/mL, respectively. α-Glucosidase inhibitory activity of enzyme extracts of S. fulvellum was remarkably increased in a dose-dependent manner and was about 52.7% at 2 mg/mL. These results indicate alcoholizing and α-Glucosidase inhibitory activities can be enhanced by the enzymatic extracts of S. fulvellum.

The novel Aloe gels were prepared with dewatering and impregnation by soaking (DIS) processing of Aloe vera leaf slice at four different temperatures (25, 35, 45 and 55oC), using dehydration solution of 40% (w/v) polyethylene glycol (PEG4000). The PEG-impregnation to Aloe vera leaf slice during DIS was observed depending on immersion temperature, and the PEG-impregnated Aloe vera gel (PEG-i-AVG) obtained was characterized using 1H NMR, FT-IR, GPC, XRD and TGA. The PEG-i-AVG had the higher levels of Aloe bioactives (glucomannan and O-acetyl contents) and better quality indicies by 1H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy than those of native Aloe gel. Also, the obtained Aloe gel maintained the bimodal patterns in higher molecular weight region by GPC indicating no degradation of polysaccharide from native Aloe gel. The result observed by SEM confirmed a surface modification by forming the porous structure, and TGA result exhibited better thermal stability than that of native Aloe gel. XRD result revealed that the crystalline structure in Aloe gel was leaded by incorporation of PEG. Significant decrease of %insolubility and high enhancement of water solubility index were observed, respectively, and highly ordered conformation such as a helix structure was also indicated by Congo red reaction. We concluded that the modification effect for enhancing function of native Aloe gel was successfully obtained by DIS process using PEG as a dehydrating agent. These results suggested that this DIS process had a high potential for developing a new minimally processed product from Aloe vera leaf.

Ethanol productions were performed by separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processes using seaweed, Enteromorpha intestinalis (sea lettuce). Pretreatment conditions were optimized by the performing thermal acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis for the increase of ethanol yield. The pretreatment by thermal acid hydrolysis was carried out with different sulfuric acid concentrations in the range of 25 mM to 75 mM H2SO4, pretreatment time from 30 to 90 minutes and solid contents of seaweed powder in the range of 10~ 16% (w/v). Optimal pretreatment conditions were determined as 75 mM H2SO4 and 13% (w/v) slurry at 121oC for 60 min. For the further saccharification, enzymatic hydrolysis was performed by the addition of commercial enzymes, Celluclast 1.5 L and Viscozyme L, after the neutralization. A maximum reducing sugar concentration of 40.4 g/L was obtained with 73% of theoretical yield from total carbohydrate. The ethanol concentration of 8.6 g/L of SHF process and 7.6 g/L of SSF process were obtained by the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae KCTC 1126, with the inoculation cell density of 0.2 g dcw/L.

This study was to investigate the chemical properties and nitrite scavenging and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities from Salicornia herbaciea seed. The lactic acid content of seed was about 2.0 fold higher that of stem. Among various free sugars, the maximum fructose of seed, glucose of stem, and mannose contents of root were obtained, 176.3, 125.6, and 112.8 mg/100g, respectively. The maximum leucine content of seed among the essential amino acid was obtained, 853.7 mg/100g, which was about 3.0 or 6.0 folds higher than that of root or stem. In the case of glutamic acid of seed, it was 2,388.7 mg/100g , which was 5.6 or 9.8 folds higher han that of root or stem. The ratio of essential amino acid and total amino acid of seed was 30.14%. The γ-aminobutyric acid contents of seed, stem, and root were 43.87, 23.88, and 27.8 mg/ 100g, respectively. The catechin content of seed was an order of epigallocatechin (723.2 mg/100g) > epigallocatechingallate (654.3 mg/100g) > epicatechin (443.5 mg/100g) > gallocatechin (314.1 mg/100g). Especially, the non-gallated catechins content was about 2.0 folds higher than that of gallated catechins content. The nitrite scavenging activity of seed increased from 38.7 to 65.9% when the hot-water extract content of seed at pH 1.2 increased from 1.0 to 5.0 mg/mL. However, it was decreased to 25.7% at pH 6. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of seed was increased from 13.2 to 44.6% when the extract content increased from 20 to 100 mg/mL. These results show that S. herbaciea seed has a good potential to be used as a source of material or additive in cosmetics, food, and drug compositions.

This study was to investigate the chemical composition and biological activities of P. Koraiensis seed. The oil, moisture, ash, crude protein, and carbohydrate contents of P. Koraiensis seed were 58.21, 7.84, 1.56, 14.26, and 18.13%, respectively. The ratios of essential amino acid and nonessential amino acid against total amino acids were 36.6 and 60.3%, respectively. The saponification value of seed oil was 166.8 mg KOH/g oil. Among various fatty acids, the linoleic acid content was the highest, 35.5%, which was approximately 72.6% of polyunsaturated fatty acid. The ethylacetate extract of P. Koraiensis seed had the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (62.8%) at 7.0 mg/mL, followed by hexane extract, methanol extract, and hot water extract. The maximum nitrite scavenging activity was obtained 59.3% at pH 1.2. The total phenolic concentration of ethylacetate extract was 98.7 mg/g, approximately 4.8 folds higher than that of the hot water extract. The maximum inhibition activities of elastase using ethylacetate extract and collagenase using hexane extract were 58.8 and 40.7%, respectively. These results indicate that P. koraiensis seed extract could be applied to present the possibilities of industrial applications for the developments of cosmetics.

In this study, the domestic onion skin has been used to investigate the anti-wrinkle effect of the ethanolic extract. The onion skin has been known to contain a large amount of antioxidant including quercetin. Solvent extraction by 80% ethanol was carried out of the onion skin. The high amount of quercetin have been identified using HPLC as a bioactive compound. The extraction yield of the quercetin increased according to temperature up to 80oC. Two different antioxidant assays (DPPH and ABTS) were performed to determine the free-radical scavenging activity of onion skin extracts. The antioxidant activities (EC50 of DPPH) of the vitamin C and the onion extracts were 2.2 and 5.09 μg/mL, respectively. The results of ABTS tests were 2.33 (of vitamin C) and 2.40 μg/mL (of the onion extracts), respectively. In a clinical study, a panel of 10 female volunteers between the ages of 30 and 40 (mean age: 42 years) was given a mask pack containing 1% of this extracts for 4 weeks. It was shown that a highly significant reduction in the deep and moderate wrinkled was obtained with those treated with this onion extracts as compared to the control group. The reduction in deep wrinkles increased with time. Eye wrinkle were reduced statistically significant (p<0.05). The application of the proper topical cream and mask pack containing onion skin extracts has therefore shown to be effective enhancing anti-wrinkle activities.

Astragalus membranaceus Bunge is used in herbal medicine in Eastern Asian countries including Korea. In this study, we assessed the effects of Astragalus membranaceus extract (AM) on the aquaporin-3 (AQP3) protein expression in HaCaT cells. AM did not affect viability of HaCaT cells. AQP3 expression and cell migration seem to be maximal at 100 μg/mL concentration. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase inhibitor, PD153035, blocked AM-induced AQP3 expression and cell migration. In addition, an 80% ethanol extracts of herbal prescription, SinhyoTakleesan (ST), which is composed of Astragalus membranaceus, Angelicae gigantis, Glycyrrhiza glabra Linne, and Lonicera japonica Flos also induced AQP3 expression at 20 μg/mL in HaCaT cells. Collectively, these results suggest that AM induce AQP3 expression via EGFR pathway.

The growth characteristics and production of color pigments by Monascus strains were investigated during liquid culture, and production of monacolin K in red mold rice was carried out by solid state fermentation. Four different Monascus ruber strains were cultured in potato dextrose yeast extract broth (PDYB) medea at 25oC for 15 days. The high producing strain for red pigment was not corresponded to the strain for yellow pigment. Production of red pigment was high in the strain causing the fast pH change in culture broth. Production of monacolin K in red mold rice by solid state fermentation was influenced by a combination of wet cell weight and spore density in inoculum by liquid culture. Most strains showed the high production of monacolin K in red mold rice, when submerged fermentation was carried out for 5 days as inoculum for solid state fermentation. These results suggest that submerged fermentation period of inoculum have an effect on the production of monacolin K in red mold rice by solid state fermentation, and monacolin K in red mold rice could be increased by controlling the condition of submerged fermentation for inoculum.

In order to obtain functional materials from aloe callus, we cultured Aloe vera L. leaf on MS medium added 0.2 mg/L IAA, 0.3 mg/L kinetin and 100 mg/L grape or/and apple juice for 30 days. While a callus differentiation during callus culture did not show, the cultured leaves were uniquely released extracellular material into the agar plate. After culture 18 days, the cultured leaf and agar were harvested for extraction a functional material. The materials extracted were measured on the amount of total phenols, flavonoids and polysaccharides and determined on the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. In result, callus extracts of additive free (CT) and added apple juice (2T) had more amount of phenol compound (659 μg/mL, 533 μg/mL) and flavonoid (580 μg/ mL, 501 μg/mL) than natural leaf (p: 525 μg/mL, f: 301 μg/ mL). However, the extract of natural leaf had the better effect of lipid peroxidation and polysaccharide content than the culture extract. All samples extracted had same effect on the nitrite scavenging activity on the other hand, nitric oxide scavenging only showed excellent activity as 72% to 2T extract. The agar extract was also confirmed to contain polyphenol compound and polysaccharide content those had antioxidant and antimicrobial activity partly.

Gamma irradiation (γIR) is widely used for radiotherapy as a treatment of cancer cells although it has a risk to damage normal cells. Inflammation is regarded as one of side effects of γIR while the effect of low dose of γIR on inflammation has not been researched well. Here, we investigated the inflammatory responses of low dose of γIR on murine spleen cells. It was evaluated if gIR affected the mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation, the regulation of various inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-17, IL-4, IL-10), and the involvement of Ikaros and MAPK/NF-κB medicated mechanism. Exposure of 137Cs-γIR below 2 Gy decreased the lymphocytes proliferative response to mitogens (LPS, ConA) except at the lowest dose, 0.05 Gy. IL-17, IL-2 and IL-4 mRNA increased at 0.5 and 2 Gy, but not altered at 0.05 Gy. IL-10, anti-inflammatory cytokine, increased only at 0.05 Gy. In regard to intracellular signaling, p-JNK, p-p38 and p-IκBα were not changed, whereas the activation of ERK and Ikaros increased at the lowest dose. These results suggest that exposure of γIR less than 0.5 Gy (or below 0.05 Gy) has beneficial effects as a radiation hormesis on immune function.

A new convenient derivatization method of α- amino acid esters as nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD) derivatives for chiral resolution was introduced and the enantiomer separation of α-amino acid esters as NBD derivatives was performed by normal HPLC using chiral columns based on polysaccharide derivatives. The NBD derivatives were readily prepared by stirring NBD-Cl and α-amino acid methyl ester HCl with NaHCO3 in ethanol. The performance of Chiralpak IA was superior to the other chiral stationary phases for enantiomer resolution of NBD derivatives of several α-amino acid methyl esters. Owing to fluorescence detection as well as strong UV absorption, it is expected that the convenient analytical method developed in this study will be very useful for enantiomer separation of α-amino acid esters as NBD derivatives on polysaccharide-derived chiral columns.

The antimicrobial properties of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) are an area of increasing interest. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bactericidal effects of blue (peak at 456 nm), green (peak at 518 nm), red (peak at 654 nm) and blue-green combined (blue 456 nm : green 558 nm = 69:31) LED irradiation to pathogenic bacteria. For this, LED equipment providing power density of 10 mW/cm2 was installed and plates were exposed to 0.9 or 3.0 mW/cm² to irradiate bacteria with 3.2 to 259.2 J/cm² of energy density. As a result, blue and combined LED have shown bactericidal effects on Escherichia coli KCTC 1467 and Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115 after irradiation of 3.0 mW/cm² for 2 and 4 hr, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus KCTC 1916 was inhibited at 518 nm green LED irradiation. However, red LED irradiation showed no inhibitory effect to the other tested strains. Light technology that utilizes the bactericidal properties of blue (at 456 nm) and blue-green(blue 456 nm : green 558 nm = 69:31) combined LED may have potential applications in the food industry sector.