The seaweed Ecklonia cava, a brown algae abundant in JeJu Island, South Korea, has large amounts of the polyphenol compound phloroglucinol (PG, 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene), which has been proposed to exert interesting biological properties including antioxidant and radioprotective effects against ionizing radiation-induced damages in various cells and tissues. To identify antioxidant and radioprotective effects of PG in skin tissues, we exposed mice to 8.5 Gy whole body irradiation (WBI) at day 6 after depilation with and without PG treatment. In PG treated cases, PG was applied twice, once at 17.8 hours before and then at the time of WBI. At 8 hours after WBI, a reduction in the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substrates (TBARS) was observed in the PG treated group. Upon western blot analysis, PG treatment overexpressed the MnSOD, catalase, and GPx-1, although the difference was not significant. In parallel with the results of western blot analysis, the percentage of MnSOD-and catalase-positive cells was significantly increased at 8 and 24 hours after WBI, while no significant difference was observed over 48 hours in PG treated skins. Moreover, PG treatment increased the percentage of Ki-67 positive cells compared with that of irradiated only mice at 8 hours after WBI. Our results suggest that PG is effective at attenuating oxidative stress, and that the promotion of antioxidant enzymes such as MnSOD and catalase may be an important aspect for its radioprotection in skin.
This study was conducted to derive the level of importance of HACCP evaluation items in meat packing plants. Based on the results, we proposed a method to increase the objectivity of HACCP criteria for meat packaging plants by giving different evaluation scores to each evaluation item. To assign a differential score for each HACCP evaluation item, the severity of the hazard and the rate of non-compliance in the past 3 years (3,905 of the prerequisite section, 2,057 of the HACCP management section) were analyzed. The results were as follows. The importance and score differentiation of each HACCP evaluation item was derived. The total scores of the prerequisite section and HACCP management section were set at 200 and 100, respectively. However, to maintain objectivity of the HACCP evaluation items, further study is needed to develop detailed criteria for each HACCP evaluation item and score.
Many kinds of medicinal herbs have been used to treat inflammation in Oriental medicine. However, there few studies have investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of medicinal herbs. In this study, we used mouse bone marrow cells (BMs) treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a simulator of osteomyelitis, to screen medicinal herbs having anti-inflammatory activity. Specifically, we investigated the activity of an extract of Rhus chinensis (RC) using metabolic activity and cytokine production of the BMs treated with LPS and RC. The metabolic activity of BMs was measured using Cell Counting Kit-8® solution. RC decreased the metabolic activity of LPS-treated BMs. A viability assay using trypan blue solution demonstrated that RC marginally decreased the viability of LPS-treated BMs. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that RC decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential of BMs, regardless of LPS treatment. To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of RC, we measured the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-10 in BMs. LPS increased the production of both cytokines in BMs. Interestingly, RC induced a greater increase in IL-10 than TNF-alpha in LPS-treated BMs. Taken together, RC decreased metabolic activity and modulated the production of inflammation-related cytokines in LPS-treated BMs. These findings suggest that RC can be used as a medicinal herb with anti-inflammatory activity.
The international trade of live amphibian can cause spread of the amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which has resulted in amphibian population decline worldwide. Introduction of the causal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), to South Korea via the importation of live amphibians will have a negative effect on the survival of native amphibian communities. We investigated the likelihood that Bd would be introduced to the captive and wild amphibian population in South Korea by applying standardized risk analysis. We found that the likelihood of entry of Bd into South Korea was high, but that Bd exposure to the captive amphibians had a low impact, while it had a high impact on wild amphibians. Overall, the risk of live amphibian importation for pet trade or zoos was high in wild amphibians, while it was moderate for laboratory or human consumption in wild amphibians. Accordingly, risk management measures to reduce the risks related to live amphibian importation are required.
Nitrite and nitrates are usually used in the production of meat products as food additives even though they pose a secondary risk. In this study, the residues of nitrite and nitrate ions in 366 processed meat products distributed in Seoul were analyzed using ion chromatographs and UV spectrophotometers. In all tested products, the residues of nitrite were below 70 mg/kg, which met the processing standard and component specification for livestock products.
Evaluation of nitrite ions, revealed a mean concentration of 7.1 - 11.9 mg/kg in hams, sausages, and bacons, while higher ratios of nitrite were found in other types of products. Among the studied processed meat products, at least 60% of hams and sausages had indications of nitrite, as did 90% of bacons and dry meats. No spiced meat and less than 10% of crushed meat had indications of nitrite. However, all dried meats showed below 1 mg/kg, regardless of whether they had indications of nitrite. Up to 9.7 mg/kg of nitrite was detected in the products with no indication of nitrite, and 14.6% of all products had at least 1 mg/kg of nitrite. This can be attributed to the reduction of residual nitrate ions in the products into nitrite ions.
A review of the concentrations of nitrate ions in processed meat products by type suggests that the mean concentration was 22.3 (maximum 110.2) mg/kg in hams, 31.8 (maximum 89.5) mg/kg in sausages, 16.4 (maximum 28.2) mg/kg in bacons, 16.8 (maximum 61.1) mg/kg in spiced meats, 20.2 (maximum 99.4) mg/kg in crushed meats, and 121.0 (maximum 216.5) mg/kg in dried meats. Therefore, dried meats showed much higher nitrate ion concentrations than other types of meat products; however, the residue of nitrite ions in actual dried meats was found to be lower than 1 mg/kg, suggesting that the concentrations of nitrate ions do not affect those of nitrite ions. However, a certain concentration of nitrate ions was observed even when nitrate ions were not used in the products, as nitrite ions were transformed into nitrate ions and nitrite ions were detected even the products with no indication of nitrite ions. Therefore, continuous monitoring and preparation of relevant standards of the use of nitrate in processed meat products are necessary.
In Korea, a serious amphibian disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been reported from historical samples collected in the 1900s. In this study, we continue to evaluate the current prevalence of chytridiomycosis in the Korean Peninsula and we include imported frogs from America to our analysis. Non-invasive skin swabs were taken from 275 apparently healthy frogs, and Bd was detected in five free living frogs by the nested PCR protocol consisting of two species: Bombina orientalis and Rana catesbeiana, from Gyeongnam and Cheonbuk provinces. These frogs comprised about 2% of the total number of free living samples. This study might be useful for understanding amphibian chytridiomycosis in Korea.
The seroprevalence of major infectious abortion agents was investigated in native Korean goats from Jeonnam province using ELISA. A total of 98 blood samples were collected from goats. Overall, 48 (49.0%), 11 (11.2%), and 1 (1.0%) serum samples tested positive for C. burnetii, T. gondii, and C. abortus, respectively, while none of the samples were positive for B. abortus or N. caninum. Moreover, a PCR assay conducted to detect C. burnetii antigens in goats with a history of abortion revealed 18 (38.3%) of 47 goats were C. burnetii positive by both the ELISA and PCR assay.
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis. This study was conducted to clarify the seroprevalence of BLV in the Republic of Korea. Blood samples were obtained from Korean native cattle farms in all provinces of South Korea except Jeju. A commercial indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with 4,498 samples to detect antibodies against BLV was conducted. The results revealed that the prevalence of BLV was dependent upon age, with increasing prevalence among cattle occurring until they were 5 years old. The highest seroprevalence in cattle was observed in Chungnam (29.6%) and the lowest was observed in Jeonnam (2.6%). The mean overall prevalence for BLV antibodies in the survey was 10.2%, indicating that BLV is widespread nationwide.
Eight individual and blended chemical disinfectants were screened for preliminary evaluation of efficacy against duct organisms. Viable counts of surviving bacteria were determined after 30 min contact with each disinfectant. The single and blended disinfectants with high microcidal activity included glutaraldehyde/formaldehyde-based, glutaraldehyde/formaldehyde-based, cresol-based, organic acid-based and potassium peroxymonosulphate-based products. Iodophors of disinfectants showed an inconsistent and low anti-microbial effect.