Whole grain cereal (WGC)-rich diets provide macronutrients that are important for the regulation of energy metabolism. The current study evaluated whether WGCs had a preventive effect on sarcopenic obesity in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. C57BL/6N mice were fed a normal diet (ND), ND+WGC, HFD, and HFD+WGC for 12 weeks. WGCs significantly reduced body weight gain, food efficiency ratio, fat mass, and adipocyte size in HFD-induced obese mice. WGCs attenuated HFD-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by decreasing liver weight and hepatic fat accumulation. In addition, WGCs increased muscle strength and muscle mass in HFD-induced obese mice as well as in ND mice. Taken together, WGCs can be employed as functional food materials for the prevention of sarcopenic obesity by inhibiting fat accumulation and increasing muscle mass.

The antimicrobial effects of ten isothiocyanates (ITCs) present in cruciferous vegetables and radish root hydrolysate were investigated against pathogenic bacteria from olive flounder. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were measured against two gram-positive bacterial strains (Streptococcus parauberis, S. iniae) and four gram-negative bacterial strains (Edwardsiella tarda, Vibrio ichthyoenteri, V. harveyi, Photobacterium damselae) by using a broth microdilution technique. The antibacterial activity of ITCs was in the order sulforaphane > sulforaphene > phenylethyl ITC > erucin > benzyl ITC > iberin > I3C > allyl ITC > phenyl ITC > hexyl ITC. The susceptibility of fish pathogens to ITCs was in the order of V. harveyi > E. tarda > P. damselae > S. parauberis > S. iniae > V. ichthyoenteri. Antimicrobial activity (MIC) of radish root hydrolysate was 0.250 mg/mL against S. iniae, 0.438 mg/mL against S. parauberis, and 0.500 mg/mL against both E. tarda and V. harveyi. The aliphatic ITCs were potent inhibitors of the growth of fish pathogens, followed by aromatic ITCs and indolyl ITC. The presence of a double bond in the chemical structure of ITCs decreased antibacterial activity, while ITCs with a thiol (-S-) group and a longer carbon chain increased antibacterial activity. These results suggest that ITCs have strong antibacterial activities and may be useful in the prevention of fish pathogens.