The aim of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of saengshik in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and to explore the potential of three commercially available saengshik products (BS, LS, WS) as an alternative diabetic meal. Blood glucose levels were measured at 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes after the ingestion of experimental materials. In experiment 1, the amount of experimental materials remained the same. We measured blood glucose-related biomarkers as the area under the blood glucose response curve (AUC), glycemic index (GI), maximum concentration (Cmax), and time to reach maximum concentration (Tmax). AUC and Cmax of the experimental group showed significant differences compared to the control group, while GI and Tmax did not show significant differences among the groups but were lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. In experiment 2, carbohydrates were adjusted to the same amount. We measured blood glucose-related biomarkers in the same manner as Experiment 1 and obtained similar results. These hypoglycemic effects appear to be attributed to phytochemicals and dietary fiber found in whole, unrefined grains. These results suggest that saengshik exerts hypoglycemic effects by modulation of glucose-related biomarkers.

본 연구에서는 청국장 제조 시 고초균(B. subtilis)과 유산균인L. acidophilus균 복합사용이 청국장 품질 특성에 미치는 영향을 연구하였다. 타 장류와 달리, 청국장은 과당중합체와 폴리감마글루탐산의 복합체인 점질물질을 생성한다. 본 연구에서는 일반적인 청국장 발효과정(1차 발효) 후에 설탕(0, 2.5, 7.5%)을 첨가하고 균체외 다당류 생성능이 있는 유산균을 첨가하여 추가적으로 40℃에서 48시간 동안 2차 발효하였다. 2차 발효된 청국장 시료들의 가용성 고형분, 점질물의 신장성, pH, 환원당, 아미노태 질소함량, 암모니아태 질소함량, α-amylase, 및 protease 활성 측정, 이소플라본 함량을 평가하였다. 2차 발효 공정에서 설탕의 추가적인 첨가는 청국장 시료의 pH, 비배당체 이소플라본 함량, 아미노태 질소함량과 protease 활성을 저하시킨 반면, 청국장 점질물의 신장성과 산(acid) 생성 미생물의 생육을 증가시켰다. 결론적으로, 본 연구에서는 청국장 제조 시 B.subtilis과 L. acidophilus균 복합사용이 청국장 점질물질의 생성을 촉진하고 청국장 품질 특성을 변화시킨다는 것을 보여준다.

Domestic fruit wines, including apple, grape, Moru, and Korean black raspberry wines, contain a wide variety of phenolic compounds with different antioxidant activity. In this study, we established a simple and reliable on-line HPLC-ABTS assay system for determination of the antioxidative characteristics of fruit wines. The quantitative analytical assay of the antioxidative properties of fruit wines was carried out using an HPLC equipped with reverse-phase C18 column, employing acetonitrile and water as gradient mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min and a detection wavelength of UV 320 nm (1st detector) and UV 734 nm (2nd detector). Among fruit wines, Moru wine showed the highest total phenolics and flavonoids content, as well as radical scavenging activity. The differences in radical scavenging activities were attributed to the structural differences in phenolic compound contents. In addition, between on-line HPLC-ABTS analysis and ABTS assay using a spectrophotometric assay gave a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9527. All in all, the present study demonstrates that the established on-line HPLC-ABTS method is simple and reliable, and can thus be used for the determination of the antioxidative characteristics of fruit wines.

This study was conducted to investigate the quality characteristics and changes in isoflavone content of Cheonggukjang with added Chaga mushroom by secondary fermentation at 40 for 48 h with or without a starter, Lactobacillus acidophilus KCTC 3925. Cheonggukjang samples were divided into three groups: Control (unsterilized Cheonggukjang fermented without a starter), NS (unsterilized Cheonggukjang inoculated with L. acidophilus KCTC 3925), and YS (heat-sterilized Cheonggukjang inoculated with L. acidophilus KCTC 3925). The approximate composition of the three types of Cheonggukjang was 49.79-51.44% moisture, 4.54-4.72% crude ash, 43.21-44.37% crude protein, 11.58-13.65% crude fat, 37.41-40.07% carbohydrate, 31.92-33.82% dietary fiber. The mineral content included 5.43– 9.64 mg% Na, 1,792.86–1,824.39 mg% K, 253.69–326.09 mg% Ca, 619.37–691.20 mg% P, 92.59–110.59 mg% Fe, and 0.01–0.02 mg%Cd. Free amino acid contents of NS (2,520.92 mg%) and YS (2,421.94 mg%) were significantly higher than that of the control (2,236.76 mg%). Amino-type nitrogen content for the three types of Cheonggukjang ranged from 837.20-920.27 mg% with no significant difference. Ammonia-type nitrogen content ranged from 137.09-169.36 mg%. Supplement of Cheonggukjang with L. acidophilus KCTC 3925 increased production of aglycone isoflavons compared to that of control. Therefore, our results show that fermenting Chaga Cheonggukjang with L. acidophilus KCTC 3925 leads to improved quality characteristics and increased isoflavone aglycone content.