Aralia elata Seemann (AE) has long been used as a folk medicine for the treatment of various diseases including diabetes mellitus, anti-arthritic, and anti-gastric ulcer agent in Korea, Japan, and China. This study was performed to establish a simple and reliable HPLC/UV analytical method for determination of most active anti-hypertensive compound, a 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl hederagenin 28-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranosylester (HE) for the standardization of the shoot extract of AE as a health functional food ingredient. The quantitative analytical method of HE was optimized by HPLC analysis using reverse-phase C18 column at 40°C with H2O and acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) as an isocratic mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and detection wavelength of UV 205 nm. This HPLC/UV analytical method showed good specificity and high linearity in the tested range of 0.03125-2.0mg/ml with excellent coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9999. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 12.0 μg/mL and 36.5 μg/mL, respectively. Relative standard deviation (RSD) values of data from intra- and inter-day precision were less than 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. These results indicate that the established HPLC/UV analytical method is very simple, specific, precise, accurate, and reproducible and thus can be useful for the quantitative analysis of HE as a functional anti-hypertensive compound in AE extract.

Insects have gained increasing attention as an alternative protein and nutrient rich food source for humans. This study was conducted to investigate the physicochemical characteristics and harmful components of edible crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) in the 6 districts of Yeonggwang (YG), Jeongseon (JS), Wonju (WJ), Hwaseong (HS), Geochang (GC), and Chungju (CJ). The average crude protein and crude lipid contents on a dry basis were 64.34% and 16.60%, respectively. The crude protein content of CJ was the highest (67.40%), whereas YG (59.42%) had the lowest content. On the other hand, the crude fat content of YG was the highest (20.61%), whereas CJ (14.04%) had the lowest content. The unsaturated fatty acid contents were 57.97-63.93 g/100 g of the total fatty acid content in the crickets of the 6 districts. The major fatty acids of the crickets in the 6 districts were palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. Among the essential amino acids, valine, leucine, and lysine were the most abundant. GC had the highest total amino acids (57.93 g/100 g), whereas YG (48.65 g/100 g) had the lowest. Major mineral contents included potassium (K, 0.92~1.01 mg/100 mg) and phosphorus (P, 0.74~0.88 mg/100 mg). The mineral composition was fairly similar among the crickets. Crickets in the 6 districts were verified to have safe levels of residual heavy metals according to the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) advisory levels.