Current study was performed to investigate the effect of morphological properties of black ginseng such as size and shape on the quality of black ginseng. The raw ginsengs were separated based on size (medium, large, and extra-large) and shape (straight ginseng, fibrous root ginseng). Subsequently, the raw ginsengs were steamed at 95℃ for 3 h and dried in the presence of heated air at 50℃ for 30 h. This process was repeated nine times for black ginseng production. The physiochemical properties such as the content of acidic polysaccharides, ginsenosides, and antioxidative activity were evaluated. Although minor difference in physiochemical properties such as acidic polysaccharide content in raw ginseng was observed, no statistical difference in the content of acidic polysaccharides, total phenols, and ginsenosides was observed during final black ginseng production based on size classification. The minor ginsenosides in fibrous root black ginseng, such as Rk3, Rh4, Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5 were higher in content than straight black ginseng. However, no correlation between the shape of ginseng and total phenol content and antioxidative activity was observed. Therefore, present results demonstrate that the difference in ginseng size in same-age and -production area does not affect the quality of black ginseng. Furthermore, difference in ginseng shape does not influence the overall quality of black ginseng. It is hypothesized that this study would be considered as supportive data for the production of high-quality black ginseng.

본 연구에서는 최대한 인삼의 외형을 원형삼 형태의 홍삼 과 유사하게 유지하면서도 기능성은 증진시킬 수 있는 신속 한 고온고압 처리 공정을 확립하기 위하여 다양한 고온고압 처리공정 조건에 따른 이화학적 성분 특성 및 항산화 활성 변화를 살펴보았다. 산성다당체 및 홍삼 특유의 진세노사이 드 Rh1, Rg2, Rg3의 함량은 140℃, 3 kg/cm2의 고온고압 처리 조건에서 가장 높은 반면, 총 페놀 화합물 및 말톨 함량은 156℃, 5 kg/cm2의 고온고압 처리조건에서 가장 높았다. 그러 나 홍삼의 증자 처리 시 156℃, 5 kg/cm2의 처리조건에서는 시 료가 터지거나 외형의 변형이 심하기 때문에 140℃, 3 kg/cm2를 최적 온도 및 압력으로 설정하였다. 한편, 증자 시간이 증 가함에 따라 총 페놀 화합물, 말톨 및 흑삼특이 진세노사이드 함량은 지속적으로 증가하는 경향을 나타내었으나, 20분간 처리한 군의 외형이 기존의 홍삼과 가장 유사한 외관을 나타 냈으므로, 140℃, 3 kg/cm2에서 20분 동안 증자 처리하는 것 을 본 실험의 최적 조건으로 설정하였다. 최종적으로 이러한 최적조건을 통해 제조된 홍삼의 항산화 효능을 분석한 결과, 시중에서 판매되는 백삼, 홍삼 및 흑삼과 비교하여 높은 항산 화 성분 및 항산화 활성을 나타냈다. 따라서 본 연구를 통해 확립된 고온고압 처리를 통한 신규홍삼 제조기술은 그 형태 가 기존의 홍삼 제품과 유사하면서도 공정이 신속하고, 품질 은 흑삼과 비슷한 고기능성 신규 인삼제품 개발 시 응용 가능 한 공정으로 사료된다.

ASW0 is a polysaccharide derived from the perennial herb Aster scaber Thunberg. We isolated ASW0, a fraction of crude polysaccharide, by means of ethanol precipitation and dialysis after hot water extraction to investigate its physicochemical properties and immunostimulatory effects. ASW0 contains neutral sugar (45.7%), acidic sugar (51.6%), protein (2.3%), and 2-keto-3-deoxy-D-manno-octonate (KDO) (0.4%). The neutral sugar in ASW0 (in mole percentage) was mainly composed of arabinose (34.5 mol%), glucose (31.1 mol%), galactose (14.9 mol%), and rhamnose (8.1 mol%), which are characteristic of pectic polysaccharides. ASW0 also contained small amounts of xylose, mannose, and fucose. The anti-complementary activity of ASW-0 was similar to that of polysaccharide K (used as positive control). ASW0 exhibited no cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7 macrophages and dramatically increased nitric oxide (NO) production in a dose dependent manner (0.3~30 μg/ mL). Also, macrophages stimulated with ASW0 showed enhanced production of immunostimulatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in a dose dependent manner. These results suggest that the ASW0 have a potent immunostimulatory effect and can be used as a natural immune health ingredient.

본 연구에서는 피로 회복 또는 원기 회복에 효능이 있는 것으로 알려진 홍경천과 홍삼을 이용하여 홍경천-홍삼 복합 발효물의 산화적 손상 억제 효과를 평가하고자 H2O2로 산화적 스트레스를 유도시킨 C2C12 근육세포에 홍경천-홍삼 복합 발효물의 처리한 후, 세포의 morphology, cell viability 및 항산화 효소들의 유전자 발현 양상을 비교, 분석하였다. 홍경천-홍삼 복합 발효물은 C2C12 근육세포의 cell viability를 유의적으로 증가시켰으며, Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD 및 GPx 등과 같은 세포내 항산화 효소의 발현을 증가시킬 뿐만 아니라, 근육세포 분화의 주요 전사인자인 Myo D의 발현 또한 증가시키는 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 결과로, 홍경천-홍삼 복합 발효물은 세포내 항산화 효소 시스템을 증가시켜 외부로부터의 산화적 손상에 대한 방어효능을 갖는 것으로 나타났으며, 향후 in vivo 시스템 이용한 추가적인 연구가 수행된다면, 홍경천-홍삼 복합 발효물을 이용한 항피로 건강기능식품의 소재개발이 가능할 것으로 판단된다.

The study was conducted to investigate the condition for mixed fermentation of Rhodilola sachalinensis with red ginseng using Lactobacillus acidophillus 128 and the changes of physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities before and after the lactic acid fermentation was examined. In the single fermentation of Rhodiola sachalinensis extract, the pH and titratable acidity rarely changed, and the number of lactic acid bacteria decreased greatly. On the other hand, in the lactic acid fermentation of Rhodiola sachalinensis-red ginseng mixed extract of 50% red ginseng content, the pH decreased, whereas the titratable acidity and the number of lactic acid bacteria increased. The solid content of optimal mixed extract for lactic acid fermentation was 0.5%. Sugar content decreased during fermentation, but total phenolic compounds tended to increase during fermentation. The salidroside and p-tyrosol content of the initial Rhodiola sachalinensis-red ginseng mixed extract was 419.5 ㎎% and 60.1 ㎎%, respectively; after fermentation, the salidroside content after lactic acid fermentation decreased greatly to 81.8 ㎎%, and the amount of p-tyrosol increased greatly to 324.9 ㎎%. The DPPH scavenging activity of Rhodiola sachalinensis-red ginseng mixed fermentate was 78.1% at 0.1% concentration, showing a tendency to increase as compared to 50.3% of Rhodiola sachalinensis-red ginseng mixed extract before the fermentation (p<0.05); it was a higher antioxidant activity as compared to the single fermentation of Rhodiola sachalinensis or red ginseng.

This study was conducted to develop HTHP ginseng (high temperature and high pressure ginseng) with improved antioxidative activity and phenolic acid composition by high temperature and high pressure process. The HTHP ginseng extract was analyzed for the total phenol content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and phenolic acid composition. The total phenol content was increased in HTHP ginseng (14.76 ㎎/g) compared to raw ginseng (3.59 ㎎/g) and red ginseng (3.93 ㎎/g). DPPH radical scavenging activities of HTHP ginseng, raw ginseng and red ginseng extracts were 4.8～78.4%, 1～47.4% and 1.8～56.5% at 1～100 ㎎/㎖ concentration. Also ABTS radical scavenging activities of HTHP ginseng, raw ginseng and red ginseng extracts were 8.9～99.8%, 3.4～96% and 1.2～96.5% at 1～100 ㎎/㎖ concentration. In HPLC analysis, amounts of measured phenolic acid of HTHP ginseng greatly increased than raw ginseng and red ginseng, but salicylic acid was not detected in HTHP ginseng. In addition, DPPH radical scavenging activity of phenolic acid from HTHP ginseng was increased. Consequently, we believe high temperature and high pressure process is better method than existing method to increase the bioactivity of ginseng.

Rhodiola sachalinensis fermentates by lactic acid bacteria were prepared using the adsorption process, and were investigated for changes of the main compounds and anti-oxidative activities during the adsorption and fermentation process. While the R. sachalinensis extract (RSE), which did not go through the adsorption process, showed little change in pH during fermentation and a significant reduction in the number of lactic acid bacteria, the pre-preparatory adsorption process was found to be helpful for promoting fermentation and for maintenance of bacterial numbers. The contents of total phenolic compounds mostly decreased during the adsorption process, but showed an increasing tendency to rebound during the fermentation process. The contents of salidroside and p-tyrosol in the RSE were 1153.3 ㎎% and 185.0 ㎎% respectively, and they did not significantly change after treatment with acid clay or bentonite as adsorbents, which were 1093.0 and 190.5 ㎎% by acid clay, and 882.2 and 157.3 ㎎% by bentonite. When the extract was fermented after treatment with acid clay or bentonite, the salidroside contents were decreased by 282.7 and 505.0 ㎎% respectively, but the p-tyrosol contents were increased by 714.0 and 522.4 ㎎% respectively. Compared to the DPPH radical scavenging activity of the RSE (66.8%) at the conc. of 0.1%, that of the fermented RSE, which went through adsorption process with acid clay or bentonite, was significantly increased to 79.4 and 72.7% respectively at the same concentration (p<0.05). Though fermentation by lactic acid bacteria was suppressed in the RSE, the results suggested that the adsorption process may promote fermentation without any change in the content of major active compounds. It is expected that fermentation by lactic acid bacteria could improve the antioxidant activity and various associated functionalities of R. sachalinensis.

In this study, we examined immuno-modulatory activities of crude polysaccharides from wild ginseng adventitious roots (WGAR). The crude polysaccharide (WGAR-CP) was isolated from WGAR by hot water extraction, ethanol precipitation, and dialysis. The major constituents in WGAR-CP were neutral sugar (64.77%), and uronic acid (34.32%). WGAR-CP demonstrated anti-complementary activity dose-dependently. The immuno-modulatory effects of WGAR-CP were also analyzed by measuring nitric oxide and cytokines in the supernatants of mouse peritoneal macrophages. Mouse peritoneal macrophages stimulated with WGAR-CP produced nitric oxide and various cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-12 in a dosedependent manner. In conclusion, WGAR-CP may have immuno-modulatory activities by activating a complementary system and macrophages, which produces cytokines.

In this study, the morphological features and the chemical composition characteristics of Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia humifusa fruits were investigated. The length of minor and major axis, and weight of O. ficus-indica and O. humifusa fruits were compared as the morphological features. The characteristics of components such as color, moisture, crude protein, ash, fat, dietary fiber, mineral, and amino acids were evaluated. The values of O. ficus-indica fruits were higher than those of O. humifusa fruits in each morphological feature such as minor axis, major axis, and weight. According to the Hunter color index results, O. humifusa fruits showed higher values of L (lightness) and b (yellowness), whereas O. ficus-indica fruits showed higher value of a (redness). The ΔE value between two samples was 19.80. The O. ficus-indica fruits had higher carbohydrate content and lower content of crude ash than those of O. humifusa fruits. Both samples showed very high dietary fiber contents, and the major minerals were K and Ca. Glutamic acid was the major amino acids in both samples. In free amino acids contents, O. ficus-indica had higher tyrosine and lower glutamic acid level than those of O. humifusa fruits. γ-aminobutyric acid was found in both samples, whereas taurine was found in O. ficus-indica fruits only. Taken together, the morphological features and chemical quality of O. ficus-indica and O. humifusa fruits showed difference although both of them were originated from the same genus.

The seasonal appearance and the chemical composition characteristics of cladode of Opuntia humifusa were investigated in this study. The minor (horizontal) and major (vertical) axes, the width, and weight of O. humifusa cladode were compared for its appearance features. Moisture, crude protein, ash, fat, color, dietary fiber, mineral, and amino acids contents were measured for the comparison of their chemical composition characteristics. The cladode of O. humifusa harvested in summer showed higher values of minor and major axis, width, and weight than those harvested in winter. According to the results of Hunter color index, cladode of O. humifusa harvested in summer showed the highest lightness level (Hunter L value). In the meanwhile, cladode of O. humifusa harvested in spring showed the highest Hunter a (redness) and b (yellowness) values. Cladode of O. humifusa harvested in summer had the lowest crude protein and crude fat contents, while it showed the highest crude ash content. The total contents of moisture and dietary fiber were significantly greater than summer-harvested cladode of O. humifusa followed by spring- and winter-harvested cladode of O. humifusa. The major mineral content of all seasonal cladode of O. humifusa was Ca2+. Glutamic acid and aspartic acid were the major amino acids in all seasonal samples. Contrary, the contents of total amino acids and free amino acids were the lowest in summer-harvested cladode of O. humifusa. Taken together, it was concluded that the appearance and chemical quality of cladode of O. humifusa was versatile depending on the harvesting season.

This study, the changes in physicochemical properties and hesperidin content of Jeju-processed citrus fruits according to the harvest date were evaluate. The soluble-solid content, pH, and soluble solid-acid ratios gradually increased , but titratable acidity slightly decreased with a delay in the harvest date. The color index, lightness, yellowness, and turbidity slightly decreased whereas the redness slightly increased with a delay in the harvest date. The hesperidin content slightly decreased with a delay in the harvest date. Hesperidin, which is the major cause of juice cloudiness, decreased with a delay in the harvest date. These results suggest that later-harvested fruit juice is bound to be less cloudy.

In this study, 80% ethanolic extracts of tartary and common buckwheats were assessed for their total phenol content, total flavonoids content, antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity and reducing power), and anti-adipogenic effects. Our results show that total phenol contents of 80% ethanolic extract from tartary and common buckwheats were 17.35±0.41 and 8.20±0.28 μg GAE/g, respectively. Antioxidant activities of 80% ethanolic extract from tartary buckwheat were significantly higher than that of common buckwheat extract (p<0.05). During adipocyte differentiation, 80% ethanolic extracts of tartary and common buckwheat significantly inhibited lipid accumulation compared to control cells. We further evaluated the effect of buckwheat extracts on the changes of key gene expression associated with 3T3-L1 adipogenesis and ROS production. Tartary buckwheat extract was more suppressed the mRNA expressions (PPARγ and aP2) than that of common buckwheat extract. Moreover, tartary buckwheat inhibited the mRNA expression of both NOX4 (NADPH oxidase 4) and G6PDH (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase). These results indicate that anti-adipogenesis effect of tartary buckwheat can be attributed to phenolic compound that may potentially inhibit ROS production.