The Cheonggukjang used in this study was made with four soybean cultivars grown and harvested at the National Agrobiodiversity Center of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences: C1 (KLS87248), C2 (Nongrim 51), C3 (GNU- 2007-14613), and C4 (Daewon). The soybeans were inoculated with Bacillus subtilis AFY-2 and fermented for 0, 12, 21, 36, 45, and 60 h in a culture room at 35°C. ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities were significantly increased upon fermentation for 12 hours in all samples and maintained or decreased after 21 hour The inhibition of NO production was significantly increased compared to the LPS-treated group, and the C2 sample showed inhibition of NO production at 12 hours of fermentation, and the C3 sample showed inhibition at 21 hours of fermentation. PCA analysis revealed that the ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activity and NO production inhibitory activity reached peak levels around 12 h fermentation time for all samples. Our results indicate that the optimal fermentation time of the Cheonggukjang sample is 12 hours, confirming the high correlation of all experiments.

This study investigated the potential role of dietary factors associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Koreans. The scoping review method was used to evaluate the studies that utilized the secondary data sets comprising the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) and the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Articles published between 2012 and 2022 were identified using RISS, KISS, DBpia, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases. In all, there were 32 published articles on obesity and 119 on MetS. Obesity research included eight articles on nutrients, 12 on food items/food groups, two on dietary patterns, nine on dietary behavior/eating habits, and one on the dietary index. MetS studies comprised 34 articles on nutrients, 43 on food items/food groups, seven on dietary patterns, 25 on dietary behavior/eating habits, and 10 on the dietary index. Carbohydrates, alcohol, and coffee consumption were the most frequently studied dietary factors for obesity and MetS. The primary areas of study were largely focused on nutrients and food items/food groups. Thus, to overcome the paucity of information on the relationship of dietary patterns and dietary indexes with obesity and MetS, there is a need for further research using the KNHANES and KoGES data sets.

In this study, soybean pods of 45 soybean landraces (or varieties) were classified as yellow (19 samples), black (23 samples), or black in green (3 samples) based on soybean seed coat color. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were measured, and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, and estrogen-like activities were assessed. Total polyphenol and flavonoid content ranges were 24.13-108.03 mg GAE/g and 3.31-72.02 mg CE/g, respectively, and were highest in the black group followed by the yellow group and were least in the black in green group, while ABTS and DPPH activities followed the order black in green > black > yellow. Estrogen-like and estrogen receptor-α activity ranges were 29.06-35.58 pg/mL and 7.05-10.13 pg/mL and were followed the order yellow > black > black in green and black in green > yellow > black, respectively. Nitric oxide (NO) inhibitory and UCP-1 activities followed the same order as estrogen receptor-α activities. Our findings suggest that soybean pods are excellent sources of antioxidants and high-quality functional materials.

Contents of water soluble vitamin B6 in a total of 62 agricultural products cultivated in local areas in Korea were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector (HPLC/FLD). To verify the method of vitamin B6 analysis, a quality control chart was formulated with in-house control using a mixture of broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. Among cereals, high content of vitamin B6 measured 234.3~260.3 μg/100 g in dried mung bean and soybean. Vitamin B6 content of non-glutinous and glutinous black rice measured 105.0 μg/100 g and 129.7 μg/100 g, respectively. In vegetables, high content of vitamin B6 were measured in passion fruit (104.3 μg/100 g), gat (55.7~84.3 μg/100 g), gomchwi (31.3~88.0 μg/100 g) and garlic (72.7~98.3 μg/100 g). Among fruits, gold kiwi 'Zespri' and green kiwi 'Hayward' revealed high vitamin B6 content of 116.3 μg/100 g and 78.7 μg/100 g, respectively. In persimmons, daebongsi had high vitamin B6 content (36.0~72.7 μg/100 g) than bansi and sweet persimmon. Vitamin B6 content in dried jujube and persimmon increased more than 86.7 μg/100 g compared to fresh materials. Among specialty crops, green tea powder (64.7~251.0 μg/100 g) and sansuyu (172.3 μg/100 g) revealed high content. Of mushrooms, vitamin B6 content of Sparassis crispa (139.3 μg/100 g) was the highest. Vitamin B6 content information of agricultural products in local areas in Korea collected from this experiment will be used as valuable preliminary data for grasp national nutritional status.

The purpose of this study was to investigate ash and mineral contents of agricultural products that are widely and specifically grown in Korea, including 23 fruits, 11 cereals and specialty crops, and 11 leaves and vegetables. Pre-treatment of mineral was performed by microwave method. Mineral contents were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrophotometry Mass (ICP-MS). Ash contents ranged from 0.20 to 0.69 g/100 g in fruits, 1.62 to 3.80 g/100 g in cereals, and 0.28 to 2.93 g/100 g in leaves and vegetables. Among the 45 samples, the highest contents of ash were found in quinoa (average 3.80 g/100 g), the highest contents of calcium (Ca) were found in Hansan ramie leaves (average 894.79 mg/100 g), the highest contents of phosphorus (P) were found in yellow amaranth(average 661.88 mg/100 g), the highest contents of potassium (K) were found in quinoa (average 1,455.38 mg/100 g), the highest contents of magnesium (Mg) were found in red amaranth (average 434.02 mg/100 g), the highest contents of molybdenum (Mo) were found in moringa (average 482.50 μg/100 g), and the highest contents of selenium (Se) were found in apple mango(average 23.67 μg/100 g).

Vitamin K (phylloquinone) is an essential cofactor in the synthesis of active blood-clotting factors II, VII, IX and X. Deficiency of vitamin K leads to inadequate activity of these factors, resulting in bleeding. In this study, we investigated vitamin K1 content of agricultural products that are widely and specifically grown in Korea including 9 leaves and vegetables, 16 fruits, and 11 cereals and specialty crops. Vitamin K1 analysis of the agro-samples was by a validated, modified, reversed phase-HPLC method with fluorescence detection after post-column derivatization. The vitamin K1 content ranged from 1.83 to 682.73 μg/100 g in leaves and vegetables, 0.17 to 28.22 μg/100 g in fruits, and ND to 279 μg/100 g in cereals and specialty crops. Among the 36 samples, high content of vitamin K1 were found in Gugija (Lycium chinense Miller) leaves (average 682.73 μg/100 g) and Hansan ramie leaves (average 423.12 μg/100 g); however, mushroom, amaranth and Chinese artichoke showed no detectable levels. The results of ourstudy provide reliable vitamin K1 content of Korean grown agricultural products that expand nutritional information and food composition database.

본 연구에서는 볶음 처리 후 여주의 총 phenolics, 총 flavonoids, 갈변물질(MRPs, maillard reaction products), 항산화 활성 및 α-glucosidase 저해활성을 비교하였다. 또한 alkaloids 유도체와 쓴맛 저감 효과를 평가하였다. 볶음 온도 및 시간이 증가함에 따라 볶음 처리된 여주는 총 phenolics, 총 flavonoids, MRPs, 항산화 활성 및 α-glucosidase 저해활성 역시 증가하였으나, alkaloid계 화합물 및 쓴맛은 감소하였다. 특히 200℃에서 15분 동안 볶은 여주는 총 phenolics, 총 flavonoids, MRPs, 항산화 활성 및 α-glucosidase 저해활성이 가장 높았고 alkaloid계 화합물 및 쓴맛은 가장 낮게 나타났다. 이 결과로부터 볶음 여주는 쓴맛이 저감되고 이들 추출물은 식품에서도 잠재적인 천연 항산화제로 사용할 수 있을 것으로 판단되었다.

This study was designed to improve the sensory characteristics and mitigate the bitter taste of Platycodon gradiflorum. It was aimed at investigating the qualitative properties of fermented P. gradiflorum after repeated steaming and drying treatments. P. gradiflorum was heated for 2 hr at 95℃, being the first and third treatments compared afterwards. Lactobacillus plantarum, at a concentration of 10%, was used as starter culture. As a result, the third steaming process and the addition of starter improved the physical and chemical properties of P. gradiflorum i.e., crude saponin and total polyphenol contents increased significantly. Moreover, P. gradiflorum steamed three times and fermented by L. plantarum showed the higher overall preference score. Our results indicated that the three-time steaming and drying was an effective manufacturing process for the production of high-quality fermented P. gradiflorum. Lactic acid-fermented P. gradiflorum also could have a potential use as a valuable resource for the development of functional products.

본 연구는 국내에서 상용 중인 과일 및 채소로부터 췌장베타세포 보호활성을 가지는 추출물의 식물 자원을 탐색해보고자 수행되었다. Alloxan에 대한 총 13종의 과일･채소 추출물에 대한 효과를 햄스터췌장베타세포주(HIT-T15)를 배양한 후 세포생존율, LDH 방출량, NAD+/NADH ratio, 인슐린 분비량 및 4종의 항산화효소활성을 측정하였다. 총 13종의 과일･채소 추출물은 alloxan에 의해 감소된 세포생존율을 유의하게 증가시켰다. 마늘종(Allium sativum) 등의 11종의 시료는 alloxan에 의해 증가된 LDH 방출량을 유의적으로 감소시켰으며, 산수유(Cornus officinalis) 등의 9종의 시료는 alloxan에 의해 감소된 NAD+/NADH ratio를 유의적으로 상승시킴으로써 세포생존율을 증가시켰다. 또한 3종의 추출물인 마늘종(Allium sativum), 산수유(Cornus officinalis)와 고들빼기(Yongjia sonchifolia) 추출물은 인슐린 분비능을 보호하였고 깻잎 등 5종의 시료는 SOD, GST, GR 및 GPx와 같은 항산화효소 활성을 유의적으로 증가시켰다. 과일･채소 추출물은 세포괴사 및 DNA fragmentation을 억제하고 세포 내 항산화효소 활성을 증가시킴으로써 alloxan에 의해 유발된 산화스트레스로부터 췌장베타세포를 보호하는 것으로 생각된다. 이상의 연구결과로부터 마늘종(Allium sativum), 산수유(Cornus officinalis), 자두(Prunus salicina), 오미자(Schisandra chinensis) 및 고들빼기(Yongjia sonchifolia)와 같은 5종의 추출물이 alloxan에 의한 산화스트레스로부터 췌장베타세포를 보호하는 효과가 우수한 것으로 판단되며 향후 췌장베타세포의 손상을 억제하는 기능성 식품 등의 개발에 기초 연구자료로 활용될 것으로 생각된다.