The purpose of this study was to investigate the sensory properties and consumer preference of Korean menu for different cooking water. Mineral water (MW) and bottled water (BW) were used as cooking water. Sensory attributes were derived by qualitative evaluation, and preference tests were conducted using the duo-trio test and 9 point likert scale. Mechanic properties were also evaluated. For the sensory attribute, properties such as tough, greasy, glossy, salty were derived when cooked with MW. For consumer preference, overall taste, aftertaste, and degree of sticky of bap were significantly higher in MW than in BW (p<0.05). The preference for the rich flavor of sagol broth (p<0.05) was significantly higher in MW than in BW. Preference for taste and flavor of omija-hwachae was higher than BW (p<0.01). In the mechanical properties test, food material boiled with MW showed higher property for cohesiveness and gumminess (p<0.05). In conclusion, cooking water with high calcium and magnesium content has been evaluated to enhance the palatability of Korean menus such as bap and sagol broth, and thus it is considered that various Korean menus can be applied. This suggests that dietary calcium and magnesium intake can be increased by using cooking water with a high calcium and magnesium content.

Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is post-translational modification of cellular proteins related to cell survival, cell death, cellular proliferation and epigenetic events. It has recently been shown to be important for pre-implantation development of mouse embryos. However, its function during early embryonic development of pig is not clear. This study investigated the importance of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation during in vitro development of pig embryos produced by in vitro fertilization(IVF) or parthenogenetic activation (PA). Results showed that, chemical inhibition of PARP by 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB) did not influence the in vitro development of pig embryos up to morula stage (20±3.1 vs. 28.1±1.2%; p>0.05) but significanlty reduced the rate of blastocyst formation (5.2±2.1 vs. 20±3.1%; p<0.05) when compared to non-treated controls. Furthermore, culture of morula stage embryos in the pressence of 3-AB for 24h significantly reduced the rate of blastocyst formation (19.6± 4.6 vs. 41.4±5.3%; p<0.05) and expansion (4.7±3.0 vs. 28.1±6.1; p<0.05). The proportion of large-sized blastocyst (>200 μm) having higher blastocoel volume (15.3×106 μm3) was significantly reduced (p<0.05) in treatment group (32.2±7.8%) compared to non-treated control group (65.7±9.0%). TUNEL assay revealed that poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation-inhibited blastocyst had significantly increased indices of apoptosis than those of non-treated controls (10.88±0.02 vs. 2.71±0.01; p<0.05). These data suggest that Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation may be important for blastocyst formation in pig embryo.

Preservation of sperm is essential for long-term storage of valuable animal genetic resources and for the conservation of threatened mammalian species undergoing progressive extinction. In this study, using pig as a model system, we evaluated the feasibility of germ-plasm preservation via sperm cell lyophilization. We show that, pig sperm can be successfully lyophilized and stored in a liquid nitrogen-free condition for at least 6 months. Intracytoplasmic injection of lyophilized sperm (ICSI), stored at 4℃ for four months, into in vitro matured pig oocytes could successfully develop up to blastocyst stage (13.0±3.0%). Lyophilized sperm could also be stored at room temperature for at least three weeks without further compromising their in vitro development up to the blastocyst stage (14.6±3.2 vs. 16.6±5.1%; p>0.05). Blastocysts produced from ICSI of lyophilized sperm stored at 4℃ or room temperature contained similar number of cells per blastocyst (44.9±3.2 vs. 44.0±4.3; p>0.05) but was significantly lower than those produced from non-lyophilized fresh sperm (52.1±5.8 p>0.05). Interestingly, use of a custom-designed HEPES-buffered, calcium-free, defined medium for the lyophilization resulted in normal post-ICSI embryonic development up to blastula stage (23.4±2.8 vs. 24.0±2.9%) and, the resultant blastocysts contained similar number of cells per blastocyst (47.9±4.3 vs. 50.6±7.0) compared to those generated from non-lyophilized fresh sperm (p>0.05). These lyophilized sperm could also be stored at room temperature for at least three weeks with slight reduction in post-ICSI embryonic development (19.6±1.4%). Therefore, these results suggest that, pig sperm could be successfully and efficiently lyophilized for their long-term storage at 4℃. Lyophilization of sperm could be a practical option for long-term storage of mammalian germ-plasm.

Autophagy, the process of bulk degradation and recycling of long-lived proteins, macromolecular aggregates, and damaged intracellular organelles, has recently been shown to be important for pre-implantation development and cavitation in mouse embryos. This study investigated the occurrence of autophagy and its importance in determining the in vitro development of pig embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) or parthenogenetic activation (PA). Western blot analysis for autophagy marker, microtubule associated protein light chain 3 (MAP-LC3), revealed the temporal pattern of LC3-conversion with intense changes during 10 20 h post-insemination and at morula-blastocyst transition in pig embryos. Specific inhibition of autophagy in 2 4 cell stage pig embryos, by treatment with 3-methyladenine (3MA), did not affect their embryonic development up to morula stage (p>0.05) but completely blocked their progression to the blastocyst stage (0.0±0.0 vs. 28.5±1.7% p<0.05). On the other hand, autophagy-inhibition in morula stage embryos significantly inhibited the formation of blastocoel (14.9±3.6 vs. 37.5±7.2%) and reduced the proportion of expanded blastocysts (5.6±2.6 vs. 29.6± 4.6% p<0.05). TUNEL assay revealed that autophagy-inhibited embryos had significantly increased indices of apoptosis (10.2±0.4 vs. 2.3±0.2) and DNA fragmentation (0.8± 0.1 vs. 0.3±0.1) than those of controls (p<0.05). Interestingly, while anti-oxidants reduced (p<0.05) the apoptosis and improved the blastocyst formation rate in pig embryos, it had no influence (p>0.05) on the expression of MAP-LC3. These data therefore, suggest that autophagy may have essential role during blastocyst formation in pig embryos.

The effects of Ganoderma lucidum on glucose uptake was studied in L6 rat skeletal muscle cells. Glucose uptake in muscle cell was increased about 6-fold compared to control by mushroom extract treatment. This increasing effect to the glucose uptake was observed in muscle cells cultured with or without insulin. The levels of phosphor-acetyl CoA carboxylase were upregulated by G. lucidum extract treatment in insulinstimulated and basal culture conditions. However, G. lucidum extract did not affect protein kinaseB/Akt(Akt) level. Furthermore, the expression of phosphor-AMPactivated protein kinase(AMPK) was also up-regulated. AMPK is another regulatory protein in the glucose uptake pathway and energy metabolism. Thus, the treatment of G. lucidum extract in skeletal muscle cells increased the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase, showing that the increase of glucose uptake by G. lucidum extract might be mediated via the activation of AMPK signaling pathway