Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), which is a traditional Korean crop, has been known as a health food due to its rich nutrition. This study was conducted to evaluate the change in flavonoid content of flowers and seeds during post-flowering growth of Korean tartary buckwheat variety ‘Hwanggeummiso’, with the aim of providing basic data for the development of functional food and feed additive. Tartary buckwheat took 69 and 99 days from the sowing date to reach the flowering and maturity stages, respectively. As a result of examining the flavonoid components of each part of tartary buckwheat, chlorogenic acid, rutin, and isoquercitrin of flowers increased from the flowering period on 22 May (0 days after flowering) to 42 days after flowering, while quercetin increased until 21 days after flowering and then decreased thereafter. In seeds, chlorogenic acid, rutin, and isoquercitrin were most abundant at the time of seed-bearing on 14 days after flowering, and showed a decreasing tendency thereafter. On the other hand, quercetin showed a tendency to increase until 21 days after flowering and then decrease. Overall, the flavonoid content was higher in flowers than in seeds, with rutin being particularly prominent. Based on this, the possibility as food materials and feed additives was confirmed using buckwheat produced in Korea.

This study identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that affect the body weight of chickens. Analysis of body weight showed that the Cornish breed had the highest body weight, and the Korean native chicken (Gray Brown) had the lowest body weight. TSH is composed of an α-subunit and a β-subunit, and the TSH-β gene encoding the β-subunit has been reported to be associated with obesity. In chickens, it is located on chromosome 26 and is reported to be associated with growth. The calcium-sensing receptor gene (CaSR) plays a role in the regulation of extracellular calcium homeostasis and is responsible for calcium absorption in the urinary tract, which affects the eggshell quality in poultry. It was shown that TSH-β was strongly correlated with weight in Cornish and Korean native (Gray Brown) chickens, particularly in those with the CC trait. However, CaSR showed no association with body weight in poultry; it was associated with calcium and the eggshell. Thus, selection for TSH-β can be used to produce individuals with more favorable traits in terms of body weight.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most important mycotoxins owing to its widespread occurrence and toxicity including nephrotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity to humans. Since OTA is stable under most food processing conditions, OTA has been detected not only in a wide range of agricultural commodities such as cereal grains but also their processed products. Nonetheless, it is known that significant reduction of OTA may be achieved under higher temperature and alkaline conditions. In this study, the effects of retorting cooking process on the stability of OTA in spiked (20 μg/kg of dry weight basis) rice and oat porridge (10% solid content; w/v) in the presence and absence of baking soda was investigated using a laboratory horizontal steam retort system. The samples were heated in a pot at 85°C central temperature until it becomes gelatinized, packed in retort pouched, and heat-processed in pressurized retort machine (at 121°C for 25 min) followed by drying in 50°C oven overnight. Samples were analyzed for OTA by high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD). The reduction of OTA in retorted rice and oat porridge were 54% and 17%, respectively, while greater reduction of OTA was observed at increased amount of baking soda. The reduction of OTA in retorted rice porridge with 0.5% and 1% baking soda were 55% and 66%, respectively. In the retorted oat porridge, reduction of OTA was also evident to result in 30% and 48% with 0.5% and 1.0% of added baking soda, respectively. These results suggest that OTA in rice and oat may be reduced significantly by retorting process. In addition, added baking soda may positively impact the reduction of OTA.

To elucidate the effect of cellular phone electromagnetic wave (EMW) exposure on the developing cerebellar cortex of neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats, animals were exposed to cellular phone electromagnetic waves for 1 hr per day for 3 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, animals were sacrificed by cardiac perfusion, after which histological samples were prepared and observed microscopically. In the EMW exposure group, external granule cells were remained partially in the external granular layer without migrating into the internal granular layer. In addition, dark stained shrunken Purkinje cells with pyknotic nuclei increased and the outline of cells became irregular and showed degenerative signs, such as mitochondrial swelling and disrupted cristae. Moreover, the cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticula and Golgi complex were severely swollen. Bergmann glial cells adjacent to the dark stained Purkinje cells were swollen and cytoplasmic organelles were scant. Dark stained shrunken granule cells were also observed and the outline of cells was irregular. The results of the present study suggest that cellular phone EMW exposure to neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats leads to a partial delay of early migration of cerebellar cortical cells and degenerative changes in Purkinje cells, Bergmann glial cells and granule cells.

Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is commonly found on the skin and mucous membranes of animals. Moreover, some isolates producing staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) are also responsible for food poisoning. This study was conducted to explore the prevalence of S. aureus enterotoxin from slaughtered pigs and cattle. A total of 202 carcass swabs were collected from slaughterhouses: 102 samples were taken from slaughtered pigs and 100 were taken from cattle, respectively. Among them, 16 (7.9%) from slaughtered pigs were found to contain S. aureus, while S. aureus was not isolated from any of the slaughtered cattle samples. Additionally, six (37.5%) of the S. aureus isolates contained genes that encode staphylococcal enterotoxin type A. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the management of food-borne pathogens based on differences in the process by which pigs and cattle are slaughtered.

The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae B is a powerful biological control agent against Monochamusalternatus, a crucial mediator of the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. In this study, production of destruxins(dtxs), insecticidal cyclic hexadepsipeptides, was monitored in the submerged culture of M. anisopliae B. Three typesof dtxs, i.e., destruxin A, B, and E, were produced during the culture. Among the three dtxs, the production yield ofdestruxin A was best, followed by destruxin B and E. Destruxin A production was increased when pH was controlledat 6.0, whereas production of destruxin E was not affected by the pH control. The highest yield of dtxs A, B, and Ewere 16.4, 7.3, and 6.1 mg L-1, respectively. Considering that process for dtxs production has not been optimized, M.anisopliae B has more powerful implication as a biocontrol agent.

Anthriscus sylvestris (L.) Hoffm. is a perennial herb found widely distributed in various regions of Korea, Europe, and New Zealand. The root of A. sylvestris have been extensively used in the treatment for antitussive, antipyretic, cough remedy in Oriental medicine, but the physiologically active function of the leaf of A. sylvestris is as yet unknown. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer activity and the mechanism of cell death of water extracts of leaf of Anthriscus sylvestris (WELAS), on human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Our data showed that WELAS treatment inhibited cell viability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the treatment of WELAS markedly induced apoptosis in FaDu cells, as determined by the viability assay, DAPI stain and FACS analysis. WELAS also increased the proteolytic cleavage of procaspase-3, -9 and PARP (poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase). In addition, exposure to WELAS decreased the expression of Bcl-2 (an anti-apoptotic factor), but increased the expression of Bax (a pro-apoptotic factor), suggesting that mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways are mediated in WELAS-induced apoptosis. Taken together, these results indicate that water extracts of leaf of A. sylvestris inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis via the mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway in FaDu human hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Therefore, we propose that the water extracts of leaf of A. sylvestris is a novel chemotherapeutic drug, having growth inhibitory properties and induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer cells.

Ochratoxin A, which is frequently detected in cereals and infant diets worldwidely, is a mycotoxin to damage mainly the kidney and liver. Because ochratoxin A is highly thermostable compound. it is necessary to study ways of reducing level of ochratoxin A by controling processing steps. However, food processes, including extrusion, expansion, roasting, and steam cooking, which are used in order to mitigate the contents of ochratoxin A, are known to produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are generated from radicals decomposed by pyrolysis. Therefore, this study analyzed the levels of 4 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benz (a) anthracene, chrysene, benzo (b) fluoranthene and benzo (a) pyrene in rice-based products made in high pressure and heating process. Rice samples were finely ground, and homogenized samples were alkaline treatement with 1 M KOH/EtOH and extracted with liquid-liquid extraction method using n-hexane. The extracted solution was pretreated with a silica cartridge. The purified solution was dried with nitrogen gas and dissolved in 1 mL of dichloromethane and injected into GC/MSD. We had overall recoveries for 4 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons spiked into rice samples ranging from 92.8 to 110.2%. The limit of quantitations of benz (a) anthracene, chrysene, benzo (b) fluoranthene and benzo (a) pyrene in rice-based product were 0.19 ng/g, 0.38 ng/g, 0.51 ng/g, and 0.31 ng/g, respectively. However, these 4 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in all processed rice samples were not detected.

Strawberry jelly as a universal design food was developed using strawberry juice (SJ), sugar, xanthan gum (XG), and locust bean gum (LBG). Experimental variables included SJ concentration (30-40% (w/w)), sugar concentration (7.5-10.0% (w/w)), and the ratio of XG/LBG (0.3-4.0% (w/w)), and response variables were textural (hardness, gumminess, chewiness) and color properties. The formulation of strawberry jelly was optimized against hardness and the interactions among variables were predicted using the response surface methodology. Controlled storage test at 5 or 15°C was conducted to determine the values of the jelly at different temperatures. The optimal SJ and sugar concentrations and the ratio of XG/LBG against hardness were 40, 10, and 1.5%, respectively. The color did not change significantly during storage at 5 and 15°C (p>0.05). However, the textural characteristics during storage increased significantly at 5°C (p<0.05) and the hardness was appropriate to be used as a criterion for determining the shelf life of the jelly. The shelf life at 5°C generated from a zero-order kinetics (R²=0.96) was 40 d according to a criterial value, 1.8 N, of hardness. The Q10 value was calculated as 0.6, which allowed prediction of the shelf life values at different temperatures. The results from this study suggested a formulation of strawberry jelly as a universal design food and allowed determination of the shelf life of the food product.

Pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) produced in the subesophageal ganglion is known to stimulate pheromone production in the pheromone gland. A cDNA isolated from female adult heads of Maruca vitrata encodes 197 amino acids including PBAN, designated as Mvi-PBAN, and four other neuropeptides (NPs): diapause hormone (DH) homologue, α-NP, β-NP and γ-NP. All of the peptides are amidated in their C-termini and shared a conserved motif, FXPR(or K)L-NH2 structure. Mvi-PBAN consists of 35 amino acids as previously reported (Chang and Ramasamy, 2014). RT-PCR analysis revealed that Mvi-PBAN cDNA was expressed in all examined body parts. Nucleotide sequence analysis of RT-PCR products indicated the Mvi-PBAN sequence was identical in all examined body parts of both sexes. These results suggest that Mvi-PBAN expression is maintained in examined stages or tissues.

CD63, a member of tetraspanin membrane protein family, plays pivotal role in cell growth, motility, signal transduction, host-pathogen interactions and cancer. In this work, the cDNA encoding CD63 homologue (TmCD63) was cloned from larvae of coleopteran beetle, Tenebrio molitor. The cDNA is comprised of an open reading frame of 705 bp, encoding putative protein of 235 amino acid residues. In silico analysis shows that the protein has four putative transmembrane domains and one large extracellular loop. The characteristic ‘Cys-Cys-Gly’ motif and ‘Cys188’ residues are highly conserved in the large extracellular loop. Phylogenetic analysis of TmCD63 revealed that they belong to the insect cluster with 50-56% identity. Analysis of spatial expression patterns demonstrated that TmCD63 mRNA is mainly expressed in gut and Malphigian tubules of larvae and the testis of the adult. Developmental expression patterns of CD63 mRNA showed that TmCD63 transcripts are detected in late larval, pupal and adult stages. Interestingly, TmCD63 transcript was upregulated the maximum 4.5 fold in response to DAP-type peptidoglycan during the first 6 h, although other immune elicitors also made significant increase in the transcript level at later time-points. These results suggest that CD63 might contribute to T. molitor immune response against various microbial pathogens.