Excessive nitrate content in drinking groundwater is one of the sources of nitrate-nitrogen that threatens humanhealth all over the world. Nitrate-nitrogen reduction technology is categorized into membrane filtration, electro-dial-ysis, ion exchange, adsorption, chemical methods, and biological methods according to the principle of eliminationfrom water. In particular, an adsorption technique is the most popular and common process because of its cost effec-tiveness, convenience, and effective adsorption. In this review, the application of conventional adsorbents used toreduce nitrate-nitrogen from drinking water is discussed and novel technologies on nitrate-nitrogen removal are intro-duced. Furthermore, the recent development of novel nitrate-nitrogen adsorbents from biopolymers such as chitosanand agricultural and industrial byproducts is reviewed.

Angelicae gigantis Radix (dried root of Angelica gigas) including major bioactives such as decursin and decursinol angelate provides rich flavors and several healthy benefits. Recent studies have shown that ultrafine powders of herbal medicines provide better physical properties and biological activities. Thus, ultrafine Angelica powder was added into the oligosaccharide syrup to provide flavors and healthy benefits in this study. Angelicae gigantis Radix was pulverized into d(0.1) = 3.220, d(0.5) = 7.822, and d(0.9) = 7.817 μm respectively using an air-flow mill. The ultrafine Angelica powder was added into the oligosaccharide syrup process with different ratios of water to oligosaccharide syrup at 1:5, 1:8, 1:11, and 1:14. The physicochemical properties such as viscosity and bulk density were measured. The Stokes’ law was applied to predict the sedimentation velocity of the added Angelica powder in the syrup. The Angelica syrup prepared in this experiment showed good stability since the Angelica particles precipitated down slowly. The ratio of water to oligosaccharide syrup at 1:11 showed the optimal preparation in terms of the stability and the viscosity. The ultrafine-sized herbal powders such as Angelicae gigantis Radix have potentials for various food and pharmaceutical applications.