4(5)-methylimidazole (4(5)-MI) is carcinogenic, nitrogen-containing compound, mainly found during the manufacturing of caramel coloring. Hence, presence of 4(5)-MI is well-known in any food products with addition of caramel coloring for desirable sensory characteristics, such as cookies. Limited work has been conducted to develop suitable analytical method and to investigate effect of caramel coloring in cookies. This study aimed at developing the analytical method for quantification of 4(5)-MI and confirming influence of caramel coloring on level of 4(5)-Mi in cookies. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was utilized for qualification and quantification of 4(5)-MI. Sample preparation procedure specialized in bakery products was fully developed in this study. The concentration of 4(5)-MI in 15 commercial cookies and biscuits ranged from 71.5 to 1254.8 ng/g. Correlation equation (y = 706.42x + 21.792) was obtained to estimate effect of caramel colorant on level of 4(5)-MI in cookies. Further, analytical method developed and results of correlation equation can be utilized in future studies on reduction of 4(5)-MI in many food.

Hericium erinaceus is considered a functional food and potential medicinal source. The present study was conducted to examine the potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of carried out with water and ethanol extracts of Hericium erinaceus grown on germinated green rice (HEGR-W and HEGR-E, respectively) and the water and ethanol extracts of germinated green rice (GR-W and GR-E, respectively) as potential medicinal resources or antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. Methods and Results: The total phenolic and flavonoid contents, DPPH, and ABTS activity, reducing power, DNA protective activity, cell viability, and NO production were investigated. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were highest in HEGR-E (66.53 ± 2.40 ㎎·GAE/100 g and 82.12 ± 7.10 ㎎·CE/100 g respectively). HEGR-E exhibited high DPPH (44.70 ± 1.28%) and, ABTS (44.70 ± 1.28%) activity and reducing power (0.219). HEGR and GR extracts showed protective activity against DNA damage. The cytotoxicity of HEGR and GR in RAW264.7 cells and LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells was low. HEGR-E and GR-W exhibited anti-inflammatory effects through a 28% inhibition of NO production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. Conclusions: These results suggested that the extracts of Hericium erinaceus grown on germinated green rice could be a potential medicinal material with natural antioxidant and NO inhibitory properties.

Background : Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ known as black chokeberry, is a species of rosaceae family. Chokeberry is high in flavonoid/anti-oxidants as well as high in vitamins and minerals. Black chokeberry contains high amount of polyphenols, especially anthocyanins. Methods and Results : The aim of this study is to figure out the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory property of Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ (AMV) for both water and ethanol extract. The extracts have been tested to assess the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2ʹ-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and nitrite scavenging activity. We have also evaluated the reducing power activity of AMV. AMV extracts showed a good radical scavenging activity on DPPH and ABTS free radical. The DPPH radical scavenging activity ranges from 20.59% - 80.12% and 26.12% - 95.59% for water and ethanol extract, respectively. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents have also been estimated in this study. Moreover, to appraise the anti-inflammation property we examined cell viability and inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production by using the lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. The extracts showed no cytotoxic effects on RAW 264.7 cells. Conclusion : According to the results, we suggest AMV contains noticeable antioxidant properties and could be source of natural antioxidant substances.

Background : The interests in the consumption of red pepper (Capsicum annum L.) is, to a large extent due to its content of bioactive compounds and their importance as dietary antioxidants and Red pepper is commonly used as food material and a broad variety of medicinal applications, Therefore, we investigated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of red pepper. Methods and Results : This present study was evaluated the effect of red pepper ethanol and distilled water extracts on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Antioxidant activity of the extracts were evaluated by the assay of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and reducing power, along with the determination of total phenolic and flavonoid contents. The ethanol and the water extracts showed strong antioxidant activity by the testing methods. Total phenol content was high in ethanol extract, whereas total flavonoid content was high in water extract. The red pepper extract exhibited high scavenging activity against DPPH radicals and showed high reducing power. In vitro cytotoxic assay, red pepper extract showed noncytotoxic effect in the RAW 264.7 cells with or without LPS. The level of nitric oxide (NO) production induced by LPS decreased in a dose-dependent manner (0.25 ㎍/ ㎖ – 1.0 ㎎/㎖). Proinfllamatory cytokine level including TNF-ɑ and IL-6 decresed in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells by treating red pepper extracts. Conclusion : These results indicate that the ethanol and distilled water extracts of red pepper can be used as an anti-proliferative therapeutic agent or functional food.

Background: There is an increasing surplus of chestnut that are abandoned due to their failure to meet customer awareness. Thus, we investigated the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of chestnut (Castanea crenata) inner shell extracts in hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells as a potential source of anti-cancer materials. Methods and Results: Distilled water extract (CI-W) and ethanol extract (CI-E) were prepared from chestnut inner shell and evaluated their anti-proliferative effects in vitro. Each extract significantly decreased the cell viability of HepG2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Indeed, the morphology of HepG2 cells treated with CI-W or CI-D was distorted to shrunken cell masses. Furthermore, it was revealed that their extracts induced cell death as evidenced by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS), formation of apoptotic body and condensation. In addition, Their extracts clearly modulated the down regulated of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptoic)/ Bax (pro-apoptotic) family and cleaved caspase-3 as an effector caspase in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: These results indicate that the extracts of chestnut inner shell can be used as an anti-proliferative therapeutic agent or functional food.

Background: Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, is a serious problem in diabetes. Hyperglycemia induces the generation of free radicals which disrupts insulin signaling and result in insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and hypoglycemic potentials of LBO-1 mixture. Methods and Results: To evaluate antioxidant effect of LBO-1 mixture, DPPH, ABTS and reducing power were performed. LBO-1 mixture scavenged DPPH free radicals and ABTS radicals in a dose-dependent manner. The total phenolic contents of LBO-1 mixture was determined by a regression equation using a calibration curve by gallic acid equivalents. The obtained total phenolic contents were 65.90 ± 0.52 ㎎/g. Phenolic components of plant extracts that can scavenge free radicals. In addition, we evaluated effects of LBO-1 mixture on glucose production in high glucose-induced HepG2 hepatocytes. LBO-1 mixture decreased glucose levels in cultured medium and it down regulated Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) levels which is an enzyme used in the metabolic pathway of gluconeogenesis. Conclusion: These results indicate that the LBO-1 mixture can be used as hypoglycemic agent.

Background : Capsaicin is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. Research reported capsaicin has antioxidant and anti-inflamatory activity and osteoclast lineages are very susceptible to oxidative stress, as osteoclasts are produced by increased-generation of intracellular ROS and osteoclasts are activated by ROS. Therefore, our study was evaluated the influence of intracellular oxidative stress such as increased ROS level on RANKL-mediated osteoclast differenciation. Methods and Results : Capsaicin showed a good free radical scavenging activity at in-vitro antioxidant activity. The inhibitory effect of osteoclast differentiation on capsaicin was confirmed. Osteoclast differentiation from murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells was induced by RANKL. The effect of capsaicin on receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation was demonstrated using a tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) assay and TRAP staining. Capsaicin showed an inhibitory effect on TRAP activity. The TRAP staining showed that the number of TRAP positive osteoclasts was reduced in capsaicin-treated cells. Conclusion : Capsaicin revealed an inhibitory effect in osteoclast differentiation induced by RANKL. These results suggest that capsaicin may have a beneficial effect for the prevention or treatment of osteoclast caused bone diseases such as osteoporosis.

Solid-liquid separation is important for securing safe runoff quality in the biological treatment process. In particular, the method for determining sludge settlement characteristics using SVI, which is a parameter, evaluates the precipitation features of sludge in an aeration tank and secondary precipitation tank and is a simple and widely used method. However, in methods using SVI, the accumulation of objective data is usually not possible, since the subjective judgment of operators is mainly involved in this evaluation method. Therefore, the automation of SVI measurement is required to improve the determination method of sludge settlement using SVI. In this study, an automatic measurement system of SVI using optics was developed. To evaluate the reliability of the measurement system, a visual inspection test was performed in parallel with our suggested SV30 auto-measurement system using actual sludge and a similar tendency in the results was obtained. Using this suggested SV30 automation system, the indirect determination of MLSS (Mixed-Liquor-Suspended-Solids) activation states of the aeration tank and precipitation tank is also expected to be possible. Through the test results, it was verified that the reliability of SVI determination was increased by identifying the effect of outside light after performing a test under external light interference.