As the consumption of corn increases, the production of by-products is also increasing. In this study, functional substances and antioxidant activities of corn by-products were investigated to determine their applicability as functional materials. Total polyphenol, flavonoid contents, and ABTS antioxidant activity were the highest in leaves. The total phenolic acid content was the highest in cobs; p-coumaric and ferulic acid were the main components. Phytosterol content in leaves and stems was high at 64 and 50 days after sowing, 261.4 and 274.7 mg/100 g, respectively. β-sitosterol of the leaves and stems was the highest, 149.2 and 138.7 mg/100 g. The total phytosterol content of grains and by-products harvested 106 days after sowing was in the order of: corn silk, husk, grain, leaf, stem, and cob. Among the phytosterols, β-sitosterol was the highest, followed by stigmasterol and campesterol, and the composition was different depending on part. The total phytosterol content was the highest in husk and corn silk, but the stems and leaves, which account for 50% of the total corn biomass, also contained high phytosterol content. Therefore, corn leaves and stems are expected to be used as functional raw materials for the development of functional materials in the future.

This study aimed to investigate the biological activities, including polyphenolic content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities, of various cultivars of Korean perilla leaves. The results indicated that among nine cultivars (Namcheon dlggae, Saedora, Nulbora, Donggel 1, Donggell 2, Soim, Sangyeop, Somirang, and Saebom) of perilla leaves, the total polyphenolic content (gallic acid equivalent mg/g, GAE) was the highest in “Nulbora,” while it was lowest in Namcheon dlggae. Moreover, flavonoid content in the extracts of nine cultivars leaves was in the range of 132.93~268.50 mg catechin equivalent/g sample. The antioxidant effects of the perilla leaves were determined using two different in vitro bioassays measuring DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging activities. The results revealed that antioxidant activity was also higher in “Nulbora” compared with other cultivars. Xanthin-oxidase-inhibition activity ranged from 65.65% to 80.58%, with “Nulbora” exhibiting the highest activity, although the difference with other cultivars was not significant. “Nulbora” extracts reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory genes and several cytokines, including IL-6 activation induced by LPS in macrophages in the range of 100–50 μg/mL. These results suggest that extracts from perilla leaves can be used as bioactive and functional materials that could be important in industrial applications in the future.

Recently, consumers’ awareness of the importance of the intestinal action of lactic acid bacteria and intestinal microbes is increasing, as well as interest in yogurt. In this study, yogurt was prepared with three mixed strains (lactic acid bacteria combination, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp., and Bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilussei, 1:1:1) by adding oats flour, and the quality characteristics of yogurt were investigated, while stored at a storage temperature of 4℃ for 12 days. According to the storage period, the control as wel as the oat yogurt showed slight decrease in pH, and no significant change in acidity. Sugar content slightly increased. and brightness decreased, in the control and the oat yogurt. Visible cell numbers increased during storage, and decreased on the 12th day. Viscosity in the oat yogurt was 7,580 cP, which was approximately eight times higher than that of the control group, and decreased gradually according to the storage period. Antioxidant activity (DPPH) was approximately two times higher in the oat-added yogurt, and slightly increased with the storage period, decreased on the 12th day of storage, and β-glucan was detected only in oat-added yogurt.

Sprouts have various health benefits. Specifically, wheat sprouts are rich in bioactive compounds, such as vitamins and polyphenols. Elicitation induces and enhances secondary metabolite biosynthesis in plants. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of sodium chloride (NaCl) treatments on the growth profile, free amino acid content, and antioxidant activity of germinated wheat (Triticum aestivum). Wheat seeds were germinated at 20℃ for 10 days and treated with 0, 2, 4, 7.5, and 10 mM of NaCl 10 days before harvesting. Treating the soil bed with NaCl increased the nutritional component amounts, such as free amino acids and γ- aminobutyric acid. The chlorophyll a and b concentrations were the highest in the hydroponic system treated with 7.5 mM NaCl. In addition, the polyphenol and flavonoid contents of sprouts treated with 2 and 7.5 mM NaCl were 1.94 and 1.34 times higher than that of the control sprouts (0 mM NaCl, water only), respectively. These results suggest that 2 to 4 mM NaCl treatments improve the nutritional and food quality of wheat sprouts more than water only.

In this study, we investigated the effects of adding oat and lactic acid bacteria on the quality and functionality of yogurt. Yogurt was fermented with various lactic acid bacteria,; Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA), Lactobacillus delbrueckii sub. bulgaricus (LB), and Streptococcus thermophilussei (ST) and quality properties, β-glucan content, antioxidant activity were estimated. The quality of control and oat added yogurt (OY) showed significant differences depending on the type of strain and combination. The addition of oats significantly accelerated the lactic acid bacteria production, decreased the pH, and increased the titratable acidity and count of the viable cells compared to the control. Acid production was highest in ST, with the complex strains containing ST and LALBST showing high quality characteristics. The viscosity of oat yogurt was higher than that of the control group, and LALBST was also significantly higher than that of the control group. The β-glucan content of OY was 0.14-0.2%, and the organic acid content and antioxidant activity were also significantly increased by the addition of oats. As a result, it is thought that the addition of oats and a combination of lactic acid bacteria can be used for improving the quality and functionality of yogurt.

In this study, the antioxidant activity of methanol extracts of wheat sprouts grown in wild fields and cultivated fields and harvested at various times were analyzed to compare the quality characteristics of the wheat sprouts as a function of their cultivation and harvest time, as well as for the development of functional materials. The total polyphenolic and flavonoid content, as well as antioxidant activity of the wheat extracts, were subsequently analyzed. The ABTS radical scavenging activity of the wheat extract increased from 16.97 mg TEAC/g sample on cultivation day three in cultivated field wheat sprouts to 25.99 mg TEAC/g sample after seven days of wild field cultivation. The total polyphenol content increased from 17.08 mg GA eq/100 g in cultivated field wheat sprouts grown for three days to 28.70 mg GA eq/100 g after seven days of wild field cultivation. In addition, the flavonoid content increased from 7.02 mg catechin eq/100 g (7 days) to 8.47 mg/g after 12 days of wild field cultivation. Notably, the activity subsequently decreased. These results suggest that the wheat sprouts with higher biological activity were those produced from the wild field after 20 days.

With the aim of developing region specialized crops, this study was conducted to clarify effects of variant and cultivation region on antioxidative activities in various black soybean (Glycine max L.) seed tissues. Three black soybean varieties (SCEL-1, Wonheug, and Cheongja 3) were each cultivated in 4 different regions (Jeonju, Pyeongchang, Paju, and Cheonan). Harvested seeds were used to assess DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, and total polyphenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin content. SCEL-1 soybean hull contained higher DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity (61% and 85% respectively) compared to Wonheug (40% and 50% respectively). SCEL-1 cultivated in Pyeongchang displayed the highest total polyphenol and flavonoid content (1,189 mg GAE/ 100g sample and 951 mg CTE/ 100g sample, respectively). Total anthocyanin content was ranked in the following order: SCEL-1>Wonheug>Cheongja 3. All black soybeans showed much higher antioxidant activity in the soybean hull than in the dehulled soybean. The antioxidant activity of black soybeans cultivated at high latitudes was high. These results suggest that the best black soybean variant for high beneficial biological activities is the SCEL-1 variant. For a complete understanding of the potential of black soybean as functional foods, we plan to further analyze their antioxidant activities in future studies.

본 연구는 적외선 열 영상 장치를 이용하여 2년생 ‘유미’ 복숭아나무의 토양수분 수준에 따른 엽온 및 CWSI를 분석하여 수분스트레스 측정 가능성을 검토하였다. 엽온은 대기온도와 유사한 일변화를 보이며 낮 시간대에는 대기온도보다 높은 양상을 보였다. 엽온은 전일(24시간) 기준으로 대기온도(r2 = 0.95), 일사량(r2 = 0.74), 상대습도(r2 = -0.88)와 모두 높은 상관계수를 나타났다. 또한 토양수분장력은 낮 시간대(11~16시)에 엽온(r2 = -0.57), 엽-대기온도차(r2 = -0.71), CWSI(r2 = -0.72)와 높은 부의상관을 나타냈다. CWSI와 엽온, 엽-대기온도차의 상관계수는 24시간 기준으로 매우 높았고(r2 = 0.90, r2 = 0.92), CWSI와 토양수분장력의 상관분석에서 24시간 기준으로는 상관관계가 낮았으나(r2 = -0.27), 낮 시간대(11~16시)에는 상관관계가 매우 높았다(r2 = -0.72). CWSI (y)와 토양수분장력(x)의 상관관계 결정계수(r2)는 11~12시간대에 가장 높았으며(r2 = 0.68), 이때 회귀식은 y = -0.0087x + 0.14로 조사되었다. 일반적인 토양수분스트레스 시점인 -50 kPa에 해당되는 CWSI는 0.575로 계산된다. 따라서 적외선 열 영상 장치를 이용한 엽온 및 CWSI는 토양수분장력에 대해 높은 상관계수를 나타낸 것으로 보아 복숭아나무의 수분스트레스 진단에 유용하게 활용할 수 있을 것으로 예상된다.