Gastrodia elata Bl. (GE) is a traditional herbal medicine used for the treatment hypertension and cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antioxidant effect and blood pressure control ability of the GABA containing fermented Gastrodia elata Blume. The fermentation strain provided by Dr. Gi in Seoul National University is L. brevis GABA100, excellent strain of GABA production, which is involved in the ability to degrade gastrodin glycosides and activation of brain function. The Gastrodia elata Blume fermented by Lactobacillus brevis GABA 100 showed antioxidant activity (total phenolic contents, DPPH radical and ABTS anion scavenging activities) than unfermented Gastrodia elata Blume. In the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), the concentration of fermented Gastrodia elata Blume was administered at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mg/kg for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure decreased statistically significantly (p<0.05), especially 2 weeks after feeding fermented Gastrodia elata Blume. Also, it showed a significant decrease in low, medium, and high concentrations of fermented Gastrodia elata Blume at 4 weeks and 8 weeks. These results indicated that Gastrodia elata Blume fermented by the excellent strain of GABA production L. brevis GABA100 shows the antioxidant function and the effect of suppressing the increase in blood pressure.

The purpose of this study was to prepare bread added with sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berry powder (SBBP) (1, 3, and 5%) using a straight dough method. The quality and antioxidant characteristics of the bread were analyzed. The results indicated that the pH value and dough raising power of the dough decreased and the moisture content of the bread added with SBBP increased compared to that without the SBBP. The crust color of the bread did not change significantly. However, the crumb lightness value decreased and the redness and yellowness value increased respectively to the concentration of the SBBP. The texture measurement indicated that the hardness, gumminess, and chewiness of the bread increased with the addition of the SBBP. The total polyphenol content of the bread supplemented with the SBBP was increased (4.60~16.14 mg GAE/g) compare to the control (1.67 mg GAE/g). Dose-dependent, significant-high DPPH (26.86%) and ABTS (42.52%) radical scavenging activities were observed in the bread with the addition of the SBBP up to 5%. Based on these results, the optimum amount of the SBBP to add for baking bread would be 3% and the SBBP could be considered a functional agent.

The physicochemical and antioxidant properties of cookies prepared using powders of barley sprout (BS), lemon balm (LB), and green tea (GT) were studied. The same dough density was maintained in all the sample groups. The experimental group to which the natural ingredients containing antioxidants were added did not show any significant change in the appearance of cookies compared to the control. LB and GT cookies showed significantly lower hardness compared to the control (p<0.05). Control showed the lowest antioxidant effect when assessed with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. (DPPH) and this gradually increased in the order of BS, LB, and GT. The antioxidant activity of GT was 7 times higher as compared to the control (p<0.05). The antioxidant activity assessed using 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) also showed results similar to that seen with DPPH. GT showed a significantly higher total phenol content, about 2-3 times higher compared to the control (p<0.05). GT had significantly higher total flavonoid content than that of the control (p<0.05). Thus, the addition of natural antioxidant ingredients such as sprout barley, lemon balm and specifically green tea, in the preparation of cookies, resulted in excellent antioxidant activity with similar physicochemical quality characteristics. The study suggests that it is possible to develop cookies that are competitive in terms of nutritional and physiologically active functions.