Nanoparticles are commonly used to avoid the opaque white color of TiO2 based sunscreen. However, a dispersing agent is typically required because of the tendency of the nanoparticles (NPs) to agglomerate. Stearic acid is one kind of dispersing agent often used for sunscreen products. However, according to the MSDS data sheet on stearic acid, stearic acid is highly hazardous to aquatic life and causes irritation on human skin. To avoid this problem, in this study a safer organic dispersing agent extracted from Korean seaweed has been studied to disperse TiO2 nanoparticles, and further use as an active agent in sunscreen products. The presence of phytochemicals in seaweed extract, especially alginate, can disperse TiO2 nanoparticles and improve TiO2 dispersion properties. Results show that seaweed extract can improve the dispersion properties of TiO2 nanoparticles and sunscreen products. Reducing the agglomeration of TiO2 nanoparticles improves sunscreen properties, by making it less opaque white in color, and increasing UV protection value. It was also confirmed that adding seaweed extract into sunscreen products had no irritating effects on the human skin, making it more desirable for cosmetics application.

In this study, the dietary fiber content of 33 kinds of agricultural products and seaweeds was compared with that of raw products after heat treatment. To verify the total dietary fiber analysis method, the recovery rate was reviewed by measuring the total dietary fiber content for 4 standard certified substances. As a result, the recovery rate of the analysis value for the true value was 98.8%~103.1%, which was judged to be reliable. The total dietary fiber of vegetables ranged between 0.61~5.36 g/100 g for raw vegetables and 0.55~4.84 g/100 g for heat-treated vegetables. Among the 24 kinds of vegetables used in the analanalysis, the total dietary fiber content of heat-treated Korean radish (3.13 g/100 g) was the highest compared to that of raw radish (0.61 g/100 g). The total dietary fiber of beans was between 13.86~29.69 g/100 g for raw beans and 6.72~18.40 g/100 g for heat-treated beans. In particular, the total dietary fiber content of sword beans was the highest in both raw (29.69 g/100 g) and boiled (18.40 g/100 g) beans. The total dietary fiber content of the three types of seaweed was 1.93~4.85 g/100 g in raw seaweed and 0.99~5.72 g/100 g in heat-treated seaweed.