Kunrak, a type of Korea traditional cheese, is made using Tarak, a yogurt produced with makgeolli as the fermentation source. Kunrak is produced by removing whey from Tarak, followed by drying process for safe storage and consumption over a longer period. In this study, we produced kunrak based on the method described in「Imwonsibyukji」. Prepared Kunrak was ripening for 96 hours at 20, 30, and 40oC. In order to study characteristics of Kunrak, physiochemical properties (pH, acidity, water contents) and contents of metabolites (organic acids, sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids) were analyzed. During ripening, water contents decreased. The main organic acids in Kunrak were citric acid and lactic acid, and the main free sugar was lactose. Main amino acids were glutamate and phenylalanine, and main fatty acid was saturated capric acid. At later ripening, all metabolites increased immediately after preparation. The sensory evaluation score of overall preference was highest for Kunrak, which was ripening at 40oC for 96 hours. This study was aimed to assay metabolites of Kunrak under various ripening conditions. The results provide basic data to produce conditions for standardized manufacturing of Kunrak.

Red ginseng marc (RGM) has been used on primary industries using fertilizer or forage, and it mostly has been dumped. To improve utilization of RGM, the biological activities of RGM were examined. RGM was extracted and fractionated using various solvents and their biological activities were compared. The hexane fraction from the methanol extract of RGM (RGMMH) showed strong anti-cancer activity (58.56 ± 6.04% at 100 ㎍/mL) and anti-inflammatory effect (65.72 ± 1.33% at 100 ㎍/mL). But, oil extract of RGM extracted with hexane (RGMH) showed low activities (anti-cancer: 16.42 ± 3.33%, at 100 ㎍/mL, anti-inflammatory activity: 29.46 ± 2.10%, at 100 ㎍/mL). Their metabolites were analyzed using HPLC. Panaxydol known as anti-cancer compound of RGM was one of major compounds in RGMMH. Meanwhile, panaxydol was detected in trace amount in red ginseng marc oil (RGMH). In addition, RGMMH and RGMH showed big differences in HPLC profiling. This research suggests optimal extraction method of RGM oil.

Panax ginseng C.A. meyer (family: Araliaceae) is a perennial crop that has been widely used as a traditional medicine in Korea. Various P. ginseng cultivars exhibit a range of morphological and physiological traits as well as genetic diversity. To elucidate the differences of primary metabolism underlying such genetic diverstiy, we performed primary metabolite profiles in adventitious roots from five Panax ginseng cultivars using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS analysis revealed eight primary metabolites as biomarkers and allowed us to classify the five cultivars into three groups. We selected three cultivars to represent each group and analyzed their transcriptomes by Illumina sequencing. We inspected 100 unigenes involved in seven primary metabolite biosynthesis pathways and found that 21 unigenes encoding 15 enzymes were differentially expressed among the three cultivars. Integrated analysis of transcriptomes and metabolomes revealed that the ginseng cultivars differ in primary metabolites as well as in the putative genes involved in the complex process of primary metabolic pathways. Our data derived from this integrated analysis provide insights into the underlying complexity of genes and metabolites that co-regulate flux through these pathways in ginseng.

Quantitative analysis of MR spectrum depending on mole concentration of the contrast media in cereberal metabolite phantom was performed. PRESS pulse sequence was used to obtain MR spectrum at 3.0T MRI system (Archieva, Philips Healthcare, Best, Netherland), and the phantom contains brain metabolites such as N-Acetyl Asparatate (NAA), Choline (Cho), Creatine (Cr) and Lactate (Lac). In this study, optimization of MRS PRESS pulse sequency depending on the concentration of contrast media (0, 0.1 and 0.3 mmol/ℓ) was evaluated for various repetition time (TR; 1500, 1700 and 2000 ms). In control (cotrast-media-free) group, NAA and Cho signals were the highest at TR 2000 ms than at 1700 and 1500 ms. Cr had the highest peak signal at TR 1500 ms. When concentration of contrast media was 0.1 mmol/ℓ, the metabolites were increased NAA 73%, Cho 249%, Cr 37% at TR 1700 ms compared with other TR, and also signal increased at 0.3 mmol/ℓ, In 0.5 mmol/ℓ of contrast agent, cerebral metabolite peaks reduced, especially when TR 1500 ms and 2000 ms they decreased below those of control group. The ratio of metabolite peaks such as NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr decreased as the concentration of the contrast agent increased from 0.1 to 0.5 mmol/ℓ. Authors found that the optimization of PRESS sequence for 0.3T MRS was as follows: low density of contrast agent (0.1 mmol/ℓ and 0.3 mmol/ℓ) made the highest signal intensity, while high density of contrast agent reveals the least reduction of signal intensity at 1700 ms. In conclusion, authors believe that it is helpful to reduce TR for acquiring maximum signal intensity.

Gastrodia elata, an achlorophyllous orchid plant, is rare medicinal plant. We investigated the genetic diversity in G. elata from 4 locations by using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) markers. Shannon's information Index (S.I.) indicating genetic diversity ranged from 0.255 (Pocheon) to 0.322 (Muju) with the mean of 0.29. The level of genetic diversity was lower than other plant and most genetic diversity was allocated among individuals within populations (26.81%). The UPGMA dendrogram based on genetic distance failed in showing decisive geographic relationship. In the case of gastrodin (GA), the major components in G. elata, Sangju was highest. The ergothionine (ERG) was detected a lot of contents in Muju and Pocheon. In conclusion, our results is very important information for explaining relationship of genetic variation and functional substances without the effects of environment factors and developing genetic marker by ISSR in G. elata, which may be responsible for the development of breeds with a lot of functional substance in G. elata.