Effects of a commercial scale intervention system combining ultraviolet (UV)-C and plasma treatments on the microbial decontamination of black pepper powder were investigated. The process parameters include treatment time, time for plasma accumulation before treatment, and water activity of black pepper powder. A significant reduction in the number of indigenous aerobic mesophilic bacteria in black pepper powder was observed after treatments lasted for ≥ 20 min (p<0.05) and the reduction was differed by powder manufacturer. The microbial reduction rates obtained by individual UV-C treatment, individual plasma treatment, and UV-C/plasma-combined treatment were 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 log CFU/g, respectively, suggesting that the efficacy of the microbial inactivation was enhanced by treatment combination. Nonetheless, neither plasma accumulation time nor powder water activity affected the microbial inactivation efficacy of the combined treatment. The UV-C/plasma-combined treatment, however, decreased lightness of black pepper powder, and the decrease generally increased as operation time increased. The plasma accumulation time of 20 min resulted in significant reduction in both lightness and brown color. The results indicate that the commercial-scale intervention system combining treatments of UV-C and plasma has the potential to be applied in the food industry for decontaminating black pepper powder.

Various rheological methods to measure the hardness of instant cooked rice by a texture analyzer were investigated and compared. Specifically, instant white rice samples with a wide range of hardness were subjected to four different rheological tests with disk, cylinder, rod, and cone probe whose results were inter-correlated. All the measurements demonstrated that the hardness of instant rice was reduced with increasing moisture content and showed negatively linear relationships. Out of the four tests applied in this study, the highest coefficient of correlation (R2 = 0.9268) was observed distinctly in the cone probe test, where both compressive and shear forces can be applied to deform individual rice grains. However, the cylinder probe test had the lowest coefficient of correlation (R2 = 0.7247) because it may be ineffective in causing direct deformation of individual rice grains. Furthermore, when the hardness values (N) were converted to stress (Pa), highly linear correlations (R2 ≈ 0.99) were observed between the tests with similar probe geometry and force application.

Aronia has low preference because of astringent and bitter taste. Appropriate processing is essential for eating aronia. For the processing of aronia, the aim of this study is to provide basic information on the cultivar and ripening stages. Three varieties (Viking, Nero and McKenzie) were studied. We divided the stages of maturity into four levels based on color. The physicochemical properties were analyzed. In the case of hardness, the first stage of maturity was the highest, and there was no difference between varieties. As maturation progressed, brightness and yellowness gradually decreased, and redness was highest at the second stage. The sugar content was the lowest in the Viking and significantly increased with the maturity stage. The acidity was highest in the Viking. Nero showed the highest radical scavenging ability. Total polyphenols and flavonoids were the highest in Nero. The highest level was shown at the first stage by the ripening stage.

The rate of salt and sugar into pickled cabbages was determined, and physicochemical characteristics, such as sensory, texture, and pH, of vinegar pickled cabbages during storage were examined at different storage temperatures and vinegar concentrations. The rate of salt and sugar penetration was faster in smaller size and on leaves rather than the stem of cabbage. Also, higher salt and sugar concentration and higher storage temperatures led to increase in salt and sugar permeation rate. As a result of sensory test, lower storage temperature is the most suitable, and 6% vinegar concentration was the mostly appropriate. Hardness and cohesiveness were decreased significantly at the initial 1st week storage time, but storage temperature did not show any significant effect. Addition of vinegar contents enhanced the hardness, but decreased cohesiveness. The pH was lowered with increasing vinegar content, indicated most significant factor on pickled cabbage. In general, salt and sugar contents rather than storage temperature have greater influence on permeation rate, and especially, addition of vinegar affects the texture of pickled cabbage.

Whole grain cereal (WGC)-rich diets provide macronutrients that are important for the regulation of energy metabolism. The current study evaluated whether WGCs had a preventive effect on sarcopenic obesity in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. C57BL/6N mice were fed a normal diet (ND), ND+WGC, HFD, and HFD+WGC for 12 weeks. WGCs significantly reduced body weight gain, food efficiency ratio, fat mass, and adipocyte size in HFD-induced obese mice. WGCs attenuated HFD-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by decreasing liver weight and hepatic fat accumulation. In addition, WGCs increased muscle strength and muscle mass in HFD-induced obese mice as well as in ND mice. Taken together, WGCs can be employed as functional food materials for the prevention of sarcopenic obesity by inhibiting fat accumulation and increasing muscle mass.

Previous studies have suggested that rice bran oil (RBO), an edible oil from the byproducts of rice milling, has antiinflammatory effects in inflammation inducing macrophages, known as M1 subsets. Yet the effects of RBO on the counterpart M2 subsets, the “healing” macrophages, were poorly investigated to date. In this regard, recent studies on the molecular/cellular anti-inflammatory mechanisms of dietary components have demonstrated that mitochondrial respiration contributes to macrophage functioning. Therefore, the current study examined whether RBO regulates cytokine secretion by modulating mitochondrial metabolism in wound healing M2 subsets. Palm oil (PO), enriched with medium-chain fatty acids, served as a positive control. C57BL/6 mice were fed a diet containing either corn oil (CO), PO or RBO for 4 weeks, followed by purification of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) from their tibias and femurs. Cells were further polarized to M2-BMDM, and the expression of M2 marker (CD206) on cellular surfaces were not affected by dietary intervention. In addition, the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) in the culture supernatant was not affected by dietary lipids. Oxygen consumption rate, the indicator of mitochondrial respiration in M2-BMDM was not regulated by RBO intervention and PO treatment. Taken together, this study imply that RBO did not intervene both the regulation of inflammatory responses and mitochondrial respiration in M2 macrophages.

The effects of chemical compositions (protein, lipid, and dietary fiber) on the physical properties of dried biji powders were investigated. The raw biji was freeze-dried (control) and hot-air dried (untreated). The untreated biji was further defatted and deproteinated. The prepared biji powders were analyzed for the proximate composition, total dietary fiber (TDF), water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), swelling power, solubility (including the quantification of soluble carbohydrate and protein fractions), and final viscosity (using a rapid visco analyzer). Control and untreated biji powders exhibited the similar chemical compositions. The defatted biji possessed higher TDF, although its protein content did not significantly differ for control and untreated ones. The deproteinated biji consisted mainly of TDF. WAI and swelling power increased in the order: deproteinated > defatted > control > untreated biji powders. WSI and solubility increased in the order: control > untreated > defatted > deproteinated biji powders. The similar patterns were observed for soluble carbohydrate and protein fractions. The deproteinated biji revealed the highest viscosity over applied temperatures, while the untreated one was lowest. Overall results suggested that the physical properties of the dried biji powder were reduced by protein and fat, but enhanced by dietary fiber.

Coffee is a commonly consumed beverage that contains anti-inflammatory compounds such as caffeine, chlorogenic acid, cafestol, trigonelline, and kahweol. Lactobacillus plantarum is a lactic acid bacterium most frequently used in the fermentation of food products of plant origin. L. plantarum is able to degrade some food phenolic compounds and provide high value-added compounds such as powerful antioxidants or food additives approved as flavouring agents. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of coffee extract fermented by L. plantarum on RAW264.7 macrophages. In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, these coffee extracts exhibited antiinflammatory activities through the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible NO synthase expression. Fermented coffee extracts significantly decreased the expression of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1β, interleukin 6, and interferon γ. Cyclooxygenase-2, which is one of the key biomarkers for inflammation, was significantly suppressed. These results might be helpful for understanding the anti-inflammatory mechanism of fermented coffee extract on immune cells and, moreover, suggest that fermented coffee extract may be a beneficial anti-inflammatory agent.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pretreatments on quality of frozen peach. Pretreatments including steam blanching, water blanching, high pressure, and osmotic dehydration were applied to two varieties (Daeokgye and Hwangdo). Pretreated peaches were frozen and thawed at -20oC and 5oC, respectively. Steam blanching and osmotic dehydration with ascorbic acid reduced ΔE values without change of pH and acidity. Osmotic dehydration with sucrose decreased drip loss and increased brix. Freezing/thawing resulted in an increase of maximum force, while maximum force decreased with increasing time of steam and water blanching. Furthermore, osmotic dehydration with calcium chloride increased maximum force. High pressure decreased maximum force of Daeokgye and increased that of Hwangdo compared with non-treatment. Total polyphenol content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and ABTS radical scavenging activity were improved by pretreatment including steam blanching, blanching, and osmotic dehydration with ascorbic acid.

The main purposes of this study were to identify the factors affecting the supercooling property and to improve the possibility of supercooling storage of fruits and vegetables. Freezing point and nucleation temperature, moisture content, hardness, sugar content, and pH of nineteen fruits and vegetables were measured and Pearson correlation analysis was performed. Freezing point showed a statistically significant correlation with moisture content and sugar content (p<0.01), while ice nucleation temperature showed a correlation (p<0.05) only for sugar content. In particular, the water content and sugar content did not show any correlation with the freezing supercooling difference (FSD). From the correlation analysis between FSD, aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and mold, FSD showed a correlation (p<0.01) with aerobic bacteria. The experiments of the saline solutions inoculated with aerobic bacteria at different concentrations showed FSDs of about 2 for saline inoculated with 9.4 log CFU/mL and about 6 for saline inoculated lower than 5 log CFU/mL. Therefore, the aerobic bacteria concentration was determined to be a key factor affecting the supercooling storage of fruits and vegetables.

This study examined the effects of drying methods of Aronia melanocarpa on contents of total polyphenols and flavonoids, antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory activity. As a result, freeze-dried aronia extract (FDAE) significantly exhibited higher contents of total polyphenols and flavonoids (155.76 mg GAE/g and 105.70 mg QE/g) than hot-air dried aronia extract (HDAE) (134.93 mg GAE/g and 82.29 mg QE/g). Also, FDAE showed greater antioxidant activity than HDAE in both DPPH and ABTS. For anti-inflammatory activity, NO production from lipopolysaccharide activated RAW264.7 cell reduced at a dose-dependent manner in both FDAE and HDAE. However, reduction rate of NO production is higher in FDAE (62.7%) than in HDAE (33.5%). These results suggest that comparatively, freezedrying is a better method for preserving the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and of aronia.

In recent years, interest in halal authentication from the domestic food and cosmetics field has been growing for advances into the overseas halal market. For halal authentication, the product must not contain haram ingredients derived from pig, dog, human, GMO, etc. In this study, the presence of haram ingredients in plant extracts (carrot, oyster mushroom, and pine needle) treated with papain and bromelain and cosmetics (mask pack and cream) containing these extracts were analyzed by PCR to confirm whether these cosmetics were suitable for halal authentication. Detection limits of the PCR method that specifically detected template DNA of human, pig, dog, and GMO were 1.29×103, 1.14×103, 1.24×102 and 2.02×103 copies/tube, respectively. PCR was not inhibited by the plant extracts or cosmetic ingredients. Results of PCR for the plant extracts or cosmetics containing these extracts were all negative. This PCR method could be used to rapidly identify the presence of haram ingredients in raw materials or final products during the manufacturing process of food and cosmetics.

The interest in and development of healthy foods and nutraceuticals have increased because of the trend for a health-oriented society. Cinnamon is used as a food ingredient as well as a herbal medicine because of its functional properties. In this study, flavoring compounds and antioxidative activities of cinnamon extracts were investigated with different extraction solvents and extraction methods. The contents of flavoring compounds such as coumarin, cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde, and cinnamyl alcohol were investigated. The contents of courmarin, cinnamic acid, and cinnamylaldehyde in 70% ethanol extract were higher than those in hot water and subcritical water extracts. The contents of courmarin, cinnamic acid, and cinnamaldehyde in subcritical water extract were higher than those in hot water extract, whereas the content of cinnamyl alcohol was lower. DPPH scavenging activity increased with increasing concentration of the extracts, and the 70% ethanol extract showed the highest antioxidant activity. The ascorbic acid content of the 70% ethanol extract was largest in the antioxidative activity measurement by FRAP analysis. The ascorbic acid contents of the hot water and subcritical water extracts were similar.

Polyphenol profiles, physicochemical properties, antioxidant activities, and inhibitory effect of adipocyte differentiation of Houttuynia cordata fermented with Lactobacillus brevis B84 were evaluated. Six polyphenols were characterized for this plant by using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), and the results were compared with total phenolic content by a spectrophotometric method. The total amount of the identified polyphenols was lower than that determined by the spectrophotometric method. However, the fermentation process influenced polyphenol composition such as content of vanillic acid and caffeic acid. The phytochemical profiles were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn). Total sugar and reducing sugar contents decreased after fermentation. Antioxidant activities such as DPPH, ABTS, and superoxide anion radical scavenging and reducing power were evaluated to compare the beneficial effect after fermentation. Fermented H. cordata increased the lipolytic effect in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Overall, the results indicate that the fermentation of H. cordata with L. brevis B84 produces changes of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and lipolytic effect.