Jeong-Sook Lee

The effect of Puerariae radix on lipoprotein metabolism in liver and intestinal cells

BackgroundAnimal studies investigating the beneficial effects of Puerariae radix on cardiovascular disease have suggested this plant possesses anti-diabetic and lipid lowering properties. However, the exact mechanism by which Puerariae radix affects lipid metabolism is currently unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the water extract of Puerariae radix on the secretion of VLDL and chylomicrons from HepG2 liver cells and CaCo2 cells, respectively, in humans.MethodsThe amount of apoB100 (a protein marker for VLDL) and apoB48 (a protein marker for chylomicrons) in cells and media were quantified by Western Blotting and enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL). Total, free and esterified cholesterol concentrations were measured by gas liquid chromatography.ResultsTreatment of cells with water extract of Puerariae radix significantly decreased apoB100 production and secretion from HepG2 cells up to 66% in a dose dependent manner. The intracellular total cholesterol and free cholesterol concentration in HepG2 cells also decreased with increasing concentration of the Puerariae radix. In contrast, water extract of Puerariae radix attenuated apoB48 concentrations in cells, but not apoB48 secretion from CaCo2 enterocytes.ConclusionsCollectively, our findings suggest that the water extract of Puerariae radix attenuates the hepatic lipoprotein production and secretion. Our present cell culture findings may explain why circulating VLDL and LDL levels were attenuated in animals supplemented with Puerariae radix. Since decreasing the production and secretion of atherogenic lipoproteins decreases the risk of development of cardiovascular disease, diets supplemented with radix may provide a safe and effective beneficial cardioprotective effects in humans.

Food Service Status at Community Child Care Centers in Busan

The purpose of this study was to investigate the food service status of community child care centers in Busan. A survey was conducted from November 1, 2012 to November 30, 2012 using questionnaires. Overall, 66.7% of the community child care centers had a separate dining room. The satisfaction score of the kitchen facility was 4.32 and the satisfaction degree of the dining place was 3.95. Most of the community child care centers were not managed by professionals and the food service was in a relatively poor status. In 61.3% of the community child care centers, the director of the center purchased the foodstuffs. In addition, approximately 72% of the child care centers directly purchased foodstuffs. When preparing meals, nutrition (73.0%), cost (13.5%), and preference (4.5%) were considered as the important factors for respondents. Overall, there were demands for increasing meal costs and improving the food service facilities. In addition, a higher degree of hygiene management resulted in a higher degree of satisfaction from children. Therefore, to improve food service performance at community child care centers, food services should be assisted by professionals and the person in charge of foodservices should be educated food service management.

Comparison Study on Perception of Job Importance, Job Performance, and Job Difficulty in Clinical Dietitians at Small and Medium Hospitals in Busan

ABSTRACT This study aimed to compare perception of job importance, job performance, and job difficulty between clinical dietitians working at small and medium hospitals in Busan. The survey was conducted from July 15 to August 31, 2014, and data were analyzed using the SPSS program. The mean scores for perception of job importance, job performance, and job difficulty of clinical dietitian’s task elements were 3.88, 2.87, and 3.18 out of 5.0, respectively. Perception of job importance had a positive relationship with job performance. However, job performance showed a negative relationship with job difficulty. There were strong positive rela-tionships among nutrition assessment, nutrition diagnosis, nutrition intervention, nutrition monitoring & evalua-tion, nutrition research in perception of job importance (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). Nutrition assessment, nutrition diag-nosis, nutrition intervention, and nutrition research showed positive relationships with job performance (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). There was also a positive relationship among clinical dietitian’s task with job difficulty (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). These results suggest that it would be effective to adopt training programs for appropriate nutrition service and to provide continuous education programs for professional development.Key words : clinical dietitian, job importance, job performance, job difficulty, job description

The Factors for Food Service Satisfaction of the Elderly Welfare Center Free Lunch Program Participants in Busan

This study was carried out to investigate the factors of food service satisfaction of the elderly in Busan. The survey was conducted from September 1 to October 15, 2009 by questionnaires and data analyzed by SPSS program. Fifty point nine percent of the subjects lived alone and the source of living expenses of 70.5% of the subjects was subsidy from government. The most important reason for the elderly to participate in meal service was `economic difficulty` and `to meet friend`. The subjects had various chronic degenerative diseases, such as arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiac disease. Sixty-six point eight percent of the subjects needed diet therapy for their diseases, but 87.1% of them don`t want to pay the extra fee. Thirty six point five percent of the subjects attained information about lunch program because it was `close to home` but 20.7% was `from public officials`. The reasons for the use of the meal service were `economic difficulty` (40.0%), `to meet friends` (22.6%), and `bother to prepare meal` (16.50%). The services provided by welfare center were health care, physical exam and haircut. The score given by the subjects on the satisfaction of meal service was 3.84 on the 5-point maximum scale. Higher satisfaction on kindness of staff, satisfaction of social support and awareness of support resulted in higher satisfaction of food service. It would be effective to provide food service models that meet specific needs of the elderly according to social welfare service and social community activities.