Ju Hee Ahn

Analysis of Chemical Compositions and Electron-Donating Ability of 4 Korean Wild Sannamuls

The composition analysis and electron donating activity of 4 kinds of Korean wild sannamuls[Cacalia firma Komar. (CFK), Aster scaber Thunb. (AST), Ligularia fischeri (Ledeb.) Turcz. (LFT), Synurus palmatopinnatifidus (Makino) Kitam., SDN)] were investigated. The Korean edible mountainous vegetable was named a sannamul or chwinamul in Korea, generally. Most of them, the characterization of the each vegetable was reported, individually without comparative research. This study was compared the proximate compositions, mineral, dietary fiber and electron donating abilities on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) of sannamuls. In the chemical analysis of sannamuls, CFK was shown higher value in ash (), crude fat (), carbohydrate (), potassium () and magnesium () than others. Each mineral of the 3 other samples was a similar value but phosphorus in LFT was contained . The compositions of total dietary fiber of the samples were listed CFK LFT SDN AST and the Value on DPPH radicals, LFK CFT AST SDN. These results have susggest that CFK and LFT may be useful for a funtional material to food development.

Enhancement of the Skin-Protective Activities of Centella asiatica L. Urban by a Nano-encapsulation Process

Aqueous extracts of Centella asiatica L. Urban were encapsulated by an edible biopolymer, gelatin, which has no effect on their cosmetic activities. The nanoparticles were w/o-type spherical liposomes that had an average diameter of 115.0nm. The encapsulation efficiency was estimated to be approximately 67%, which was relatively high for these aqueous extracts. The nanoparticles showed lower cytotoxicity (10%) in human skin fibroblast cells than the unencapsulated crude extract (15%) at 1.0mg/ml, this was possibly because a smaller amount of the extract was present in the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles efficiently reduced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 in UV-irradiated cells from 136.1% to 77.6% (UV-irradiated control) and inhibited hyaluronidase expression (>60%) at a concentration of 0.5mg/ml, which was higher than the levels produced by the unencapsulated crude extracts. The nanoparticles had a very high flux through mouse skin and also remained at relatively large concentrations in the derma when compared to the unencapsulated crude extracts. These results clearly indicate that the skin-protective activities of C. asiatica were significantly improved through the nano-encapsulation process. These findings also imply that a crude extract can be used and have the same efficacy as purified compounds, which should reduce the purification process and production costs.

Neuroprotective activity of the methanolic extract of Lonicera japonica in glutamate-injured primary rat cortical cells.

Background: We previously reported that the extracts of several Korean medicinal plants showed neuroprotective activity in glutamate-injured primary culutres of rat cortical cells. Objective: Among them, the effect of the methanolic extract of Lonicera japonica flower on the glutamate-induced neuronal cell death and its potential mechanism of action was investigated. Results: Treatment by the methanolic extract of L. japonica flower significantly protected neuronal cells against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. It decreased the calcium influx that accompanies the glutamate induced excitotoxicity of neuronal cells, and inhibited the subsequent overproduction of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species and peroxide to the level of control cells. In addition, it preserved cellular activity of superoxide dismutase, an antioxidative enzyme reduced by glutamate insult. Conclusions: According to this data, the methanolic extract of L. japonica flower significantly protected neuronal cells against glutamate excitotoxicity via antioxidative activity.

Enhancement of Antioxidant Activities and Whitening Effect of Acer mono Sap Through Nano Encapsulation Processes

In this study, we investigated antioxidant activities and whitening effects of Acer mono sap by encapsulation of nanoparticles. Acer mono sap was through ultra high pressure process and then encapsulated by lecithin. Nano-encapsulated The nanoparticles of Acer mono sap showed highest free radical scavengering effect as 89.7% in adding sample (1.0 mg/ml), compared to sap of non-encapsulation. It was showed strong inhibition effect on melanin production test by Clone M-3 cells as 47.8%. High inhibitory of tyrosinase was also measured as 85.8% by adding lecithin nano-particle of 1.0 mg/ml. The nano-particles also showed 14.8% of low cytotoxicity against human normal fibroblast cells in adding 1.0 mg/ml of the highest concentration. These results indicate that Acer mono sap may be a source of cosmetic agents capable of improving whitening effect and antioxidant activites.

Enhancement of the Cognitive Effects of γ-Aminobutyric Acid from Monosodium Glutamate Fermentation by Lactobacillus sakei B2-16

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) can be produced from 12% (w/v) monosodium glutamate (MSG) by the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus sakei B2-16, which was isolated from kimchi. This production of GABA has the highest conversion yield from MSG. In passive avoidance tests, GABA improved the long-term but not short-term memory recovery of mice administered scopolamine; 46.69 mg/mL GABA significantly improved the memory from 132 sec to 48 sec. The addition of 667 mg/mL of fermentation broth containing 46.69 mg/mL of GABA enhanced memory recovery up to 85% compared to the control group, but lower doses only enhanced memory 20%. These results imply that a high-dose intake may be necessary for the desired efficacy of GABA. GABA-mediated neurological effects were also confirmed by the growth of PC12 nerve cells, which demonstrated an increase in both growth and neurite differentiation with a ∼45% increase in the number of neurites per cell and a 65% increase in neurite outgrowth compared to the control group (no treatment). Most of these results were of greater magnitude than those reported for other plant resources. This is the first report of GABA obtained from MSG fermentation enhancing recognition functions using both in vivo and in vitro experiments, even though there were several reports on producing mass amounts of GABA from MSG fermentation. The findings could expand the use of GABA for many purposes as a natural and functional substance obtained from fermentation processes.