Mi-Kyeong Choi

Hypoglycemic Activity of Gymnema sylvestre Extracts on Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Diabetic Rats

Diabetes mellitus, which is associated with oxidative damage, has a significant impact on health, quality of life, and life expectancy. An ethanol extract of Gymnema sylvestre leaf was examined in vitro and in vivo to investigate the role of antioxidants in diabetic rats. The extract exhibited strong antioxidant activity in the assays, including TBA (56%), SOD-like (92%), and ABTS (54%). Blood glucose levels in the diabetic rats fed G. sylvestre extract decreased to normal levels. The presence of the antihyperglycemic compounds gymnemagenin and gymnemic acids in G. sylvestre extract was detected by LC/MS analysis. Lipid peroxidation levels were decreased by 31.7% in serum, 9.9% in liver, and 9.1% in kidney in the diabetic rats fed the extract. Feeding G. sylvestre extract to the diabetic rats decreased the activity of glutathione peroxidase in cytosolic liver and glutamate pyruvate transaminase in serum to normal levels.

Association of Magnesium Intake with High Blood Pressure in Korean Adults: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007–2009

Background Magnesium is known to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, studies on its relationship with hypertension, a single and common cause of various chronic diseases, are limited and their findings are not consistent. The purpose of the present study is to identify the relationship between magnesium intake and high blood pressure (HBP) risk in Koreans. Methods This research is a cross-sectional study based on the 2007~2009 Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey data. This study investigated 11,685 adults aged over 20 to examine their general characteristics, anthropometry and blood pressure. Daily magnesium intake was analyzed using the 24-hour dietary recall method. To calculate the odds ratio (OR) of HBP risk (130/85 mmHg or over) according to the quartile of magnesium intake (mg/1000kcal) together with its 95% confidence interval (CI), multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed. Results No significant association between dietary magnesium intake and the risk of HBP was found. In obese women, particularly, after adjusting relevant factors, the adjusted odds ratio of HBP prevalence in the highest magnesium intake quartile was 0.40 compared with the lowest magnesium intake quartile (95% CI = 0.25~0.63, P for trend = 0.0014). Women, especially obese women, were found to have a negative relationship of magnesium intake with HBP. Conclusions The present results indicate that sufficient magnesium intake could be useful in decreasing the high blood pressure risk of obese women.

Anti-Obesity and Hypolipidemic Effects of Lycium chinense Leaf Powder in Obese Rats

This study aimed to elucidate the obesity control, hypolipidemic, and antioxidant effects of Lycium chinense leaf powder intake by obese rats. Obesity was induced in rats through 13 weeks of high-fat diet. The obese rats were then divided into four different groups, which were fed for 8 weeks with general diet (G), high-fat diet (F), 5% L. chinense leaf powder with a high-fat diet (FLP5), or 10% L. chinense leaf powder with a high-fat diet (FLP10). The body weight gain of the FLP5 group was significantly lower than that of the F group. Also, the obesity index of the FLP5 and FLP10 group was significantly lower than that of the F group. Serum triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels in the FLP5 group were significantly lower than those of the F group. The intake of L. chinense leaf powder did not seem to significantly affect the levels of serum homocysteine, leptin, and ghrelin compared to the control group without L. chinense leaf powder intake. The glutathione content in the liver was significantly higher in the FLP5 group than in the G group, but the glutathione S-transferase activity was significantly lower than in the F group. The thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances levels in the liver and kidney were relatively lower in the FLP5 and FLP10 groups than in the G group. In summary, intake of L. chinense leaf powder in obese rats coincided with a lowering of body weight and levels of serum triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol. It also displayed antioxidant effects.

Study of Dietary Attitudes and Diet Management of Married Immigrant Women in Korea according to Residence Period

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the dietary attitudes and meal management of married immigrant women according to residence period in Korea. The study was conducted by administering a questionnaire survey to 220 married immigrant women in Korea. More than one third of the immigrant women who stayed in Korea less than 3 years tended to eat a limited variety of foods. Irregularity of meal time decreased as residence time period increased (P＜0.05). As immigrant women stayed longer in Korea, they became more responsible for the diet of their family (P＜0.001) and had more time to share breakfast and dinner with all family members (P＜0.05). Nearly half of immigrant women in all residence periods indicated their husbands family as the most influential factor in acquiring Korean foods (P＜0.05). Immigrant women became more fa-miliar with Korean cooking and recognition of nutritious foods (P＜0.001) the longer they lived in Korea and more enjoyable meal times with family (P＜0.05). In summary, as the period of residence in Korea increased, the dietary attitudes of immigrant women became more positive towards Korean food and diet culture. Further, immigrant women became more responsible for guiding childrens dietary habits and offering healthy foods to their family as residence period increased. Therefore, the government and social programs should conduct constant and organized lessons on Korean culture and cooking according to residence period for im-migrant women to build up stable and positive dietary attitudes.

Validity and reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary nutrients for prevention and management of metabolic syndrome in Korea

Little data exists on metabolic syndrome (MetS) related with intake, especially for the South Korean. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for nutritional assessment in the population with MetS in South Korea. Randomly selected female participants, mean age 21.9 years (n = 38) were invited to answer the FFQ twice (FFQ1 and FFQ2) over a nine-month interval and to complete twelve-day diet records (DR) during the months between in South Korea. The correlation coefficients for nutrient intake between FFQ1 and FFQ2 varied from 0.253 (niacin) to 0.573 (cholesterol), and the energy intake-adjusted correlation coefficients ranged from 0.187 for protein to 0.662 for iron. The energy intake-adjusted and de-attenuated correlation coefficients for comparison of FFQ1 and the DRs ranged between 0.277 (vitamin B1) and 0.768 (fiber), and between 0.229 (zinc) and 0.859 (fat) for comparison of DRs with FFQ2. The percentages of study subjects classified into the same quartiles in both the DRs and FFQ1 ranged from 15.8% (vitamin B6) to 47.4% (calcium), and for the same quartiles in DRs and FFQ2 from 13.2% (vitamin B1) to 44.7% (potassium). The FFQ has reasonably good validity and reproducibility. Further research is needed for an assessment of reproducibility and validation of present FFQ in the subjects with MetS.

One portion size of foods frequently consumed by Korean adults

This study aimed to define a one portion size of food items frequently consumed for convenient use by Koreans in food selection, diet planning, and nutritional evaluation. We analyzed using the original data on 5,436 persons (60.87%) aged 20 ~ 64 years among 8,930 persons to whom NHANES 2005 and selected food items consumed by the intake frequency of 30 or higher among the 500 most frequently consumed food items. A total of 374 varieties of food items of regular use were selected. And the portion size of food items was set on the basis of the median (50th percentile) of the portion size for a single intake by a single person was analyzed. In cereals, the portion size of well polished rice was 80 g. In meats, the portion size of Korean beef cattle was 25 g. Among vegetable items, the portion size of Baechukimchi was 40 g. The portion size of the food items of regular use set in this study will be conveniently and effectively used by general consumers in selecting food items for a nutritionally balanced diet. In addition, these will be used as the basic data in setting the serving size in meal planning.

Daily Copper and Manganese Intakes and Their Relation to Blood Pressure in Normotensive Adults

Although it has been proposed that trace minerals have anti-oxidative functions and are related to the control of blood pressure, only a limited number of studies directly address the issue. Thus, the purpose of our study was to assess the intake of copper and manganese, which are trace minerals, and to clarify their relation to blood pressure. In a cross-sectional study, the blood pressure of 640 normotensive adults, from 19 to 69 year-old (320 males and 320 females), was measured, and its correlation with the intake of copper and manganese was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall method. The average value of the blood pressure was 126.4/80.2 mmHg for the males and 117.8/75.8 mmHg for the females. The daily copper intake was 1.3 mg/day for the males and 1.2 mg/day for the females. For manganese, the daily intake was 4.2 mg/day for the males and 4.1 mg/day for the females. Although the copper intake of all subjects showed a positive correlation with the systolic and diastolic blood pressures, there was no significant correlation when the potential confounding factors were adjusted. The manganese intake of the male subjects had a significantly negative correlation with the systolic blood pressure after adjusting for gender, age, body mass index, and energy intake. In conclusion, the daily manganese intake of the normotensitve adults showed a significantly negative correlation with the systolic blood pressure indicating a possibility of a positive effect of manganese on blood pressure.

Perception and Satisfaction of Free Foodservice in Male Middle School Students in Chungnam

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to investigate perception, necessity, and satisfaction of a free foodservice in male middle school students. This study was conducted at male middle schools with paid foodservice (PFS group, 250 students) and with free foodservice (FFS group, 250 students) in Chungnam. Average age of stu-dents in the PFS group was 13.1 while that of FFS students was 12.8 years. Exactly 88% of PFS students and 94% of FFS students responded that school foodservice is necessary, which was a significant difference (P＜0.05). As the reason for participating in foodservice, about 32% of the PFS students answered the school’s request while 33.6% of FFS students answered nutrition, showing a significant difference (P＜0.001). Exactly 72.8% of PFS and 96.4% of FFS knew about FFS (P＜0.001). More PFS students (86.4%) than FFS students (66%) answered they would not participate in foodservice if the FFS would be introduced and the quality of meal service would deteriorate. After initiation to FFS, there were significant differences in assess-ment of foodservice: 77.6% of PFS students answered expected that the quality of foodservice would degrade, whereas 74.4% of FFS students answered that quality would not degrade (P＜0.001). Satisfaction of foodser-vice was 2.3 points for FFS students, which was significantly lower than the 2.5 points for PFS students (P＜0.001). To sum up assessment of foodservice was positive, whereas satisfaction was not significantly differ-ent between PFS and FFS. Based on this research, households, schools, and governments should promote FFS in order to diminish financial pressure for students.

Dietary Nutrient and Food Intake and Their Relations with Serum Heavy Metals in Osteopenic and Osteoporotic Patients

Several studies have reported that heavy metals have a relation with osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures. In this study, we investigated the association between heavy metal exposure status, as assessed by serum major heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) and bone mineral density (BMD) status among Korean adults. A total of 64 adults participated in this study and were assigned to one of three study groups based on the T-score of spine BMD: a normal group (n = 21, T-score > -1), osteopenia group (n = 29, -2.5 < T-score ≤ -1) and osteoporosis group (n = 14, T-score ≤ -2.5). We also assessed serum levels of heavy metals (Pb, Cd and Hg) by using atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and daily nutrient and food intakes for 3 days by using 24-hr recall method in the subjects. The mean age was significantly higher in the osteoporosis group compared with the osteopenia and normal groups (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in serum levels of Pb, Cd and Hg among the three groups after adjusting for age. Daily intakes of energy, nutrients were not significantly different among the three groups. The osteoporosis group consumed significantly higher fish and shellfish than the other groups (p < 0.05). In the correlation analysis controlling for age, sex, BMI, and BMD status, the serum Cd level was significantly negatively correlated with intake of cereals, milks and total food. In summary, we did not find a direct association between serum heavy metal levels and BMD status. However, negative relationships were found between serum heavy metal levels and intake of some foods.

Daily calcium intake and its relation to blood pressure, blood lipids, and oxidative stress biomarkers in hypertensive and normotensive subjects

Several studies revealed that low calcium intake is related to high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension is high in Koreans along with their low dietary calcium consumption. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the status of calcium intake between the hypertension and normotension groups and to investigate the correlation between dietary calcium intake and blood pressure, blood lipid parameters, and blood/urine oxidative stress indices. A total of 166 adult subjects participated in this study and were assigned to one of two study groups: a hypertension group (n = 83) who had 140 mmHg or higher in systolic blood pressure (SBP) or 90 mmHg or higher in diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and an age- and sex-matched normotension group (n = 83, 120 mmHg or less SBP and 80 mmHg or less DBP). The hypertension group consumed 360.5 mg calcium per day, which was lower than that of the normotension group (429.9 mg) but not showing significant difference. In the hypertension group, DBP had a significant negative correlation with plant calcium (P < 0.01) after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and energy intake. In the normotension group, total calcium and animal calcium intake were significantly and positively correlated with serum triglycerides. No significant relationship was found between calcium intake and blood/urine oxidative stress indices in both groups. Overall, these data suggest reconsideration of food sources for calcium consumption in management of the blood pressure or blood lipid profiles in both hypertensive and normotensive subjects.