Oh-Kyu Lee

Analysis of isoflavones and phenolic compounds in Korean soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] seeds of different seed weights.

The seeds of 322 Korean soybean varieties were collected from six different cultivated sites in Korea and classified into three groups based on the 100-seed weight as small, medium, and large. Seeds were analyzed for their concentrations of isoflavones and phenolic compounds. The total average isoflavones in soybean cultivated at Iksan (2.840 micromol g(-1)) and phenolic compounds in soybean grown at Yeoncheon (9.216 micromol g(-1)) and Iksan (9.154 micromol g(-1)) were significantly different (p<0.05). In small and medium seeds of soybeans cultivated at Yeoncheon, Yesan, and Milyang high levels of isoflavones were obtained, whereas soybeans grown in Chuncheon showed the lowest isoflavone concentrations. However, isoflavone concentrations in the large seeds of soybean cultivated at Chuncheon showed the highest level. The soybean cultivated at Yeoncheon had high levels of phenolic compounds in small, medium, and large seeds, whereas the soybean grown at Chuncheon had the lowest. On the other hand, the phenolic concentrations of large soybean cultivated at Milyang were the least. At Yeoncheon, Yesan, and Milyang, the total isoflavone and phenolic compounds levels related to their seed size was significantly different (p<0.05), whereas in the soybean of different sizes cultivated at Chuncheon, the relationship to their seed size was not significantly different. The relationships of total isoflavones and phenolic compounds of small and medium soybean seeds were significantly higher than that of large soybean seeds. The hydroxybenzoic acid group in all sizes of seeds cultivated at six sites in Korea was the major phenolic compound, followed by flavonoid and hydroxycinnamic acid. The total isoflavone concentration was positively correlated with acetylglycoside and negatively correlated with malonylglycoside in the small soybean seeds cultivated at Yeoncheon. In medium soybean seeds cultivated at Yeoncheon, a significantly positive correlation was found between acetylglycoside and glycoside, between aglycone and glycoside, and between aglycone and acetylglycoside, whereas a significantly negative correlation was shown between malonylglycoside and glycoside, between acetylglycoside and malonylglycoside, and between aglycone and malonylglycoside. In large soybean seeds cultivated at Chuncheon, significantly positive and negative correlations were similar to those of medium seeds. The results presented here can improve the understanding of the relationships among the concentrations of individual chemical compounds and each chemical compound group and total chemical compounds in soybeans of different seed sizes from different cultivated sites.

Expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 6 reduces inhibitory effect of furan derivatives on cell growth and ethanol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Yeast dehydrogenases and reductases were overexpressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae D452-2 to detoxify 2-furaldehyde (furfural) and 5-hydroxymethyl furaldehyde (HMF), two potent toxic chemicals present in acid-hydrolyzed cellulosic biomass, and hence improve cell growth and ethanol production. Among those enzymes, aldehyde dehydrogenase 6 (ALD6) played the dual roles of direct oxidation of furan derivatives and supply of NADPH cofactor to their reduction reactions. Batch fermentation of S. cerevisiae D452-2/pH-ALD6 in the presence of 2g/L furfural and 0.5 g/L HMF resulted in 20-30% increases in specific growth rate, ethanol concentration and ethanol productivity, compared with those of the wild type strain. It was proposed that overexpression of ALD6 could recover the yeast cell metabolism and hence increase ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass containing furan-derived inhibitors.

Furofuran lignans from the bark of Magnolia kobus

A new furofuran lignan (1) along with four knownones (2-5) were isolated from the bark of Magnolia kobus. Their structures were elucidated as (+)-2α-(3’,4’-dimethoxyphenyl)-6α-(3″-hydroxy-4″,5″-dimethoxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane (1), (+)-sesamin (2), (+)-yangambin (3), (+)-kobusin (4), and (+)-eudesmin (5) on the basis of their comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, including 2D NMR, and by comparison of their spectral data with those of related compounds.

Variation and correlation analysis of phenolic compounds in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) varieties

Phenolic compounds from a wide collection of mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] germplasm (56 varieties) were characterised to determine the diversity among these phytochemicals and to analyse the relationships among their contents. The profiles of 25 phenolic compounds identified from the grains were subjected to data-mining processes, including principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), Pearsons correlation analysis, and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). The IT212105 and IT104818 varieties separated from the others in the first two principal components of PCA. PLS-DA showed significant separation between extracts of mungbean originating from three countries: China, Japan, and Korea. HCA of these phytochemicals resulted in clusters derived from common or closely related biochemical pathways. Significant positive relationships were observed between coumaric acid and resveratrol (r=0.7195, p<0.0001). Catechin content was positively correlated with rutin (r=0.6291, p<0.0001). The IT104818 variety appears to be a good candidate for future breeding programs, as it contains high levels of phenolic compounds. These results demonstrate the use of metabolic profiling combined with chemometrics as a tool for assessing the quality of food.

Preparation of a Thermoplastic Lignin-Based Biomaterial through Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Graft copolymerization of styrene onto kraft lignin (KL) was achieved by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using a fully substituted lignin-based macroinitiator (KLM). The number average of molecular mass (Mn) of polystyrene copolymer graft side-chains was achieved by varying the ratio of the DMF: water solvent system from 5:0 to 1:4. A Mn of up to ∼206,000 was obtained using a DMF/water ratio of 3:2 (v/v). However, as the Mn increased, the overall ATRP became less controlled. In addition, the thermal properties of the lignin-g-polystyrene copolymers improved significantly with increasing Mn of polystyrene copolymer side-chains.

Isoflavone glycosides from the bark of Amorpha fruticosa

Four known isoflavone glucosides have been isolated from the bark of Amorpha fruticosa, which is a traditional remedy plant, for the first time. They were elucidated as 3′-hydroxy-4′-methoxyisoflavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), 4′,6-dimethoxyisoflavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), 4′-methoxyisoflavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), and 3′,5-dihydroxy-4′-methoxyisoflavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), based on the UV, FT-IR, EIMS, FABMS, HREIMS, and NMR (1H and 13C, DEPT, COSY, NOESY, HMQC, and HMBC) data.

Effects of (+)-eudesmin from the stem bark ofMagnolia kobus DC. var.borealis Sarg. on neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells

Abstract(+)-Eudesmin [4,8-bis (3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane] was isolated from the stem bark ofMagnolia kobus DC. var.borealis Sarg. and found to have neuritogenic activity. 50 μM (+)-eudesmin induced neurite outgrowth and enhanced nerve growth factor (NGF)-mediated mediated neurite outgrowth from PC12 cells. At this concentration, (+)-eudesmin also enhanced NGF-induced neurite-bearing activity and this activity was partially blocked by various protein kinase inhibitors. These included PD98059, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase inhibitor. GF109203X, a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor and H89, a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor. These results suggest that (+)-eudesmin can induce neurite outgrowth from PC12 cells by stimulating up-stream MAPK, PKC and PKA pathways.

Benzofurans and sterol from the seeds of styrax obassia

Two benzofurans (1, 2) along with five known compounds (3.7) were isolated from the seeds of S. obassia. Their structures were elucidated as methyl 3-[7-methoxy-2-(3′,4′-methylenedioxyphenyl)-5-benzofuranyl]-propionate (1), methyl 3-[2-(3′,4′-methylenedioxyphenyl)-5-benzofuranyl]-propionate (2), egonol (3), egonolacetate (4), egonol-2-methylbutanoate (5), 7-demethoxyegonol-2-methylbutanoate (6), and stigmasterol (7) on the basis of their comprehensive spectroscopic analysis including 2D NMR data. Compounds 1, 2 are obtained for the first time from nature, while this is the first record of compound 7 from the Styrax species.

Wood Pellet Production using Domestic Forest Thinning Residues and their Quality Characteristics

본 연구에서는 국내 숲가꾸기산물을 이용하여 목재펠릿을 제조하고 품질을 분석하였다. 원료는 일본잎갈나무(Larix kaempferi C.)와 활엽수 혼합 수종을 사용하였으며, 말구직경 6 cm를 기준으로 침엽수와 활엽수로 구분 하였다. 분쇄 후 건조된 원료를 이용하여 목재펠릿을 제조하였다. 분쇄와 건조공정을 동일 조건에서 수행하였음에도 불구하고, 원료의 물리?화학적 차이에 따라 생산되는 목재펠릿의 품질에 차이가 발생하였다. 활엽수 혼합 수종으로 제조한 목재펠릿은 회분이 1.6% 이상으로 분석되었으며, 일본잎갈나무의 경우에는 직경 6 cm 이하의 소경목에서 회분이 1.0%를 초과하였다. 목재펠릿을 제조하기 이전의 원료 상태에서와 비교하여 제조 후에 회분 함량이 0.01∼0.1% 정도 상승하는 것을 확인하였다. 발열량에서는 일본잎갈나무가 활엽수 혼합 원료에 비해 약 198 kcal/kg 정도 높았으며, 모든 시료에서 4,300 kcal/kg 이상으로 목재펠릿 원료로 적합한 것으로 분석되었다. 또한, 원료 상태보다 목재펠릿 제조 후 발열량이 일부 상승하는 것을 확인하였다. 원료에 포함된 주요 무기물은 수종 및 분류에 관계없이 Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Fe 등이었으며, 장기 연속 운전을 위해서는 연소기 내 클링커 형성을 억제할 수 있는 연소 방법의 개발이 요구된다. 동일한 펠릿 제조 조건에서 원료에 의해 제품 간의 품질 편차가 크게 발생할 수 있으며, 이를 극복하고 생산성 및 품질 향상을 위해서는 원료에 따른 공정 최적화가 중요한 요소임을 확인하였다.

Erratum to: Synthesis and characterization of kraft lignin-graft-polylactide copolymers

In the original publication of the article, Fig. 5 with numbers from 272 to 279 on the right axis is incorrect. The correct Fig. 5 is given below, and the original article has been updated accordingly.