Starch characteristics of cowpea and mungbean cultivars grown in Korea.

Physicochemical properties of starches from 5 different Korean cultivars of cowpea and mungbean were examined. Starch granules had elliptical to spherical granules. Volume median diameter of granules ranged from 17.0 µm to 48.6 µm, with a significantly larger median granule diameter in cowpea starches than mungbean starches. Apparent amylose content ranged from 35.7% to 38.5%. Among cowpea starches, Seowon had a higher molecular weight and longer amylopectin average chain length than other cultivars. Between mungbean starches, Sohyun had a lower amylose molecular weight but a longer amylopectin average chain length than Dahyun. The relative crystallinity and gelatinization enthalpy of cowpea starches were greater than those of mungbean starches. Okdang had higher peak and final viscosities than other cowpea starches, whereas two mungbean varieties showed similar values for pasting parameters. Seowon in the cowpea starches and Sohyun in mungbean starches had higher gel hardness than other cultivars.

Distribution of Mast Cells and Locations, Depths, and Sizes of the Putative Acupoints CV 8 and KI 16.

The anatomical locations and sizes of acupuncture points (APs) are identified in traditional Chinese medicine by using the cun measurement method. More precise knowledge of those locations and sizes to submillimeter precision, along with their cytological characterizations, would provide significant contributions both to scientific investigations and to precise control of the practice of acupuncture. Over recent decades, researchers have come to realize that APs in the skin of rats and humans have more mast cells (MCs) than neighboring nonacupoints. In this work, the distribution of MCs in the ventral skin of mice was studied so that it could be used to infer the locations, depths from the epidermis, and sizes of three putative APs. The umbilicus was taken as the reference point, and a transversal cross section through it was studied. The harvested skins from 8-week-old mice were stained with toluidine blue, and the MCs were recognized by their red-purple stains and their metachromatic granules. The three putative APs, CV 8 and the left and the right KI 16 APs, were identified based on their high densities of MCs. These findings also imply that acupuncture may stimulate, through MCs, an immune response to allergic inflammation.