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This research group (FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areasincluding refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matteralong with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.
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Novel meat-inspired products, such as cell-cultivated meat and meat analogues, embrace environmental sustainability, food safety and security, animal welfare, and human health, but consumers are still hesitant to accept these products. The appearance of food is often the most persuasive determinant of purchasing decisions for food. Producing cultivated meat and meat analogues with similar characteristics to conventional meat could lead to increased acceptability, marketability, and profitability. Color is one of the sensorial characteristics that can be improved using color-inducing methods and colorants. Synthetic colorants are cheap and stable, but natural pigments are regarded as safer components for novel food production. The complexity of identifying specific colorants to imitate both raw and cooked meat color lies in the differences in ingredients and methods used to produce meat alternatives. Research devoted to improving the sensorial characteristics of meat analogues has noted various color-inducing methods (e.g., ohmic cooking and pasteurization) and additives (e.g., lactoferrin, laccase, xylose, and pectin). Additionally, considerations toward other meat components, such as fat, can aid in mimicking conventional meat appearance. For instance, the use of plant-based fat replacers and scaffolds can produce a marked sensory enhancement without compromising the sustainability of alternative meats. Moving forward, consumer-relevant sensorial characteristics, such as taste and texture, should be prioritized alongside improving the coloration of meat alternatives.
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Expectations for the industrialization of cultured meat are growing due to the increasing support from various sectors, such as the food industry, animal welfare organizations, and consumers, particularly vegetarians, but the progress of industrialization is slower than initially reported. This review analyzes the main issues concerning the industrialization of cultured meat, examines research and media reports on the development of cultured meat to date, and presents the current technology, industrialization level, and prospects for cultured meat. Currently, over 30 countries have companies industrializing cultured meat, and around 200 companies that are developing or industrializing cultured meat have been surveyed globally. By country, the United States has over 50 companies, accounting for more than 20% of the total. Acquiring animal cells, developing cell lines, improving cell proliferation, improving the efficiency of cell differentiation and muscle production, or developing cell culture media, including serum-free media, are the major research themes related to the development of cultured meat. In contrast, the development of devices, such as bioreactors, which are crucial in enabling large-scale production, is relatively understudied, and few of the many companies invested in the development of cultured meat have presented products for sale other than prototypes. In addition, because most information on key technologies is not publicly available, it is not possible to determine the level of technology in the companies, and it is surmised that the technology of cultured meat-related startups is not high. Therefore, further research and development are needed to promote the full-scale industrialization of cultured meat.
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This study was conducted to compare and analyze the changes in the biochemical characteristics and biological activity of peptide extracts derived from Chickso, Hanwoo, and Wagyu beef during digestion. The results of the in vitro digestion analysis revealed that the digestion rate, total free amino acid content, and antioxidant and antihypertensive activities of Chickso loin and shank myofibrillar proteins were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those of Hanwoo and Wagyu loin and shank myofibrillar proteins. Particularly, the peptide extracts of Chickso loin and shank had a high angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activity. In mice in vivo digestion experiment, the blood serum of mice fed with Chickso loin peptide extract (<10 kDa) showed the highest antioxidant enzyme activity. Thus, Chickso peptide extracts were deemed to be similar or more bioactive than Hanwoo and Wagyu peptide extracts, and can be used as bioactive materials.
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Crusting has been developed as a non-chemical and non-machine intensive scaffold fabrication method. This method is based on the self-assembling ability of soy biomolecules, allowing the fabrication of a three-dimensional network for cell growth. Preliminary characterization revealed differences in pore size, water absorption, and degradation between pure soy-based scaffold (Y2R) and with added glycerol (Y2G). The Fourier-transform infrared spectrum absorbance peaks of functional groups related to proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids hinted the integration of soy biomolecules potentially via the Maillard reaction, as supported by the visible browning of the scaffold surface. Microscopic images revealed aligned myotubes in both scaffolds, with Y2G myotubes having greater proximity after 72 h of proliferation. Both spontaneous and electro-stimulated contractions were recorded as early as 72 h in proliferation medium. Crusting-fabricated soy-based scaffolds can further be explored for its application in cultured meat production.
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Glycine max , Andamios del Tejido , Animales , Andamios del Tejido/química , Glycine max/química , Carne/análisis , Proteínas de Soja/química , Proliferación Celular , Ingeniería de Tejidos , Ratones , Carne in VitroRESUMEN
Cultured meat is expected to become an important material for future food production; however, contrary to initial expectations, the full-scale industrialization of cultured meat is slow and the actual level and opened technology amount is very limited. This study reviews the publicly available technologies of cultured meat and suggests future developmental directions and research agenda. As a result of analyzing papers, patents, and press releases published over the past 10 years, it was found that cultured meat production technology is still at the prototype production level. This is because most papers published are about culture medium and scaffold development, culture conditions, and there is almost no research on finished cultured meat products. Worldwide, most of the filed patents are for producing cultured meat principles; most of them do not use food-grade materials and are not economically feasible for industrialization. Therefore, future research on the industrialization of cultured meat should focus on effective acquisition technologies for satellite cells; cell lineage and undifferentiated state maintenance technologies; the development of serum-free media and culture devices; the prevention of genetic modification, safety verification, and mass production. Furthermore, basic research on mechanisms and influencing factors related to cultured meat production is warranted.
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This study aimed to develop an environmental risk score (ERS) of multiple pollutants (MP) causing kidney damage (KD) in Korean residents near abandoned metal mines or smelters and evaluate the association between ERS and KD by a history of occupational chemical exposure (OCE). Exposure to MP, consisting of nine metals, four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and four volatile organic compounds, was measured as urinary metabolites. The study participants were recruited from the Forensic Research via Omics Markers (FROM) study (n = 256). Beta-2-microglobulin (ß2-MG), N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were used as biomarkers of KD. Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) was selected as the optimal ERS model with the best performance and stability of the predicted effect size among the elastic net, adaptive elastic net, weighted quantile sum regression, BKMR, Bayesian additive regression tree, and super learner model. Variable importance was estimated to evaluate the effects of metabolites on KD. When stratified with the history of OCE after adjusting for several confounding factors, the risks for KD were higher in the OCE group than those in the non-OCE group; the odds ratio (OR; 95% CI) for ERS in non-OCE and OCE groups were 2.97 (2.19, 4.02) and 6.43 (2.85, 14.5) for ß2-MG, 1.37 (1.01, 1.86) and 4.16 (1.85, 9.39) for NAG, and 4.57 (3.37, 6.19) and 6.44 (2.85, 14.5) for eGFR, respectively. We found that the ERS stratified history of OCE was the most suitable for evaluating the association between MP and KD, and the risks were higher in the OCE group than those in the non-OCE group.
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Exposición Profesional , Humanos , República de Corea , Masculino , Adulto , Femenino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Teorema de Bayes , Enfermedades Renales/inducido químicamente , Enfermedades Renales/epidemiología , Tasa de Filtración Glomerular , Contaminantes Ambientales , Biomarcadores/orina , Medición de RiesgoRESUMEN
Interest and investment in cultivated meat are increasing because of the realization that it can effectively supply sufficient food resources and reduce the use of livestock. Nevertheless, accurate information on the specific technologies used for cultivated meat production and the characteristics of cultivated meat is lacking. Authorization for the use of cultivated meat is already underway in the United States, Singapore, and Israel, and other major countries are also expected to approve cultivated meat as food once the details of the intricate process of producing cultivated meat, which encompasses stages such as cell proliferation, differentiation, maturation, and assembly, is thoroughly established. The development and standardization of mass production processes and safety evaluations must precede the industrialization and use of cultivated meat as food. However, the technology for the industrialization of cultivated meat is still in its nascent stage, and the mass production process has not yet been established. The mass production process of cultivated meat may not be easy to disclose because it is related to the interests of several companies or research teams. However, the overall research flow shows that equipment development for mass production and cell acquisition, proliferation, and differentiation, as well as for three-dimensional production supports and bioreactors have not yet been completed. Therefore, additional research on the mass production process and safety of cultivated meat is essential. The consumer's trust in the cultivated meat products and production technologies recently disclosed by some companies should also be analyzed and considered for guiding future developments in this industry. Furthermore, close monitoring by academia and the government will be necessary to identify fraud in the cultivated meat industry.
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Fetal bovine serum (FBS) substitution remains one of the challenges to the realization of cultured meat production in the marketplace. In this study, three methods were developed to extract a substitute for FBS using egg white extract (EWE): using 25 mM CaCl2/2.5 % ammonium sulfate/citric acid (A); ethyl alcohol (B); and 5 % ammonium sulfate/citric acid (C). B EWE can effectively replace up to 50 % of FBS in growth media (10 % of the total). Ovalbumin in the extracts can promote cell proliferation, and components along the 12 kDa protein band have the potential to inhibit cell proliferation. Chick primary muscle cells applied with B EWE, an edible material that improved the cost and time efficiency of cultured meat production, effectively proliferated/differentiated. Therefore, EWE extracted using ethyl alcohol may be used as an FBS substitute to reduce animal sacrifices and should be considered a viable alternative to FBS for cultured meat.
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This study reviewed the current data presented in the literature on developing meat analogs using plant-, insect-, and protein-derived materials and presents a conclusion on future perspectives. As a result of this study, it was found that the current products developed using plant-, insect-, and mycoprotein-derived materials still did not provide the quality of traditional meat products. Plant-derived meat analogs have been shown to use soybean-derived materials and beta-glucan or gluten, while insect-derived materials have been studied by mixing them with plant-derived materials. It is reported that the development of meat analogs using mycoprotein is somewhat insufficient compared to other materials, and safety issues should also be considered. Growth in the meat analog market, which includes products made using plant-, insect-, and mycoprotein-derived materials is reliant upon further research being conducted, as well as increased efforts for it to coexist alongside the traditional livestock industry. Additionally, it will become necessary to clearly define legal standards for meat analogs, such as their classification, characteristics, and product-labeling methods.
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The format used to communicate probability-verbal versus numerical descriptors-can impact risk perceptions and behaviors. This issue is salient for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), where concerns about vaccine-related risks may reduce uptake and verbal descriptors have been widely used by public health, news organizations and on social media, to convey risk. Because the effect of risk-communication format on perceived COVID-19 vaccine-related risks remains unknown, we conducted an online randomized survey among 939 US adults. Participants were given risk information, using verbal or numerical descriptors and were asked to report their perceived risk of experiencing headache, fever, fatigue or myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccine. Associations between risk communication format and perceived risk were assessed using multivariable regression. Compared to numerical estimates, verbal descriptors were associated with higher perceived risk of headache (ß = 5.0 percentage points, 95% CI = 2.0-8.1), fever (ß = 27 percentage points, 95% CI = 23-30), fatigue (ß = 4.9 percentage points, 95% = CI 1.8-8.0) and myocarditis (ß = 4.6 percentage points, 95% CI = 2.1-7.2), as well as greater variability in risk perceptions. Social media influence was associated with differences in risk perceptions for myocarditis, but not side effects. Verbal descriptors may lead to greater, more inaccurate and variable vaccine-related risk perceptions compared to numerical descriptors.
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This study aimed to analyze the leading research materials and research trends related to livestock food in Asia in recent years and propose future research agendas to ultimately contribute to the development of related livestock species. On analyzing more than 200 relevant articles, a high frequency of studies on livestock species and products with large breeding scales and vast markets was observed. Asia possesses the largest pig population and most extensive pork market, followed by that of beef, chicken, and milk; moreover, blood and egg markets have also been studied. Regarding research keywords, "meat quality" and "probiotics" were the most common, followed by "antioxidants", which have been extensively studied in the past, and "cultured meat", which has recently gained traction. The future research agenda for meat products is expected to be dominated by alternative livestock products, such as cultured and plant-derived meats; improved meat product functionality and safety; the environmental impacts of livestock farming; and animal welfare research. The future research agenda for dairy products is anticipated to include animal welfare, dairy production, probiotic-based development of high-quality functional dairy products, the development of alternative dairy products, and the advancement of lactose-free or personalized dairy products. However, determining the extent to which the various research articles' findings have been applied in real-world industry proved challenging, and research related to animal food laws and policies and consumer surveys was lacking. In addition, studies on alternatives for sustainable livestock development could not be identified. Therefore, future research may augment industrial application, and multidisciplinary research related to animal food laws and policies as well as eco-friendly livestock production should be strengthened.
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Metal nanoparticles were successfully synthesized from the self-regulated reduction of hydroxylated ionic liquids in aqueous phase without additives. A new water-phase synthesis of gold and palladium nanoparticles using N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-methylmorpholinium tetrafluoroborate is described. Transmission electron microscopy was performed to characterize the metal nanoparticles. The average sizes of the gold and palladium nanoparticles were 4.3 nm and 3.2 nm, respectively. Hydroxylated ionic liquids served as both reductants and protective agents, significantly simplifying the preparation of nanoparticles. The produced particles were highly crystalline in structure with a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice. Finally, we showed preliminary results that suggest different hydroxylated ionic liquids can also be used to prepare various metal nanoparticles.