Fermentative effects by probiotic Lactobacillus brevis B7 on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of hydroponic ginseng.

Soil-cultivation presents environmental limitations and requires considerable labor, space, and water supply. Alternatively, hydroponically-cultured ginseng (HG) was improved its productivity, availability, and functionality. Improvement of bio-functionality by probiotic fermentation also has been studied. Therefore, in this study, HG was fermented using probiotics to enhance antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Soil-cultivated ginseng (SG), 1 and 2-year HG (HG1, HG2) were extracted using 70% ethanol and fermented by Lactobacillus brevis B7. After fermentation, the phenolic and flavonoid contents, and antioxidant and NO scavenging activities were increased, and HG showed higher bioactivities than SG. Particularly, fermented HG2 showed the highest antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and significantly decreased the level of inflammatory mediators. Furthermore, fermented HG2 also effectively inhibited NF-κB signaling pathway. These results suggested that fermented HG significantly enhanced functionality compared to SG and non-fermented HG. This suggests that fermented HG is a potentially useful ingredient for developing health-functional foods or pharmaceutical materials.

Improved Antioxidative, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antimelanogenic Effects of Fermented Hydroponic Ginseng with Bacillus Strains.

Compared with traditionally cultured ginseng, hydroponic ginseng (HG) contains more remarkable bioactive compounds, which are known to exert diverse functional effects. This study aimed to enhance the multifunctional effects, including the antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antimelanogenic effects, exhibited by fermented HG with Bacillus strains, such as Bacillus subtilis KU43, Bacillus subtilis KU201, Bacillus polyfermenticus SCD, and Bacillus polyfermenticus KU3, at 37 °C for 48 h. After fermentation by B. subtilis KU201, the antioxidant activity, determined using ABTS and FRAP assays, increased from 25.30% to 51.34% and from 132.10% to 236.27%, respectively, accompanied by the enhancement of the phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The inflammation induced in RAW 264.7 cells by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was ameliorated with fermented HG, which regulated the nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and proinflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6). The treatment with fermented HG inhibited the melanin accumulation in B16F10 cells induced by α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) by controlling the concentrations of melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity. These results indicate that the HG exhibited stronger antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antimelanogenic effects after fermentation. Consequently, HG fermented by Bacillus strains can potentially be used as an ingredient in cosmetological and pharmaceutical applications.

Co-Fermentation by Lactobacillus brevis B7 Improves the Antioxidant and Immunomodulatory Activities of Hydroponic Ginseng-Fortified Yogurt.

The development of convenient and accessible health-functional foods has become an area of increased interest in recent years. Probiotics, ginseng, and yogurts have been recognized as representative nutraceutical products. To improve the functionality of yogurts, co-fermentation was performed during yogurt preparation. Four kinds of yogurt were prepared using a combination of probiotic Lactobacillus brevis B7 and hydroponic ginseng based on plain yogurt. The fundamental characteristics of yogurts, including pH, titratable acidity, microbial counts, color, and physicochemical properties, were determined. To assess functionality, four different antioxidant assays and real-time PCR analysis using RAW 264.7 cells were performed. Finally, sensory evaluation was conducted to evaluate customer preference. Hydroponic ginseng supplementation influenced pH, solid content, lightness, and yellowness. However, probiotic supplementation did not affect most factors except pH. In functionality analysis, the yogurt co-fermented with probiotics and ginseng showed the highest antioxidant activity and gene expression levels of the immune-related factors TNF-α and iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells. Although ginseng supplementation received poor acceptance because of its color and flavor, these attempts were considered beneficial despite the risk. Overall, co-fermentation within a short yogurt preparation time presented the potential for improvement of functionality. These findings suggest a range of feasibility for the development of attractive nutraceutical products.

Antioxidant Effect and Sensory Evaluation of Yogurt Supplemented with Hydroponic Ginseng Root Extract.

Hydroponic ginseng (HG) is cultivated using only nutrients and water under constant environmental conditions and is more beneficial than soil-cultured ginseng (SG). This study aimed to determine the physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and sensory properties of HG-supplemented yogurt to develop high-value yogurt. HG (0.1%, 0.5%, and 1.0%) was added to yogurt formulations and fermented with a 0.1% starter. Antioxidant activities were determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, reducing power, and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. Semi-trained panelists performed a quantitative descriptive analysis for sensory evaluation. The number of starter cells increased more rapidly in ginseng extract-fortified yogurt than in the control group, shortening fermentation time. Regarding antioxidant assays, all HG extract-fortified yogurts showed higher antioxidant activity than the control group. In particular, the HG (0.5%) group showed better results than the SG group in the DPPH and reducing power assays, although the difference was not significant. The sensory scores of color, flavor, texture, taste, and overall acceptance of 0.5% HG-supplemented yogurt did not differ significantly from those of non-supplemented yogurt (control). This suggests that HG can be used in high-value dairy products as a supplement with bioactive properties for health in the food industry.

Antibacterial Effect of a Mixed Natural Preservative against Listeria monocytogenes on Lettuce and Raw Pork Loin.

A mixed natural preservative, including grapefruit seed extract (GSE), cinnamaldehyde (CA), and nisin, was investigated for the reduction of Listeria monocytogenes growth on lettuce and raw pork loin. The MIC of each natural preservative was investigated for L. monocytogenes strains tested. Following central composite design, lettuce and pork loin were inoculated with a cocktail of three strains of L. monocytogenes (ATCC 15313, H7962, and NADC 2045 [Scott A]) and treated with the mixed natural preservative that included GSE (0.64 to 7.36 ppm), CA (1.6 to 18.4 ppm), and nisin (0.48 to 5.5 ppm). The MIC of GSE was 31.25 ppm in tested L. monocytogenes strains, and of CA was 500 and 1,000 ppm in L. monocytogenes ATCC 15313 and the other L. monocytogenes strains, respectively. The MIC of nisin was 250 ppm. The R2 value of this model was more than 0.9, and the lack of fit was not significant. The mixed natural preservative showed a synergistic antimicrobial effect and reduced the growth of L. monocytogenes by 4 to 5 log CFU/g on lettuce. In addition, the reduction of L. monocytogenes on pork loin was 3 log CFU/g. The mixed natural preservative, which consisted of GSE (6 to 8 ppm), CA (15 to 20 ppm), and nisin (5 to 6 ppm), increased the antibacterial effect against L. monocytogenes. These results suggest that the use of the mixed natural preservative could reduce the economic cost of food preparation, and response surface methodology is considered effective when measuring synergy among antimicrobials.

Probiotic and Antioxidant Properties of Novel Lactobacillus brevis KCCM 12203P Isolated from Kimchi and Evaluation of Immune-Stimulating Activities of Its Heat-Killed Cells in RAW 264.7 Cells.

The purpose of this study was to determine the probiotic properties of Lactobacillus brevis KCCM 12203P isolated from the Korean traditional food kimchi and to evaluate the antioxidative activity and immune-stimulating potential of its heat-killed cells to improve their bio-functional activities. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, which is a representative commercial probiotic, was used as a comparative sample. Regarding probiotic properties, L. brevis KCCM 12203P was resistant to 0.3% pepsin with a pH of 2.5 for 3 h and 0.3% oxgall solution for 24 h, having approximately a 99% survival rate. It also showed strong adhesion activity (6.84%) onto HT-29 cells and did not produce ß-glucuronidase but produced high quantities of leucine arylamidase, valine arylamidase, ß-galactosidase, and N-acetyl-ß- glucosaminidase. For antioxidant activity, it appeared that viable cells had higher radical scavenging activity in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay, while in the 2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assay, heat-killed cells had higher antioxidant activity. Additionally, L. brevis KCCM 12203P showed higher lipid oxidation inhibition ability than L. rhamnosus GG; however, there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) between heat-killed cells and control cells. Furthermore, heat-killed L. brevis KCCM 12203P activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells without cytotoxicity at a concentration lower than 108 CFU/ml and promoted higher gene expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase, interleukin-1ß, and interleukin-6 than L. rhamnosus GG. These results suggest that novel L. brevis KCCM 12203P could be used as a probiotic or applied to functional food processing and pharmaceutical fields for immunocompromised people.

Antioxidant effects of live and heat-killed probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Ln1 isolated from kimchi.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the probiotic properties of Lactobacillus plantarum Ln1 isolated from kimchi and the antioxidant activities of live and heat-killed cells. L. plantarum KCTC 3108, which has been used as a commercial probiotic strain, was used as a control. L. plantarum strains (Ln1 and KCTC 3108) can survive under artificial gastric conditions (pH 2.5 in 0.3% pepsin for 3 h and 0.3% oxgall for 24 h), and adhere strongly to HT-29 cells. In addition, L. plantarum Ln1 did not produce carcinogenic ß-glucuronidase, whereas it showed a higher ß-galactosidase production of 3067.42 mU/mL. The antioxidant activity of L. plantarum Ln1 was assessed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging, ß-carotene and linoleic acid inhibition, and reducing power assays. In all these methods, live L. plantarum Ln1 showed a higher antioxidant activity than the control strain. In heat-killed cells of L. plantarum Ln1, ß-carotene bleaching inhibitory activity and reducing power was higher than DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity. These results suggested that live or heat-killed L. plantarum Ln1 isolated from kimchi might be useful as an antioxidant probiotic.

Effect of Various Packaging Methods on Small-Scale Hanwoo (Korean Native Cattle) during Refrigerated Storage.

The objective of this study was to investigate comparison of physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of Hanwoo eye of round by various packaging methods [wrapped packaging (WP), modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), vacuum packaging (VP) with three different vacuum films, and vacuum skin packaging (VSP)] at a small scale. Packaged Hanwoo beef samples were stored in refrigerated conditions (4±1°C) for 28 days. Packaged beef was sampled on days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Physicochemical [pH, surface color, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) values], microbiological, and sensory analysis of packaged beef samples were performed. VP and VSP samples showed low TBARS and VBN values, and pH and surface color did not change substantially during the 28-day period. For VSP, total viable bacteria, psychrotrophic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and coliform counts were lower than those for other packaging systems. Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 were not detected in any packaged beef samples. A sensory analysis showed that the scores for appearance, flavor, color, and overall acceptability did not change significantly until day 7. In total, VSP was effective with respect to significantly higher a* values, physicochemical stability, and microbial safety in Hanwoo packaging (p<0.05).