Baolo Kim’s research while affiliated with Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology and other places

This study aimed to produce fermented soy-powder milk (FSPM) with Lactobacillus plantarum P1201 and to evaluate its anti-obesity activity. Isoflavone and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) of unfermented soy-powder milk (UFSPM) and FSPM and were analyzed via high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). Their inhibitory activities against a-glucosidase, a-amylase, and pancreatic lipase were assayed. Their anti-obesity activities were evaluated on the basis of their inhibitory effects on adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells, and the expression of mRNAs associated with adipogenesis and lipid metabolism were analyzed via real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR). FSPM with L. plantarum P1201 increased the isoflavone aglycones (daidzein, glycitein, and genistein) content and produced CLA in soy-powder milk (SPM), both of which possessed bio-activity. Both UFSPM and FSPM showed dose-dependent inhibitory activity for a-glucosidase, a-amylase, and pancreatic lipase. FSPM, but not UFSPM, suppressed adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells and reduced their triglyceride content by 23.1% after treatment with 1,000 μg/mL of FSPM, compared with the control group. The anti-obesity effect of FSPM can be attributed to CLA and isoflavone aglycones, which targeted CCAAT/enhancer binding protein a (C/EBP-α) and down-regulated lipoprotein lipase (LPL), adiponectin, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (aP2), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) mRNA. Furthermore, FSPM enhanced the inhibitory activity of glucosidase and pancreatic enzymes and anti-obesity activity. Further studies are required to investigate whether the anti-obesity effect of FSPM persists in an in vivo mouse model of diet-induced obesity. © The Korean Society of Food Preservation. All rights reserved.

In this study, a total of 16 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from fermented foods. Among those strains, the S48 and P1201 strains were capable of producing higher CLA contents than other LABs. The two strains were classified as Lactobacillus plantarum based on morphological, physiological, chemotaxonomic, and molecular-genetic properties. The survival rates of these strain appeared to be 59.57% and 62.22% under artificial gastric conditions after 4 h at pH 2.5, respectively. These strains produced the cis-9, trans-11, and trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomers from 8% skim milk medium supplemented with the different free LA concentration at 37°C for 48 h and the production of two CLA isomers constantly increased in the growth until 48 h of incubation. After 48 h of fermentation, the levels of CLA appeared highest in steamed soy-powder milk than fresh and roasted soy-powder milks. In particular, the CLA contents were produced 183.57 μg/ml and 198.72 μg/ml from steamed soy-powder milk after fermentation (48 h) with S48 and P1201 strains, respectively.

A beverage was produced by the fermentation of mixed extracts from the various fruits, vegetables, algae, and medical herbs. The physicochemical properties of the fermented beverage of plant extracts (FBPE) and microbial diversity were analyzed in cultures enriched from FBPE using 16S and 26S rRNA gene sequence analyses. The pH, acidity, °brix, reducing sugar, and alcohol contents of the FBPE were determined to be the 3.48, 1.68%, 70.0, 1,026 g/L, and 3.5%, respectively. The most abundant free sugar and organic acid in the FBPE were glucose (567.83 g/L) and tartaric acid (93.68 mg/L), respectively. Lactobacillus homohiochii was the predominant species in all enriched culture samples: 100% of the species in 0B (0% sugar) and 40B (40% sugar) libraries and 95.6% of 20B library (20% sugar). Lactobacillus fructivorans was detected in the 20B library. The predominant species in the samples of enrichment cultures collected from FBPE with three different sugar concentrations were: Candida zeylanoides (45.2%) in the 0Y library (0% sugar), Candida lactis-condensi (35.7%) and C. zeylanoides (35.7%) in the 20Y library (20% sugar), and C. lactis-condensi (38.1%) in the 40Y library (40% sugar). This result may provide a useful frame of reference for further analyses of microbial population dynamics in FBPE.

Lactic acid bacterial diversity and the composition of individual bacterial communities during the fermentation of mulkimchi were examined using a polymerase chain recation (PCR)-based approach. Based on 16S rRNA sequence similarity values, a total of fifteen different lactic acid bacterial species were found in eight sampling sites, including Lactobacillus alimentarius, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus farciminis, Lactobacillus fabifermentans, Lactobacillus nantensis, Lactobacillus parabrevis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus versnoldensis, Lactobacillus zymae, and Lactobacillus sp., Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, Weissella cibaria, Weissella confusa, and Weissella sp. The prevalence of We. cibaria, belonging to the Weissella genus, was the highest (86.7%) at 0 h (initial stages) and gradually decreased at 72 h (rancid stage). In contrast, La. plantarum was observed at 36 h (16.7%, over-ripening stage) and gradually increased up to 84 h (70.0%, rancid stage) during mulkimchi fermentation. We. cibaria was found to be associated with the microorganisms that were present during the initial stage of fermentation, whereas La. plantarum was associated with the production of lactic acid in the over-ripening and rancid stages during fermentation at 30°C±2.

To improve of the quality of Korea traditional wheat-rice wine (makgeolli) production, we used a rice fermentation starter (rice nuruk) made by inoculation of Rhizopus oryzae CCS01 which was isolated and selected from commercial nuruk. Amylase activity of a rice nuruk was 1.8-2.4 times higher than those of commercial nuruks. The best acceptability of wheat-rice wine in a sensory test was observed at 4 : 6 ratio of wheat-rice mash at experimental condition. During the fermentation period, pH of wheat-rice makgeolli made with a rice nuruk was higher compared to those made with commercial nuruks such as Sanseong, Jinju, and Songhak. Acidity of makgeolli mash was lower in case of using a rice nuruk and birx and alcohol production were higher compared to those of makgeolli mash using commercial nuruks. Highest alcohol production was observed at makgeolli mash using a rice nuruk and 12% of alcohol was produced at fermentation end. These results suggest that production of a new type of wheat-rice makgeolli using a rice nuruk was possible.