Mineral bone disorder in children with chronic kidney disease: Data from the KNOW-Ped CKD (Korean cohort study for outcome in patients with pediatric chronic kidney disease) study.

Background: Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk of mineral bone disorder (MBD), which leads to fractures, growth retardation, and cardiovascular disease. We aimed to comprehensively understand the relationship between renal function and factors related to MBD and evaluate the prevalence and distribution characteristics of MBD, specifically among Korean patients from the KNOW-PedCKD cohort. Methods: From the baseline data of the KNOW-PedCKD cohort, we examined the prevalence and distribution of MBD in 431 Korean pediatric CKD patients, including the level of corrected total calcium, serum phosphate, serum alkaline phosphatase, serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), serum vitamin D, fractional excretion of phosphate (FEP), and bone densitometry Z-scores. Results: The median serum calcium level remained relatively normal regardless of the CKD stage. The levels of 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D, urine calcium-to-creatinine ratio, and bone densitometry Z-score significantly decreased with advancing CKD stage, while those of serum phosphate, FGF-23, and FEP significantly increased with CKD stage. The prevalence of hyperphosphatemia (17.4%, 23.7%, and 41.2% from CKD stages 3b, 4, and 5, respectively) and hyperparathyroidism (37.3%, 57.4%, 55.3%, and 52.9% from CKD stages 3a, 3b, 4, and 5, respectively) significantly increased with the CKD stage. Prescriptions of medications, such as calcium supplements (39.1%, 42.1%, 82.4%), phosphate binders (39.1%, 43.4%, 82.4%), and active vitamin D (21.7%, 44.7%, and 64.7%) significantly increased with CKD stage 3b, 4, and 5, respectively. Conclusions: The results demonstrated the prevalence and relationship of abnormal mineral metabolism and bone growth according to CKD stage in Korean pediatric CKD patients for the first time.

Semi-Continuous Fermentation of Onion Vinegar and Its Functional Properties.

For the fermentation of vinegar using onion, acetic acid bacteria and yeast strains with high fermentation ability were screened. Among them, Saccharomyces cerevisiae 1026 was selected as a starter for ethanol production and Acetobacter orientalis MAK88 was selected as a vinegar producer. When the two-stage fermentation of onion vinegar was performed at 28 °C, the titratable acidity reached 4.80% at 24 h of fermentation. When semi-continuous fermentation proceeded to charge-discharge consisting of three cycles, the acetic acid content reached 4.35% at 48 h of fermentation. At this stage, the fermentation efficiency, acetic acid productivity, and specific product formation rate were 76.71%, 17.73 g/(L·d), and 20.58 g/(g·h), respectively. The process in this study significantly reduced the fermentation time and simplified the vinegar production process. The content of total flavonoids and total polyphenols in onion vinegar were 104.36 and 455.41 µg/mL, respectively. The antioxidant activities of onion vinegar in terms of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic) acid (ABTS⁺) radical scavenging activity, and reducing power were 75.33%, 98.88%, and 1.28, respectively. The nitrite scavenging abilities of onion vinegar were 95.38 at pH 1.2. The onion vinegar produced in this study showed higher organoleptic acceptability than commercial onion vinegar.

Bioconversion of Ginsenosides from Red Ginseng Extract Using Candida allociferrii JNO301 Isolated from Meju.

Red ginseng (Panax ginseng), a Korean traditional medicinal plant, contains a variety of ginsenosides as major functional components. It is necessary to remove sugar moieties from the major ginsenosides, which have a lower absorption rate into the intestine, to obtain the aglycone form. To screen for microorganisms showing bioconversion activity for ginsenosides from red ginseng, 50 yeast strains were isolated from Korean traditional meju (a starter culture made with soybean and wheat flour for the fermentation of soybean paste). Twenty strains in which a black zone formed around the colony on esculin-yeast malt agar plates were screened first, and among them 5 strains having high ß-glucosidase activity on p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-glucopyranoside as a substrate were then selected. Strain JNO301 was finally chosen as a bioconverting strain in this study on the basis of its high bioconversion activity for red ginseng extract as determined by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis. The selected bioconversion strain was identified as Candida allociferrii JNO301 based on the nucleotide sequence analysis of the 18S rRNA gene. The optimum temperature and pH for the cell growth were 20~30℃ and pH 5~8, respectively. TLC analysis confirmed that C. allociferrii JNO301 converted ginsenoside Rb1 into Rd and then into F2, Rb2 into compound O, Rc into compound Mc1, and Rf into Rh1. Quantitative analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography showed that bioconversion of red ginseng extract resulted in an increase of 2.73, 3.32, 33.87, 16, and 5.48 fold in the concentration of Rd, F2, compound O, compound Mc1, and Rh1, respectively.

The effect of kimchi on the microbiological stability of fermented sausage.

The effects of kimchi and freeze-dried kimchi-powder added to raw meat mixtures on the microbiological quality of fermented sausage were studied. The results clearly demonstrated that the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) integrated via the addition of kimchi as well as kimchi-powder were well adapted to the new habitat of fermenting sausage, reaching maximum numbers of 8.65-8.80 log10 cfu/g after 1-2 days of fermentation. In all kimchi and kimchi-powder sausages, the growth of Enterobacteriaceae was completely inhibited throughout the processing period (<2 log10 cfu/g). The sausage batches containing more than 10% kimchi and 2% kimchi-powder showed no growth of S. aureus, whereas the control and another kimchi sausage batch reflected the growth of S. aureus (3.68-4.72 log10 cfu/g). As a result, the addition of kimchi (≥10%) and kimchi-powder to the sausage mixture prior to fermentation produced the microbiological stability required for fermented sausages.

Anti-cancer activities of pure curry feeding in cancer cell-transplanted mouse.

To confirm the cytotoxic effect of instant curry containing combined spices on cancer cells in vivo, cancer was induced by transplanting cancer cells to mice, and the development of cancer upon feeding pure curry were examined. The concentration of lipid peroxide in the groups transplanted with cancer cells which were fed with normal feed was 19.6 nM, and it was increased as the amount of pure curry was increased. The concentration of cytochrome P-450 was decreased in the group transplanted with cancer cells which were fed with pure curry and the group without the transplant which were fed with pure curry when compared with the groups which were fed with normal feed. The activity of cytochrome P-450 was decreased as the concentration of cytochrome P-450 was decreased in the groups transplanted with cancer cells. However, it was increased in the groups without cancer cell transplant when over 2% of pure curry was fed. The amount of glutathione was increased in the groups transplanted with cancer cells when over 2% of pure curry was fed. The activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase were decreased in the groups transplanted with cancer cells which were fed with over 1% of pure curry, and were restored to the level of the group without cancer cell transplant which were fed with normal feed. The superoxide dismutase activity in the groups transplanted with cancer cells was restored to the level of the group without cancer cell transplant which was fed with normal feed when over 1% of pure curry was fed.