We investigated the impact of dietary patterns on the gut microbiota and concentration of short-chain fatty acids in the feces of Korean elementary school students. The dietary intake and ADHD assessment of 40 Korean elementary school students were analyzed using a dish-based semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Analysis of gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids composition were performed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction, metagenomics, and gas chromatography methods. The dietary patterns of participants were divided into four groups: healthy, processed food, fish and shellfish, and meat. The participants were also divided into two groups according to their ADHD scores: 0–30, control group; over 30, ADHD group. The ADHD score of the processed food group was significantly higher than that of the healthy group. The processed food and ADHD groups showed significantly higher abundance of harmful bacteria, such as the Enterobacter, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium strains, and markedly lower abundance of beneficial bacteria, such as the Bifidobacterium and Ruminococcus strains, than the control group. The heat maps of metagenomics indicated that each group was separated into distinct clusters, and the processed food and ADHD groups showed significantly lower α-diversity of gut microbiota than the control group. In these groups, the concentration of acetate or butyrate in the feces was significantly lower than that in the control group. These results may indicate that imbalanced diets can disturb the colonic microbial balance and are likely to become a potential risk factor for the prevalence of ADHD.

Goat milk is highly nutritious and is consumed in many countries, but the development of functional foods from goat milk has been slow compared to that for other types of milk. The aim of this study was to develop a goat milk protein hydrolysate (GMPH) with enhanced digestibility and better hypoallergenic properties in comparison with other protein sources such as ovalbumin and soy protein. Goat milk protein was digested with four commercial food-grade proteases (separately) under various conditions to achieve the best hydrolysis of αs -casein and β-lactoglobulin. It was shown that treatment with alcalase (0.4%, 60℃ for 30 min) effectively degraded these two proteins, as determined by SDS-PAGE, measurement of nonprotein nitrogen content, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Hydrolysis with alcalase resulted in a significant decrease in β-lactoglobulin concentration (almost to nil) and a ~40% reduction in the level of αs-casein. Quantification of histamine and TNF-α released from HMC-1 cells (human mast cell line) showed that the GMPH did not induce an allergic response when compared to the control. Hence, the GMPH may be useful for development of novel foods for infants, the elderly, and convalescent patients, to replace cow milk.

The study was conducted to investigate whether oral administration of Korean ginseng powders can modulate gut microbiota as well as intestinal mucin production at the translational and transcriptional levels in the ileum of the growing rat. Thirty individually caged Sprague-Dawley male rats were allocated to three groups (n = 10) and fed for 21 days either a basal control diet or one of the two treatment diets each containing white or red Korean ginseng (WG or RG) powder. Bacterial DNA was extracted from ileal digesta and subjected to quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) using primers for total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, Escherichia coli, Bacteroides, and Clostridium strains. The qPCR results showed that consumption of WG or RG powder significantly increased the number of total bacteria and Lactobacillus strains compared to the control group. Consumption of WG powder increased mRNA expression of the Muc2 gene in the small intestine compared to the control group. There was no effect of WG or RG on the small intestinal digesta mucin content. Correlation analysis showed that expression of the Muc2 gene was significantly associated with the number of total bacteria (r = 0.52, P < 0.05) and Lactobacillus strains (r = 0.53, P < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, the number of Lactobacillus strains was significantly correlated with the number of total bacteria (r = 0.87, P < 0.05). Consumption of the WG powder modulated the intestinal ecosystem of the growing rat and intestinal mucin gene expression.

Food Science of Animal Resources (Food Sci. Anim. Resour.) is an international, peer-reviewed bimonthly journal publishing original research and reviews on basic and applied aspects of the use of animal resources including the meat, egg, and dairy product. Food Sci. Anim. Resour. is published and distributed by the Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.

Food Science of Animal Resources (Food Sci. Anim. Resour.) is an international, peer-reviewed bimonthly journal publishing original research and reviews on basic and applied aspects of the use of animal resources including the meat, egg, and dairy product. Food Sci. Anim. Resour. is published and distributed by the Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.

We investigated the antioxidant activity and neuroprotective effects of an enzymatic hydrolyzate from silkworms fed the leaves of Cudrania tricuspidata (ESLC) produced by enzymatic treatment. The proteins in silkworms fed the leaves of Cudrania tricuspidata (SLC) were effectively hydrolyzed using enzymatic treatment. The total polyphenols of ESLC were significantly higher, and the superoxide dismutase-like activity and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-thylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonicacid) diammonium salt radical scavenging capacity of ESLC were significantly increased compared to the SLC group. We evaluated the properties of ESLC to protect SH-SY5Y cells from H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress. The viability rate of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells was significantly restored when treated with ESLC at a concentration of 100 μg/mL or 250 μg/mL. Furthermore, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was investigated, and ESLC significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and p38. Therefore, ESLC can potentially be used as an antioxidant. The polyphenol content increases owing to hydrolysis through enzymatic treatment, which increases the antioxidant effect and inhibits the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK, and p38 by activating the MAPK pathway, which inhibits cell death from oxidative stress and exerts cytoprotective effects.