Background Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) have become a trending research topic in recent years due to their special nutritional and functional properties. The bioactive carbohydrates, proteins, carotenoids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, phenolic acids and minerals are diverse nutrients present in the leaves and roots of sweet potato. Scope and approach This review offers an update based on the latest literature on the nutritional value, phytochemical composition and health beneficial properties of sweet potato. In addition to the beneficial nutritional composition of sweet potatoes, a number of constituents capable of promoting health well-being and preventing lifestyle-related diseases are present in the sweet potatoes (roots and leaves). The findings of in vitro and in vivo research on the health benefits of sweet potato bioactives reported in the last decade have been collected and updated. Key findings and conclusions A number of different health benefits, such as antioxidant, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, anti-obesity and prevention of vitamin A malnutrition have been reported due to the ingestion of different parts of sweet potato. Compositional analysis revealed the orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties are superior source of β-carotene while the purple-fleshed sweet potato varieties have the excellent levels of anthocyanins. Whereas, the white-fleshed sweet potato varieties nearly contain no β-carotene. The dietary intakes of sweat potatoes are strongly recommended for their undeniable health-promoting properties. They also offer potential application in food industries for novel value-added food products and products prepared with or from sweet potato are compiled.

A comprehensive review of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam): Revisiting the associated health benefits

Purpose – Given the increasing importance of food in tourist activities and destination choice, the purpose of this paper is to reveal a comprehensive measurement scale to evaluate the image of destination food, adopting procedures recommended by previous studies. Design/methodology/approach – The procedure in this study followed two steps: first, item generation including literature review and focus groups; and second, scale purification. Scale purification included exploratory factor analysis to derive an initial factor structure and reliability assessment and confirmatory factor analysis to test the theoretical factor structure and assess validity. Findings – The scale development procedure yielded five dimensions of destination food image: “food safety and quality,” “attractiveness of food,” “health benefits of food,” “food culture,” and “unique culinary arts.” Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the food-related tourism literature by measuring destination food image based on...

Multi-dimensional scale to measure destination food image: case of Korean food

: Bulgogi (Korean traditional barbecued beef) is the most well-known Korean food to foreigners. There are, however, few studies on its sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability. This study was performed to identify the sensory attributes of Bulgogi samples prepared with different formulation and to compare the consumer acceptability in Korea and the United States. Bulgogi samples were prepared with varying levels of sugar and soy sauce with/without garlic or sesame oil. Descriptive analysis was conducted by 8 trained panelists. In consumer tests, 42 consumers in Seoul, Korea, 53 consumers in Davis (Calif., U.S.A.), and 39 consumers in St. Paul (Minn., U.S.A.) participated. Higher levels of sugar and soy sauce (SSS) significantly increased sweetness, saltiness, MSG taste, and soy sauce odor/flavor compared to the control made with the standard formula (CON). Elimination of sesame oil (ESO) significantly decreased sesame oil odor/flavor and oiliness, but increased green onion flavor. Elimination of garlic (EGC) significantly increased grilled beef odor/flavor, sesame oil odor/flavor, and oiliness, but decreased intensities of all the other attributes except bitterness. The consumers in Korea and the United States rated their overall liking for all samples similarly, preferring SSS to CON, EGC, and ESO. However Korean consumers seemed to detect the differences caused by formulation changes better than the U.S. consumers and these perceived differences seemed to impact the hedonic and the just-about-right ratings. Increase in soy sauce and sugar increased both Korean and the U.S. consumers’ acceptability of Bulgogi, whereas eliminating garlic did not influence the consumer acceptability despite of its significant impact on sensory attributes.



Practical Application:  The food industry is increasingly interested in ethnic foods that satisfy sophisticated appetite of today's consumers. Korean cuisine is recently gaining popularity and perceived as “adventurous and spicy,” appealing to researchers and marketers in the food industry worldwide. However, it is not easy to develop a new product based on ethnic cuisine because nonsensory factors, such as food neophobia and openness to new culture, can evoke adverse responses from the consumers. A systematic sensory approach can guide the product development by identifying both sensory and nonsensory factors affecting consumer acceptability. This study investigated sensory attributes of Bulgogi (Korean traditional barbecued beef), one of the most famous Korean foods, and compared consumer acceptability between Korea and the United States. The outcomes of this study, such as flavor profiles, consumer responses, evaluation procedure, and approaches taken for cross-cultural comparison, will provide the food industries with valuable information that will help to develop effective strategies for commercializing ethnic foods including recipe development for Bulgogi marinades.

Sensory Characteristics and Cross‐Cultural Consumer Acceptability of Bulgogi (Korean Traditional Barbecued Beef)

Bacillus polyfermenticus KJS-2 (BP-KJS-2) was used to produce a lipopeptide-type surfactin. To accomplish this, a surfactin-producing BP-KJS-2 was fermented by soybeans. The surfactin was then purified by a procedure including ethanol treatment and preparative chromatography. Next, the biochemical structure of the purified surfactin was analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and high-resolution ESI Q-Tof mass spectrometry (Q-Tof MS). In addition, the masses of the four peaks were determined to be 1007, 1021, 1035, and 1049 m/z revealing that the compound was mixture with quasi-molecular ions. Taken together, these findings indicated that the lipopeptide had a cyclic structure and amino acid composition of Gln-Leu-Leu-Leu-Val-Asp-Leu-Leu, and that the major lipopeptide product of BP-KJS-2 is the surfactin isoform. In addition, this lipopeptide showed strong antimicrobial activity against bacteria at the level of 0.05 mg/mL.

Isolation and characterization of surfactin produced by Bacillus polyfermenticus KJS-2.

During the last few decades, the food and beverage industry faced increasing demand for the design of new functional food products free of synthetic compounds and artificial additives. Anthocyanins are widely used as natural colorants in various food products to replenish blue color losses during processing and to add blue color to colorless products, while other compounds such as carotenoids and betalains are considered as good sources of other shades. Root vegetables are well known for their broad palette of colors, and some species, such as black carrot and beet root, are already widely used as sources of natural colorants in the food and drug industry. Ongoing research aims at identifying alternative vegetable sources with diverse functional and structural features imparting beneficial effects onto human health. The current review provides a systematic description of colored root vegetables based on their belowground edible parts, and it highlights species and/or cultivars that present atypical colors, especially those containing pigment compounds responsible for hues of blue color. Finally, the main health effects and antioxidant properties associated with the presence of coloring compounds are presented, as well as the effects that processing treatments may have on chemical composition and coloring compounds in particular.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/8/12/617/pdf

Grown to be Blue—Antioxidant Properties and Health Effects of Colored Vegetables. Part I: Root Vegetables

The physico-chemical properties of broccoli sprouts cultivated in a plant factory system with different lighting conditions were investigated. We reported that there were significant differences among the chemical and nutritional properties of the broccoli sprouts grown under different light sources. Two kinds of sugars (glucose and fructose) were detected in the plants. The amount of glucose was 2.94~3.12% and that of fructose was 1.54~2.04%. Total chlorophyll was mg% and chlorophyll-a mg%. All over the test materials, 2 kinds of organic acids (citric acid and malic acid) were detected. The level of citric acid was 908~1,136 mg% and its highest level was under the (Blue LED) light source. The level of malic acid was 514~834 mg% and its highest level was under the (Red LED) light source. Seven different minerals were also analyzed. The amount of K was 518 mg% and its amount was significantly higher than that of Mg or Na. There were also negligible amounts of Zn, Fe and Cu. The amounts of vitamin A, C and E under the Red LED were, , mg% and IU. The amounts under the Blue LED were, , mg% and IU. The amounts under both Red and Blue LEDs were, , mg% and IU. And finally, the amounts under a White LED were, , mg% and IU. In this study, significant changes were shown in the chemical and nutritional properties of the broccoli sprouts. These findings indicate that LED light sources stimulated germination of the plants.

https://www.koreascience.or.kr:443/article/JAKO201105462034856.pdf

Physico-Chemical Properties of Broccoli Sprouts Cultivated in a Plant Factory System with Different Lighting Conditions

*§ * BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed factors affecting consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits in Korean adolescents. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits, general characteristics, meal, health, and other variables were analyzed for a total of 147,047 adolescents who participated in the KYRBWS (Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey) conducted in 2006 and 2011 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: Consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits more than once a day significantly decreased in 2011 compared to 2006 based on Chi-square test conducted for every factor employed in the study. Analysis of factors showed that consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits were reduced in both study years as subjective income decreased, whereas intake frequencies increased with mother’s education level and reduction of adolescent stress level. CONCLUSIONS: In general, consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits decreased in 2011 compared to those in 2006. Thus, future research needs to improve dietary guidelines for nutrition education in order for students to recognize the importance of food consumption and necessity of increasing daily serving sizes of vegetables and fruits for their balanced consumption.

/pdf/analysis-of-consumption-frequencies-of-vegetables-and-fruits-va771ccih6.pdf

Analysis of consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits in Korean adolescents based on Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey (2006, 2011)

This study was carried out to investigate characteristics of acetic acid bacteria for persimmon vinegar fermen-tation. Acetic acid bacteria were isolated from statically fermented vinegar. Microscopically the cells appeared as non-motile and non-flagellated, preferentially occuring in pairs. Isolated strains were able to grow in the presence of acetic acid, ethanol, and glucose. Four of them produced 2-ketogluconic acid but did not produce 5-ketogluconic acid. The four strains isolated from statically fermented vinegar were considered to be grouped into Acetobacter. The strains were inoculated into persimmon juice for persimmon vinegar fermentation. They produced acetic acid in the range of 5.255.68.

Isolation and Characteristics of Acetic Acid Bacteria for Persimmon Vinegar Fermentation

This study was performed to investigate the distribution of phenolic compounds in the peanut skins of various cultivars, as well as their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect (Arachishypogaea L. cv. K-Ol, cv. Sinpalkwang, cv. Daan, cv. Heuksaeng) and extraction solvent. The major components of red peanut cultivars (K-Ol, Sinpalkwang, and Daan) were identified as proanthocyanidin, catechin, gallic acid, coumaric acid, and hesperidine, whereas the major components of black peanut cultivar (Heuksaeng) were identified as anthocyanin, ferulic acid, and quercetin. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, and FRAP values were the highest in Daan followed by Sinpalkwng, K-Ol, and Heuksang. Furthermore, the skin extracts of red peanuts effectively improved cell viability, reactive oxygen species generation, MDA concentration, and antioxidant enzyme activity (GR, GPx, CAT, and superoxide dismutase) in oxidative stress-induced HepG2 cells, and reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory factors (NO, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. These results suggest that red peanut skin extracts could effectively mediate physiological activity and provide valuable information for the use of peanut byproducts as functional food materials.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/fsn3.2064

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Peanut (Arachishypogaea L.) skin extracts of various cultivars in oxidative-damaged HepG2 cells and LPS-induced raw 264.7 macrophages.

The purpose of this study were to analyze the staple food consumption trend of Koreans using KNHANES(Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data. Nutrient intake of 38,840 participants of 1998~2008 KNHANES, over 6 year old were analyzed. For the analysis of major staple food intakes, twenty four hour recall data was used. The results were analyzed by SAS Program, as follows. Despite westernized diet, ranking in the primary energy source of food showed similar patterns. But total calory intake was reduced over the past 11 years and percentage of carbohydrate intake was increased. Relative proportions of protein and fat intake was reduced. The major carbohydrate and protein source of Koreans was rice and grains. Pork and ramen were the major fat source food. Although intake levels were different by gender, age and areas, carbohydrate of rice was primary source of energy in Korea.

http://koreascience.or.kr:80/article/JAKO201113036235723.pdf

The Changes of Energy Nutrient Intake, Frequently Consumed Dishes and Staple Food Consumption -Based on the First to the Forth(1998~2008) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES I~IV-2)-

Jin Young Lee

Papers

Physico-Chemical Properties of Broccoli Sprouts Cultivated in a Plant Factory System with Different Lighting Conditions

Analysis of consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits in Korean adolescents based on Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey (2006, 2011)

Isolation and Characteristics of Acetic Acid Bacteria for Persimmon Vinegar Fermentation

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Peanut (Arachishypogaea L.) skin extracts of various cultivars in oxidative-damaged HepG2 cells and LPS-induced raw 264.7 macrophages.

The Changes of Energy Nutrient Intake, Frequently Consumed Dishes and Staple Food Consumption -Based on the First to the Forth(1998~2008) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES I~IV-2)-