Publications by authors named "Mujo Kim"

A great number of chemically diverse pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitors have been identified to tackle obesity; however, very few of them have entered clinical studies. The ethanolic extract of sesame meal is a potent PL inhibitor, and its activity hinges exclusively on two free fatty acids: linoleic acid and oleic acid, which were proven to reduce postprandial triglyceride excursion in rats. Herein, to investigate the clinical efficacy of the sesame meal extract, in a crossover trial, 30 healthy volunteers were randomized to receive the sesame meal extract containing experimental food or placebo along with a high-fat meal.

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Introduction: Aging, genetic mutations, and other pathological conditions cause impairment of skeletal growth and bone metabolism, which affect activities of daily living and quality of life in all life stages. Although several drugs have been used in clinical settings and new drugs have been developed for the treatment of skeletal degenerative disorders such as osteoporosis and genetic disorders such as osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), there is clear demand for development of new drugs, especially orally available anabolic drugs that are applicable for a wide range of skeletal disorders.

Methods: To identify therapeutic candidates for skeletal disorders, peptide screening was performed.

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Pancreatic lipase catalyzes the cleavage of triacylglycerols at the oil-water interface, and is known as the dominant determiner of dietary fat digestion. Reducing dietary fat digestion and absorption by modulating the activity of pancreatic lipase has become a favorable strategy to tackle obesity. Orlistat is, at present, the only pancreatic lipase inhibitor approved for the treatment of obesity; however, an array of gastrointestinal adverse effects associated with orlistat limits its tolerability.

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Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is present in the mammalian brain as the main inhibitory neurotransmitter and in foods. It is widely used as a supplement that regulates brain function through stress-reducing and sleep-enhancing effects. However, its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood, as it is reportedly unable to cross the blood-brain barrier.

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γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a potent bioactive amino acid, and several studies have shown that oral administration of GABA induces relaxation, improves sleep, and reduces psychological stress and fatigue. In a recent study, we reported that exosomes derived from GABA-treated intestinal cells serve as signal transducers that mediate brain-gut interactions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to verify the functionality of GABA-derived exosomes and to examine the possibility of improving memory function following GABA administration.

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The aberrant upregulation of protein arginine deiminase 2- (PAD2-) catalyzed citrullination is reported in various autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis) and several cancers. Currently, there are no anti-PAD2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that can inhibit the citrullination reaction. Here, an epitope YLNRGDRWIQDEIEFGY was examined as an antigenic site of PAD2.

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Immunosenescence can negatively affect cytokine production in elderly and may impair poor antibody responses to influenza vaccination and infection. Herein, the effects of Banafine administration on influenza vaccine antibody titer in elderly patients (average age ∼80 years) receiving gastrostomy tube feeding were examined. In the double-blind, single-center, randomized clinical studies, 30 elderly bedridden patients were administered Banafine or placebo for 8 weeks.

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The oral administration of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been shown to affect brain functions. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying GABA-induced gut-brain interactions have not yet been fully elucidated. As the blood-brain barrier is impermeable to GABA, we hypothesized that the gut-brain interaction might be stimulated by some secretory factors derived from the gut.

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Background/objectives: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major public health issue in Japan and other countries, and foods that prevent or treat OA are in strong demand. Proteins and peptides in chicken meat and bones are known for being rich in functional and nutritional ingredients for the improvement of osteoporosis. We speculated that chicken legs, a food consumed in many regions of the world, may also contain such ingredients.

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Background: Oral gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) supplementation increases growth hormone (GH) serum levels and protein synthesis. Therefore, post-exercise supplementation using GABA and protein may help enhance training-induced muscle hypertrophy. We evaluated whether GABA with whey protein enhanced muscular hypertrophy in men after progressive resistance training.

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Alopecia is divided into two categories: androgenic alopecia and nonandrogenic alopecia. An androgen-dependent abnormality of biological functions causes alopecia in males, but the role of androgens is not yet elucidated in female pattern hair loss (FPHL). Modulation of androgenic activity is not effective in certain kinds of androgenic alopecia in females, as well as in cases of nonandrogenic alopecia in males and females.

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The effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on sleep and its levels in blood after oral administration were investigated in humans. A randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover-designed study was conducted to evaluate the effect of GABA on sleep. Sleep was evaluated by electroencephalography (EEG) after oral GABA administration.

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The effects of two food materials, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) produced by natural fermentation and Apocynum venetum leaf extract (AVLE), on the improvement of sleep were investigated in humans. The electroencephalogram (EEG) test revealed that oral administration of GABA (100 mg) and AVLE (50 mg) had beneficial effects on sleep. GABA shortened sleep latency by 5.

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We examined the effects of chicken egg hydrolysate (also known as "bone peptide" or BP) on bone metabolism in 5- to 8-month-old orchidectomized dogs. The bone formation marker serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and the bone resorption marker urine deoxypyridinoline (DPD) were used as indicators to measure changes in bone metabolism. The following results were observed that Serum BAP was higher in dogs fed BP-enriched food throughout the clinical investigation.

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The main objective of this study was to verify the effect of oral intake of a yolk-derived peptide preparation (HYP) obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of yolk water-soluble protein on bone markers and bone density in 65 perimenopausal women with an average age of 47.6 ± 5.2 years.

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The brain protein synthesis and the plasma concentration of growth hormone (GH) is sensitive to the dietary γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in ovariectomized female rats; however, the role of dietary GABA on biomarkers including nerve growth factor (NGF) and choline acetyltransferase for the function of cholinergic neurons remains unknown in ovariectomized female rats. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the dietary GABA affects the concentration and mRNA level of NGF, and the activity of choline acetyltransferase in the brains of ovariectomized female rats. Experiments were done on two groups of 24-wk-old ovariectomized female rats given 0 or 0.

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γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid compound contained in vegetables such as tomatoes and also widely distributed in mammals. GABA acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter and promotes parasympathetic activity to provide several beneficial effects, for instance, relaxation, anti-stress, and insomnia. GABA, produced via a fermentation process, has been available as a functional food ingredient.

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γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid found in unpolished rice, chocolate, tea, and other foods. It is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter. However, the influence of GABA on object recognition and working memory is still unknown.

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We investigated the effects of folate-enriched egg yolk powder on folate and homocysteine levels in plasma and liver of rats fed the folate- and choline-deficient diet to determine bioavailability in vivo. Three-wk-old Wistar rats were fed (1) the pteroylglutamate (PteGlu), (2) the choline, (3) the PteGlu and choline, (4) the folate-enriched egg yolk powder diet for 4 wk after having been fed the folate- and choline-deficient diet. The hepatic folate level in the folate-enriched egg yolk powder group was significantly higher than that in the folate- and choline-deficient or the control groups.

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Aim: In this study, we investigated the effect of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on cyclic nucleotide production and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) phosphorylation in collagen (10 µg/mL)-stimulated platelet aggregation.

Methods: Washed platelets (10(8)/mL) from Sprague-Dawley rats (6-7 weeks old, male) were preincubated for 3 min at 37°C in the presence of 2 mM exogenous CaCl(2) with or without EGCG or other materials, stimulated with collagen (10 µg/mL) for 5 min, and then used for the determination of intracellular cytosolic Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](i)), thromboxane A(2) (TXA(2)), adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), and VASP phosphorylation.

Results: EGCG dose-dependently inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation by inhibiting both [Ca(2+)](i) mobilization and TXA(2) production.

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether the regulation of brain protein synthesis was mediated through changes in the plasma concentration of growth hormone (GH) when dietary γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) treatment was manipulated in hypophysectomized or sham-operated aged rats. Experiments were done on four groups of hypophysectomized and sham-operated (24-wk-old) male rats given 0% or 0.5% GABA added to a 20% casein diet.

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Egg white proteins have many biological functions and substantial nutritional benefits when used as a food source; however, they also contain allergens such as ovalbumin, ovomucoid, and ovotransferrin. We prepared oligopeptides without allergens from hen egg whites via the use of several proteases, and assessed their effects on platelet aggregation and blood coagulation, known to both of which are known to be major risk factors in thrombogenesis. Egg white oligopeptides (EWOP) inhibited collagen-induced human platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner.

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) affects the rate of brain protein synthesis in ovariectomized female rats. Experiments were done on two groups of 24-wk-old ovariectomized female rats given 0 or 0.5% GABA added to the 20% casein diet.

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Methylglyoxal (MG), a reactive dicarbonyl compound, is a metabolic byproduct of glycolysis often found at high levels in blood from diabetic patients. The effect of lipoic acid on MG-induced oxidative stress was investigated using LLC-PK(1) renal tubular epithelial cells, which are susceptible to oxidative stress. MG (500 microM) treatment induced LLC-PK(1) cell death to nearly 50% compared with non-treated control cells, but lipoic acid significantly inhibited the MG-induced cytotoxicity in a concentration-dependent manner.

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We determined the effects of yolk water-soluble protein (YSP) on bone formation in pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. YSP (50-5,000 microg/ml) increased cell proliferation and collagen content. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was also increased by YSP treatment.

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