• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.479-485
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the sedative-hypnotic activity of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-enriched fermented marine organisms (FMO), including sea tangle (FST) and oyster (FO) by Lactobacillus brevis BJ20 (L. brevis BJ20). FST and FO were tested for their binding activity of the $GABA_A$-benzodiazepine and 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptors, which are well-known molecular targets for sleep aids. We also measured the sleep latency and sleep duration during pentobarbital-induced sleep in mice after oral administration of FST and FO. In $GABA_A$ and 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptor binding assays, FST displayed an effective concentration-dependent binding affinity to $GABA_A$ receptor, similar to the binding affinity to 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptor. FO exhibited higher affinity to 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptor, compared with the $GABA_A$ receptor. The oral administration of FST and FO produced a dose-dependent decrease in sleep latency and increase in sleep duration in pentobarbital-induced hypnosis. The data demonstrate that FST and FO possess sedativehypnotic activity possibly by modulating $GABA_A$ and 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptors. We propose that FST and FO might be effective agents for treatment of insomnia.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.131-136
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• 2016

Marine organisms are sources of many bioactive compounds, such as essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, making them useful candidates for the production of safe bioactive substances. They also synthesize glutamic acid, which can be used to produce γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS), via fermentation with Lactobacillus brevis BJ-20. This study investigated the degree to which fermented sea tangle (FST) inhibits enzymes such as acetylcholine esterase (AChE) and prolyl endopeptidase (PEP) and affects memory of normal mice using the T-maze test. FST inhibited more than 90% of AChE at 1 mg/mL and 50% of PEP at 8 mg/mL. Oral FST (100 mg/kg) significantly improved performance of normal mice on the T-maze. Therefore, sea tangle fermented with L. brevis BJ20 effectively contributes to memory improvement and might be a useful functional food ingredient.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1206-1212
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• 2009

Growth rates, photosystem II photosynthesis, and the levels of chlorophyll $\alpha$ and secondary metabolites of Chlorella ovalis were estimated to determine if they were enhanced by the addition of swine urine (BM) or cow compost water (EP) that had been fermented by soil bacteria to deep seawater (DSW) in an attempt to develop media that enabled batch mass culture at lower costs. Growth of C. ovalis in f/2, f/2-EDTA+BM60%, DSW+BM30%, and DSW+EP60% was enhanced and maintained in the log phase of growth for 16 days. The cell densities of C. ovalis in DSW+EP60% ($4.1{\times}10^6$ Cells/ml) were higher than those of f/2 ($2.9{\times}10^6$ Cells/ml), f/2-E+BM60% ($3.7{\times}10^6$ Cells/ml), and DSW+BM30% ($2.7{\times}10^6$ Cells/ml). The growth rate was also more favorable for C. ovalis cultured in DSW+EP60% ($0.15\;day^{-1}$) than that of C. ovalis cultured in the control medium (f/2) ($0.12\;day^{-1}$). Furthermore, the chlorophyll a concentration of C. ovalis cultured in DSW+EP60% (4.56 mg/l) was more than 2-fold greater than that of C. ovalis cultured in f/2 (2.35 mg/l). Moreover, the maximal quantum yields of photo system II at 470 nm (Fv/Fm) were significantly higher in organisms cultured at f/2-E+BM60% (0.53) and DSW+EP60% (0.52) than in the other treatment groups. Finally, Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy revealed that C. ovalis grown in DSW+EP60% had more typical peaks and various biochemical pool shifts than those grown in other types of media. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that the use of DSW+EP60% to culture C. ovalis can reduce maintenance expenses and promote higher yields.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1424-1431
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• 2018

We prepared flocculated detritus-like organic marine snow originating from various organisms by fermentation using microorganisms; this fermented organic material was fed to the leptocephali of the eel (Anguilla japonica) to investigate whether or not such organic matter was an appropriate food source for the larvae. A strain was isolated from a biofloc technology system used to culture fish, and seven types of organic material from hen's egg, eel muscle, tuna muscle, lugworm, shrimp, manila clam, mussel, and sea squirt were fermented using isolated bacteria (Bacillus sp.). The fermented matter did not show any specific form and was larger than $10-20{\mu}m$ but no more than $100{\mu}m$ in size. Four diets (A-D) were prepared using the various fermented products, and the larvae were fed the prepared food from 20 days after hatching. The leptocephali fed the A, B, and C diets survived until 37, 39, and 37 days after hatching, respectively. However, the leptocephali fed the D diet survived for 60 days after hatching. The protein content of each diet was very similar, but the n-3 HUFA concentration in the D diet was approximately twice as high as that of the others.

• ALGAE
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.333-341
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• 2006

The productivities of Chlorella ovalis and Dunaliella parva were influenced by the rates of medium compositions obtained from the fermented animal wastewater (BM: bacteria mineral water) including a natural substitute chelator for EDTA (etylenediaminetetraacetic acid). The most favorable medium was -E+50 adding 50% BM in f/2 medium instead of EDTA, a chemical chelator, which increased more 19-fold of cell density in C. ovalis and 7-fold in D. parva than cells cultured on f/2 medium as well as the enhancements of chlorophyll a (f/2-E: 0.26 g L–1, -E+50: 1.5 g L–1 in C. ovalis; f/2-E: 2.7 g L–1, -E+50: 15 g L–1 in D. parva) and the increase of maximal PSII quantum yields. These results were verified that the BM could play an important part as a natural chelator substituted for EDTA. In the fields of biotechnology, food organisms in fishery and eco-industries of CO2 sequestration in air and nutrient removal in water, the natural chelator of BM could be applied to enhance the biomass of the other microalgae.

• ALGAE
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.73-84
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• 2016

Marine organisms are frequently used to be harmful and have lower side effects than synthetic drugs. The cognitive improving efficacy of gamma aminobutyric acid-enriched fermented Saccharina japonica (FSJ) on the memory deficient rats, which were induced by trimethyltin chloride (TMT), was investigated by assessing the Morris water maze test and by performing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) immunohistochemistry. The neurite outgrowth of Neuro2a cells was assessed in order to examine the underlying mechanisms of the memory enhancing effects of FSJ. Treatment with FSJ tended to shorten the latency to find the platform in the acquisition test of the Morris water maze at the second and fourth day compared to the control group. In the probe trial, the FSJ treated group increased time spent in the target quadrant, compared to that of the control group. Consistent with the behavioral data, these treatments recovered the loss of ChAT, CREB, and BDNF immunepositive neurons in the hippocampus produced by TMT. Treatment with FSJ markedly stimulated neurite outgrowth of the Neuro2a cells as compared to that of the controls. These findings demonstrate that FSJ may be useful for improving the cognitive function via regulation of neurotrophic marker enzyme activity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.124-132
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• 2017

Microbial secondary metabolites of marine organisms are regarded as major sources of structurally and biologically novel compounds with numerous potential uses. Sponge-microbe associations are among the most interesting sources for exploring bioactive compounds. In this study, the bacterial strain Microbulbifer sp. (127CP7-12) was isolated from the Asian marine sponge Hymeniacidon sinapium collected at an intertidal zone on the west coast of Korea. Cultured bacteria produced a violet pigment, and optimal culture conditions for violet pigment production were investigated. Maximum production of the violet pigment from the strain culture was observed under the conditions of $25^{\circ}C$, pH 6.0, and 3% NaCl. Acetone provided better extraction of the pigment from fermented broth compared with ethanol and methanol. The proposed structure of the major component in the extracted crude pigment was determined via high-performance liquid chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and UV spectra analyses, which showed that the metabolite was the promising bioactive compound violacein. This study describes the examination of marine bioactive materials from microbe-engaged metabolites and the ecological implications of the sponge-microbe association in a changing ocean.