Metabolic functions
Outstand AchievementsMetabolic functions
Identification of obesity-specific genes and metabolomes
By employing nutrigenomic and metabolomic techniques as base technologies for identifying the causes of obesity and developing materials for obesity prevention, we identified specific genes and metabolomes leading to obesity. We successfully discovered two genes showing obesity-specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for Koreans (e.g. Wwox and PRKG1) and identified 35 metabolites for obesity prediction and 16 bio-markers regarding obesity-related disorders.
Development of sleep-inducing natural materials
We found out that the extracts of edible brown algae (Ecklonia cava) reduces the time taken to sleep, improves the quality of sleep and increases deep sleep. We also developed and transferred technologies on new materials out of natural licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) root and silk tree (Albizia julibrissin) skin that can enhance the healthiness of sleep.
Development of liver functions improving materials based on solids fermentation technologies
We utilized five microorganisms deriving from traditional fermented foods to develop a new material with great efficacy in addressing hepatotoxicity, fatty liver and hyperlipemia. We developed and applied a new technology for solids fermentation that does not require liquid extraction processes, enhancing economic feasibility and enabling mass production (discovered a new compound for restraining hepatocirrho