Research Team of Professor Oran Kwon Publishes Findings in an SCI-indexed Journal
- 작성처
- Date2022.01.27
- 8100
Research Team of Professor Oran Kwon Publishes Findings in an SCI-indexed Journal
A research team led by Professor Oran Kwon at the Department of Nutritional Science & Food Management under the College of Science and Industry Convergence is drawing attention by publishing findings demonstrating that yellow yeast rice (YYR) prepared by fermenting Aspergillus fungi on steamed rice is effective in lowering plasma cholesterol levels. The research was performed through joint research with DaeSang Corporation. The findings of this study, in which Ph.D. student Seunghee Kang (first author) and Eunok Lee (co-author) participated, were published in the SCIE-indexed international journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (IF=5.914, top 3% in the field of food science and technology).
Amid growing interest in functional foods that offer the preemptive management of cholesterol which causes vascular diseases, the research team focused on the usefulness of “Aspergillus terreus,” a microorganism that has been widely used in the production of traditional Korean sauces and alcoholic beverages. The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial of 68 men and women in their 50s with moderately high cholesterol levels and compared the intervention effects between YYR and placebo. The study found that YYR contains Monacolin K, a known natural statin, and other multiple components that may synergistically improve plasma LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B100 levels by stimulating the bile salt export pump and reducing cholesterol availability in the liver without causing adverse reactions. Based on these results, DaeSang Corporation recently obtained approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to use YYR for producing cholesterol-modulating health/functional foods.
Professor Kwon stated, “These findings suggest that YYR can help modulate high cholesterol levels, one of the leading causes of vascular diseases in Korea. Therefore, daily YYR supplementation is expected to be helpful to the people who are mildly-to-moderately hypercholesterolemic and want to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.”