Jicama (Pachyrhizuz erosus, Fabaceae) has been reported to elicit various medicinal benefits against metabolic disturbances.We also have previously demonstrated that extracted jicama fiber (JF) could sustain normoglycemic state in high-sugar diet fed mice.In this present study, we investigated the effectivity of jicama fiber in preventing the dysregulation of energy metabolism as well as adiposity in adult male BALB/c mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD).Three groups of animals were treated with normal diet (ND), HFD, and HFD in combination with 25% JF (w/w), respectively for 8 weeks ad libitum.Furthermore, food intake, energy intake, water intake, white adipose (WAT) and brown adipose (BAT) tissue mass, kidney and liver weight as well as organ index were determined.Our investigation revealed that JF 25% could preclude the perturbation of circadian feeding and energy intake rhythms caused by HFD but significantly reduced total water intake.JF also effectively counteracted the marked increase of WAT and decrease of BAT weight and its index in HFD fed mice.Furthermore, JF did not significantly alter the weight and index of both kidney and liver in HFD fed mice.This finding suggests that JF could be used as a potent supplement to minimize the disruption of energy homeostasis and obesity caused by HFD. Food has a decisive influence on our health, to the extent where even lifespan can be directly affected by it.In the present work, we have examined the effects of an aqueous extract of the marine brown alga Eisenia bicyclis in terms of its potential to extend lifespan.For this purpose, we used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model.The experiments showed that small amounts of Eisenia extract can extend lifespan by up to 40%.This effect is not only related to the median but also to the maximum lifespan.Interestingly, this life-extending effect is sex-specific, i.e.it occurs exclusively in females.Even under stressful nutritional conditions such as a high sugar diet, this effect is detectable.Mechanistic studies showed that this life-prolonging effect depends on a functional Tor and a functional FoxO signaling pathway.It can be concluded that components of the Eisenia extract prolong lifespan by interacting with the Tor-FoxO axis.This study may serve to stimulate further investigations, which on the one hand show such a life-prolonging effect also in other organisms and on the other hand identify the substances responsible for this effect.Finally, it may also encourage the increased use of arame as a health-promoting food supplement. BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Owing to health concerns related to the consumption of traditional snacks high in sugars and fats, much effort has been made to develop functional snacks with low calorie content.In this study, a new recipe for Korean rice cookie, dasik, was developed and its antioxidative, lipid-lowering, and anti-inflammatory effects and related mechanisms were elucidated.The effects were compared with those of traditional rice cake dasik (RCD), the lipid-lowering effect of which is greater than that of traditional western-style cookies.MATERIALS/METHODSGinseng-added brown rice dasik (GBRD) was prepared with brown rice flour, fructooligosaccharide, red ginseng extract, and propolis.Mice were grouped (n = 7 per group) into those fed a normal AIN-76 diet, a high-fat diet (HFD), and HFD supplemented with RCD or GBRD.Dasik in the HFD accounted for 7% of the total calories.The lipid, reactive oxygen species, and peroxynitrite levels, and degree of lipid peroxidation in the plasma or liver were determined.The expression levels of proteins involved in lipid metabolism and inflammation, and those of antioxidant enzymes were determined by western blot analysis. RESULTS The plasma and hepatic total cholesterol concentrations in the GBRD group were significantly decreased via downregulation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-2 and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (P < 0.05).The hepatic peroxynitrite level was significantly lower, whereas glutathione was higher, in the GBRD group than in the RCD group. Among the antioxidant enzymes, catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were significantly upregulated in the GBRD group (P < 0.05).In addition, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) expression in the GBRD group was significantly lower than that in the RCD group.CONCLUSIONS GBRD decreases the plasma and hepatic cholesterol levels by downregulating cholesterol synthesis.This new dasik recipe also improves the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory status in HFD-fed mice via CAT and GPx upregulation and NF-κB downregulation.These effects were significantly higher than those of RCD.