This study was conducted to investigate chemical properties of wild Lactuca indica (WL) and cultivated Lactuca indica (CL). The proximate composition, reducing sugar, free amino acids, organic acid, vitamin C, minerals, chlorophyll, and crude saponin were analyzed. WL and CL contained high levels of carbohydrate. The leaves and roots of CL contained higher levels of free amino acid than those of WL. Especially, the proline content of CL leaf was 12 times higher than that of WL leaf, and the arginine content of CL root was 100 times higher than that of WL root. The major organic acid and mineral of Lactuca indica were tartaric acid and potassium, respectively. CL showed significantly higher value of reducing sugar than WL. The vitamin C content of the samples ranged from 0.4 to 24.1 mg%, and CL leaf was the highest amount of vitamin C among the samples. CL leaf had a higher amount of chlorophyll than WL leaf, but WL root contained a higher amount of crude saponin than CL root. As in this study, CL showed better nutritional properties than WL, and these results will provide fundamental data in order to activate the cultivation of wild plants.

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The physicochemical properties of raw and black doraji were examined with the goal of increasing the utilization of doraji. Raw and Black doraji contained similar amounts of crude ash, crude fat, and crude protein, but raw doraji had higher level of fiber. Arginine was the major free amino acid in both types of doraji. Free sugar and organic acid contents of doraji increased after steaming heat treatment. Potassium was a prominent mineral in both raw and black doraji, constituting 85% of total minerals. Black doraji contained almost twice as much crude saponin as did raw doraji. Black doraji showed lower values of L (lightness), a (redness), and b (yellowness). The hardness and chewiness of raw doraji were higher than those of black doraji. Black dorai showed a higher amount and extraction rate of saponin, even though nutrient value of doraji slightly decreased after steaming heat treatment. Therefore, black doraji can be a valuable ingredient in functional foods.

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This study investigated the preference and recognition of cooked rice mixed with multigrains. The data for the analysis was collected from 464 people who were residing in Seoul, Gyeongsang and Jeolla area, and analyzed by the SPSS 18.0 program. The result showed that 77.8% of the respondents liked cooked rice mixed with multigrain, showing significant difference by age (p<0.001) and occupation (p<0.01). Of the respondents, 33.8% consumed cooked rice mixed with multigrains at least once a day, showing significant difference by gender (p<0.01), age (p<0.001) and occupation (p<0.001). The most popular type of grains to mix with rice were, in order, black rice (3.8)> brown rice (3.7)> barley (3.7)> proso millet (3.4)> foxtail millet (3.4)> SoRiTae (3.3)> sorghum (3.2)> adlay (3.2)> mung bean (3.1)> buckwheat (3.0)> BacTae (2.8). A total of 32.5% of the respondents answered that 21～30% was proper mixing ratio of multigrains-added cooked rice, showing age (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.001) and resident area (p<0.05). Three or four kinds of grains were preferred to mix cooked rice, showing significant difference by age and occupation (p<0.001). Of the respondents, 43.1% chose price reduction as the most desired improvement of multigrains in the market. Most of the subjects had affirmative view intake of cooked rice mixed with multigrains, but recognized that multigrains were expensive. From these results, this study will provide basic information for the increased availability of multigrains and optimization of the multigrain ratio mix.