Abstract Food is a very basic survival need for the sustenance of life and it always register its impact along with beverages. Varieties of alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages were invented globally under the influence of cultural topography, which drastically differ in western and eastern tradition. One such traditional Korean fermented beverage is Makgeolli, which is popularly known as “Korean rice wine” made wholly from rice and other cereal such as wheat, barley, and germinated grains by the process of fermentation using a main natural ingredient Nuruk, an amylase enzyme “source”. The low alcohol content (6-9%) of Makgeolli with antioxidant constituents and benefiacial polyphenols like resveratrol, quercetin etc. endowing an interesting light sparkling tone of prominent astringency. The composition of fresh Makgeolli with significant amounts of lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus, as well as starch, proteins, dietary fibers, free amino acids, vitamin nutrients and bioactive components are considered to be benefial to health, but it should be considered within that frame, since it is still an alcohol. The Makgeolli is considered as a probiotic liquor and claim detonated health benefits, often compared to yoghurt. In this short review, we mainly emphasize the composition of Makgeolli and offer a glimpse to its potential health benefits.

Abstract In this work, silver nanoparticle – polyvinylchloride (SNC-PVC) composites were synthesized by loading 2.5% to 10.0% silver ions to PVC using simple solution casting technique. Material properties including dielectric, thermal stability were discussed in some detail. Incorporation of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) in the PVC matrix was confirmed by UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). FE-SEM confirms the shape of the SNPs are roughly spherical with average size of the SNPs in the range of 60 - 80 nm. The thermal degradation studies were analysed via sensitive graphical Broido’s method using Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The resulting SNC-PVC films, especially with 10% silver loading showed improved catalytic performance during the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in the presence of aqueous sodium borohydride with apparent rate constant 1.956 × 10-3 sec-1 at ambient temperature.

Abstract The present paper discusses the aspects of synthesizing palladium (Pd) doped (Pd+2 and Pd0) poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) using simple solution cast technique. The Pd loading to PVC was altered from 2.5% to 10.0% and the material properties were studied using UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). Thermal behavior of all the samples were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Broido’s method was employed to analyse the kinetic parameters involved in different degradation steps. All the composite films were sandwitched between disk shape gold electrodes; electrical contacts were established to study the dielectric properties. The influence of Pd loading on the dielectric properties of PVC were examined. Finally, the catalytic properties of Pd0 composites were studied using standard model reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in the presence of aqueous sodium borohydride and reported.