Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (한국미생물·생명공학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Enzymatic Activity and Amino Acids Production of Predominant Fungi from Traditional Meju during Soybean Fermentation

  • Dong Hyun Kim (Korean Agricultural Culture Collection, Agricultural Microbiology Division, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences) ;
  • Byung Hee Chun (Department of Microbiology, Pukyong University) ;
  • Jae-Jung Lee (Fermentation Research Lab., Fermentation R&D Center, Sempio Foods Company) ;
  • Oh Cheol Kim (Fermentation Research Lab., Fermentation R&D Center, Sempio Foods Company) ;
  • Jiye Hyun (Fermentation Research Lab., Fermentation R&D Center, Sempio Foods Company) ;
  • Dong Min Han (Department of Life Science, Chung-Ang University) ;
  • Che Ok Jeon (Department of Life Science, Chung-Ang University) ;
  • Sang Hun Lee (Food and Nutrition Div., National Institute of Agricultural Sciences) ;
  • Sang-Han Lee (Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Yong-Ho Choi (Fermentation Research Lab., Fermentation R&D Center, Sempio Foods Company) ;
  • Seung-Beom Hong (Korean Agricultural Culture Collection, Agricultural Microbiology Division, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences)
  • Received : 2023.09.06
  • Accepted : 2023.12.12
  • Published : 2024.03.28
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

To investigate the effect of the predominant fungal species from Korean traditional meju and doenjang on soybean fermentation, the enzymatic activity and amino acid production of twenty-two fungal strains were assessed through solid- and liquid-state soybean fermentation. Enzymatic activity analyses of solid-state fermented soybeans revealed different enzyme activities involving protease, leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), carboxypeptidase (CaP), glutaminase, γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and amylase, depending on the fungal species. These enzymatic activities significantly affected the amino acid profile throughout liquid-state fermentation. Strains belonging to Mucoromycota, including Lichtheimia, Mucor, Rhizomucor, and Rhizopus, produced smaller amounts of total amino acids and umami-producing amino acids, such as glutamic acid and aspartic acid, than strains belonging to Aspergillus subgenus circumdati. The genera Penicillium and Scopulariopsis produced large amounts of total amino acids and glutamic acid, suggesting that these genera play an essential role in producing umami and kokumi tastes in fermented soybean products. Strains belonging to Aspergillus subgenus circumdati, including A. oryzae, showed the highest amino acid content, including glutamic acid, suggesting the potential benefits of A. oryzae as a starter for soybean fermentation. This study showed the potential of traditional meju strains as starters for soybean fermentation. However, further analysis of processes such as the production of G-peptide for kokumi taste and volatile compounds for flavor and safety is needed.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the grants PJ014539 and PJ017286 from the Rural Development Administration of the Republic of Korea.

References

  1. Han B, Rombouts FM, Nout MJR. 2001. A Chinese fermented soybean food. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 65: 1-10.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1605(00)00523-7
  2. Tamang JP. 2015. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean foods of India. J. Ethn. Foods 2: 8-17.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2015.02.003
  3. Kumar D, Lal MK, Dutt S, Raigond P, Changan SS, Tiwari RK, et al. 2008. Traditional healthful fermented products of Japan. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 35: 791. 
  4. Shin D, Jeong D. 2015. Korean traditional fermented soybean products: Jang J. Ethn. Foods 2: 2-7.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2015.02.002
  5. Frias J, Song YS, Martinez-Villaluenga C, Gonzalez de Mejia E, Vidal-Valverde C. 2008. Immunoreactivity and amino acid content of fermented soybean products. J. Agric. Food Chem. 56: 99-105.  https://doi.org/10.1021/jf072177j
  6. Chun BH, Kim KH, Jeong SE, Jeon CO. 2020. The effect of salt concentrations on the fermentation of doenjang, a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste. Food Microbiol. 86: 103329. 
  7. Diez-Simon C, Eichelsheim C, Mumm R, Hall RD. 2020. Chemical and sensory characteristics of soy sauce: a review. J. Agric. Food Chem. 68: 11612-11630.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c04274
  8. Devanthi PVP, Gkatzionis K. 2019. Soy sauce fermentation: microorganisms, aroma formation, and process modification. Food Res. Int. 120: 364-374.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2019.03.010
  9. Lee S. 1995. Meju fermentation for a raw material of Korean Traditional soy products. Kor. J. Mycol. 23: 161-175. 
  10. Li Y, Yu R, Chou C. 2010. Some biochemical and physical changes during the preparation of the enzyme-ripening sufu, a fermented product of soybean curd. J. Agric. Food Chem. 58: 4888-4893.  https://doi.org/10.1021/jf904600a
  11. Huang W, Zhong L, Meng Z, You Z, Li J, Luo X. 2015. The structure and enzyme characteristics of a recombinant leucine aminopeptidase rLap1 from Aspergillus sojae and its application in debittering. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 177: 190-206.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1737-5
  12. Lee S, Ann B. 2008. Thermal changes of aroma components in soybean pastes (Doenjang). Kor. J. Food Sci. Technol. 40: 271-276. 
  13. Jeong D, Heo S, Lee B, Lee H, Jeong K, Her J, et al. 2017. Effects of the predominant bacteria from meju and doenjang on the production of volatile compounds during soybean fermentation. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 262: 8-13.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.09.011
  14. Jung JY, Lee SH, Jeon CO. 2014. Microbial community dynamics during fermentation of doenjang-meju, traditional Korean fermented soybean. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 185: 112-120.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.06.003
  15. Hong S, Kim D, Samson RA. 2015. Aspergillus associated with meju, a fermented soybean starting material for traditional soy sauce and soybean paste in Korea. Mycobiol. 43: 218-224.  https://doi.org/10.5941/MYCO.2015.43.3.218
  16. Hong S, Kim D, Lee M, Baek S, Kwon S, Houbraken J, et al. 2012. Zygomycota associated with traditional meju, a fermented soybean starting material for soy sauce and soybean paste. J. Microbiol. 50: 386-393.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-012-1437-6
  17. Heo S, Park J, Lee K, Lee J, Jeong D. 2023. Quality characteristics of soybean fermented by Mucor, Rhizopus, and Aspergillus from meju. Heliyon 9: e14092. 
  18. Lee S, Ahn B. 2008. Thermal changes of aroma components in soybean pastes (doenjang). Kor. J. Food Sci. Technol. 40: 271-276. 
  19. Zhang X, Shan T, Jia H, Guo C, Wang Z, Yue T, et al. 2022. Comparative evaluation of the effects of natural and artificial inoculation on soybean paste fermentation. LWT 155: 112936. 
  20. Tsuchida O, Yamagata Y, Ishizuka T, Arai T, Yamada J, Takeuchi M, et al. 1986. An alkaline proteinase of an alkalophilic Bacillus sp. Curr. Microbiol. 14: 7-12.  https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01568094
  21. Zhang S, Shi Y, Zhang S, Shang W, Gao X, Wang H. 2014. Whole soybean as probiotic lactic acid bacteria carrier food in solid-state fermentation. Food Control 41: 1-6.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.12.026
  22. Vardanega R, Remonatto D, Arbter F, Polloni A, Rigo E, Ninow JL, et al. 2010. A systematic study on extraction of lipase obtained by solid-state fermentation of soybean meal by a newly isolated strain of Penicillium sp. Food Bioproc. Technol. 3: 461-465.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-009-0224-9
  23. Kuroda M, Miyamura N. 2015. Mechanism of the perception of "kokumi" substances and the sensory characteristics of the "kokumi" peptide, γ-Glu-Val-Gly. Flavour 4: 17. 
  24. Jung JY, Lee SH, Jeon CO. 2014. Microbial community dynamics during fermentation of doenjang-meju, traditional Korean fermented soybean. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 185: 112-120.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.06.003
  25. Han DM, Chun BH, Feng T, Kim HM, Jeon CO. 2020. Dynamics of microbial communities and metabolites in ganjang, a traditional Korean fermented soy sauce, during fermentation. Food Microbiol. 92: 103591. 
  26. Chun BH, Han DM, Kim HM, Park D, Jeong DM, Kang HA, et al. 2021. Metabolic features of ganjang (a Korean Traditional Soy Sauce) fermentation revealed by genome-centered metatranscriptomics. mSystems 6: e0044121-21.  https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00441-21
  27. Kim D, Kim S, Kwon S, Lee J, Hong S. 2015. The mycobiota of air inside and outside the meju fermentation room and the origin of meju fungi. Mycobiology 43: 258-265.  https://doi.org/10.5941/MYCO.2015.43.3.258
  28. Landau R, Laverriere A, Bischof P, Irion O, Morales M, Cohen M. 2010. Alteration of circulating placental leucine aminopeptidase (P-LAP) activity in preeclampsia. Neuro Endocrinol. Lett. 31: 63-66. 
  29. Kok PJ, Seidel B, Holtkamp HC, Huisman J. 1978. A new procedure for the visualization of multiple forms of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). Results in normals, patients receiving enzyme-inducing drugs and patients having liver parenchymal lesions. Clin. Chim. Acta 90: 209-216.  https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-8981(78)90259-0
  30. Ichishima E, Takeuchi M, Yasuda R, Suzuki Y, Kobayashi S. 1977. C-Terminal peptidyl-ᴸ-proline hydrolase activity of Aspergillus acid carboxypeptidase. J. Biochem. 81: 1733-1737.  https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jbchem.a131633
  31. Mondala A, Al-Mubarak R, Atkinson J, Shields S, Young B, Senger YDS, et al. 2015. Direct solid-state fermentation of soybean processing residues for the production of fungal chitosan by Mucor rouxii. J. Mater. Sci. Chem. Eng. 3: 11. 
  32. Afriyanti S, Setyabudi S. 2014. Microbial conversion of cassava stem (Mannihot esculenta) cellulose into reducing sugar by Trichoderma reesei PK1J2. Proc. Int. Cong. Biotechnol. Res. Food Health 
  33. Lee SS, Sung CK, Yu GW, Oh CH, Yu HG. 1995. Studies on safety and classification of microorganisms related to Korean traditional Meju. Study on the commercial scale production of meju for Korean fermented soybean products.Research report of Ministry of Science and Technology. Korea. pp. 391-464. 
  34. Chang P, Horn BW, Abe K, Gomi K. 2014. ASPERGILLUS | Introduction, pp. 77-82. In Batt CA, Tortorello M L (eds.), Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology (Second Edition), Academic Press, Oxford. 
  35. Yan F, Xia W, Zhang X, Chen S, Nie X, Qian L. 2016. Characterization of β-glucosidase from Aspergillus terreus and its application in the hydrolysis of soybean isoflavones. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B 17: 455. 
  36. Tamang JP, Anupma A, Nakibapher Jones Shangpliang H. 2022. Ethno-microbiology of Tempe, an Indonesian fungal-fermented soybean food and Koji, a Japanese fungal starter culture. Curr. Opin. Food Sci. 48: 100912. 
  37. Maruyama J. 2021. Genome editing technology and its application potentials in the industrial filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae. J. Fungi 7: 638. 
  38. Kim D. 2013. Studies on mycobiota of Korean traditional meju. Ph.D. thesis. Kangwon national university, Korea