• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1270-1279
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• 2011

Bealmijang is a short-term aged paste made from meju, which is a brick of fermented soybeans and other ingredients. Different types of bealmijang are available depending on the geographic region or ingredients used. However, no study has clarified the microbial diversity of these types. We identified 17 and 14 fungal species from black soybean meju (BSM) and buckwheat meju (BWM), respectively, on the basis of morphology, culture characteristics, and internal transcribed spacer and ${\beta}$-tubulin gene sequencing. In both meju, Aspergillus oryzae, Rhizopus oryzae, Penicillium polonicum, P. steckii, Cladosporium tenuissimum, C. cladosporioides, C. uredinicola, and yeast species Pichia burtonii were commonly found. Moreover, A. flavus, A. niger, P. crustosum, P. citrinum, Eurotium niveoglaucum, Absidia corymbifera, Setomelanomma holmii, Cladosporium spp. and unclassified species were identified from BSM. A. clavatus, Mucor circinelloides, M. racemosus, P. brevicompactum, Davidiella tassiana, and Cladosporium spp. were isolated from BWM. Fast growing Zygomycetous fungi is considered important for the early stage of meju fermentation, and A. oryae and A. niger might play a pivotal role in meju fermentation owing to their excellent enzyme productive activities. It is supposed that Penicillium sp. and Pichia burtonii could contribute to the flavor of the final food products. Identification of this fungal diversity will be useful for understanding the microbiota that participate in meju fermentation, and these fungal isolates can be utilized in the fermented foods and biotechnology industries.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.699-704
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• 2013

Buckwheat Soksungjang (BS) is a bealmijang manufactured with buckwheat and soybeans. We manufactured BS using Bacillus subtilis HJ18-4 (HJ18-4), which has high enzyme activities and antibacterial effects. HJ18-4 was inoculated in a different process during the BS manufacturing, which was the meju-making time (Treat 1), and the salt water time was added (Treat 2). The physiochemical and microbial characteristics of the BS were analyzed. As a result, the total aerobic counts (7~8 log CFU/mL) in the BS increased after 15 days of fermentation. Especially, Treat 1 showed higher total aerobic counts and amino-type nitrogen (65.38~202.52 mg%) than Treat 2. During the BS fermentation, the reduction of the sugar contents and the enzyme (protease and amylase) activities decreased. In the relative quantitative expression level of PlcR, Treat 1 did not show toxin gene expressions at the end of the fermentation on Day 23. Treat 1 showed suitable B. cereus physiochemical quality characteristics and inhibition effects. When the modified-form type of fermented soybean paste was manufactured with a single starter, it could not reproduce the natural fermentation quality. These results suggest that the addition of a starter (HJ18-4) in the Meju manufacturing process could enhance the quality characteristics of the manufactured BS via natural fermentation and by suppressing B. cereus.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.743-749
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• 2012

Black soybean paste (BSP) is a bealmijang manufactured with barley flour and black soybeans. This study investigated the quality characteristics of BSP prepared with Bacillus subtilis HJ18-4 (HJ18-4). ${\alpha}$-Amylase and protease activities of BSP rapidly increased on day 6 and day 9, respectively, ($41.45{\pm}0.3-42.72{\pm}0.16$, $21.84{\pm}0.24-23.11{\pm}0.35unit/g$) after which the activities were constant or decreased slightly. Amino type nitrogen contents increased until day 23 ($173.78{\pm}3.51-195.63{\pm}1.51mg\;%$), whereas ammonia type nitrogen sharply decreased on day 9. On day 30, lactic acid bacteria counts were higher compared with the initial count ($7.91{\pm}0.05-8.17{\pm}0.02log\;CFU/g$). Meanwhile, B. cereus and total aerobic counts in HJ18-4 added BSP were lower than that in the control. These results implied that BSP could be edible after 30 days of fermentation, and the addition of HJ18-4 in meju could contribute to the safety of the black soybean paste by the inhibition of B. cereus growth.