• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.357-363
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• 2011

This study focus was primarily the development of liquid starters for Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger prepared with wheat bran as a low cost culture medium. For the preparation of the liquid media wheat bran was added at rates of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% and the Aspergillus sp. strains were then inoculated to these prepared broths. The results indicated that the more that wheat bran was contained in the medium, the more mycelia was produced for A. oryzae and A. niger. The highest enzyme activities were obtained with a 10~15% adding rate of wheat bran for both strains. Changes in the enzyme activities of the liquid starters during various incubation times (0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hrs), indicated that the highest enzyme activities were seen between 48 and 72 hrs of culture. In addition, a comparative study was carried out on the production of enzymes using wheat as a substrate in nuruk, with liquid starter made from fermented agents according to the same concentrations used with the wheat bran. The pH, acidity, amino acidity, reducing sugar content and enzyme activity (${\alpha}$-amylase, glucoamylase, acidic protease) of wheat nuruk made with liquid starter were compared with those of wheat nuruk made with solid starter. The results suggest that the liquid starter is superior in both cases.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.1041-1048
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• 2015

This study was performed to produce quality vinegar using different types of nuruk, which is the most effective in making traditional brown rice vinegar. The vinegar was produced with 20% vinegar starter, and pears were added to reduce the nuruk aroma. Three different types of Nuruk that were prepared were rice, wheat, and a rice+wheat (1:1) combination. The total acidities of brown rice pear vinegar made from rice-nuruk, wheat-nunuk, and rice+wheat-nuruk were 8.1%, 7.5%, and 6.4%, respectively. Free sugars, including glucose, galactose, and fructose, were highly detected from all three vinegar samples. Acetic acid and lactic acid were the major organic acids in all three vinegar samples. For free amino acids, alanine, glutamic acid, and arginine were mainly detected in all three vinegar samples. Total phenolic compounds were higher in brown rice pear vinegar made of rice-nuruk than in that made of wheat-nuruk, whereas total flavonoids showed the opposite pattern. DPPH-radical scavenging activity was higher in brown rice pear vinegar made of wheat-nuruk than in that made of rice-nuruk.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2021

In this study, characteristics of solid-state fermentation distilled spirits with nuruk (fermentation starter) and sorghum were investigated. The starch digestion activity was highest in black koji (A. usamii) at 359.15 U/g dry base, white koji (A. luchuensis) at 306.98 and yellow koji (A. oryzae) at 15.31 was followed. The pH of the solid-state fermented mash in yellow, white and black koji showed 5.09, 4.46 and 4.50 respectively with significant differences (p<0.001). The total acid content of white and black koji was 0.73% as citric acid. The alcohol content of mash prepared with yellow, white and black koji was 4.34, 4.24, 3.89% respectively. The contents of reducing sugar showed 3.28, 3.23 and 2.64%. Total sugar were 14.88, 17.84 and 17.60% respectively. The alcohol content of each distillate ranged from 44.3 to 39.9%, and the furfural content in yellow koji was 1.25 times lower than the others.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.1002-1008
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• 2012

For the production of Korea traditional cereal wine makgeolli, a rice fermentation starter nuruk was Rhizopus oryaze CCS01 commercial nuruk. The carbohydrate content of rice nuruk was higher, the levels of moisture, ash, crude protein, and crude fat were lower. In particular, the saccharifying activity of rice nuruk was 2.2 times higher than commercial nuruk. pH, alcohol, and viable yeast cells of makgeolli made rice nuruk were higher than those of makgeolli made commercial nuruk. In contrast, the levels of acidity, $^{\circ}Brix$, viable lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cells, and browning of makgeolli made rice nuruk were lower than those of makgeolli made commercial nuruk, the alcohol content of glutinous rice (GUR) makgeolli made rice nuruk higher other samples. These results suggest that rice nuruk R. oryzae CCS01 make new type cereal makgeolli.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.11a
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• pp.11-11
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• 2015

A total of sixty-six samples of Nuruk, a fermention starter used to make the Korean traditional rice wine, Makgeolli, were collected from central and southern regions of Korea in 2013 and 2014. We classified two groups of the Nuruk samples, "commercial" and "home-made", according to the manufacturing procedure and purpose of use. Commercial Nuruks were made in a controlled environment where the temperature and humidity are fixed and the final product is supplied to Makgeolli manufacturers. Home-made Nuruks were made under uncontrolled conditions in the naturally opened environment and were intended for use in the production of small amounts of home-brewed Makgeolli. We obtained more than five hundred isolates including filamentous fungi and yeasts from the Nuruk samples followed by identification of fungal species. Also we stored glycerol stocks of each single isolate at $-70^{\circ}C$. We identified the species of each isolate based on the sequences of ITS regions amplified with two different universal primer pairs. We also performed morphological characterization of the filamentous fungi and yeast species through observations under the microscope. We investigated the major fungal species of commercial and home-made Nuruks by counting the colony forming units (CFU) and analyzing the occurrence tendency of fungal species. While commercial Nuruks contained mostly high CFU of yeasts, home-made Nuruks showed relatively high occurrence of filamentous fungi. One of the representative Nuruk manufacturers used both domestic wheat bran and imported ones, mainly from US, as raw material. Depending on the source of ingredient, the fungal diversity was somewhat different. Another commercial Nuruk sample was collected twice, once in 2013 and again in 2014, and showed different diversity of fungal species in each year. Nuruks obtained from the southern regions of Korea and Jeju island showed high frequency of yeast such as Saccharomycopsis fibuligera and Pichia species as well as unique filamentous fungus, Monascus species. S. fibuligera was easily found in many Nuruk samples with high CFU. The major filamentous fungi were Aspergillus, Lichtheimia, Mucor and Penicillium species. In order to further our understanding of the isolates and their potential industrial applications, we assayed three enzymes, alpha amylase, glucoamylase and acid protease from 140 isolates out of about five hundred isolates and selected about 10 excellent strains with high enzyme activities. With these fungal isolates, we will perform omics analyses including genomics, transcriptomics, metabolic pathway analyses, and metabolomics followed by whole genome sequencing of unique isolates associated with the basic research of Nuruk and that also has applications in the Makgeolli making process.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.153-164
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• 2014

Five takju prepared using four types of nuruk (a traditional Korean fermentation starter made of malted wheat; non-cooked, naturally inoculated) labeled SH, SS, JJ, and SJ, and one type of koji (cooked, inoculated with an inoculum) labeled MN, were compared. Titratable acidity, pH, sugars, ethanol, amino acids, organic acids, and microbial changes in samples were measured, and the sensory properties were evaluated. Titratable acidity, alcohol, and organic acid content increased as sugar contents decreased. The overall ethanol concentration of all takju increased over time, reaching a maximum of 13.08-14.96% (w/v) at 7-21 days. The total amino acid contents of takju prepared with nuruk, except for one (SJ), were higher than the takju prepared with koji (MN). Lactic acid bacteria were also isolated from the starters. Sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes (500 - 600 bp) of 223 isolates revealed that the major strains were in the genera of Leuconostoc, Weissella, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.129-133
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• 1990

The strain of Nuruk yeat No. 15 (NY-15) which ferments lactose in milk was Isolated from Nuruk and identified as Saccharomyces marxianus according to the API 20C profile index. The lactose hydrolysing ability of NY-15 was similar to that Saccharomyces fragilis ATCC 8583 which has ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activity. Its optimum growth temperature, pH and time for the production of maximum enzyme activity showed $28^{\circ}C$, 4.5 and 28hr, respectively. Galactose as well as sucrose as carbon sources, and urea as nitrogen source Increased the production of enzyme. In order to test the production of alcohol, NY-15 was inoculated in whey medium and whey medium added with sugar. In the former, NY-15 produced 2% alcohol and in the latter, it showed 12% alcohol production. The optimal medium pH for lactose hydrolysis of NY-15 is 4.5, whereas that of Saccharomyces fragilis ATCC 8583 is 3.5

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.93-98
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• 2023

Nuruk is a starter culture of Korea manufactured by spontaneous fermentation of grains. We isolated bacteria of the genera Bacillus and Staphylococcus, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from eight commercial nuruk samples collected from four districts of Korea using selective agar media and identified them based current taxonomic standards. Bacillus was detected in all samples, but Staphylococcus or LAB were not detected in three samples. In seven samples, except one sample scored the highest cell number of LAB, Bacillus and Staphylococcus were counted as the highest and the lowest numbers, respectively. Six species of Bacillus were identified, and B. subtilis, B. velezensis, and B. licheniformis were predominant species. Nine species of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus were identified, and the predominance of S. pseudoxylosus and S. saprophyticus was confirmed. Ten species of LAB including Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and close relatives, Pediococcus, and Weissella were identified. P. pentosaceus was identified as the predominant species.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.9
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• pp.1264-1269
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• 2015

To evaluate the functional effect of ornithine produced by isolated lactic acid bacteria, we examined the anti-lipid accumulation effect of ornithine produced by isolate lactic acid bacteria on 3T3-L1 cells. Lactic acid bacteria (Pediococcus strain) were isolated from nuruk, which is made from wheat, rice, and barley (whole grain, grits, or flour) by fermenting microorganisms (Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and yeasts). Pediococcus strain was identified by 16S rDNA sequencing analyses, and cells were collected by centrifugation and developed as an ornithine starter. makgeolli, an ornithine-containing Korean traditional alcoholic beverage, was made with isolated lactic acid bacteria and arginine. makgeolli was made with the help of ornithine starter using a makgeolli making kit. We evaluated the anti-proliferation effect of ornithine makgeolli on 3T3-L1 cells. To determine the anti-proliferation effect of ornithine makgeolli on preadipocytes, lipid droplets were quantified and stained with Oil Red O. makgeolli made with ornithine starter and arginine showed a 3-fold higher concentration of ornithine compared to makgeolli without starter and arginine. In the results of 3T3-L1 cell line experiment, lipid accumulation was significantly reduced by adding 0.05 mg/mL of ornithine makgeolli compare to the control (adipocyte without sample). In conclusion, ornithine makgeolli containing ornithine starter isolated from nuruk showed an anti-lipid accumulation effect with increased ornithine content without toxicity.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.132-140
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• 2017

Nuruk, a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage starter, was evaluated as an additional saccharifying agent comprising up to 1.5% (w/w) of malt weight in ale-type beer processing. Sample characteristics were monitored during fermentation, ripening, and storage. Beer containing nuruk showed higher numbers of total viable bacteria and yeast cell counts. Additionally, ethanol (6.19-6.35%), color (Standard Reference Method), foam stability ($228.49-368.24{Sigma}$), saccharogenic power (307-417), and reducing sugar (3.83-5.25%) increased as the amount of nuruk was increased, while viscosity (3.13-2.07 cP) and bitterness unit (19.68-13.13) were lower than in samples without nuruk. Overall acceptance and aftertaste of the beer were significantly higher in a preference test. These results demonstrate that nuruk can be used to produce a new type of ale.