• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.397-406
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• 2011

To industrialize meju, four kinds of meju (Korean-style soybean koji) were made with humidity-controlled fermentation for 12 days at $28^{\circ}C$ after they were inoculated with selected strains such as Aspergillus otyzae (AO meju), Aspergillus sojae (AS meju), combined Aspergillus sojae and Bacillus subtilis (ASBS meju), and combined Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus subtilis (AOBS meju) as starter microorganisms. The changes in the quality characteristics in the four kinds of meju were investigated during fermentation. Their enzyme activities were compared with those of the traditional meju that is made in Sunchang Folk Village according to the traditional method. In the meju that were inoculated with selective strains, the aerobic bacteria counts and mold counts exceeded 8 log cfu/g and 6 log cfu/g respectively, which were the highest fermentation values after 2 days. The aerobic bacteria counts were maintained from 2-day to the 12-day fermentation. The mold counts tended to decreased gradually after the 2-day fermentation. The amino-type nitrogen contents reached 430.5-577.5 mg%, which were the highest values after 2-day fermentation. The neutral protease activities of these mejus had the highest levels in the following order: traditional meju, $1,258.0{\pm}38.8$; AS meju, $1,238.3{\pm}38.6$; AO meju. $1,204.1{\pm}24.1$; ASBS meju, $1,040.6{\pm}10.6$; and AOBS meju, $1,033.5{\pm}11.2$ unit/g. The acidic protease activities of these meju had the highest levels in the following order: AO meju, $1,030.1{\pm}19.1$, traditional meju, $1,007.7{\pm}30.5$; AS meju, $990.9{\pm}25.0$; AOBS meju, $910.9{\pm}15.3$; and ASBS meju, $888.2{\pm}15.7$ unit/g.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.851-859
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• 2000

In the present study, changes in physicochemical and sensory properties, and microflora and enzyme activities, by addition of pumpkin (1, 2 and 5% pumpkin on the weight basis), of Sunchang sikhe kochujang, the most famous traditional kochujang, were investigated. Moisture content appeared to be reduced during fermentation, possibly due to exposure to the sun. Patterns of pH changes were rather complicated. pH of control kochujang was gradually reduced from the begining of fermentation up to 60 days of fermentation. Thereafter, it tended to be increased but again reduced after 90 days of fermentation. On the other hand, titratable acidity increased with fermentation reaching at the highest level at 90 day of fermentation and then slowly decreased. The addition of pumpkin induced a reduction in pH and an increase in titratable acidity, but this was due to organic acid contained in pumpkin itself. Contents of reducing sugar and amino nitrogen were increased by the addition of pumpkin in relation to the level of addition. Ethanol content was highly increased by the addition of pumpkin. Bacterial and yeast count, and activities of amylase and protease were not affected by the addition of pumpkin. Sensory evaluation test revealed that the addition of pumpkin improved sweet and savory taste, but color turned to be undesirable. However, none of tested parameters except color showed statistical significance.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.108-118
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• 2015

To raise the added value of the fruits of Cudrania tricuspidata, Cudrania tricuspidata vinegar was produced and examined for its fermentation conditions. Forty nine acetic acid bacteria with resistance against acetic acid, ethanol, and sulfide as high acetic acid producers were isolated from fermented foods and identified as Acetobacter indonesiensis, A. cerevisiae, A. orientalis, A. tropicalis, A. fabarum, A. pasteurianus, and A. syzygii based on the results of the analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences. Among them, two GRAS strains, A. pasteurianus SCMA5 and SCMA6, were finally selected for the production of acetic acid. Optimal vinegar productions were obtained from the medium containing 40% (v/v) fruit juice of Cudrania tricuspidata and 5% (v/v) ethanol at $25^{\circ}C$ for 72 hr. The sensory panel preferred the vinegar fermented with the SCMA06 to that with the SCM05 strain. The radical scavenger capacity of DPPH was 53% higher than that of the control in the vinegar fermented with the SCMA06 strain. The ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitor activity as an index of the antidiabetic drug showed 91% inhibition, which is higher than that of acabose. This study will be helpful for the scale-up production of vinegar with the fruit of Cudrania tricuspidata.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.550-556
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• 2014

Rice bran contains both excellent nutritional value and functional advantages. Its utilization is limited due to reducing texture and low storage. To satisfy various tastes, Bacillus spp. having high amylase and protease activities were selected. Using the strains, we made whole grain soybean Meju with a reduced manufacturing period by increasing the concentration of total nitrogen. We made soy sauces with mashing ratios of soy bean and rice bran at 10:0, 9:1, 7:3, and 5:5, and then compared their physiochemical properties. After 2 weeks of fermentation, the sugar content increased from 21~22% to 30~32%. However, pH and salinity showed no differences. At a ratio of 9:1, total nitrogen, amino nitrogen content, and total free amino acid contents were the highest at 1.62%, 652.52 mg%, and 8,804.03 mg/kg, respectively, compared to other mashing ratios of soy bean and rice bran. Especially, the contents of aspartic and glutamic acid, which increase delicate flavoring, were higher in our soy sauce compared to those of general traditional soy sauce and brewed soy sauce, which were 504.25 and 1,262.25 mg/kg, respectively. Serine and alanine, which are related to sweet taste, were present at 49.50 and 518.75 mg/kg, respectively, which were the highest among all mixing ratios, at a ratio of 9:1. Compared to general traditional soy sauce and brewed soy sauce, the contents of histamine and tyramine among biogenic amines decreased to 35.85 and 41.04 mg/kg, respectively. Finally, a soy bean and rice bran mixing ratio of 9:1 was determined to be the optimal mixing ratio in the sensory evaluation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.571-583
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• 2016

Biogenic amines are produced primarily by microorganisms found in fermented foods and are often implicated in poisoning incidents in humans. In this study, 620 strains of microorganisms were isolated from traditional Korean fermented food in Sunchang in order to screen for non-biogenicamine-producing microorganisms present in these foods. One strain was identified and named Bacillus subtilis SCJ1, by using 16S rRNA sequencing and biochemical characterization. We investigated the cell growth of this organism in order to understand its potential for industrial application. To this end, we optimized the culture medium constituents by using the response surface methodology. The Plackett-Burman experimental design was used for screening of the medium constituents, such as molasses, yeast extract and peptone, for improving cell growth. In order to determine the optimal concentration of each constituent, we used a central composite design. Consequently, the optimized concentrations of molasses, yeast extract and peptone were predicted to be 27.5 g/l, 7.5 g/l and 17.5 g/l, respectively. By model verification, we confirmed that a 1.49-fold increase in dry cell weight compared to the basal medium-from 1.32 g/l, to 1.9722 g/l-was achieved.