• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2004

This study was performed to investigate the changes of amino nitrogen, total amino acids, free amino acids, and cole. of traditional Korean soybean paste (doen-jang) during the ripening and storage for 12 months. All of the preparation methods for soybean paste followed the recommendations of the Korea Food Research Institute. The components of soybean paste were analyzed at 0, 6, and 12 months. The content of amino nitrogen of soybean paste was significantly higher than that of soybeans or meju (soybean cakes) at the initial stage of storage (p〈0.05), and decreased during the storage. The composition of total and free amino acids and their ratios of soybean paste were changed during the storage. The ratios of free to total amino acids of soybeans, meju, and soybean paste were 0.8%, 17.3%, and 20.4∼32.9%, respectively. Glutamic acid, which represents the savory taste, was detected the most abundantly in soybean paste during the storage. The ratios of free to total amino acids of glutamic acid were 21.1∼41.5% in soybean paste. Lightness, redness and yellowness of Hunter color of soybean paste decreased over time (p〈0.05). The results of this study indicate that the ratios of fee to total amino acids of soybean paste were much higher than those of soybeans, although its contents of total amino acids were much lower than those of soybeans. The results also indicate that this comes from the preparation and fermentation of meju. It was suspected that the organoleptic quality of soybean paste derived from these three components might be inferior over 1 year of storage time.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.255-263
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• 2021

In this study, we assessed the technological characteristics and safety of 88 Enterococcus faecium strains isolated from meju; the strains possess the glutamate decarboxylase gene gadA/B involved in γ-aminobutyric acid production. The study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of introducing E. faecium meju isolates as food fermentation starters. We observed that a NaCl concentration of 6% (w/v) facilitated the growth and acid production of all strains. At a NaCl concentration of 7%, 21 strains (24%) exhibited a low growth rate, 72 strains (82%) a weak acid production, and 16 strains (18%) showed no acid production. All strains exhibited protease activity at a NaCl concentration of 4%. At a NaCl concentration of 5%, 86 strains exhibited weak activity, and one strain showed no protease activity. We could not detect any lipase activity in the investigated strains. None of the strains exhibited an acquired antibiotic resistance to the seven antibiotics tested in the present study, namely ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, penicillin G, tetracycline, and vancomycin. We could identify the Enterococcus endocarditis antigen gene efaA and the tyrosine decarboxylase gene tdc contributing to tyramine production, in 88 meju isolates. We could not detect the Enterococcus surface protein gene esp, which is specifically possessed by human-originated E. faecium strains, in any of the 88 strains tested in the study.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1687-1695
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• 2016

Ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin, contaminates agricultural products and poses a serious threat to public health worldwide. Microbiological methods are known to be a promising approach for OTA biodegradation because physical and chemical methods have practical limitations. In the present study, a total of 130 fungal isolates obtained from 65 traditional Korean meju (a fermented starter for fermentation of soybeans) samples were examined for OTA-biodegradation activity using thin-layer chromatography. Two fungal isolates were selected for OTA-biodegradation activity and were identified as Aspergillus tubingensis M036 and M074 through sequence analysis of the beta-tubulin gene. After culturing both A. tubingensis isolates in Soytone-Czapek medium containing OTA (40 ng/ml), OTA-biodegradation activity was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Both A. tubingensis strains degraded OTA by more than 95.0% after 14 days, and the HPLC analysis showed that the OTA biodegradation by the A. tubingensis strains led to the production of ochratoxin α, which is much less toxic than OTA. Moreover, crude enzymes from the cultures of A. tubingensis M036 and M074 led to OTA biodegradation of 97.5% and 91.3% at pH 5, and 80.3% and 75.3% at pH 7, respectively, in a buffer solution containing OTA (40 ng/ml) after 24 h. In addition, the OTA-biodegrading fungi did not exhibit OTA production activity. Our data suggest that A. tubingensis isolates and their enzymes have the potential for practical application to reduce levels of OTA in food and feed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.1066-1071
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• 2012

In this study we investigated the change in antigenicity and allergenicity of Meju, a traditional Korean soybean product, by fermentation via 3 different microorganisms. The steamed soybeans were fermented with Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and/or Aspergillus oryzae and/or Bacillus subtilis. Proteins in soybean were degraded after fermentation. Antigenicity or allergenicity were analysed by immunoblotting and ELISA using soybean protein-specific polyclonal antibodies or soybean allergic patient sera. The best degradation was achieved by three step fermentation using nisin-producing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis IFO12007, A. oryzae and B. subtilis. Allergenicity and antigenicity were also starkly reduced after three step fermentation. The three-step fermentation method developed in our lab suggests an excellent alternative to reduce the allergenicity of soybeans.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.130-133
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• 1991

The distribution of acid producing bacteria and general bacteria in 23 samples of Korean traditional Meju loaves was investigated and the strains isolated from the samples identified. The acid producing bacteria occurred more in outer part than inner part and anaerobic acid producing bacteria showed higher tendency of occurrence compared with the aerobes in each part. The average number of nonhalophilic and halotolerant bacteria belonging to aerobes were counted as $24{\times}10^6$ and $33{\times}10^5$ and the average number of those belonging to anaerobes $10{\times}10^7$ and $58{\times}10^5$ cells/g, respectively. The general bacteria isolated more in outer part than inner part and its average number was $62{\times}10^7$ cells/g. In the isolates, 2 aerobic acid producing strains were identified as Micrococcus spp., 3 anaerobic acid producing strains as Streptococcus sp., Pediococcus sp. and Lactobacillus sp., and 2 strains of aerobic general bacteria as Bacillus spp.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.161-168
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• 1990

In order to investigate systematically characteristics of improved Kochujang in comparision with traditional Kochujang, changes of components in curing of two Kochujangs, enzyme activities of koji and Meju, and effects of salt and red pepper were measured. And it was found that the large differences of amino nitrogen and reducing sugar contents were appeared in the initial stage of the curing period, but the changes were parallel thereafter. The protease activity of koji was maximum in weak acidic pH and that of Meju was maximum in neutral pH. The optimum condition of substrate digestion was three hours at $60^{\circ}C$, and that was more effective than curing at room temperature. The activities of protease and saccharogenic amylase were decreased remarkably by adding salt and red pepper, Therefore, to decompose starch and protein effectively, the addition of salt and red pepper after substrate digestion was more favorable.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.293-295
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• 2019

Enterococcus faecalis strain DM01 was isolated from meju, a traditional Korean fermented soybean product. The strain did not exhibit resistance to eight antibiotics (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, penicillin G, tetracycline, and vancomycin), biofilm formation, and hemolytic activity. The genome of strain DM01 consists a single circular 2,785,968-bp chromosome with a G + C content of 37.68%. The complete genomic sequence of strain DM01 provides genetic information to support the absence of antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, and hemolytic activity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 1997

This study was carried out in order to analyze the changes in nitrogen containing taste compounds of traditional Korean soy sauce with varying Meju concentrations (Meju-water ratios of 1:4 and 1.3:4) and ripening periods (up to 2 years), and to investigate correlation between sensory characteristics and taste compound contents via contents assay and sensory evaluation of soy sauce samples. Nitrogen compound contents were higher in 1.3:4 than in 1:4 for all nitrogen compounds. Free amino acid contents were highest in soy sauce ripened for 210 days. Among amino acids, glutamic acid was highest concentration. Nucleotides and their related compound contents did not vary with concentrations and were highest in the sample ripened for 210 days. In direct sensory evaluation of soy sauce, overall taste preference showed positive correlation to sweet taste. Likewise, overall taste preference showed positive correlation to umami, nutty, sweet taste in the sensory evaluation of seaweed soup seasoned with soy sauce. Sensory evaluation score was higher in 1.3:4 than in 1:4. According to the correlation assay of taste compound contents and sensory evaluations, nitrogen compounds (such as amino type nitrogen), amino acids (such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and lysine, and etc.), nucleotides (such as AMP, IMP, and etc) had significant influence on the sensory characteristics of soy sauce, and therefore we can conclude that these compounds affect the taste and quality of soy sauce.

• Mycobiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.368-375
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• 2014

Red ginseng (Panax ginseng), a Korean traditional medicinal plant, contains a variety of ginsenosides as major functional components. It is necessary to remove sugar moieties from the major ginsenosides, which have a lower absorption rate into the intestine, to obtain the aglycone form. To screen for microorganisms showing bioconversion activity for ginsenosides from red ginseng, 50 yeast strains were isolated from Korean traditional meju (a starter culture made with soybean and wheat flour for the fermentation of soybean paste). Twenty strains in which a black zone formed around the colony on esculin-yeast malt agar plates were screened first, and among them 5 strains having high ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity on p-nitrophenyl-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside as a substrate were then selected. Strain JNO301 was finally chosen as a bioconverting strain in this study on the basis of its high bioconversion activity for red ginseng extract as determined by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis. The selected bioconversion strain was identified as Candida allociferrii JNO301 based on the nucleotide sequence analysis of the 18S rRNA gene. The optimum temperature and pH for the cell growth were $20{\sim}30^{\circ}C$ and pH 5~8, respectively. TLC analysis confirmed that C. allociferrii JNO301 converted ginsenoside Rb1 into Rd and then into F2, Rb2 into compound O, Rc into compound Mc1, and Rf into Rh1. Quantitative analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography showed that bioconversion of red ginseng extract resulted in an increase of 2.73, 3.32, 33.87, 16, and 5.48 fold in the concentration of Rd, F2, compound O, compound Mc1, and Rh1, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.477-481
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• 1992

As a series of fundamental research projects to produce doenjang (Korean fermented soy paste) of better quality, two kinds of doenjang were manufactured from a traditional meju (Korean soy bean koji) and the mixed with Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus natto, and histological changes in the cell structures of soy bean of the two were reported doenjang samples were observed and compared during the entire period of fermentation processes. Cell walls of the soy bean were ruptured by pressure and heat during the pressure cooking process and some of them were observed to have the ghost-like shapes. Remarkable differences in the plasmolysis of the cytoplasms were observed between the seed coat and the inner part of soy bean. Small vacuoles resulting from the fusion of the glycoprotein globules by protease and from the hydrolysis of the starch granules by amylase were also observed. Penetration of microorganisms was transferred from the seed coat to the inside of soy bean as the fermentation proceeded. Slimy substances were observed on the seed coat and the parenchyma cells of soy bean fermented with the mixed with Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus natto. Cell walls of soy bean became difficult to stain and they showed unusual, polygonal shapes as the fermentation proceeded. Samples fermented with the mixed with Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus natto showed more remarkable tendencies than traditional meju.