• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.145-157
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to develop cultural food contents from local dishes related to the historical and cultural heritage in the representative areas of Gurye and Jinan. The information on 'Story' was collected from each region's representative local native journal, searches of related web-sites, analysis of old literature, and interviews of traditional households. 'Telling', the conveyance, was focused on texts of literature analysis, which were synthesized from historical conditions, regional food materials, cuisine, regional symbolism, etc. The created food contents were displayed with balanced and healthy Korean food dishes after nutritional analysis. In Gurye, the content was extracted from the story of Hwang hyun (黃玹, 1855-1910) - figura of Gurye - and his collection, "Maecheonyarok", and the storytelling native food was prepared. In Jinan, the content was extracted from the text of an anecdote from "filial son Kwang-beom Lee", a local journal. We tried to express Gurye's clean image in connection with the patriot - Hwang hyun (his nick name was Maecheon), in the late period of Chosun through the unprocessed and simple nature of the dining table. As in Jinan's storytelling materials, we tried to express a healthy menu of health food for older people based on the clean nature and documents about the real character's filial behavior. The developed healthy menu and dining table properties in this study have been established in accordance with nutrient intake standards of energy in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.158-166
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness, eating experience, and preference of kimchi, and the sensory evaluation of kimchi from Chinese and Korean students residing in Korea. General information (including age, sex, duration of staying, living status) was collected. A questionnaire was used to collect the information on awareness, eating experience, and preference of kimchi and dishes made with kimchi. Sensory evaluations were carried out on a 10 point scale. All subjects (37 Koreans, 43 Chinese) were aware of kimchi, with 98% of the Chinese subjects recognizing kimchi as a Korean traditional food and 65% having eaten kimchi at least once a day. The types of kimchi preferred by Chinese subjects were generally sweet and not over-bearing in seasoning, hotness, or ripeness. The more frequently eaten foods made with kimchi were jjigae, bokkeumbap, bibimbap and kimbap. However, the more preferred dishes made with kimchi were bossam, jeongol, bokkeum, jeon, and ramyeon. The Chinese subjects were especially sensitive to spicy odors ($4.6{\pm}2.2/10$), salted seafood odors ($4.6{\pm}2.3/10$), offodors ($4.4{\pm}2.3/10$) and aftertaste ($5.9{\pm}2.1/10$) compared to Korean subjects. Taken all together, the perception as well as sensory characteristic of kimchi needs to be improved for the globalization of kimchi.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.467-477
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• 2020

Doenjang is a major fermented soy-based food in Korea. Recent investigations have shown that fermented soybean foods have immunity-enhancing, anti-cancer, anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects. Several studies also have reported that genistein and daidzein, which are easily absorbed in the body are produced in larger quantities in aged doenjang. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variations in the anti-cancer effects of commercialized doenjang as it ages. Four groups were formed for this study according to aging periods of doenjang, namely short (under 5 years, S group), mid (under 10 years, M group), long (under 15 years, L group) and very long (over 15 years, E group). The anti-cancer effects of doenjang were determined by cell cytotoxicity assays in A549, YAC-1, and HepG2 cancer cell lines. Also, NK cell activity and splenocyte proliferation were assayed for cancer immunotherapy. The quantities of phenolic compounds in doenjang at different ages were also measured. The results showed that the anti-cancer effects increased in the S and M groups for all three cancer cell lines. Interestingly, similar to this result, splenocyte proliferation and NK activity were also the highest in the S and M groups. In contrast, the E group showed significantly reduced splenocyte proliferation. The quantity of phenolic compounds was similar to that of the anti-cancer results. Collectively, these results suggest that the fermentation period of doenjang plays a very important role in determining its anti-cancer effects.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2015

Weissella spp. from traditional Korean foods of Kimchi were isolated and characterized against food-borne pathogenic Listeria monocytogens. The isolates were identified as W. cibaria 0D17 and W. confusa 0D23 from Kimchi by the biochemical characteristics and 16S DNA sequencing. The culture solutions of the isolates adjusted to pH 7.0 showed L. monocytogens inhibition. To analyze the quantitative detection of L. monocytogenes, real-time PCR was performed according to the SYBR Green I method. The isolates grew well and L. monocytogens did not grow during the co-culture with those strains at $37^{\circ}C$. Therefore, W. cibaria 0D17 and W. confusa 0D23 might be the candidates as the functional lactic acid bacteria for improving food safety.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.171-178
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• 2017

This study evaluated the protective effect of Chungkookjang (CKJ) extract, a Korean traditional fermented soybean product made from Bacillus species in rice straw and boiled soybean, and one of its main flavonoids, genistein, against Trp-P-1 induced cytotoxicity and DNA damage in HepG2 cells. CKJ and genistein exhibited protective effect against Trp-P-1 induced cytotoxicity and Trp-P-1 induced DNA single strand breaks. CKJ and genistein inhibited Trp-P-1 induced CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 transcription in HepG2 cells. Our results indicated that CKJ and genistein have the protective effect against Trp-P-1 induced cytotoxicity and DNA damage. Via inhibiting expression of CYP1A1 and CYP1A2. CKJ can be used as a promising functional food material that prevents the genotoxicity induced by carcinogens produced by the heat treatment of foods such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that cause genomic instability.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.614-622
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• 2013

Daqu, a traditional fermentation starter, has been used to produce attractively flavored foods such as vinegar and Chinese liquor for thousands of years. Although Bacillus spp. are one of the dominant microorganisms in Daqu, more precise information is needed to reveal why and how Bacillus became dominant in Daqu, and next, to assess the impact of Bacillus sp. on Daqu and its derived products. We combined culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to study the ecology of Bacillus during Daqu incubation. Throughout the incubation, 67 presumptive Bacillus spp. isolates were obtained, 52 of which were confirmed by 16S rDNA sequencing. The identified organisms belonged to 8 Bacillus species: B. licheniformis, B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. cereus, B. circulans, B. megaterium, B. pumilus, and B. anthracis. A primer set specific for Bacillus and related genera was used in a selective PCR study, followed by a nested DGGE PCR targeting the V9 region of the 16S rDNA. Species identified from the PCR-DGGE fingerprints were related to B. licheniformis, B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. pumilus, B. benzoevorans, and B. foraminis. The predominant species was found to be B. licheniformis. Certain B. licheniformis strains exhibited potent antimicrobial activities. The greatest species diversity occurred at the Liangmei stage of Daqu incubation. To date, we lack sufficient knowledge of Bacillus distribution in Daqu. Elucidating the ecology of Bacillus during Daqu incubation would enable the impact of Bacillus on Daqu to be accessed, and the quality and stabilization of Daqu-derived products to be optimized.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.210-215
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• 2002

A bacterium degrading soy protein was isolated from Korean traditional fermented foods. The isolated strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis, and named as B. subtilis EB464. The optimum pH and temperature of the protease produced by 5. subtilis EB464 were pH 9.0 and $50^{\circ}C$, respectively. The protease was stable in the range of pH 6~10 and below $40^{\circ}C$. The content of water-soluble protein and free amino acid of the medium were increased from 4.2% to 20.6% and ken 1.9% to 22.0%, respectively, by solid-state fermentation of soybean meal with B. subtilis EB464 for 72 h.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 2017

Ten Bacillus strains possessing amine oxidase activity were selected from 126 Bacillus isolates from meju and doenjang (two traditional Korean soybean foods). Among the isolates, two B. licheniformis strains (8MI05 and 8MS03) harbored the amine oxidase gene yobN. By conducting a gene search against published B. licheniformis genomes, the possession of yobN was proved to be a strain-specific property. Both strains degraded four types of biogenic amines (cadaverine, histamine, putrescine, and tyramine) supplemented in tryptic soy broth during their culture. A recombinant harboring yobN also degraded the four types of biogenic amines during cultivation. Both Bacillus strains could grow at a NaCl concentration of 14% and exhibited strain-specific protease and lipase activities.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to select an effective microbial strain to improve the functional qualities of Eisenia bicyclis water extract by fermentation. For this purpose, several microorganisms isolated from traditional Korean fermented foods were inoculated and cultivated in E. bicyclis water extract. Ultimately, yeast strain YM-1 was selected for further study based on its total phenolic compound (TP) content and antioxidant activity, which were enhanced by microbial fermentation. The extract fermented by YM-1 exhibited a superior TP content and 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity compared to extracts fermented by other microbes. The highest TP content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were observed after one day of YM-1 fermentation. Yeast strain YM-1 was identified as Candida utilis based on an analysis of its physiological characteristics. During fermentation of the extract by C. utilis YM-1, no significant difference was observed in the proximate composition, including moisture, crude lipid, crude protein, and crude ash. Fermentation by C. utilis YM-1 resulted in enhanced biological activity, including increases in the TP content and antioxidant activity. Thus, fermentation by C. utilis YM-1 is an attractive strategy for developing value-added food ingredients.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1397-1404
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• 2014

A few starters have been developed and used for doenjang fermentation but often without safety evaluation. Filamentous fungi were isolated from industrial doenjang koji, and their potential for mycotoxin production was evaluated. Two fungi were isolated; one was more dominantly present (90%). Both greenish (SNU-G) and whitish (SNU-W) fungi showed 97% and 95% internal transcribed spacer sequence identities to Aspergillus oryzae/flavus, respectively. However, the SmaI digestion pattern of their genomic DNA suggested that both belong to A. oryzae. Moreover, both fungi had morphological characteristics similar to that of A. oryzae. SNU-G and SNU-W did not form sclerotia, which is a typical characteristic of A. oryzae. Therefore, both fungi were identified to be A. oryzae. In aflatoxin gene cluster analysis, both fungi had norB-cypA genes similar to that of A. oryzae. Consistent with this, aflatoxins were not detected in SNU-G and SNU-W using ammonia vapor, TLC, and HPLC analyses. Both fungi seemed to have a whole cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) gene cluster based on PCR of the maoA, dmaT, and pks-nrps genes, which are key genes for CPA biosynthesis. However, CPA was not detected in TLC and HPLC analyses. Therefore, both fungi seem to be safe to use as doenjang koji starters and may be suitable fungal candidates for further development of starters for traditional doenjang fermentation.