• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.555-562
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• 1997

The characteristics of mash qualities of takju prepared by using different nuruk (Korean-style bran koji) such as Mucor racemosus nuruk, Rhizopus japonicus nuruk, Aspergillus oryzae nuruk, Aspergillus kawachii nuruk and traditional nuruk were investigated during fermentation. At the begining of fermentation, ethanol content was in the range of $2.0{\sim}3.0%$. However, it increased to $8.2{\sim}12.6%$ after 16 days of fermentation. Takju made from Rhizopus japonicus nuruk showed higher ethanol content than treated otherwise. pH of takju made from Rhizopus japonicus nuruk showed higher value the others. Total acids were $0.15{\sim}0.20%$ at the begining of fermentation, and it increased to $0.086{\sim}1.57%$ after 16 days of fermentation. Total sugar were $16.64{\sim}17.62%$ at the begining of fermentation, but decreased to below 7.00% after 16 days of fermentation. Rhizopus japonicus nuruk showed the lowest level of total sugar content. Except ethanol, iso-amyl alcohol and iso-butyl alcohol were major part of minor alcohol in the mash of takju. Higher concentration of iso-amyl alcohol, iso-butyl alcohol and n-propyl alcohol were found in the mash of Rhizopus japonicus nuruk whereas the level of phenylethyl alcohol was high in the mash of traditional nuruk. Fusel oil was $0.002{\sim}0.411\;mg/mL$ during fermentation.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.5150-5158
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• 2014

This study examined the physicochemical characteristics of mashing prepared using different Nuruks (traditional Nuruk, Nuruk added Aspergillus oryzae, Nuruk added Aspergillus kawachii, and Nuruk added Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus kawachii), and to obtain the basic data for Korean Cheongju production. The four different mashes were compared for their brewing characteristics and indicated a normal fermentation pattern. The Nuruk made from A. oryzae or A. kawachii showed higher fermentation ability than the other samples tested. In addition, the analyzed results of fermented mashing showed that the Nuruk made from A. oryzae or A. kawachii had a significantly higher aroma profile, such as higher alcohol and ester than the other samples tested, whereas the Nuruk made from a mixture of A. oryzae and A. kawachii had a much higher organic acid content. In conclusion, the Nuruk prepared using A. oryzae or A. kawachii had a positive effect on the complete fermentation and enhanced aroma compounds for Korean Cheongju production.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.260-269
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to develop higher-value added dyeing materials with the fermentation-dyeing -mordanting system using only the natural ingredients by integrating traditional fermentation techniques with traditional dyeing technique. Nuruk, which is used mainly to ferment traditional foods, was used as a fermenting agent to ferment 5 different types of materials. Acidic burnt alum and alkaline calcium hydroxide were used as natural mordants. The dyeability checked after fermentation showed that both cotton and silk mordanted with Gardenia jasminoides did not show notable changes, and 10 days of fermentation was found to be appropriate. Sophora japonica L. performed better on cotton materials mordanted with slaked lime, and alkaline mordants were found to be more effective than acidic ones. With Rheum coreanum, a fermentation period of more than 24 days ($5^{th}$ fermentation) worked best on cotton material, showing a 5 fold increase in the K/S value after the $5^{th}$ slaked lime fermentation than with no fermentation. Rhus javanica L. was found to increase the color fastness to gentle washing and the fastness to light was found to possess 4 means that natural dyed fabric have the highest level of durability, the grade 1 the lowest level of fastness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.339-348
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• 1996

Physicochemical and sensory characteristics of Korean traditional alcoholic beverages, such as Kwahaju, Sokokju, Baikhaju, Samhaeju and Hosanchun were investigated during fermentation with the difference of input step and treatment of rice and Nuruk (Korean-style bran koji). pH values in all treatments were similar to be ranged $3.1{\sim}3.2$, but acidity of the treatment brewed without seed mash was $1.5{\sim}2$ times higher than that of the treatment brewed with seed mash. The concentration of alcohol in all treatments increased as the concentration of the Nuruk increased. The alcohol concentrations of Samhaeju and Hosanchun ranging from 6.5% to 7.7% were higher than those of Kwahaju, Sokokju and Baikhaju ranging from 7.9% to 10.6%. Residual reducing sugar contents of Kwahaju, Sokokju and Baikhaju ranging from 4.6 g/L to 9.7 g/L were lower than those of Samhaeju and Hosanchun ranging from 14.2 g/L to 15.5 g/L. The consumed total sugar contents of Kwahaju, Sokokju and Baikhaju ranging from 125.4 g/L to 159.2 g/L were higher than those of Samhaeju and Hosanchun ranging from 111.2 g/L to 123.8 g/L, and the treatments brewed with seed mash showed more sugar consumption than the treatments brewed without seed mash. Sensory quality in the treatments brewed with seed mash was better than those of without seed mash. Concentration of Nuruk and preparation of seed mash from it were critical factors compared to input step and treatment of rice in Korean traditional alcoholic beverage brewing.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2016

The most economically important species used in a wide range of fermentation industries throughout Asia belong to Aspergillus section Flavi, which are morphologically and phylogenetically indistinguishable, with a few being toxigenic and therefore a major concern. They are frequently isolated from Korean fermentation starters, such as nuruk and meju. The growing popularity of traditional Korean alcoholic beverages has led to a demand for their quality enhancement, therefore requiring selection of efficient non-toxigenic strains to assist effective fermentation. This study was performed to classify the most efficient strains of Aspergillus section Flavi isolated from various types of traditional wheat nuruk, based on a polyphasic approach involving molecular and biochemical evaluation. A total of 69 strains were isolated based on colony morphology and identified as Aspergillus oryzae/flavus based on internal transcribed spacer and calmodulin gene sequencing. Interestingly, none were toxigenic based on PCR amplification of intergenic regions of the aflatoxin cluster genes norB-cypA and the absence of aflatoxin in the culture supernatants by thin-layer chromatography analysis. Saccharification capability of the isolates, assessed through ${\alpha}-amylase$ and glucoamylase activities, revealed that two isolates, TNA24 and TNA15, showed the highest levels of activity. Although the degrees of variation in ${\alpha}-amylase$ and glucoamylase activities among the isolates were higher, there were only slight differences in acid protease activity among the isolates with two, TNA28 and TNA36, showing the highest activities. Furthermore, statistical analyses showed that ${\alpha}-amylase$ activity was positively correlated with glucoamylase activity (p < 0.001), and therefore screening for either was sufficient to predict the saccharifying capacity of the Aspergillus strain.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.360-367
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• 2023

The major active components of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) are isoflavones, which exist in the form of various glycosides. Nuruk is a traditional fermentation starter in Korea, and is suitable for the biotransformation of isoflavone glycosides because it contains various microorganisms and enzymes. This study was performed to determine changes in the isoflavones and antioxidant properties of AM fermented (AF) with nuruk over 24 hours. AF was sampled after 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 24 h of fermentation, and calycosin 7-glucoside, ononin, calycosin, and formononetin content, and the antioxidant properties of AF were analyzed. The total phenolic content increased with fermentation time, and the ABTS radical scavenging activity increased until 6 h of fermentation and then decreased. During fermentation, the isoflavone glycosides decreased significantly as fermentation time increased. The contents of calycosin and formononetin, which are aglycons of calycosin-7-glucoside and ononin, increased from 100.54 ㎍/g to 276.84 ㎍/g and from 56.29 ㎍/g to 123.04 ㎍/g, respectively, at 18 h of fermentation. Significant correlations were observed between fermentation time, isoflavone content, and antioxidant properties. The results of this study showed that fermentation with nuruk is suitable for the biotransformation of isoflavones in AM.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2008

To investigate the mycoflora of indoor air in a Sogokju, traditional rice wine, factory, fungi were sampled and analyzed from the air of several rooms in the factory using an Anderson air sampler and from two kinds of Nuruk. Twelve fungal species belonging to the genera of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Gibberella, Cladosporium, and Talaromyces were isolated. Species belonging to Aspergillus and Penicillium genera were the major species. Seven different species of Penicillium were isolated from each different room of the factory. The Aspergillus species found from indoor air of the factory was also found from Nuruk. Rhizopus sp. was commonly isolated from Nuruk but not from indoor air of the factory. This is first report of fungi present in indoor air of a traditional rice wine factory in Korea.

• 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.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.620-628
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• 2013

In this study, the condition for preventing abnormal fermentation was set by heating the nuruk extract, such that glycosyl enzymes maintain its activity and unnecessary microbes are removed. The total colony of microbes in the heated nuruk extract was highest in number at $25^{\circ}C$ and began to reduce at 50, $60^{\circ}C$ and sharply reduced over $70^{\circ}C$. Saccharogenic power (SP), glucoamylase and acidic protease activities were highest at $50^{\circ}C$, 10, 20, 30min and ${\alpha}$-amylase activity was lower at $50^{\circ}C$ than at $25^{\circ}C$. In the pHs of the nuruk extract, as the heat temperature became higher and treatment time was longer, the pHs were reduced significantly. The total acidities of heat treatments at 50, $60^{\circ}C$ were lower by 0.2% than at $25^{\circ}C$, where as the 70, $80^{\circ}C$ treatments showed a sharp rise from the early stage of fermentation. Soluble solids showed the same aspects with the glycosyl enzymes cases. In reducing sugar, 25, $50^{\circ}C$ treatments were sharply increased from the first day of fermentation while $60^{\circ}C$ treatments began to rise from second day 70, $80^{\circ}C$ were slightly increased after the fourth day. The normally alcohol fermented treatments were 25, 50 and $60^{\circ}C$ 30min. The $70^{\circ}C$ treatments almost did not alcohol fermentation. In the preference tests, taste and total acceptability were high at 25, $50^{\circ}C$ treatments. These results suggest that makgeolli using heat treated nuruk extract also has good taste as well as did not.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.266-271
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• 1993

In order to investigate the traditional value of Ewhaju (traditional wine) and to establish the brewing condition, studies on of traditional background and field inquiry were carried out. Scientific evaluation and possibility of revealation of Ewhaju were searched by the experiments of microbial and enzymatic properties of brewed Ewhaju and Nuruk by traditional method. In flora of microorganisms in Nuruk of Ewhaju, Aspergillus oryzae and Hansenula sP. were isolated, and, showed a level of 1.2$\times$$10^6$ CHU/g, respectiveln but other microorganisms were not grown in diluted cultivation test. The a-and f-amylase activity of Nuruk were 30.74 and 34.4, respectively and their activities of two amylases were 19.28 and 18.8 at first stage of brewing, 21.21 and 19.80 at 100 day after brewing, and 20.25 and 19.90 at one year aged Ewhaju, respectively. The brewed Ewhaju could be remained with high quality long period without teat treatment or addition of preservatives, also, stored Ewhaju contains remarka-bly high activity of amylases which might contribute to digestion.