• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.258-265
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• 2015

The fungi on Meju are known to play an important role as degrader of macromolecule of soybeans. In order to elucidate the origin of fungi on traditional Meju, mycobiota of the air both inside and outside traditional Meju fermentation rooms was examined. From 11 samples of air collected from inside and outside of 7 Meju fermentation rooms, 37 genera and 90 species of fungi were identified. In outside air of the fermentation room, Cladosporium sp. and Cladosporium cladosporioides were the dominant species, followed by Cladosporium tenuissimum, Eurotium sp., Phoma sp., Sistotrema brinkmannii, Alternaria sp., Aspergillus fumigatus, Schizophyllum commune, and Penicillium glabrum. In inside air of the fermentation room, Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus oryzae, Penicillium chrysogenum, Asp. nidulans, Aspergillus sp., Cla. cladosporioides, Eurotium sp., Penicillium sp., Cla. tenuissimum, Asp. niger, Eur. herbariorum, Asp. sydowii, and Eur. repens were collected with high frequency. The concentrations of the genera Aspergillus, Eurotium, and Penicillium were significantly higher in inside air than outside air. From this result and those of previous reports, the origin of fungi present on Meju was inferred. Of the dominant fungal species present on Meju, Lichtheimia ramosa, Mucor circinelloides, Mucor racemosus, and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis are thought to be originated from outside air, because these species are not or are rarely isolated from rice straw and soybean; however, they were detected outside air of fermentation room and are species commonly found in indoor environments. However, Asp. oryzae, Pen. polonicum, Eur. repens, Pen. solitum, and Eur. chevalieri, which are frequently found on Meju, are common in rice straw and could be transferred from rice straw to Meju. The fungi grow and produce abundant spores during Meju fermentation, and after the spores accumulate in the air of fermentation room, they could influence mycobiota of Meju fermentation in the following year. This could explain why concentrations of the genera Aspergillus, Eurotium, and Penicillium are much higher inside than outside of the fermentation rooms.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.284-288
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• 1996

Among the bacteria isolated from compost piles of cattle excretion in a pasture located at the suburbs of Chunchon city, Pseudomonas aeruginosa KMCS-1 was selected for the test of antifungal substances produced. Six fractions were separated by silica gel column chromatography, and then the antifungal activity of each fraction was assayed against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Rhizopus sp., Aspergillus nidulans, Coprinus cinereus, and Pyricularia oryzae by paper disc method. Two fractions showed significant suppressive activities against A. nidulans, C. cinereus, and P. oryzae however, their mycelial growth was not affected by neither of these fractions. Inhibitory activities of these fractions to sporulation was assayed at the concentration of 50. 25, 12. 5, and 6.25 $\mu$g/ml and the average inhibition rates against sporulation of A. nidulans, C. cinereus, and P. oryzae were 94.0, 98.3, and 77.9%, respectively. Further purification and analysis of active substances are now being conducted.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 1976.04a
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• pp.182.3-182
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• 1976

A laboratory study was made for developing an fermentative method of producing conventional Korean soy sauce type of product from sandfish and defatted soy bean Koji of Aspergillus oryzae as raw material and enzme source, respectively. As an attempt to shorten the fermentation period, the admixture, consisting of pre-chopped sandfish slurry and the Koji of Asp. oryzae (100：15, wet fish weight/dry Koji weight) with added water equal to the fish weight (v/w), was first allowed, while being agitated at 450rpm, to undergo digestion for a 5 hour period at $50^{\circ}C$ with no added salt and then then, after adding 20％ salt (w/v), the hydrolysate mixture was ripened for up to 13 weeks at $30^{\circ}C$ and $45^{\circ}C,$ At intervals, an aliquot was withdrawn for determining microbiological, chemical and organoleptic changes taking place in the sandfish-defatted soy bean koji mixture during both digestion and ripening period.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.243-250
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• 2008

This study examined the quality characteristics of soybean pastes that were prepared using different ratios of whole soybean meju inoculated with three different types of microbial strains. The five samples were prepared with meju inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae KFRI 995, Bacillus subtilis F4005, mixture with A. oryzae KFRI 995 and B. subtilis F2315, mixture with A. oryzae KFRI 995 and B. subtilis F4005, and mixture using all three strains, respectively. Over two months of fermentation, pH gradually decreased, whereas total acidity increased. And across samples and fermentation periods, there were no considerable changes in moisture or crude protein. In all five samples, amino-type nitrogen levels increased approximately 2- to 3-fold as compared to initial levels; the sample inoculated with A. oryzae KFRI 995 showed the highest level (205.2 mg%) of amino-type nitrogen. Throughout fermentation, the five samples displayed differences in their reducing sugar levels according to the inoculated microorganisms. The lowest level of lightness and highest level of redness occurred in the sample inoculated with B. subtilis F2315 showed a lowest level in lightness and a highest level of redness, indicating a strong browning reaction. Finally, the samples inoculated with A. oryzae KFRI 995 and B. subtilis F4005, respectively, showed had similarly high preference scores as compared to the other samples.

• 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.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.166-175
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of fermented Smilax china leaf ethylacetate extracts by Aspergillus oryzae on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice. Experimental mice were divided into four groups (five mice/group) (NC; normal control group, CB; basic diet supplemented before $CCl_4$ treatment group, NS ; basic diet mixed with 0.5% Smilax china leaf ethyl acetate extract supplemented before $CCl_4$ treatment group, FS; basic diet mixed with 0.5% fermented Smilax china leaf ethyl acetate extract supplemented before $CCl_4$ treatment group) fed for 4 weeks each. In the $CCl_4$-treated groups (CB, NS and FS) compared with the NC group, liver weights, activities of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, xanthine oxidase and aldehyde oxidase, contents of triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol in serum, and hepatic lipid peroxide levels increased, whereas body weight gain and contents of glutathione and HDL-cholesterol decreased. Furthermore, in the FS groups compared with the NS and CB groups, increased or decreased indicators by $CCl_4$ treatment significantly decreased or increased, respectively. This study suggests that fermented Smilax china L. leaf extracts may regulate xanthine oxidase and aldehyde oxidase inhibitory activities and hepatoprotective effects due to flavonoid aglycone derived from its glycoside in leaves of Smilax china by fermentation of A. oryzae.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.129-139
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• 2014

This study was conducted in order to investigate the optimal fermentation periods of the Smilax china L. leaves as a fermented tea via Aspergillus oryzae for 0 (non-fermented), and 10, 20, and 30 days (NF, F10, F20, F30). It was also observed for its quality characteristics. In the color and spectrum (400~700nm) of 1% tea water extract, NF was light yellow, whereas fermented tea (F10~F30) was light red color, and the F10 among F10~F30 has the clearest color and spectrum. Furthermore, acceptabilities of aroma and brightness were insignificantly different between NF and F10~30, while the mouth feel and overall acceptabilities were insignificantly distinct among all of the fermented teas. Therefore, these results suggest that the appropriate fermentation period for tea fermentation is 10 days. On the other hand, the total polyphenol and flavonoid content in the NF was the highest among all of the fermented teas. In the antioxidant parameters, EDA (electron donating ability), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power), and LPOIA (lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity) in the NF were the highest among all fermented teas. Meanwhile, the XOI (xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity) was low, as well as insignificantly different from NF and F10~F30, whereas the AOI (aldehyde oxidase inhibitory activity) was markedly higher (38.09~41.70%) by the hot water tea extract (with or without fermentation), particularly the AOI that has increased via fermentation. In conclusion, the overall antioxidant activity tended to be reduced by fermentation; however, the EDA, FRAP and LPOIA in the fermented tea for 10 days was higher than the activities during 20~30 days of fermentation. There was a similar result in the color and acceptability of fermented tea for 10 days, which was remarkably better than those of 20-30 days. Therefore, fermented tea from the leaves of Smilax china L. could be expected to be used as a functional tea without the loss of inhibitory activity of both the XO and AO via fermentation.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.797-803
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• 2016

In this study, we investigated the effect of fermentation conditions on the amylolytic and proteolytic activities of Aspergillus luchuensis strain 74-5 and Aspergillus oryzae strain 75-2, which are used in the preparation of the starter culture, for Takju (Korean traditional rice wine). The starter culture was optimized using different conditions, such as inoculum size, inoculation temperature, and incubation time. The enzyme activities under each condition were measured. In the A. luchuensis strain 74-5 starter culture, the ${\alpha}-amylase$ and glucoamylase activities increased, however the activity of acidic protease decreased as the diluent to starter culture ratio increased. In the A. oryzae 75-2 starter culture, all enzyme activities were maintained at a higher level even at 5% inoculation ratio. Higher enzyme activities were observed in the middle range of inoculation temperature (35, $40^{\circ}C$), than in the lower range (20, $30^{\circ}C$). Enzyme activity in the starter culture varied with incubation time, however it was the highest at 144 and 120 hr, respectively, for A. luchuensis strain 74-5 and A. oryzae strain 75-2. The spore count of the starter culture was approximately $2{\times}10^7$ during fermentation, out of which contamination by aerobic bacteria was about $3{\times}10^3$. The results suggested that the starter culture of each strain could be used as an inoculum for fermentation. However, we needs to conduct further research for the selection of suitable diluting agents as well as drying methods to reduce the contamination by aerobic bacteria, while retaining the enzyme activity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.382-389
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• 2002

The aims of this study is to evaluate the effect of Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract (AFE) on the performance of lactating cows in summer (May to July) and winter (December to February). The experiment was a completely randomized design (CRD) and dietary treatments were 1) basal diet without AFE, 2) basal plus 3 g/d AFE into the basal total mixed ration (TMR), 3) basal plus 45.4 mg AFE/kg the ensiling corn silage and 4) AFE inclusion in silage and TMR. Twenty-eight cows from each trial were selected and randomly allocated into the four treatment groups, confined in individual pens, and fed ad libitum for 8 weeks in both seasons of feeding trials. Results showed that AFE inclusion in corn silage significantly improved DM intake by 4.4% and milk yield by 3.1% (p<0.05) during summer. In the winter season, AFE inclusion in the diet significantly improved milk yield by 10%. Direct addition of AFE to the TMR even further significantly improved milk yield over the addition through corn silage by 7.4% in winter (p<0.05). An additive effect of AFE inclusion into TMR and through corn silage was also demonstrated in the winter-feeding. AFE inclusion however, did not improve DM intake during the winter trial. In the summer trial, inclusion of AFE showed an adverse effect on the percentage of milk fat, but did not impact on the milk fat yield. Adding AFE through corn silage showed a trend towards alleviating the negative effects of milk fat from direct AFE inclusion in TMR. The similar trend occurred in the winter trial. The inclusion of AFE through corn silage significantly lowered the milk protein content over direct AFE addition, but did not significantly impacted the milk protein yield in summer. AFE supplementation during the winter season significantly increased milk protein content. Adding AFE to the corn silage significantly increased milk protein content over direct AFE addition in winter although inclusion of AFE significantly decreased total milk solid content in the summer (p<0.005). During the winter season, inclusion of AFE required less DM to produce a unit of milk. Inclusion of AFE into corn silage required less DM, energy and protein to produce a unit of milk. But inclusion of AFE did not alleviate heat stress on the lactating cows.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.94-101
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• 2011

Squid (Todarodes pacificus) is processed as dried or seasoned-dried products and its catch gradually increased from 270,298 M/T in 2005 to 367,940 M/T in 2008 in Korea. Squid processing by-product (viscera) was usually discarded as a waste resulting in environmental problem. In order to utilize squid viscera for more value-added products, a natural squid seasoning was developed by fermenting with Aspergillus oryzae koji. Squid viscera at 5, 10 and 15% salt concentrations with fixed levels of 5% koji and 30% water was fermented at room temperature. The quality properties of squid fermented products such as amino-N, TMA, VBN, total viable cell count, pH and total acidity were determined at different fermentation periods. The contents of amino-N, TMA, and VBN of squid seasoning at 5% salt concentration fermented for 14 days were the highest. Based on amino-N content, squid viscera at 5% koji fermented for 14 days was selected for further assays: the content of moisture, crude protein, crude lipid, crude ash, and carbohydrate were 5.98, 35.19, 33.08, 11.30, and 14.45%, respectively. The content of glutamate, alanine, leusine and lysine were 7.06, 12.34, 9.90 and 10.22%, respectively. The $IC_{50}$ values of DPPH scavenging and $\beta$-glucuronidase inhibitory activity were 12.89 and 12.58 mg/mL, respectively. A natural squid seasoning was manufactured by mixing fermented squid viscera and an ingredient. Based on the results of sensory evaluation, the fermented squid viscera seasoning was almost equal to other natural complex seasonings such as anchovy, cow meat, and fisheries seasoning.