Autolysis and the endogenous proteinases characterised in beardless barb (Anematichthys apogon) muscle

Beardless barb is a common fish species used in fermentation of fish paste Ka-pi-plaa. Autolytic profile of beardless barb muscle showed the maximum autolysis was at 50 °C, at both acidic and alkaline pH values. With augmentation concentration of NaCl, autolytic activity slightly decreased. Endogenous proteinases isolated from fish muscle in crude extract forms were also characterised. The acidic proteinases had optimum activity at pH 3.0 and 50°C, and they showed higher proteolytic activity than the alkaline proteinases which were optimally active at pH 9.0 and 50 °C. Proteinases in peak at pH 3.0 were inhibited by pepstatin A, but those in peak at pH 9.0 were highly inhibited by PMSF, TLCK and soybean trypsin inhibitor, suggesting that both aspartic and serine proteinases were existed in beardless barb muscle. The proteinases were stable in pH range of 2.0-5.0 but unstable at the temperatures higher than 40 °C. NaCl suppressed the proteolytic activity, ATP activated the proteinase activity, while CaCl₂, MgCl₂ and CoCl₂ exhibited no influence on the activity. The results implied that cathepsin D is the predominant proteinase responsible for autolysis in beardless barb. The findings were useful to improve the processing and qualities of Ka-pi-plaa product using beardless barb as raw material.     

芦笋保健搅拌酸奶的研制

芦笋是一种兼食品及较强保健功能的稀有蔬菜。对芦笋加工处理、发酵菌种选育驯化、辅料的选择、发酵工艺条件、搅拌方法等一系列的工艺探索,研制出色泽微翠绿、芦笋味典型并适合中老年消费者需求的保健型搅拌酸奶。     

Microbiological safety of kinema, a fermented soya bean food

Kinema is a fermented soya bean food of Nepal and the hilly regions of North-eastern States of India. Generally, the fermentation is dominated by Bacillus spp. that often cause alkalinity and desirable stickiness in the product. The present study was undertaken in a limited number of commercial (market) kinema samples to test for the presence of foodborne pathogens and their properties. Bacillus cereus was present in numbers exceeding 10⁴ cfu/g product in five of the tested 15 market samples. Enterobacteriaceae and coliform bacteria exceeded 10⁵ cfu/g in 10 of the 15 samples. Escherichia coli exceeding 10⁵ cfu/g was found in two samples. Staphylococcus aureus was not detected in any of the tested samples. Of 31 isolated typical and atypical strains of B. cereus, 18 representative strains were tested qualitatively for the ability to produce diarrhoeal type enterotoxin (BCET) using an Oxoid BCET-RPLA test kit. Overall, BCET was formed by 12 strains in BHIG (brain heart infusion broth +1% glucose), by seven strains on sterilized cooked rice, and by five strains on sterilized cooked soya beans. Semi-quantitative tests on BCET revealed that levels exceeding 256 ng/g soya beans, produced by single pure culture inoculation with the isolated B. cereus strains, were reduced to ≤ 8 ng/g by frying kinema in oil, a common procedure when making kinema curry. It was also shown in a mixed pure culture experiment that a kinema strain B. Subtilis DK-W1, is able to suppress growth and BCET formation by a selected toxin producing strain (BC7-5) of B. cereus. It is concluded that the traditional way of making kinema and its culinary use in curries is safe. However, for novel applications of kinema, safety precautions are advisable.     

Taste recognition threshold concentrations of styrene in oil-in-water emulsions and yoghurts

Taste recognition threshold concentrations (TRTC) of styrene were determined in samples of oil-in-water emulsions (30–300 g kg^?1 oil) and yoghurts (1–30 g kg^?1 fat), spiked with styrene. The observed TRTC increased linearly with increasing fat content and ranged from 0–3 to 2–1 mg kg^?1 for the emulsions and from 36 to 171 g kg^?1 for the yoghurts. Styrene equilibrium partition coefficients between emulsions and their respective vapour phases were determined. The concentrations of styrene in the continuous aqueous phase of the emulsions and yoghurts were calculated at the TRTC. The styrene concentrations in the continuous phase had constant values of about 15 g kg^?1 indicating that perception of styrene for oil-in–water emulsions is determined by the aqueous phase of the emulsion. The concentrations of styrene in the vapor phases above the emulsions and yoghurts were also calculated and were found to be constant at the TRTC. This relationship probably resulted from the equilibrium of distribution of styrene between the respective phases. Commercial yoghurt packed in polystyrene beakers contained styrene levels in the range 2–11 g kg^?1, much lower then the TRTC reported.     

Current Perspectives on the Physiological Activities of Fermented Soybean-Derived Cheonggukjang

Cheonggukjang (CGJ, fermented soybean paste), a traditional Korean fermented dish, has recently emerged as a functional food that improves blood circulation and intestinal regulation. Considering that excessive consumption of refined salt is associated with increased incidence of gastric cancer, high blood pressure, and stroke in Koreans, consuming CGJ may be desirable, as it can be made without salt, unlike other pastes. Soybeans in CGJ are fermented by Bacillus strains (B. subtilis or B. licheniformis), Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., and Enterococcus faecium, which weaken the activity of putrefactive bacteria in the intestines, act as antibacterial agents against pathogens, and facilitate the excretion of harmful substances. Studies on CGJ have either focused on improving product quality or evaluating the bioactive substances contained in CGJ. The fermentation process of CGJ results in the production of enzymes and various physiologically active substances that are not found in raw soybeans, including dietary fiber, phospholipids, isoflavones (e.g., genistein and daidzein), phenolic acids, saponins, trypsin inhibitors, and phytic acids. These components prevent atherosclerosis, oxidative stress-mediated heart disease and inflammation, obesity, diabetes, senile dementia, cancer (e.g., breast and lung), and osteoporosis. They have also been shown to have thrombolytic, blood pressure-lowering, lipid-lowering, antimutagenic, immunostimulatory, anti-allergic, antibacterial, anti-atopic dermatitis, anti-androgenetic alopecia, and anti-asthmatic activities, as well as skin improvement properties. In this review, we examined the physiological activities of CGJ and confirmed its potential as a functional food.     

三聚氰胺对酸乳发酵的影响

为了阐明三聚氰胺对酸乳发酵的影响,以含不同浓度三聚氰胺的鲜牛乳为原料进行了酸乳的发酵实验,测定了发酵过程中的pH值、发酵前后的活菌数及凝乳时间.结果表明：添加三聚氰胺会增大凝乳时的pH值,变化的最大值为0.78;也会增加凝乳时间,增加的最大值为1.5 h;凝乳时,乳酸菌的活菌数有所下降,但下降值不超过一个数量级;酸乳中三聚氰胺浓度越高,凝乳时质地越疏松;酸乳中菌体的形态差异并不明显.     

发酵种泥的投加对新鲜剩余污泥发酵产酸的影响

为进一步提高剩余污泥厌氧发酵产短链脂肪酸(SCFAs)的效率,将p H=10下长期(90 d)厌氧发酵的种泥接入至新鲜剩余污泥考察其对新鲜剩余污泥厌氧发酵产酸的影响.实验在2种p H条件下进行:不控制p H(p H=7.4±0.2),一组反应器中投加新鲜剩余污泥,并接种厌氧发酵种泥,另一组反应器只投加新鲜剩余污泥;控制p H为碱性(p H=10±0.2),一组反应器中投加新鲜剩余污泥,并接种厌氧发酵种泥,另一组反应器只投加新鲜剩余污泥.结果表明:相同p H条件下,接种厌氧发酵种泥反应器中的最大产酸量较不接种分别提高4.9(p H=7.4±0.2)和16.4 mg/g VSS(以COD计)(p H=10±0.2);同时接种发酵污泥、剩余污泥在p H=10±0.2下的最大产酸量较p H=7.4±0.2下的最大产酸量高146.2 mg/g VSS;碱性条件、不接种发酵种泥的产酸量较不控制p H、接种发酵种泥的高129.8 mg/g VSS.投加发酵种泥可提高新鲜剩余污泥厌氧发酵过程中SCFAs的产生效率;碱性条件与厌氧发酵种泥对新鲜剩余污泥发酵产酸具有协同促进作用;与接种发酵种泥相比,碱性条件对新鲜剩余污泥厌氧发酵产酸促进能力高.