Traditional Korean Seafood Research Articles

A novel fibrinolytic enzymes from the Korean traditional fermented food-Jotgal: Purification and characterization.

The fibrinolytic activity in Korean traditional fermented food, Jotgal (pickled fish) was identified. Though the fibrinolytic activity could vary in different kinds of Jotgal, this activity seems to be produced by microorganisms during the natural fermentation stage. From Gonjaengijot (pickled opossum shrimp), two novel fibrinolytic enzymes named by JP-I and JP-II, have been purified by ethanol precipitation, Bio-GEL P-100 gel filtration, and DEAE-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography. Compared to the crude enzyme extract, the specific activity of the JP-I and JP-II increased 258, 85-fold with the recovery of 22.1, 8.5%, respectively. The molecular weights of both enzymes were estimated as 36kDa on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The optimal condition for fibrinolytic activity of JP-I was at 50°C and pH 8.1, while that of JP-II was at 45°C and 9.9. Both enzymes were stable at a broad range of pH (5.0 to 10.5) and have metalloprotease nature. From these results, it concludes that these enzymes could be a novel potent thrombolytic agent. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The fibrinolytic enzyme is one of the clinical agents for cardiovascular diseases which is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with 17 million deaths every year. A variety of fibrinolytic enzymes are found and characterized from various sources such as plants, animals, and microorganisms, and new sources for fibrinolytic enzymes continue to be explored. Jotgal, widely used in Korean people's diet, is a traditional Korean seafood prepared from many different types of fishes, fish eggs, fish intestines, and shellfishes. Through an amount of research, some of fibrinolytic enzymes were found and purified from Jotgal, however, no studies have been done on fibrinolytic enzyme from opossum shrimp. In this study, the purification, enzymatic characteristics, and fibrinolytic activity of the proteases, originated from Korean traditional fermented food, Jotgal were reported. These enzymes could be novel potent thrombolytic agent.

Characterization of a Bacillus sp. isolated from fermented food and its synbiotic effect with barley β-glucan as a biocontrol agent in the aquaculture industry.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Bacillus sp. SJ-10, isolated from traditional Korean seafood, as a probiotic. Strain SJ-10 was demonstrated to be safe, on the basis of in vitro tests confirming the absence of cytotoxicity, hemolysis, and genes with toxigenic potential, and was susceptible to antibiotics. It met the probiotic prerequisites of a spore count that remained almost constant, acid and bile tolerance under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, and significant adhesion to Caco-2 cells. Moreover, SJ-10 demonstrated beneficial properties as a probiotic: broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, hydroxyl radical, antioxidant activity, production of functional enzymes such as β-galactosidase and phytase, and selective growth via β-glucan fermentation. The fish-feeding trial demonstrated that olive flounder fed diets containing SJ-10 alone or in combination with β-glucan exhibited significantly higher growth performance and pathogenic disease resistance compared with those fed diets containing β-glucan alone, indicating that SJ-10 diets exerted a beneficial effect as an antibiotic replacer in terms of growth performance and disease resistance in olive flounder.

Bacterial community analysis in three types of the fermented seafood, jeotgal, produced in South Korea.

Jeotgal is a traditional Korean seafood fermented by indigenous microbes. The bacterial community in five myeolchi-jeot (Engraulis japonica), five meongge-jeot (Halocynthia roretzi), and six saeu-jeot (Acetes japonicas) produced in South Korea was analyzed by barcoded pyrosequencing targeting the V1/V2 hyper-variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. All samples were dominated by the phyla Firmicutes, which represented 67.7% (SD=27.2%) of the population. Tetragenococcus halophilus and Tetragenococcus muriaticus were the predominant species in myeolchi-jeot. The LABs, Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus curvatus, and Weissella koreensis were the predominant species in meongge-jeot. In myeolchi-jeot and meongge-jeot, the bacterial communities within samples were consistent in their predominance, however each of saeu-jeot samples had inter-individual variety in the bacterial community leading to the difficulties of standardization for the commercial production of saeu-jeot. The results of this study will conclusively help to expand our basic knowledge of jeotgal and the related microorganisms involved in food fermentation.

Thermal Oxidative Stability of Various Vegetable Oils used for the Preparation of the Seasoned Laver Pyropia spp.

Seasoned laver Pyropia spp. is a traditional Korean seafood that has gained popularity worldwide because of its unique taste, texture, and health benefits. It is prepared by roasting a sheet of dried laver, to which vegetable oils have been applied, at an ultra-high temperature (UHT) of <TEX>$300^{\circ}C$</TEX>. Therefore, the oxidative stability of the oils is the most important factor in determining the shelf life of seasoned laver products. In this study, we investigated changes in the thermal oxidative stability of six major vegetable oils (sesame, perilla, sunflower, rice bran, canola, and olive) during the seasoned laver processing. The oxidation induction time of each oil from the seasoned laver products was decreased compared with the fresh oil. These results indicate that the UHT treatment (<TEX>$300^{\circ}C$</TEX>, 10 s) induced thermal oxidation of the oils. Among the six seasoned laver oils, the induction times of olive (OL, 8.02 h) and sesame (SE, 5.31 h) oils were significantly higher than the other oils. The acid values (AVs) of OL and SE oils from the seasoned laver were 0.49 and 0.79, respectively. On the other hand, perilla oil had the overall worst thermal oxidative properties (induction time: 0.35 h, AV: 2.82). Our results provide useful information about seasoned laver products for researchers or manufactures.

초고추장첨가 멸치(Engraulis japonica)육젓필레통조림의 제조 및 특성

A traditional Korean seafood (fermented anchovy) is made from the muscle and viscera of anchovies Engraulis japonica . This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of retorting condition on the quality of canned, saltfermented anchovy fillet using red pepper paste with vinegar. Salt-fermented anchovy fillets were prepared by fermenting anchovies with salt (15%) at 5°C for 15 days, and then cold air drying the fillets for 1 hour. Each batch of dried fermented anchovy fillets (60 g) was filled with 35 g of mixed red pepper paste with vinegar (red pepper paste 64%, vinegar 2%, starch syrup 13%, sugar 14%, coke 6%, soju 0.4%, crushed garlic 0.3%, ginger 0.3%), placed in a can (RR-90, seamed using a vacuum seamer, and sterilized for either Fo 9 or 11 min in a steam system retort at 121°C. After sterilization, we measured the pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), amino-N, color value (L, a, b), texture profile, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, sensory evaluation, and viable bacterial count of the canned fillets. We did not detect viable bacterial counts in cans subjected to either sterilization treatment, and there was no difference in physicochemical and sensory quality between the two. In fact, most sensory evaluators reported difficulty distinguishing the products. Thus, our results show that sterilization for Fo 9 min is preferable to that for Fo 11 min in the preparation of canned salt-fermented anchovy fillet using red pepper paste with vinegar.

Pyrosequencing-based analysis of the bacterial community during fermentation of Alaska pollock sikhae: traditional Korean seafood.

We analyzed the bacterial community of Alaska pollock sikhae, a traditional Korean food made by natural fermentation with Alaska pollock, utilizing pyrosequencing. We fermented the Alaska pollock sikhae at two different temperatures (10°C and 20°C). Before fermentations, the bacterial community was varied. After fermentations, however, Lactobacillus sakei became dominant. The Alaska pollock sikhae sample before fermentations contained only 2% L. sakei, but the sample on day 6 of fermentation at 10°C comprised 74% L. sakei (90% at 20°C). In addition, we observed a reduction in the composition of unpreferred bacterial species for foods after fermentation. The composition of unpreferred bacterial species was more than 30% of total reads in samples before fermentation and decreased to less than 0.2% after fermentation. This result suggested that the fermentation of Alaska pollock sikhae can be beneficial for food safety. Alaska pollock sikhae might be a favorable habitat for L. sakei. Our study is the first report illustrating the alteration of the bacterial community of Alaska pollock sikhae during fermentation utilizing pyrosequencing analysis.

Changes in the Chemical Characteristics of Gulbi, Salted and Dried Yellow Corvenia, During Drying at Different Temperatures

A few chemical characteristics of Gulbi, a traditional Korean seafood prepared from salted and dried Yellow corvenia (Pseudosciaena manchurica), were investigated during drying at different temperatures. When Gulbi was manufactured by sun-drying (the control), it had the highest thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) values. They increased with increasing drying time at all temperatures in the hot-air drier. The TBARS value of Gulbi was lower when dried at 30 and 35°C than at 40°C and the control. The VBN of the control was higher than that of hot-air dried Gulbi at 30 and 35°C and lower than that of hot-air dried Gulbi at 40°C. The control had a VBN value of 20.8 ± 0.07% and the hot-air dried at 30°C, 18.0 ± 0.06; at 35°C, 18.6 ± 0.06; at 40°C, 23.8 ± 0.08 (p < 0.05), respectively. The salt content of the control and Gulbi dried at 30, 35, and 40°C were 22.9 ± 0.07%, 17.7 ± 0.06%, 18.0 ± 0.06%, and 24.3 ± 0.08%, respectively. The amino nitrogen content was much lower: 63.1 ± 0.80 mg/100 g and 65.5 ± 0.14 mg/100 g at 30 and 35°C than 78.3 ± 0.21 mg/100 g at 40°C. The results of this study also indicate that the Gulbi dried at 30 and 35°C had better chemical characteristics than those dried at 40°C when using hot-air drying and sun drying.