Development of Starter of a Glutinous Rice Fermentation Manufacture of Korean Functional Hangwa

Abstract

A starter to be used in the glutinous rice fermentation process was developed to improve the quality and safety of Korean traditional Hangwa. Among the lactic acid bacteria produced during glutinous rice fermentation, strains with excellent growth, excellent gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) productivity, and antibacterial activity against pathogenic microorganisms were isolated. The absorbance of the separated lactic acid bacteria was measured to confirm the viability of the starter, and 50 strains with an optical density of 2.3 or more were initially selected. Of the 50 selected strains, three strains with excellent antibacterial activity and GABA production were selected. In an in vitro experiment in which the three selected strains were applied to the fermentation of Korean sweet glutinous rice, one strain with strong activity was selected. Finally, candidate strain No. 97 was selected as the final starter and identified as Lactobacillus brevis by 16S rRNA sequencing. The purpose of this study was to use it as a starting point to develop Korean traditional Hangwa with excellent functionality.