Metabolomic-Based Comparison of Traditional and Industrial Doenjang Samples with Antioxidative Activities

Abstract

Numerous varieties of doenjang are manufactured by many food companies using different ingredients and fermentation processes, and thus, the qualities such as taste and flavor are very different. Therefore, in this study, we compared many products, specifically, 19 traditional doenjang (TD) and 17 industrial doenjang (ID). Subsequently, we performed non-targeted metabolite profiling, and multivariate statistical analysis to discover distinct metabolites in two types of doenjang. Amino acids, organic acids, isoflavone aglycones, non-DDMP (2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4- one) soyasaponins, hydroxyisoflavones, and biogenic amines were relatively abundant in TD. On the contrary, contents of dipeptides, lysophospholipids, isoflavone glucosides and DDMP-conjugated soyasaponin, precursors of the above-mentioned metabolites, were comparatively higher in ID. We also observed relatively higher antioxidant, protease, and β-glucosidase activities in TD. Our results may provide valuable information on doenjang to consumers and manufacturers, which can be used while selecting and developing new products.

Comparison of microbial diversity and metabolites on household and commercial doenjang

“…However, there was a difference from the Kwon et al (2019) reports in which soybean fermentation food including doenjang had higher TP contents than TF contents. TP contents were high in CDJ than HDJ, unlike previous studies ( Soung et al, 2021 , Lee et al, 2021 ). The TF contents in 1HDJ and 2HDJ were significantly higher than those that of the CDJ samples.…”

Qualitative and Quantitative Metabolite Comparison of Korean Traditional Alcoholic Beverages: Takju, Yakju, and Traditional-Soju

“…The relative contents of fatty acids (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19) synthesized from acetyl-CoA were relatively higher in rice wine. On the other hand, malonic acid (5), also derived from acetyl-CoA, showed a higher content in distilled liquor.…”

“…Notably, among the fatty acids, octadecanoic acid (14), nonanoic acid (16), and octanoic acid (17) were relatively abundant in Takju, ranging from LOD to 168.72 mg/L, LOD to 112.54 mg/L, and 8.00 to 145.08 mg/L, respectively, compared to other types of alcoholic beverage. On the other hand, heptanoic acid (18) and hexadecanoic acid (19) were the most abundant fatty acids in Yakju, compared to the other alcoholic beverage types, within the range of LOD to 343.23 mg/L and 20.28 to 126.45 mg/L, respectively.…”

“…Interestingly, amino acids, fatty acids, and alcohols were abundant in rice wine, whereas their levels were low in Traditional-Soju, even with amino acids (10-12) and octanoic acid (17) not detected. Among the fatty acids observed, cis-9-octadecenoic acid (13), octadecanoic acid (14), decanoic acid (15), nonanoic acid (16), and octanoic acid (17) were more abundant in Takju than in Yakju, whereas heptanoic acid (18) and hexadecanoic acid (19) had relatively higher amounts in Yakju. Among the sugars, lactose (20), fructose (21), and xylose (22) were abundant in rice wine, whereas levels of sucrose (23) and ribonic acid (24) were comparatively higher in the distilled liquor, Traditional-Soju.…”

“…Metabolomics is a powerful approach used to understand the metabolic characteristics of organisms by analyzing metabolite changes [ 16 ]. This approach has been harnessed to analyze foods and beverages, such as juice and fermented foods ( doenjang , cheese, wine, and beer) [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Regarding fermented foods, many studies have tried to understand the metabolite composition changes during fermentation.…”