Functional Effects of Japanese Style Fermented.pdfVIP

JOURNAL OF BIOSCIENCE AND BIOENGINEERING © 2005, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan Vol. 100, No. 3, 227–234. 2005 DOI: 10.1263/jbb.100.227 REVIEW Functional Effects of Japanese Style Fermented Soy Sauce (Shoyu) and Its Components Shigehiro Kataoka1 Quality Assurance Department, Kikkoman Corporation, 399 Noda, Noda-shi, Chiba 278-0037, Japan1 Received 24 March 2005/Accepted 18 May 2005 The functional effects of Japanese style fermented soy sauce (shoyu) have been studied. Soy sauce promotes digestion, because the consumption of a cup of clear soup containing soy sauce en- hances gastric juice secretion in humans. Soy sauce possesses antimicrobial activity against bac- teria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri, Vibrio cholera, Salmonella enteritidis, non- pathogenic Escherichia coli and pathogenic E. coli O157:H7. Soy sauce also contains an anti- hypertensive component. An angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor having antihypertensive effects was found in soy sauce. The active compound was identified as nicotianamine, which comes from soybeans. Soy sauce exhibits anticarcinogenic effects. Giving diets containing soy sauce to mice inhibit benzo[a]pyrene (BP)-induced forestomach neoplasia. The anticarcinogenic compounds in soy sauce were identified. The flavor components of Japanese style fermented soy sauce, such as 4-hydroxy-2(or 5)-ethyl-5(or 2)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone (HEMF), which is a char- acteristic flavor com