In the production of soy sauce, the koji making stage during which koji mold is cultivated, is the key process for producing a high quality final product. Koji mold and contaminated bacteria act as antagonists as the koji making stage proceeds. As a result, the usable moisture content was reduced and an antibacterial substance was produced. Both of these e#ects were observed during our experiments. We confirmed the presence of antibacterial substances in koji. We purified the two main components and identified their chemical structures precisely. Furthermore, we examined the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of these substrates using selected bacteria, yeasts and molds. Out of these microorganisms, antibacterial substances in koji showed the strongest antibacterial activity toward Legionella erythra.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.