Women 's Un iversity, 2-2-I Hitotsubash ~ Tokyo 101, Japan A new fermented soy protein (SP) fobd was manufactured, employing a new starter, Bacillus subtilis (natto), isolated from jang. The new fermented SP food manufactured with textured soy protein and triple distilled water contained similar constituents of jang manufactured with the same jang starter. The relative viscosity, 7-glutamyl transpeptidase activity and elastase activity were 2.5 to 3.0, 2.0 and 3.7 to 5.5 times higher than those of jang, respectively. Furthermore, the optimum conditions to produce the relative viscosity and enzymes were investigated.The new fermented SP food had a higher elastase activity than did jang and natto, while the constituents were similar to those in jang and natto.Keywords: Korean Chungkuk-jang, elastase, itohiki-natto, fermented soy protein foods, textured soy proteinIn a previous paper (Kim et a/., 1997), the starter of Korean non-salt soybean fermented food, jang proved to belong to the same microorganism as the starter of the Japanese non-salt soybean fermented food natto. Bacillus subtilis (natto), therefore, both jang and natto could be manufactured with either the jang starter or natto starter. Muramatsu ( 1995) reported that elastase was produced during natto fermentation, and that distinctly high activity was detected in natto manufactured by B. subtilis KFP419 which they isolated. Elastin is structurally difricult to hydrolyze with protease. A fibroid-structure like elastin appeared in hyperlipomia (Oouchi & Yamada, 1992) and pig pancreas elastase has already been utilized as a medicine for hyperlipomia (Nippon Medical Information Center, 1991). Elastase activity was detected in both commercially and laboratory-manufactured jang .It was reported that soy protein (referred to as SP) might contribute to the concentration adjustment of serum cholesterol, the prevention of high blood pressure and the prevention of corpulence (Yamamoto & Inoue, 1991;Bakhit et a/., 1994), but the manufacture of fermented SP foods and the investigation of their physiological functionality have not yet been reported. Since the manufactured jang retains the whole soy shape in their products, it is difficult to analyze the production mechanisms of their taste, odor, viscosity, etc. and the synthesis of the enzymes related to the physiological *TO Whom correspondence should be addressed. 3At present, National Rural Living Science Institute, 88-2 Seodun-Dong, Kwanseon-ku, Suweon, 441-707, Korea. Abbreviatlons: jang, Korean Chungkuk-jang; DW, distilled water; Xn DW, n-fold distilled water of soy proteins added in the medium (w/w); y-GTP, y-glutamyl transpeptidase; natto, Japanese itohiki-natto; SP, soy protein(s); TSP, textured soy protein.functionality, etc. In order to solve these problems, a homogeneous system must be established by replacing the whole soybeans by a powder form or SP.This paper describes the development of SP foods with high viscosity-like jang or natto employing the jang and Manufacture of fermented SP foods Three fac...