Relationship Between Extracellular Cellulase, Pectinase and Xylanase Activity of Isolated Aspergillus oryzae Strains Grown on Koji and the Umami-Tasting Amino Acid Content of Soy Sauce

We compared the koji-based extracellular carboxymethylcellulases (CM-cellulase), pectinases and xylanases of four Aspergillus oryzae isolates from soy sauce koji, A1, PRB-1 (A2), A3 and A4, with Aspergillus oryzae AS3.951 (A5) via enzyme assays and zymography and determined their correlation to the content of umami-tasting amino acids in high-salt diluted-solid state growth stage leading to soy sauce. In A2 koji, xylanase had the highest activity (28.75 U/g dry weight). Zymogram analysis revealed two different bands of CM-cellulase activity (termed Cel-1 and Cel-2) and one band of pectinase activity (Pec-1) in all koji samples. The intensity of these bands was comparable among all five strains. Interestingly, the same analysis revealed six different xylanase activity bands (termed Xyl-1 to Xyl-6) in all koji samples. After 60 days of cultivation, the free amino acid concentration was highest in soy sauce generated by A4 at 6709.41 mg/100 ml and contained 1690.82 mg/100 ml umamitasting amino acids (including glutamic acid and aspartic acid), followed by soy sauce generated by A2. Pearson's coefficient analysis indicated that Xyl-1 and Xyl-2 activities were positively associated with the umami-tasting amino acid content of soy sauce. In conclusion, these data suggested that the xylanases Xyl-1 and Xyl-2 in koji could be important contributors to the umami taste formation of soy sauce.