CHANGES IN NITROGENOUS COMPONENTS AND PROTEASE ACTIVITY OF FERMENTED SARDINE WITH RICE-BRAN

This study aims to clarify the role of brine which was used for the pr oduction of fermented sardine Etrumeus micropus with rice-bran (FSR). Fermented sardine in brine (FSB) was experimentally prepared by soakin g salted sardine in brine. Most of the nitrogenous components in FSB w ere higher than those of FSR, while microbial counts of FSB were lower than those of FSR. The content of histamine and tyramine in FSB durin g the fermentation was higher than that of FSR. During the fermentatio n alkaline protease activity in FSB was higher than that of FSR. The c rude enzyme prepared from brine showed a significantly higher alkaline protease activity. Sardine homogenates were enzymatically hydrolyzed with the addition of various crude enzymes (brine, koji, and rice-bran ), and the amino-N (nitrogen) contents were determined. Amino-N conten t of sardine homogenate with antibiotics was also determined. Amino-N content of each hydrolysate increased after incubation. The degree of enzymatic hydrolysis by brine was higher than those by koji and rice-b ran; the degree of enzymatic hydrolysis with antibiotics was almost th e same as that without the enzymes and antibiotics. These results show ed that brine might play an important role in the protein decompositio n of FSR during its fermentation.