NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF AWARA MADE FROM FERMENTED BANJARA BEANS AND SOYBEAN

Awara, a Nigerian soft cheese analogue produced from soy milk using crude coagulant of citric acid and alum. Soybean and banjara bean were used in this study and were evaluated for their proximate composition, mineral element content, antinutritional factors, in vitro protein digestibility and vitamin content using standard procedures. Results obtained indicated that fermented banjara bean awara had a protein content of 2.15±0.01%, and fermented soybean awara had a protein content of 3.75±0.01%. Fermented banjara beans awara and soybean awara had a fat content of 5.16±0.01% and 17.13±0.01% respectively. There were significant differences in the mineral element content of both non fermented and fermented banjara bean and soybean awara. Level of antinutritional factors showed that both tannin and phytic acid were absent in fermented soybean awara. The in vitro protein digestibility of non-fermented and fermented banjara bean and soybean awara significantly increases with time. Vitamin A contents of fermented banjara and soybean awara increased when compared to non-fermented banjara and soybean awara, while a decrease was observed in non-fermented banjara and soybean awara as compared to fermented banjara bean and soybean awara. It can be concluded from this study that fermented soybean awara which is free of antinutritional factors is a more suitable source of protein and fat as a local cheese in this part of the world.

Production of New Isoflavone Diglucosides from Glycosylation of 8-Hydroxydaidzein by Deinococcus geothermalis Amylosucrase

8-Hydroxydaidzein (8-OHDe) is a non-natural isoflavone polyphenol isolated from fermented soybean foods. 8-OHDe exhibits a wide range of pharmaceutical activities. However, both the poor solubility and instability of 8-OHDe limit its applications. To resolve the limitations of 8-OHDe, Deinococcus geothermalis amylosucrase (DgAS) has previously been used to glycosylate 8-OHDe to produce soluble and stable 8-OHDe-7-O-α-glucopyranoside (8-OHDe-7-G) in a 0.5 h reaction time. In this study, we aimed to use DgAS and an extended reaction time to produce 8-OHDe diglucosides. At least three 8-OHDe derivatives were produced after a 24 h reaction time, and two major products were successfully purified and identified as new compounds: 8-OHDe-7-O-[α-glucopyranosyl-(1®6)-α-glucopyranoside] (8-OHDe-7-G2) and 8-OHDe-7,4′-O-α-diglucopyranoside (8-OHDe-7-G-4′-G). 8-OHDe-7-G-4′-G showed a 4619-fold greater aqueous solubility than 8-OHDe. In addition, over 92% of the 8-OHDe diglucosides were stable after 96 h, while only 10% of the 8-OHDe could be detected after being subjected to the same conditions. The two stable 8-OHDe diglucoside derivatives have the potential for pharmacological usage in the future.

Cheonggukjang-Specific Component 1,3-Diphenyl-2-propanone as A Novel PPARα/γ Dual Agonist: An In Vitro and In Silico Study

Background: Cheonggukjang is a traditional fermented soybean paste that is mostly consumed in Korea. However, the biological activities of Cheonggukjang specific compounds have not been studied. Thus, we aimed to discover a novel dual agonist for PPARα/γ from dietary sources such as Cheonggukjang specific volatile compounds and explore the potential role of PPARα/γ dual agonists using in vitro and in silico tools. Methods: A total of 35 compounds were selected from non-fermented and fermented soybean products cultured with Bacillus subtilis, namely Cheonggukjang, for analysis by in vitro and in silico studies. Results: Molecular docking results showed that 1,3-diphenyl-2-propanone (DPP) had the lowest docking score for activating PPARα (1K7L) and PPARγ (3DZY) with non-toxic effects. Moreover, DPP significantly increased the transcriptional activities of both PPARα and PPARγ and highly activated its expression in Ac2F liver cells, in vitro. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that DPP can act as a dual agonist of PPARα/γ using in vitro and in silico tools. Conclusions: The Cheonggukjang-specific compound DPP could be a novel PPARα/γ dual agonist and it is warranted to determine the therapeutic potential of PPARα/γ activation by dietary intervention and/or supplementation in the treatment of metabolic disorders without causing any adverse effects.