Abstract

To examine the effective use of seaweeds, sea tangle (Laminaria japonica) was extracted with water and the resultant extracts were fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Four strains of S. cerevisiae were cultured in aqueous extracts from sea tangle. S. cerevisiae SC-2, which was isolated from a traditional Korean fermented food (Meju), was selected for further study based on the results of a sensory evaluation. No significant differences in proximate compositions, such as moisture, crude protein, crude fat, and crude ash, of the sea tangle extracts before and after fermentation were observed. The reducing sugar decreased as the fermentation period increased, and the contents of some free amino acids were also affected by S. cerevisiae SC-2 fermentation. However, the content of glutamic acid, which is a major taste compound in sea tangle extract, was not affected by fermentation for up to 36 hr by the SC-2 strain. To determine the antioxidant activity of fermented sea tangle extract (fermented for 36 hr by SC-2 strain), the radical scavenging activities of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide, and nitric oxide were investigated and xanthin oxidase inhibition assay was performed. The antioxidant activity increased by 8 to 35%. The greatest enhancement of antioxidant activity was seen in the superoxide radical scavenging assay with $100\;{\mu}g/mL$ of raw and fermented sea tangle extract. The anti-inflammatory activity of fermented sea tangle extract was also enhanced. The fermented sea tangle extract showed 34.2% inhibitory activity against nitric oxide synthesis versus 11.9% for raw sea tangle extract at $100\;{\mu}g/mL$ concentration. These results suggest that fermented aqueous extracts from sea tangle are a useful resources.

Keywords

• Anti-inflammatory activity;
• Antioxidant activity;
• Fermentation;
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae;
• Sea tangle