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Soy Sauce Fermentation with Cordyceps militaris: Process Optimization and Functional Profiling

Summary

Researchers created a new type of soy sauce using Cordyceps militaris fungus, which contains health-promoting compounds. Using scientific optimization techniques, they found the best conditions for fermentation, resulting in a soy sauce with much higher levels of cordycepin and other beneficial compounds compared to traditional soy sauce. This product offers both the familiar taste of soy sauce and added health benefits, potentially serving as a functional food that people can use daily.

Background

Soy sauce is a traditional fermented condiment valued for its umami flavor and nutritional content. Cordyceps militaris is a medicinal fungus known for bioactive compounds including cordycepin and polysaccharides with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. This study explores using C. militaris as the primary fermentation strain to create a functional soy sauce product.

Objective

To develop and optimize soy sauce fermented with Cordyceps militaris as the sole starter culture using response surface methodology. The study aimed to enhance both nutritional and functional properties while optimizing koji preparation and fermentation stages for maximum protease activity, cordycepin production, and amino acid nitrogen content.

Results

Optimal koji conditions were 24°C, 679.60 LPM aeration, and 9.6% inoculum yielding 1872.46 U/g protease activity and 8.34 mg/g cordycepin. Optimal fermentation conditions (32°C, 12% brine, 1.53:1 water-to-material ratio) produced soy sauce with 1.14 g/100 mL amino acid nitrogen and 16.88 mg/100 mL cordycepin. The product exhibited darker color, enhanced umami taste, and distinct volatile profiles compared to traditionally fermented soy sauce.

Conclusion

Cordyceps militaris successfully functions as a sole starter culture for functional soy sauce production, demonstrating enhanced bioactivity compared to traditional fermentation. The optimized process produces a novel functional condiment with significantly higher cordycepin and polysaccharide content while maintaining superior nutritional quality, establishing C. militaris-based soy sauce as a viable health-oriented seasoning product.
  • Published in:Foods,
  • Study Type:Experimental optimization study,
  • Source: PMID: 40807648; DOI: 10.3390/foods14152711
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