History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

ascites carcinoma cells. “But when the bacterial suspension
was preincubated in the buffer at 37ºC for 2 hours, cytolytic
substances were found outside the cells.”
It was found that there are at least two kinds of
substances in the preincubation mixture. One which had
a high molecular weight, had cytolytic and hemolytic
activities, whereas the other, which had low molecular
weight, had only cytolytic activity. Address: Faculty of
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kanazawa Univ., 13-1 Takaramachi,
Kanazawa, Japan.
570. Hayashi, Yoshio; Kawabata, Makoto; Taguchi, Kuniko.
1971. Nattô no nenshitsu-butsu ni kansuru kenkyû [A study
of the viscous substances in natto]. Kyoto Furitsu Daigaku
Gakujutsu Hokoku, Rigaku, Seikatsu Kagaku (Kyoto
Prefectural Univ., Scientifi c Reports: Natural Science and
Life Science) 22:13-17. (Chem. Abst. 76:110278y). [Jap]*
• Summary: Natto mucilage is composed mainly of an
acidic glycopeptide. 600 mg mucilage was obtained from
220 gm natto (100 gm soybeans). The chemical composition
of the mucilage is: sugar 61.5%, hexosamines 2.8%, total
nitrogen 4.1%, amino-nitrogen 2.9%, and uronic acid
20.4%. The constituent sugars of the mucilage are arabinose,
xylose, rhamnose, galactose, glucose, glucosamine, and
galactosamine. The peptide portion comprises 16% of
the mucilage and 17 amino acids were liberated from the
mucilage on hydrolysis. Address: Kyoto Prefectural Univ.,
Kyoto, Japan.
571. Park, K.T.; Sung, H.S. 1971. [Studies on the chungkook-jang
fermentation. I. Isolation and identifi cation of the
bacteria and selection of the best strains for chung-kookjang].
Misaengmul Hakhoe Chi (Korean J. of Microbiology)
9:74-85. NattKCEt [Kor; eng]*
• Summary: A total of 65 strains of bacteria were isolated
from natural chung-kook-jang, Korean-style natto, in an
incubator at 37ºC; 37 strains were from sample K incubated
enclosed in rice straw and 28 strains were from sample
S from steamed soy beans only. In the fi rst screening, 15
strains were selected for their superior protease activities;
8 strains from K and 7 strains from S. In the 2nd screening,
conducted by taste panel tests from the fi rst screening, No.
K-27 and S-16 were selected as the best for chung kook jang.
These two strains were classifi ed and identifi ed as a variation
of Bacillus subtilis by Bergey’s manual.
Note: This is the earliest document seen (March 2009)
that mentions Korean-style natto, which it calls “chungkook-jang”
(in the English abstract). Address: National
Industrial Research Institute, Korea.
572. Hesseltine, C.W.; Wang, H.L. 1971. Fermented soybean
foods. In: Y.M. Freitas and F. Fernandes, eds. 1971. Global
Impacts of Applied Microbiology, GIAM III. India: Univ. of
Bombay. See p. 403-20. Conference held in 1969 in Bombay,
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 193
India. [11 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Introduction: Nine advantages of
fermenting soybeans. Sufu. Hamanatto. Natto. Tempeh.
Magou (from South Africa).
“In South Africa, an interesting fermented native food
(magou) is now made on a modern industrial scale from
fermented corn and soybeans. Magou is prepared by the
fermentation of coarsely ground white corn meal (maize).
Pure cultures of Lactobacillus used in this fermentation
were isolated from native magou. The culture, which is
not pure, is started in coarse whole wheat fl our.” Then it
is used to ferment corn meal for 22-24 hours. “The mash
from the fermentation tanks is mixed with defatted soybean
meal, sugar, whey, or buttermilk powder and yeast. The
soybean meals used contain at least 52 per cent protein. After
thorough mixing of all the ingredients, the mix is spray dried.
Currently this product sells for about 10 cents a pound in 50
pound bags... Magou is used principally for feeding miners
and other workers employed in heavy industry. It is well
adapted to being taken into the mines and reconstituted at the
point of consumption.” Address: NRRL, Peoria, Illinois.
573. Hirayama, Takeshi. 1971. Epidemiology of stomach
cancer. In: Tadashige Murakami, ed. 1971. Early Gastric
Cancer. Baltimore, Maryland: University Park Press. Gann
Monograph on Cancer Research No. 11. viii + 301 p. See p.
3-19. (Tokyo: Tokyo Univ. Press). [18 ref]
• Summary: This paper outlines the results of an
epidemiological case-control study of stomach cancer in
Japan. Table 1 (p. 10) shows “Factors associated with the
standardized death rate for stomach cancer in 46 prefectures
in Japan.” Many foods and nutritional elements are included.
A negative association means: The more one consumes, the
less one’s risk of dying from stomach cancer in Japan. The
author reported a signifi cant negative association for tofu
(-5.28), vitamin A (- 4.12), and calcium (-6.54), and a very
signifi cant negative association for milk (-9.19). Thus these
foods and nutrients appear to protect against stomach cancer.
There was a signifi cant positive association for fermented
soybeans (+4.90; probably natto) and with a large amount
of highly salted foods, including highly salted miso, but not
including soy sauce or regular miso.
“The number of deaths from cancer of the stomach is
still on the increase in Japan. Most of the increase, however,
was found to be due to the increase in population itself.
When the change in age structure was taken into account, the
disease was noted to be on the downward trend since 1958.
The death rate for age 45-49 in 1970 was 29% less for males
and 14% less for females than in 1955.” The standardized
death rate from stomach cancer for men in Japan (68.57)
was the highest in the world, and over 7 times higher than
for U.S. whites (9.42). By marital status, widowed men have
the highest rate (376.3), followed by separated men (273.6),
then married men (116.4), with single men (75.1) having the