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

eputation since they do not produce GMO food crops. They
intend to capitalize on this image to capture food grade
soybean niche markets in the near future. Producing an
assured supply of high quality, non-GMO soybeans will be a
challenge in the Australian environment.” Address: Chatham,
ONT, Canada N7M 5L8.
1757. Yamamoto, Seiichiro; Sobue, T.; Kobayashi, M.;
Sasaki, S.; Tsugane, S. 2003. Soy, isofl avones, and breast
cancer risk in Japan. J. of the National Cancer Institute
95(12):906-13. June 18. [44 ref]
• Summary: Breast cancer risk was reduced by one half in
Japanese women who ate three or more bowls of miso soup
on an almost daily basis. The report monitored 21,852 from
1990 to 2000. Post-menopausal women showed the greatest
reduction of risk.
“In Japan, soy is consumed in various forms, including
dried or green soybeans, tofu (soybean curd), natto
(fermented soybeans), miso (fermented soybean paste),
okara (tofu lees), soybean sprouts, soymilk, yuba (soy milk
skin), kinako (soy fl our), and soy sauce.” Address: Cancer
Information and Epidemiology Division, National Cancer
Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
1758. Suganama, Kiyoshi; Sumi, Hiroyuki. 2003. Kono
fukugô aojiru de shinkin kôsoku nôkôsoku boke tônynô-byô
kara dasshutsu shita: nattô-kin nattôkinaze to ryokuyô yasai
juisshurui fukugô [I escaped from heart attack, stroke, senile
psychosis, and diabetes using this compounded green juice:
Natto bacteria, nattokinase, and 11 green leafy vegetables
combined]. Tokyo: Gendaishorin. 197 p. 19 cm. [Jap]*
1759. Tamang, Jyoti Prakash. 2003. Native microorganisms
in the fermentation of kinema. Indian J. of Microbiology
43(2):127-30. June. [19 ref]
• Summary: Species of Bacillus, Enterococcus, Geotrichium,
and Candida were recovered. Address: Food Microbiology
Research Lab., Dep. of Botany, Sikkim Government College,
Gangtok, Sikkim 737 102, India.
1760. Tanaka, Tadayoshi; Yamauchi, Tomoko; Katsumata,
Rie; Kiuchi, Kan. 2003. [Comparison of volatile components
in commercial itohiki-natto by solid-phase microextraction
and gas chromatography]. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku
Kaishi (J. of the Japanese Society for Food Science and
Technology) 50(6):278-85. [23 ref. Jap; eng]
• Summary: “The volatile component in commercial
itohiki-natto was extracted with divinylbenzene / carboxen
/ polydimethylsiloxane solid-phase microextraction fi ber
at 50ºC for 60 minutes, and injected by gas chromatograph
(GC) or gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (column: DB-
WAX (0.25mm ID, 30m long, 0.25μm fi lm thickness)). Each
peak was identifi ed by comparing the mass spectrum and
the retention indices with the mass spectrum databases and
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 537
the retention indices of authentic compounds, respectively.
Twelve alcohols, 20 ketones, 12 fatty acids, 12 nitrogen
compounds, 10 hydrocarbons, 8 esters, 3 phenols, 2 frans,
1 aldehyde, 1 pyrane, 1 oxazole, and ammonia = a total
of 83 compounds were identifi ed” (from journal@rchive).
Address: 1. Dep. of the Science of Living; 2. Faculty of
Home Economics. All: Kyoritsu Women’s Univ., 2-2-1,
Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8433, Japan.
1761. Suzuki, Y.; Kondo, K.; Matsumoto, Y.; Zhao, B.Q.;
Otsuguro, K.; Maeda, T.; Tsukamoto, Y.; Urano, T.;
Umemura, K. 2003. Dietary supplementation of fermented
soybean, natto, suppresses intimal thickening and modulates
the lysis of mural thrombi after endothelial injury in rat
femoral artery. Life Sciences (Netherlands) 73(10):1289-98.
July 25. *
Address: Dep. of Pharmacology, Hamamatsu Univ. School
of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka
431-3192, Japan.
1762. ASA Today (St. Louis, Missouri).2003. Grower
opportunities for identity preserved value-added soybeans.
9(10):8-page insert after p. 4. Sept.
• Summary: Contents: Front: Introduction. What are
specialty soybeans? The rewards of IP production.
Cooperative efforts pay dividends. The importance of
contract fl exibility. Defi ning identity preservation vs.
segregation vs. channeling.
Back: Value-added soybean varieties: Certifi ed seed,
clear hilum tofu, high sucrose, low saturated fat / low
linolenic, “non-GMO” soybeans, organic food grade, natto,
high oleic, high protein. IP soybeans: Production contracts:
Introduction, delivery and payment, delivery specifi cations,
developing relationships, other legal considerations, a fi nal
word. Sponsored by BASF, makers of Prowl, Pursuit, and
Raptor herbicides.
1763. Inagaki, Shyuichiro; Domon, Eiji; Saito, Akira;
Akutagawa, Hiroshi. 2003. [Discrimination of Bacillus
subtilis natto “strain KA-145” using insertion sequence,
IS4Bsu1]. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi (J. of
the Japanese Society for Food Science and Technology)
50(10):483-87. [18 ref. Jap; eng]
• Summary: “We established a simple method for identifying
Bacillus subtilis natto strain KA-145 by PCR [polymerase
chain reaction]. B. subtilis natto is indispensable as a starter
strain for fermenting the traditional Japanese food natto.
B. subtilis natto strain KA-145 is a recent isolate with
high nattokinase activity compared to the normal strain.
Discrimination of the bacterial strains is important in
controlling contamination of the strains” (from journal@
rchive).
Note: An insertion sequence (also known as an IS, an
insertion sequence element, or an IS element) is a short DNA