Inhibitory Effect of Kochujang Extracts on Chemically Induced Mutagenesis

Antimutagenic effects of 5 kinds of kochujang(Korean red pepper soybean paste) samples compared with doenjang(Korean soy paste) were studied using the Ames test with Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and the SOS chromotest, with E. Coli PQ37. Th eantimutatenic effects of methanol extracts from red pepper powder and meju(fermented soybean) powder, the major ingredients of the kochujang,were also evaluated for the mutagenicity of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the Ames assay. The methanol extracts from the kochujang samples showed lower antimutagenicities than those of doenjang against AFB1 and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in the Ames assay. Traditional kochujang I and II exhibited strong antimutagenic activity against AFB1 and MNNG. The traditional kochujang samples against MNNG were aslo observed in the SOS chromotest system with the same fashions as shown in the Ames mutagenicity test. The methanol extracts from meju powder had the strongest inhibitory effects on mutabenicity induced by AFB1, however, those form red pepper powder showed lower inhibition rate than kochujang. These results suggest that traditional kochujang exhibit higher antimutagenic acitivity than the commercial variety, and that meju powder seems to be one of the major antimutagenic components in kochujang.