Predictive Model for Oral Status in Elderly People in a Taiwanese Nursing Home Using a High-Protein Black Soybean Koji Food.

With increased age, the appetite, chewing, swallowing, and digestive ability gradually decrease. Previous studies have shown that poor oral health is associated with an inadequate intake of macro and micronutrients and malnutrition. Therefore, improving the diet of elderly people and promoting nutrient absorption will help to improve the quality of life for elderly people. However, few studies have predicted their oral ability based on different food textures and other factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between oral assessment and texture parameters of high-protein black soybean koji products in elderly people in a nursing home. We used cross-sectional study design for seventy-nine residents aged 65 years and older were recruited. Three different texture of cookies, including normal cookie hardness (1.4 × 105 N/m2), minced cookie hardness (4.4 × 104 N/m2), and pureed cookie hardness (1.4 × 104 N/m2) were provided to participants to test the oral status. An oral assessment scale was used by a dentist to evaluate the oral status of the elderly participants. Different cookie textures showed a significant positive correlation with pronunciation (r = 0.237, p < 0.05), face (r = 0.371, p < 0.01), tongue (r = 0.362, p < 0.01), pharynx (r = 0.256, p < 0.05), swallowing (r = 0.272, p < 0.05), breathing (r = 0.315, p < 0.01), and the total oral score (r = 0.339, p < 0.01). We also used the high-protein black soybean koji products combined with elderly people's comprehensions in a predictive model that had a moderately high correlation to predict the oral status in the elderly group (r = 0.612). We concluded that the high-protein black soybean koji product was associated with the oral ability of elderly people in a nursing home in Taiwan. Our findings indicated that elderly people could immediately understand the correct food texture.

Effect of Soybean and Soybean Koji on Obesity and Dyslipidemia in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet: A Comparative Study.

Soybean koji refers to steamed soybeans inoculated with microbial species. Soybean fermentation improves the health benefits of soybeans. Obesity is a serious health concern owing to its increasing incidence rate and high association with other metabolic diseases. Therefore, we investigated the effects of soybean and soybean koji on high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats. Five-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8/group) as follows: (1) regular diet (RD), (2) high-fat diet (HFD), (3) HFD + steamed soybean (HFD+SS), and (4) HFD + soybean koji (HFD+SK). SK contained more free amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids than SS. In a rat model of obesity, SK consumption significantly alleviated the increase in weight of white adipose tissue and mRNA expression of lipogenic genes, whereas SS consumption did not. Both SS and SK reduced serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. SS and SK also inhibited lipid accumulation in the liver and white adipose tissue and reduced adipocyte size. Although both SS and SK could alleviate HFD-induced dyslipidemia, SK has better anti-obesity effects than SS by regulating lipogenesis. Overall, SK is an excellent functional food that may prevent obesity.

Comparison of volatile profiles in Fagopyrum esculentum (buckwheat) soksungjang prepared with different starter cultures during fermentation.

This study investigated the differences and changes in the volatile profiles of buckwheat soksungjang (BS) inoculated with multiple microbial starters (Lactobacillus brevis + Aspergillus oryzae, BS-LA vs. Lactobacillus brevis + Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, BS-LB) during fermentation using SPME coupled with GC-MS and partial least square-discriminant analysis. BS samples fermented for 5 weeks could be differentiated from other BS samples with shorter fermentation periods, and the BS-LA and BS-LB samples fermented for 5 weeks were separated. Acids, benzenes, and esters were main volatile compounds in both BS samples, however, their differences and changes were varied. The increase of 3-methylbutanoic acid was bigger in BS-LB than BS-LA, while the contents of 2- and 3-methylbutanal were relatively higher in BS-LA than BS-LB. Furthermore, the contents of esters of BS-LA significantly increased during fermentation. These results indicate that the volatile profiles of BS samples depend on the fermentation periods and the combination of microbial starters.