Selective Uptake of Amino Acid in Growth on Japanese Sake Yeast Using the Koji Extract Medium

Abstract

We investigated the uptake of four amino acids-alanine, arginine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid - which are involved in the taste of Japanese sake. Japanese sake yeasts copiously uptake argnine and aspartic acid, while glutamic acid shows a little uptake. Conversely, alanine was eliminated. On amino acids provided from koji, the amount of arginine and glutamic acid was much more than that of the uptake by sake yeasts.