The effect of fermentation and storage on free amino acids of tarhana

A study on the evaluation of free amino acids (FAAs) in tarhana during fermentation and storage was performed. The FAAs in tarhana were determined by RP-HPLC with a fluorescence detector following extraction from the sample and derivatization with dansyl chloride. The amount of FAAs increased significantly (p<0.01) during fermentation and storage. The increase in the content of total free amino acids (TFAAs) and total free essential amino acids (TFEAAs) of fermented tarhana, which was used with yogurt bacteria and baker's yeast, was 57% and 93%, respectively. The amino acids primarily responsible for the increase were valine and tryptophan followed by methionine, alanine, isoleucine + leucine, phenylalanine, arginine, proline, and lysine. The TFAA content of tarhana at the end of fermentation was found to be 8% of total protein (16.8%). The ratio of TFEAAs/TFAAs was initially 0.46 and increased to 0.57 at the end of fermentation. The TFAA content of wet tarhanas was higher than that of the dry counterpart. It was found that the TFAA content of dry tarhana was 25% lower than the fresh wet tarhana (FWT), at the end of fermentation. It was concluded that the decrease in FAAs in dry tarhana was due to the Maillard reaction and partial degradation of FAAs during dehydration.