Metabolomic insight into soy sauce through (1)H NMR spectroscopy

Soy sauce, a well-known seasoning in Asia and throughout the world, consists of many metabolites that are produced during fermentation or aging and that have various health benefits. However, their comprehensive assessment has been limited due to targeted or instrumentally specific analysis. This paper presents for the first time a metabolic characterization of soy sauce, especially that aged up to 12 years, to obtain a global understanding of the metabolic variations through (1)H NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate pattern recognition techniques. Elevated amino acids and organic acids and the consumption of carbohydrate were associated with continuous involvement of microflora in aging for 12 years. In particular, continuous increases in the levels of betaine were found during aging for up to 12 years, demonstrating that microbial- or enzyme-related metabolites were also coupled with osmotolerant or halophilic bacteria present during aging. This work provides global insights into soy sauce through a (1)H NMR-based metabolomic approach that enhances the current understanding of the holistic metabolome and allows assessment of soy sauce quality.