Ajinomoto Co., Ltd.

Sony Corporation

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Shigeru Yamanaka

Katsunori Kobayashi

Kenzo Yokozeki

Kunihiko Watanabe

Shunichi Suzuki

Yuzuru Eto

Masaru Ishihara

Yuko Tanita

Kiyoshi Miwa

Kenichi Hashiguchi

Naoko Tsuyoshi

Masaru Uryu

Kunihiro Ichimura

Eiji Nakanishi

Naohiko Yasuda

Yasushi Morinaga

Yoshio Nishi

Hiroshiro Shibai

Yoshio Hirose

Hisao Iwagami

Toshio Kato

Takashi Utagawa

Satoshi Takano

Kohki Ishikawa

Hiroshi Miyano

Masatoshi Iguchi

Hisao Fukuda

Tadao Kobayashi

Ryosuke Fudou

Hideo Kanou

Ryosuke Fudo

Junko Shinozaki

Atsushi Okiyama

Kaoru Kubota

Yukio Sasaki

Masahiro Kamata

Tomomi Kuwahara

Shigenobu Mitsuhashi

Reiko Kikuchi

Takahide Kawanishi

Hideo Kanoh

This invention provides a bacterial cellulose comprising ribbon-shaped microfibrils having a thickness of 10 to 100 nm and a width of 160 to 1000 nm or a bacterial cellulose comprising ribbon-shaped microfibrils having a thickness of 10 to 100 nm and a width of 50 to 70 nm. The former bacterial cellulose can be produced by culturing cellulose-producing bacteria in a culture medium containing a cell division inhibitor, and the latter can be produced by culturing the bacterium in a culture medium containing an organic reducing agent. The bacterial cellulose is modified from conventional bacterial cellulose in the major axis, and is improved in Young's modulus, etc.This invention provides a bacterial cellulose comprising ribbon---

Modified bacterial cellulose

This invention provides a bacterial cellulose comprising ribbon-shaped microfibrils having a thickness of 10 to 100 nm and a width of 160 to 1000 nm or a bacterial cellulose comprising ribbon-shaped microfibrils having a thickness of 10 to 100 nm and a width of 50 to 70 nm. The former bacterial cellulose can be produced by culturing cellulose-producing bacteria in a culture medium containing a cell division inhibitor, and the latter can be produced by culturing the bacterium in a culture medium containing an organic reducing agent. The bacterial cellulose is modified from conventional bacterial cellulose in the major axis, and is improved in Young's modulus, etc.

The spore germination inhibitor of the invention is 6-carbamoyl-2-pyridine carboxylic acid which is produced by a microorganism of genus Bacillus, such as and can inhibit germination of sporogenous bacteria resulting in the prevention of spoilage and putrefaction of foods, particularly in combination with D-alanine.

Spore germination inhibitor and food containing the same

The present invention provides a process for producing a transglutaminase, which comprises culturing microorganisms of any of the genus Micrococcus, Clostridium, Torulopsis, Rhizopus and Monascus in a medium to produce the intended transglutaminase in the medium or in the cells of the microorganisms and then isolating the transglutaminase, and a process for producing a gelled proten with the thus-obtained transglutaminase. According to the process of the present invention, transglutaminase can be rapidly produced at a low cost.

Process for producing transglutaminase by microorganism

This invention provides a bacterial cellulose comprising ribbon-shaped microfibrils having a thickness of 10 to 100 nm and a width of 160 to 1000 nm or a bacterial cellulose comprising ribbon-shaped microfibrils having a thickness of 10 to 100 nm and a width of 50 to 70 nm. The former bacterial cellulose can be produced by culturing cellulose-producing bacteria in a culture medium containig a cell division inhibitor, and the latter can be produced by culturing the bacterium in a culture medium containing an organic reducing agent. The bacterial cellulose is modified from conventional bacterial cellulose in the major axis, and is improved in Young's modulus, etc.

The present invention provides a method for producing a condiment with decreased animal smell and which has increased beefwise taste and greater body flavor and complex flavor. The condiment is produced by blending therein denatured meat and/or the extract thereof, wherein the denatured meat is obtained by salting livestock meat, washing and then allowing microorganisms to ferment and ripen the meat.

Process for producing a condiment

A method for processing a protein, a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, or a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, or a peptide or derivatives thereof having a crosslinked structure, which entails contacting glutamine and lysine residues in a protein, a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, a peptide or derivatives thereof with a transglutaminase obtained from Bacillus subtilus to form intermolecular or intramolecular, crosslinked .epsilon.(.delta.-Glu)-Lys bonds between or in the molecules of the protein, non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, peptide or derivatives thereof, wherein the transglutaminase has the physicochemical properties described herein.

Bacillus-derived transglutaminase

The present invention relates to (1) a transglutaminase (hereinafter referred to as TG) isolated from a Bacilli such as those of Bacillus subtilis, (2) a fraction having transglutaminase activity, and (3) a method for producing a protein, a non-proteinaceous amino acid polymer, a peptide or derivatives thereof having a crosslinked structure, by crosslinking the glutamine and lysine residues in the same with the TG or the fraction having TG activity to thereby form intermolecular or intramolecular, crosslinked .epsilon.-(.gamma.-Glu)-Lys bonds. The present invention also relates to (4) a DNA coding for a TG derived from a Bacilli such as Bacillus subtilis, (5) a vector comprising said DNA coding for the TG, (6) a cell transformed with the vector, and (7) a method for producing a Bacillus-derived transglutaminase by incubating the transformant. The crosslinked polymers produced using the Bacillus-derived TG of the present invention can be used in foods such as tofu (soybean curd), pudding, yogurt, cheese, ground fish meat, boiled fish paste, sausage and other fish and meat products and also in cosmetics, etc.

The invention relates to (a) a low calorie foodstuff containing, as a substitute for protein, carbohydrate and/or oil and fat, from 0.7 to 10% by weight, based on the dry weight, of dietary fibers with a size of not greater than 80 .mu.m and a retained water amount of 9 or greater, (b) an aqueous paste-like composition of from 5 to 40% by weight of from spherical to fibrous dietary fibers of not greater than 5 .mu.m of diameter or length, and (c) an aqueous paste-like composition, which contains from 5 to 40% by weight of dietary fibers, the dietary fibers being in the form of gel particles having a particle size of not greater than 80 .mu.m, as well as the production method.

Low calorie foodstuff, aqueous paste composition, as well as production

Disclosed is a gel of microbially-produced cellulose, characterized in that the microbially-produced cellulose is modified by (1) physically or chemically bonding an animal cell adhesive protein to the cellulose, and/or (2) substituting hydrogen atoms of at least parts of hydroxyl groups of the cellulose with a positively or negatively charged organic group. This gel is valuable as a carrier for mass culture of animal cells or as a medical vulnerary cover.

Modified microbially-produced cellulose gel with human epidermal cells

A complex of fibrous material and fungi is prepared by allowing fungi to grow in a medium containing a fibrous material.

Complex of fibers and fungi and a process for preparation thereof

A molding material having high dynamic strength which contains bacterial cellulose having ribbon-shaped microfibrils. Such material is advantageously used as a reinforcing material for composite plastics having high strength, as high quality paper or as acoustic diaphragms for percussion instruments.

Bacterial cellulose-containing molding material having high dynamic

A method of measuring the number of eumycete cells in a sample which comprises preparing a solution or suspension containing a sample of a medicine, food, drink, cosmetic or water, adding to said solution or suspension a 7-amino-4-methyl-coumarin derivative represented by formula (1): ##STR1## wherein R is an alkyl group, an allyl group, an aralkyl group, or a heterocyclic group, or R--CO-- is an amino acid or peptide residue, said derivative not inhibiting the hydrolysis of the amide bond of formula (1) by microorganism hydrolases contained in the samples; and measuring the fluorescence of 7-amino-4-methyl-courmarin released by the microorganism hydrolases.

Method of measuring the number of eumycete cells

A 5-substituted-3-isoxazolecarboxylic acid derivative of the general formula: ##STR1## wherein X stands for a phenyl group, thienyl group, furyl group or pyridyl group, each of which optionally may carry at least one substituent group; R stands for a phenyl group or hydroxyphenyl group; and A stands for a group of the formula: ##STR2## wherein Y stands for ##STR3## in which the carbon atom with which the carboxyl group combines with the nitrogen atom in A, M stands for a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Z stands for a hydrogen atom, hydroxy group, acyloxy group, carbamoyloxy group, aromatic heterocycle thio group or aromatic nitrogen-containing heterocycle quaternary ammonium group, is disclosed along with methods for producing these compounds.

5-Substituted-3-isoxazolecarboxylic acid derivatives

The production of a 1-.beta.-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazole of the formula ##STR1## wherein R is hydroxy, amino, or alkoxy, is carried out by reacting a 1,2,4 triazole of formula ##STR2## wherein R is hydroxy, amino, or alkoxy group, with a greater than equimolar amount of a ribofuranosyl group donor in the presence of a nucleoside phosphorylase preparation at a temperature in the range from 40.degree. to 65.degree. C. for more than 10 minutes, and recovering a 1-.beta.-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazole from the reaction solution. The temperature is preferably from 55.degree. to 65.degree. C. and the time is preferably 10 minutes to 20 hours. An elevated temperature higher than the usual enzyme reaction temperature isused to prevent undesirable enzymatic reactions.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Shigeru Yamanaka