The Taste Compounds of Fermented Oyster, Crassostrea gigas ( I ) -Changes of Free Amino Acids during the Fermentation of Oyster-

Changes of free amino acids as taste compounds during the fermentation of oyster were analyzed by amino acid autoanalyzer. In fresh oyster, taurine, glutamic acid and alanine were abundant amino acids and the amounts of taurine (731mg%, on moisture and salt free base), glutamic acid (365mg%) and alanine (345.4mg% ) were 63.8% of the total free amino acids. Cystine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, leucine and histidine were detected as less abundant free amino acids and the amount of those amino. acids ranged from 5. 5mg% (cystine) to 32.9mg% (histidine). The free amino acids analyzed in this experiment were not changed in composition hut changed in amounts during 124 days of fermentation. Aspartic acid and leucine were continually increased during 124 days of fermentation. Lysine, histidine, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, tyrosine and phenyalanine were increased unlit 68 days of fermentation and than decreased gradually. The increase of arginine, glycine, valine and isoleucine were fluctuated. Taurine were dramatically decreased during the 124 days of fermentation. It is believed that glutamic acid, alanine, lecuine, serine, Iysine and threonine play an important role as taste compounds in fermented oyster because those amino acids were most abundant in fermented oyster.