Lebensm.-Wiss. u.-Technol.

, 28, 236-237 (1995)

Research Note

Amino Acid Compositions of Bakasang, A Traditional

Fermented Fish Sauce from Indonesia
Frans Gruber ljong and Yoshiyuki Ohta

Laboratory of Microbial Biochemistry, Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Hiroshima University,

Kagamiyama 1-4-4, Higashi-Hiroshima 724 (Japan)
(Received July 25, 1994; accepted October 1, 1994)

Bakasang is a traditional salt-fernmnted fish sauce widely consumed in the Eastern part of Indonesia, being particularly popular
among the Manadonese people. The traditional process invoh,es different parameters the effects of which are not known. The
effects of salt concentration and stable temperature on the amino acid profiles and other chemical parameters are investigated.
Bakasang produced with lOOg/kg salt gives more hydrolysed products compared with bakasang produced with 200 g/kg salt. The
traditional product fermented under variable temperature has a lower total amino acid content than the laboratory products. Also
glutamic acid, lysine and isoleucine are found to be the predominant amino acids in bakasang.

Introduction Table 1 Moisture, salt, protein, lipid, FAN, acidity and pH of

bakasang"
Bakasang is a traditional fermented fish sauce pro- Laboratory Traditional I'
duced by fermenting small whole sardines (Sardinela A B
sp., or Stelophorus sp.). In the process, about, 1.5 to 3.0
Sx X Sx .~ Sx
parts of salt is mixed to 5 parts of fish, packed into small
bottles and placed in the kitchen near the fire place. The Moisture (g/kg) 718.6 7.0 668.6 5.4 663.0 18.2
temperature ranges from 30 to 60°C. It is allowed to Salt (NaCI, g/kg) 89.5 1.7 158.2 2.8 170.0 3.5
Crude protein (g/kg) 167.1 1.2 152.0 1.6 145.4 4.3
ferment for about 3 to 6 wk. Lipid (g/kg) 16.3 0.3 16.2 0.4 14.1 0.6
The product has become closely integrated with the FAN (mg/L) 131.3 0.2 104.5 0.2 98.9 1.6
eating habits of Eastern Indonesian people, especially Acidity (mL, 1 mol/L
the Manadonese people (in the North Celebes Island). NaOH) 25.7 0.5 22.2 1.0 21.9 0.5
It is usually used as flavouring in many dishes or mixed pH 5.5 0.1 5.8 0.1 5.9 0.1
with red chillies, tomato, red onion and garlic and then "Values presented are means and standard deviations for n =
sautred with coconut oil. The sautred sauce is eaten 3.
h Traditional samples were purchased from a supermarket in
with hot porridge mixtures of rice and vegetables called Manado, Indonesia.
tinutuan.
Although some scientific investigation has been done
on the amino acid contents of other fish sauce (1-3)
there has been none yet on bakasang. from a local market. The sardines were washed, sorted
Amino acids are major contributors to the taste of and cut into small parts and mixed with salt. Two
seafood (4), and it is likely they would contribute to the batches were made. One batch had 100 g/kg salt (A)
taste of bakasang. The flavour of Thai fish sauce, for and second batch had 200 g/kg salt (B). The chopped
instance, is thought to arise in part from glutamic acid, sardines and salt were well mixed by glove-covered
histidine and proline (5). hands. The samples were then packed in small glass
This work was performed to determine some chemical bottles (180 mL), sealed and then incubated at 37°C for
and amino acid compositions of bakasang under 40 d.
laboratory condition. Data such as obtained in this The laboratory and traditional bakasang samples were
experiment are necessary and will be of considerable analysed for moisture content, salt, free amino nitrogen
value to dietitians, nutritionists and manufacturers. (FAN), crude protein (total N x 6.25) and total lipid
using standard methods (6). Acidity titration (as g/100g
of lactic acid) and pH were also measured (7). Amino
Materials and Methods acid compositions were determined by R P - H P L C (8)
using H P L C (Model L-4000, Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan).
Laboratory bakasang samples were prepared from Amino acid standard solution Type H (Wako, Co.,
fresh small raw sardines (5 to 10cm long) purchased Japan) was used for calibration.
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Results and Discussion microorganisms. For yet unknown reasons, the tradi-
tional samples had a higher value of isoleucine and
Bakasang is a batch type fermentation of fish carried phenylalanine. The differences in amino acid content
out in small bottles. The fermentation process produces have been reported to be associated to the effects of
a product with light brown coiour, salty and slightly dynamic balance of free amino acid by autolysis and
acidic. Moisture, salt, protein, lipid, FAN, acidity and microbial action (3). The total essential amino acids in
p H values obtained from bakasang samples are given in bakasang samples ranged between 42.36 and 46.65 mg/
Table 1. The laboratory sample A had a lower p H than mL, which suggested that bakasang will contribute
sample B and the traditional sample. This corresponded significantly to the supply of essential amino acids in
with the observations in the acidity values obtained. the diet. The present analysis indicated that bakasang
The fermentation process seemed to increase the samples are good sources of essential amino acids such
soluble nitrogen of the fish. This could probably lead to as valine, isoleucine, phenylalanine and lysine.
an increase in the biological availability of the protein.
This increases the nutritive value, and also improves the
shelf-life of the product. The highest content of FAN
was observed in laboratory sample A. This might be Conclusion
attributable to the rate of hydrolysis of fish muscles by
fish enzymes and microbial activity during fermentation The results of the present experiment suggest that
under the lower salt concentration. Stable fermentation flavour development would be affected by salt concen-
t e m p e r a t u r e in the laboratory samples might have tration. The flavour of bakasang could be attributable
resulted in higher protein hydrolysis c o m p a r e d with the to glutamic acid. Consumption of bakasang could be
traditional samples. p r o m o t e d for supplementing some essential amino
acids in the diet. However, the relatively high salt
Table 2 Free amino acid contents of bakasang" content must be considered.
Amino acid A B Traditional b
(mg/mL)
Sx X Sx X Sx
References
Aspartic acid 5.87 0.08 4.74 0.13 3.62 0.14
Glutamic acid 12.22 0.43 6.66 0.04 7.27 0.01 1 SAISITHI, P., KASEMSARN, B.O., LISTON, J. AND DOLLAR,
Serine 0.81 0.01 3.34 0.05 4.65 0.26 A.M. Microbiology and chemistry of fermented fish.
Glycine 2.54 0.11 2.17 0.02 0.72 0.05 Journal of Food Science, 31, 105-110 (1966)
Histidine" 1.76 0.09 3.10 0.05 0.44 0.03 2 SANCEDA, N.O., KURATA, T. AND ARAKAWA, N. Overall
Arginine c 2.80 0. I 1 7.52 0.22 3.49 0.02 quality and sensory acceptance of a lysine-fortified fish
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Alanine 9.60 0.12 5.29 0.21 4.84 0.11 3 CHANO, C.M., OSHIMA, T. AND KO~ZUMI, C. Changes in
Proline 0.36 0.00 0.35 0.00 n.d. composition of lipids, free amino acids and organic acids
Tyrosine 7.62 0.17 2.21 0.04 1.92 0.01 in rice-bran-fermented sardine (Etremeus teres) during
Valine ~ 8.02 0.50 4.66 0.20 4.76 0.19 processing and subsequent storage. Journal of the Science
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Values presented are means and standard deviations for n = Symposium. Camden, N J: Campbell Soup Company, p. 61
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Table 2 shows amino acid compositions of all the
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could also slow down the activities of some fermenting Inc. (1990)

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