Betaine content of soy sauce

Soy sauce consists of many metabolites that are produced during fermentation or aging and that have various health benefits. However, their comprehensive assessment has been limited. This paper presents a metabolic characterization of soy sauce, especially that aged up to 12 years using 1H 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.

Ko et al (2009). "Metabolomic Insight into Soy Sauce through (1)H NMR Spectroscopy." J Agric Food Chem. Epub Jul 10