A study published in the Pertanika journal Tropical Agricultural Science reports that compounds in “bekasam,” a fermented fish paste used as a condiment in Indonesia, inhibit an enzyme involved in the synthesis of cholesterol, similarly to statin drugs.
Researchers from Sriwijaya University in Indonesia tested the effects of various peptides filtered out of bekasam on the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase. HMG-CoA reductase catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonic acid, a necessary step in cholesterol synthesis in the body.
They found that two of the extracted peptides efficiently inhibited the action of the enzyme. The study is titled “Fractionation of Anticholesterol Bioactive Compounds from Bekasam (Indonesian Fermented Fish Product).”
The team prepared bekasam from carp that was gutted, washed, and soaked in a culture of the bacterium Lactobacillus acidophilus for 30 minutes. The fish were then removed from the culture, mixed with salt and rice, and fermented for seven days. An extract was derived from the resulting bekasam by mixing it with distilled water, centrifuging it, and then filtering it through a membrane. The filtrates were separated according to their molecular size.
A bioactive compound known as lovastatin, found in high concentrations in the extract, successfully inhibited HMG-CoA reductase in an experiment designed to test the enzyme’s activity. Another peptide with a larger molecular weight was also found to inhibit HMG-CoA reductase with high efficiency. The team next plans to develop a cholesterol-lowering supplement from bekasam.
Similar properties were already known for two Japanese fermented fish products, “heshiko,” salted mackerel pickled in sake lees, and “narezushi,” of mackerel or carp, further fermented in “koji” (malted rice).” Both are local specialties of the city of Obama on the Japan Sea.
