Indonesian Journal of Biotechnology
Vol 31, No 1 (2026)

Integrated metabolite profiling and in silico screening reveal the cholesterol‐modulating potential of tauco, an Indonesian fermented soybean paste

Nabillah, Salfa Athallah Agtari (Unknown)
Wati, Roidah Cahya (Unknown)
Nurmilah, Siti (Unknown)
Fitrianto, Nur (Unknown)
Ningsih, Dian Riana (Unknown)
Frediansyah, Andri (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Mar 2026

Abstract

Tauco, a traditional Indonesian fermented soybean paste, is a promising yet under‐characterized source of dietary bioactives. To systematically evaluate its functional potential, we first identified ultrasonic‐assisted extraction (UAE) as the most efficient method, yielding the highest total phenolic content (28.70 mg GAE/g) and the strongest in vitro antioxidant activity (ABTS IC50 = 0.238 mg/mL). Untargeted LC–HRMS‐based metabolite profiling of this optimal extract revealed a diverse phytochemical profile rich in isoflavone aglycones, sterols, and specialized lipids. To link this chemical inventory to a specific health‐related mechanism, we performed molecular docking against HMG‐CoA reductase (HMGR), the rate‐limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis. This in silico screening prioritized the triterpenoid uvaol and the phytosterol stigmasterol as top‐binding candidates, with predicted binding affinities stronger than the reference ligand (−8.2 and −7.6 kcal/mol respectively). Overall, our integrated approach shows that UAE efficiently recovers a complex mixture of antioxidants from tauco and identifies specific metabolites with high predicted affinity for a key cardiometabolic target, providing a mechanistic hypothesis for its functional benefits and prioritizing lead compounds for future validation.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijbiotech

Publisher

Subject

Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology Immunology & microbiology Materials Science & Nanotechnology

Description

The Indonesian Journal of Biotechnology (IJBiotech) is an open access, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the publication of novel research in all aspects of biotechnology, with particular attention paid to the exploration and development of natural products derived from ...