Abstract: The goal of this study was the accumulation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in fermented chicken sausage produced using lactic acid bacteria. Firstly, the optimal fermentation strains was selected. Then, the effects of addition of L-glutamate (L-Glu), VB6 and CaCl2 on the GABA content of chicken sausage were investigated, and their amounts were optimized using Box-Behnken experimental design. The results showed that among three different sources of lactic acid bacteria, the GABA-producing abilities of lactic acid bacteria from yogurt and pickles were weaker, both of which gave yields lower than 10 mg/100 g, which was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than that of Enterococcus durans (62.14 mg/100 g). The addition of L-Glu, VB6 and CaCl2 at levels of 7.75, 6.73 and 8.35 mg/100 g, respectively was found to be optimal, yielding a GABA content of 68.32 mg/100 g, which was significantly higher than that of the samples without these additives (1.10-fold increase) and that of unfermented sausage (around 10-fold increase). Analysis of variance suggested that the regression model could quite exactly predict GABA accumulation in chicken sausage. All of the three additives had significant effects on the GABA content of chicken sausage (P < 0.01). The interaction effects between L-Glu and VB6, and between L-Glu and CaCl2 were significant (P < 0.05) on GABA accumulation in chicken sausage.

Key words: fermented chicken sausage, γ-aminobutyric acid, lactic acid bacteria, optimization