• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권6호
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• pp.1057-1062
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• 2016

Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented vegetable food, the production of which involves brining of Korean cabbage, blending with various other ingredients (red pepper powder, garlic, ginger, salt-pickled seafood, etc.), and fermentation. Recently, kimchi has also become popular in the Western world because of its unique taste and beneficial properties such as antioxidant and antimutagenic activities, which are derived from the various raw materials and secondary metabolites of the fermentative microorganisms used during production. Despite these useful activities, analysis of the microbial community present in kimchi has received relatively little attention. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bacterial community structure from the raw materials, additives, and final kimchi product using the culture-independent method. Specifically, polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) was used to analyze the 16S rRNA partial sequences of the microflora. One primer set for bacteria, 341F^GC-518R, reliably produced amplicons from kimchi and its raw materials, and these bands were clearly separated on a 35-65% denaturing gradient gel. Overall, 117 16S rRNA fragments were identified by PCR-DGGE analysis. Pediococcus pentosaceus, Leuconostoc citreum, Leuconostoc gelidum, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were the dominant bacteria in kimchi. The other strains identified were Tetragenococcus, Pseudomonas, Weissella, and uncultured bacterium. Comprehensive analysis of these microorganisms could provide a more detailed understanding of the biologically active components of kimchi and help improve its quality. PCR-DGGE analysis can be successfully applied to a fermented food to detect unculturable or other species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제25권12호
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• pp.2049-2057
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• 2015

Various salt concentrations (1.0%, 1.3%, 1.6%, 1.9%, and 2.1% labeled as sample A, B, C, D, and E, respectively) were investigated for microbial diversity, identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) in salted kimchi cabbage, prepared under laboratory conditions. These samples were stored at 4°C for 5 weeks in proper aluminum-metalized pouch packaging with calcium hydroxide gas absorber. A culture-independent method known as polymerase chain reaction - denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was carried out to identify LAB distributions among various salt concentration samples that had identified 2 Weissella (W. confusa and W. soli), 1 Lactobacillus (Lb. sakei), and 3 Leuconostoc (Lc. mesenteroides, Lc. lactis, and Lc. gelidum) in the overall kimchi samples. The pH, titratable acidity, viable cell counts, and coliform counts were not affected by salt variations. In order to assess sensory acceptance, the conducted sensory evaluation using a 9-point hedonic scale had revealed that samples with 1.3% salt concentration (lower than the manufacturer's regular salt concentration) was more preferred, indicating that the use of 1.3% salt concentration was acceptable in normal kimchi fermentation for its quality and safety. Despite similarities in pH, titratable acidity, viable cell counts, coliform counts, and LAB distributions among the various salt concentrations of kimchi samples, the sample with 1.3% salt concentration was shown to be the most preferred, indicating that this salt concentration was suitable in kimchi production in order to reduce salt intake through kimchi consumptions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.76-84
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• 2013

A polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique followed by sequencing of the 16S rDNA fragments eluted from the bands of interest on denaturing gradient gels was used to monitor changes in the bacterial microflora of two commercial kimchi, salted cabbage, and ingredient mix samples during 30 days of fermentation at $4^{\circ}C$ and $10^{\circ}C$. Leuconostoc (Lc.) was the dominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) over Lactobacillus (Lb.) species at $4^{\circ}C$. Weissella confusa was detected in the ingredient mix and also in kimchi samples throughout fermentation in both samples at $4^{\circ}C$ and $10^{\circ}C$. Lc. gelidum was detected as the dominant LAB at $4^{\circ}C$ in both samples. The temperature affected the LAB profile of kimchi by varing the pH, which was primarily caused by the temperature-dependent competition among different LAB species in kimchi. At $4^{\circ}C$, the sample variations in pH and titratable acidity were more conspicuous owing to the delayed growth of LAB. Temperature affected only initial decreases in pH and initial increases in viable cell counts, but affected both the initial increases and final values of titratable acidity. The initial microflora in the kimchi sample was probably determined by the microflora of the ingredient mix, not by that of the salted cabbage. The microbial distributions in the samples used in this study resembled across the different kimchi samples and the different fermentation temperatures as the numbers of LAB increased and titratable acidity decreased.

• 한국식품과학회지
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• 제52권3호
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• pp.304-309
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• 2020

김치는 한국의 전통발효식품으로서 건강식품으로 여겨지고 있다. 일반적으로 한국에서는 김치를 가정에서 제조하여 김치냉장고에 저장한다. 저장기간 동안 물리화학적, 미생물학적 변화가 일어나며 이는 김치의 품질에 영향을 미친다. 본 연구에서는 김치의 품질에 영향을 미칠 수 있는 저장용기(폴리프로필렌-PP, 스테인리스 스틸-STS, 세라믹)를 달리 하여 김치를 담은 후 0℃로 설정된 냉장고에 보관하면서 화학적, 미생물학적 특성을 비교 분석하였다. pH의 경우 PP와 STS 용기에 저장된 김치 시료는 16일째 각각 4.59과 4.53에 도달한 반면 세라믹 용기에 저장된 김치시료는 4.92에 도달하였으며 그 차이의 경향은 32일까지 유지되었다. 산도의 경우 PP와 STS 용기에 저장된 김치 시료는 8일째 각각 0.24와 0.25%인 반면 세라믹 용기의 시료는 0.22%로 다소 낮게 나타났으며 그 추세는 20일까지 유지되었다. 유산균 수는 큰 변화없이 유동적이었으며 32일째 PP, STS 및 세라믹 용기에 저장된 김치 시료 각각 4.87, 5.44 및 5.35 Log CFU/g으로 나타났다. 미생물 균총 분석에서는 용기 종류에 상관없이 Leuconostoc gelidum과 Lactobacillus algidus 종이 김치 저장기간에 따라 우점종으로 확인되었으며 세라믹 용기에 저장된 김치 시료에서만 20일째 호냉성 김치유산균인 Weissella koreensis 종이 다른 용기의 시료에 비해 상대적으로 높은 비율로 나타났다. 결론적으로 김치냉장고와 같이 저온에서 김치를 저장할 경우 저장용기로서 세라믹 재질의 용기를 사용할 경우 김치의 품질 유지 측면에서 장점을 가질 수 있다.