• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.857-860
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• 2008

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is a bioactive material used in the treatment of depression, osteoarthritis, and liver disease. To obtain lactic acid bacteria (LAB) producing high concentrations of SAM, LAB were isolated from commercial kimchi and from prepared kimchi products that contained shrimp jeotgal (fermented salty seafood) or sand lance jeotgal or that were fermented at 5 or $10^{\circ}C$, respectively, when pH was 4.2 to 4.8 and titratable acidity 0.6 to 0.9. Among the 179 LAB strains isolated from the fermented kimchi products, the genus Leuconostoc produced the highest intracellular level of SAM (1.58 mM) and Lactobacillus produced the second highest level (up to 1.47 mM) in the strain culture. This is the first study to quantify SAM in LAB isolated from fermented kimchi prepared by a general kimchi recipe. Ultimately, the selected strains (Leuconostoc mesentroides subsp. mesenteroides/dextranicum KSK417, L. mesentroides subsp. mesenteroides/dextranicum KJM401, and Lactobacillus bifermentans QMW327) could be useful as starters to manufacture fermented foods containing high levels of SAM.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.265-273
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• 2021

The Chinese Sigyeong records the foods of the Primitive Pickling Period, pickling being a universal vegetable storage method, but does not indicate the origin of the pickled vegetables or the location of the source of transmission. Kimchi mainly used salt and sauce-based soaking materials at the beginning of the Fermented Pickling Period (beginning in the 1st to 3rd centuries A.D.), and it differed from the Chinese method, which used alcohol and vinegar. In the Umami-Flavored Pickling Period (beginning in the 14th and 15th centuries A.D.), jeotgal, fermented seafoods, were added, and pickles with a completely new identity were created, one different from any other pickles in the world. Lastly, entering the Complex Fermentation and Pickling Period (beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries), the technical process evolved using a separate special seasoning containing red pepper as the secondary immersion source after pickling in brine, the primary immersion source. As a result of this, kimchi was transformed into a food with a unique form and taste not found anywhere else. The unique characteristic of kimchi is that the composition of original materials, a combination of salted marine life and vegetable ingredients, is its core identity, and there is a methodological difference in that it is completed through a second process called saesaengchae (生菜)-chimchae (沈菜).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.274-283
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• 2021

What is the origin of kimchi and what changes did it go through to become the kimchi of today? Also, what makes kimchi different from other pickled vegetables such as Chinese paochai, Japanese tsukemono, and Western pickles, and sauerkraut, and what is the identity of kimchi? This study is the result of thought on these fundamental questions about kimchi which is the only pickled vegetable distributed around the world that uses a fermented and ripened animal seasoning called jeotgal (salted marine life) to dramatically improve its umami taste and nutritional value, thereby securing its uniqueness. Kimchi has further evolved into a unique and high-quality pickled vegetable through the use of its specialized seasoning, adopting a composite fermentation mechanism and absorbing new ingredients such as red pepper. It is expected that this paper will invigorate the discussion on the firm establishment of the identity of kimchi and the future direction that it may take.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.235-245
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• 2024

In archaeology, the discovery of pottery is treated as an important indicator of human civilization, and the history of human development is divided according to its form and pattern. However, through the eyes of a food scientist, mankind's first bioreactor can be seen in earthenware. The oldest pieces of pottery ever discovered (before 10,000 BC) are being excavated in Northeast Asia, and the author is asserting the hypothesis that the coast of the Korea Strait of the Korean Peninsula could be a birthplace of the Primitive Pottery Culture. The use of earthenware marks the beginning of boiling culture and fermentation technology, and is the origin of the Korean people's traditional food culture including Tang and Jjigae (stew) culture and kimchi and jeotgal (fermented fish) culture. Among the three Northeast Asian countries (China, Korea, and Japan), the necessary and sufficient conditions for inferring that Korea Strait is a birthplace of primitive pottery culture. These are discussed with a focus on the unique food culture of the Korean people.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.148-165
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• 2020

At beginning the fermentation is naturally occurred by natural microbes. Fermentation techniques apply as two ways, one is fermentation to produce fermented foods and the other is preservation of the foods for longer time for future. They contain various biological active ingredient, like as vitamins. Microorganisms concerning fermentation are well known the functionalities. Each nations in the world have unique and distinct foods and dietary habits on their own specific cultures and accessible edible raw resources of plant or animal origins. Many countries have their unique traditional fermented foods based on their natural conditions. Korea has very famous traditional fermented foods, as Kimchi, fermented soybean products(Jang), fermented fish products(Jeotgal) and vinegar. In this review will discuss the overall fermented foods and typical Korean traditional fermented foods with functionalities, and future effort to enlarge into wide range of new industry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.1481-1487
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• 2016

Lactic acid bacteria showing alginate-degrading and cellulolytic activity were isolated and identified as a starter for seaweed fermentation. A total of 331 strains of lactic acid bacteria isolated from various Korean traditional foods, such as Kimchi, Jeotgal, and Makgeolli, were examined alginate-degrading and cellulolytic activity by the plate assay method. Six strains showed strong alginate-degrading and cellulolytic activity among the isolated 331 strains. Among these six strains, four strains (strain No. 162, 164, 192, and 196) showed probiotic properties (antimicrobial activity, tolerance to simulated gastric juice, artificial bile acid, and NaCl). No. 192 strain (Gram-positive cocci, catalase negative, and homofermentative) showed the best probiotic properties among selected strains and was identified as Enterococcus faecium by 16S rRNA sequencing. Strain No. 192 (E. faecium) showed the best growth and antioxidative activity during seaweed (sea mustard and sea tangle) fermentation for 72 h at $37^{\circ}C$ among the four selected strains.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.1626-1631
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• 2012

Sixty strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated from kimchi and used as a starter for fermented tofu. Among the isolated strains, strain KL-6 showed antimicrobial activity against various pathogens, antioxidative activity, and viability in artificial gastric juice and artificial bile acid. The selected strain KL-6 was identified as Pediococcus acidilactici KL-6 by morphological and physiological tests, including Gram staining, catalase test, and 16S rRNA sequencing. The fermentation characteristics of tofu with a kimchi ingredient mixture (Control) consisting of red pepper, garlic, ginger, sugar, salt, jeotgal, and juice of chinese cabbage were compared with those of tofus inoculated with strain KL-6 and the kimchi ingredient mixture (TL) or a pre-fermented kimchi ingredient mixture (TPL) for 24 hr at $37^{\circ}C$. The pH levels of all tested tofu samples decreased after 1 week of fermentation, reaching 3.96 (control), 3.97 (TL), and 4.03 log cfu/g (TPL) after fermentation for 14 weeks at $20^{\circ}C$. Total aerobe content of fermented tofu increased until 2 weeks of fermentation, but decreased steadily thereafter. The number of lactic acid bacteria reached $10^6$ cfu/g after 1 week of fermentation in TL and TPL, whereas it took 2 weeks for the control. The number of lactic acid bacteria in all tested tofu samples reached $10^3$ cfu/g after 14 weeks of fermentation at $20^{\circ}C$. Coliform bacteria were not detected in TL or TPL after 1 week of fermentation. The sensory scores of TL and TPL were higher than that of control in terms of taste, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability. The sensory quality of TPL was the best among all tested fermented tofu samples.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.571-577
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• 2013

Our aim was to ferment soymilk using lactic acid bacteria that showed protease activity and to optimize the condition for fermentation. In total, 108 strains of protease-producing lactic acid bacteria were isolated from various fermented foods such as kimchi and jeotgal, and among them, 29 strains displaying the highest protease activity were selected for further study. From these 29 strains, strain MK1, whose protease activity was 126 $mU/mL{\cdot}min$, was selected as the optimal fermentation strain owing to its high ability to digest soymilk protein. It was henceforth labeled as Lactobacillus paracasei MK1. The optimum conditions for the fermentation of soymilk by using L. paracasei MK1 were determined to be as follows: 30 h of fermentation time at a temperature of $30^{\circ}C$, and at a pH of 6.0 in the initial growth medium.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.733-741
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• 2021

Jeju island is the largest island of South Korea, and has a relatively warm climate due to its geographical characteristics. These features have fostered development of various fermented foods distinct to Jeju island. Therefore, the functional activity of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from the Jeju region's traditional fermented foods, including Kimchi and Jeotgal was characterized in this study. Fifteen strains were isolated from 6 types of fermented food. These strains include Enterococcus spp., Lactoplantibacillus spp., and Weisella spp. Several experiments were carried out to assess functional characteristics including acid resistance, bile resistance, hemolysis, DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, and cholesterol-lowering activity. Three isolated strains (J-4, J-6 and J-10) exhibited high acid resistance, while the other 3 isolates (J-1, J-4 and J-6) showed high bile salt resistance. The strains displayed varied DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity: 71.14-86.42% among the first 3 strains, and 50.11-75.11% among the remaining 3 strains. Cholesterol-lowering activities were in the range 15.74-82.90% for all isolated strains. In conclusion, these studies suggest that isolated LAB strains from Jeju island traditional fermented foods possess the potential for broader application in the food industry.