• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.135-146
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• 2022

Obesity is closely associated with profound dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease. Recent reports have suggested that alterations in gut microbiota can be linked to diet-induced obesity. In this study, the anti-obesity effects of Weissella confusa WIKIM51 isolated from kimchi were investigated, as evidenced by: i) reduced lipid accumulation and downregulated adipogenesis-related genes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes; ii) suppressed gains in body weight and epididymal fat mass; iii) reduced serum lipid levels, for example, triglyceride and total cholesterol; iv) increased serum adiponectin levels and reduced serum leptin levels; v) downregulated lipogenesis and upregulated β-oxidation-related genes in the epididymal fat; and vi) altered microbial communities. The collective evidence indicate the potential value of W. confusa WIKIM51 as a functional food supplement for the prevention and amelioration of obesity.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2018

Purpose: This review article provides an overview of the trends of research papers on the health benefits of kimchi and kimchi lactic acid bacteria published from 1995 to 2017. Methods: All publications from 1995 to 2017 regarding kimchi and kimchi lactic acid bacteria were collected, reviewed, and classified. This review article covers the publications of the health benefits of kimchi and kimchi lactic acid bacteria on experimental, clinical trials, and epidemiology studies. Results: The number of publications on kimchi over the period were 590: 385 publications in Korean and 205 publications in English. The number of publications on the health benefits of kimchi and kimchi lactic acid bacteria were 95 in Korean and 54 in English. The number of publications on kimchi and kimchi lactic acid bacteria were 84 and 38, respectively, in the experimental models. Ten research papers on kimchi in clinical trials and 7 publications in epidemiology were found. Kimchi or kimchi lactic acid bacteria had protective effects against oxidative stress, mutagenicity, toxicity, cancer, dyslipidemia, hypertension, immunity, and inflammation in in vitro, cellular, and in vivo animal models. Moreover, kimchi had effects on the serum lipids, intestinal microbiota, iron status, obesity, and metabolic parameters in human clinical trials. In epidemiology, kimchi had effects on hypertension, asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, cholesterol levels, and free radicals. Conclusion: This review focused on the publications regarding the health benefits of kimchi and kimchi lactic acid bacteria, suggesting the future directions of studies about kimchi and kimchi lactic acid bacteria by producing a database for an evaluation of the health benefits of kimchi.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.440-446
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• 2021

GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) has various beneficial effects on human health such as anti-hypertension, diuretic, tranquilizer, sleep induction and anti-stress functions. In this study, the properties and the antioxidizing effects of a fermented solution was investigated by applying GABA producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from kimchi to corn silk extract. Lactobacillus plantarum LAB459 was identified by physiological properties, carbohydrate fermentation pattern and 16s rRNA sequence analysis. Also, the GABA production ability of the separated L. plantarum LAB459 was confirmed through TLC and HPLC analysis. Moreover, from the fermentation of corn silk extract with skim milk, it was revealed that approximately 1 ㎍/mg of GABA produced by lyophilized ferments was yielded. Lastly, the flavonoid content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were found to be high in the lyophilized ferments than in the aqueous extracts. Therefore, L. plantarum LAB459 is considered to be used as a starter culture for various fermented foods or in food and medicinal materials.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 2011

Applying ginger to processed foods to improve health is limited due to its pungent odor. In this study, fermented gingers were prepared using lactic acid bacteria from dairy products or kimchi and their chemical and sensory properties were examined. Adding dried ginger or fermented gingers (GSt, GLa, GLm) to plain yogurt made them less tasty and lowered the overall acceptability of yogurt except GLp. For all fermented gingers including GLp, the characteristic flavors of the ginger decreased by fermentation so adding fermented ginger into yogurt did not affect its flavor significantly. Thus GLp would be expected to be a food ingredient instead of dried ginger without lowering organoleptic qualities. The content of 6-gingerol, a bioactive component in ginger, decreased in all fermented gingers. However, 6-shogaol, which increased in GSt, GLa, and GLm, was not detected in GLp.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.618-629
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to optimize the fermentation condition of black bean by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and to evaluate the quality characteristics of fermented black bean. Lactobacillus plantarum SU22 isolated from kimchi was selected as a starter for the fermentation of black bean because the strain exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria and did not produce biogenic amines or a carcinogenic enzyme, β-glucuronidase. Fermentation was performed with broth containing puffed black bean (PBB) inoculated with 1% (v/v) of L. plantarum SU22 at 37℃ for 48h. The viable cell count of LAB was over 9 Log CFU/mL in PBB (20%) broth fermented with L. plantarum SU22. Fermentation of alcalase-treated PBB (20%) broth with L. plantarum SU22 was found to be the optimal condition, increasing viable cell count of LAB up to 10.30 Log CFU/mL. Under the optimal condition, the total polyphenol content (94.02 mg GAE/g) and DPPH radical scavenging activity (92.50%) were significantly increased, compared to non-fermented control (87.74 mg GAE/g, 83.14%).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2016

The probiotic effects of kimchi lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Lactobacillus plantarum (Lab. plantarum) and Leuconostoc mesenteroides (Leu. mesenteroides), were studied. Lab. plantarum KCCM 11352P (LPpnu) and Leu. mesenteroides KCCM 11353P (LMpnu) were isolated from kimchi and were the predominant LAB. We compared their probiotic effects with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LRgg), a well-known probiotic LAB. LPpnu showed better probiotic activities than LRgg. LMpnu also exhibited almost equal activities as LRgg. These two kimchi LAB strains exhibited resistance to gastric and bile acid, adhesion to intestines, and thermal stability. In particular, LPpnu showed excellent probiotic properties. In addition, LPpnu showed greater antioxidant activity by scavenging DPPH radicals or hydroxyl radicals than LMpnu or LRgg. LPpnu also inhibited growth of HT-29 human colon cancer cells by inducing apoptosis, increasing Bax and suppressing Bcl-2 expression compared to LMpnu or LRgg. Taken together, LPpnu and LMpnu could be used as probiotics, and LPpnu exhibited the most beneficial probiotic activities with anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.1717-1724
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• 2016

Probiotic effects of Lactobacillus plantarum pF1 NITE-P1462 (Lp-pF1), L. plantarum KCCM 11352P (Lp-PNU), L. plantarum CBT LP3 KCTC 10782BP (Lp-CB), and L. plantarum KCTC 3099 (Lp-3099) isolated from kimchi and Lactococcus lactis KFCC 11510P (L-lactis) isolated from Doenjang were studied. Resistance to gastric and bile acid, adhesion to intestines in colon cells, thermal stability, and antioxidative and in vitro anticancer effects in HT-29 cancer cells were evaluated. L. plantarum strains showed improved tolerance of gastric and bile acids than L-lactis. Lp-pF1 had better adhesion ability in the intestine than Lp-PNU, Lp-3099, and L-lactis. Lp-pF1 also showed better heat resistance at $50^{\circ}C$, $70^{\circ}C$, and $80^{\circ}C$ than Lp-CB, Lp-3099, and L-lactis. In addition, Lp-pF1 exhibited greater antioxidant activity by scavenging DPPH radicals or hydroxyl radicals and anticancer effects in MTT assay than others. Taken together, these results suggest that L. plantarum isolated from kimchi showed higher probiotic activities with antioxidant and anticancer properties than Lac. lactis isolated from Doenjang. Lp-pF1 revealed the best probiotic activities among L. plantarum and could be used as a promising potential probiotics.