• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.534-539
• /
• 2007

The present study was carried out to investigate the potential acute toxicity of Leuconostoc citreum GJ7 (Leu. citreum GJ7), a lactic acid bacterium isolated from Kimchi, in ICR male and female mice. The test article was administered to the mice orally or intraperitoneally. Mortality rates, clinical findings, and body weight changes were monitored for the 2 weeks following administration. The results showed that in 50% of the cases, lethal doses ($LD_{50}$) of Leu. citreum GJ7 were determined as >5, 000 mg/kg (p.o.) and >2500 mg/kg (i.p.) in both sexes. There were no significant changes in general conditions, body weights clinical signs and any gross lesions between vehicle control and Leu. citreum GJ7-treated groups. Hence, it is suggested that Leu. citreum GJ7 does not induce any significant acute toxicity in ICR mice.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.196-203
• /
• 2006

Three slime-forming lactic acid bacteria were isolated from Kimchi and shown to produce viscous exopolysaccharides (EPS) in sucrose media. The isolated strains, GJ2, C3 and C11, were identified as Leuconostoc kimchii, Leuconostoc citreum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides, respectively, by examining their metabolic characteristics and determining their 16S rDNA sequences. Leu. kimchii GJ2, Leu. citreum C3 and Leu. mesenteroides C11 exhibited high viability (maintained initial viable cell count of $10^8$ CFU/ml) in 0.05 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) for 2 h, in artificial gastric juice for 2 h and in 0.3% oxgall for 24 h. When tested, Leu. kimchii GJ2, in particular, displayed antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms. Leu. kimchii GJ2, Leu. citreum C3 and Leu. mesenteroides C11 produced 21.49 g/l, 16.46 g/l and 22.98 g/l EPS, respectively, in sucrose (5%) medium. The amount of purified EPS extracted from Leu. kimchii GJ2, Leu. citreum C3 and Leu. mesenteroides C11 was 14.61 g/l, 7.73 g/l and 4.77 g/l, respectively. Although the EPS produced by Leu. kimchii GJ2, Leu. citreum C3 and Leu. mesenteroides C11 differed in viscosity, TLC and HPLC analysis revealed that each contained only one type of monosaccharide, glucose. The average molecular mass of EPS produced by Leu. kimchii GJ2 was 306,606 Da.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.456-464
• /
• 2014

Kimchi was prepared with three types of salt (4-year-aged solar salt, FS; 1-year-aged solar salt, OS; and purified salt, PS), using Leuconostoc citreum GJ7 as the starter culture. The prepared kimchi was fermented (up to 0.5-0.6% of acidity) and stored for 5 months at $-1^{\circ}C$. During the storage period, the acidity of FS kimchi increased gradually, whereas that of PS kimchi increased sharply. The yellowness (b) color value of PS kimchi (63.4) was higher than that of other kimchis with solar salts (55.6-60.3). Hardness of FS kimchi (1,912.6 gf) was greater than that of the other kimchis (1,554.4-1,650.2 gf) during the storage period. Moreover, sensory evaluation showed higher scores for FS kimchi than for other kimchis. These results suggest that FS is more suitable salt than PS for long-term storage of kimchi.