Abstract
This study was performed to investigate the use of plant-based lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to reduce microbiological hazards in kimchi. Cell-free supernatants (CFS) from four LAB strains isolated from kimchi were tested for antimicrobial activity against five foodborne pathogens and two soft-rot pathogens. Each CFS showed antimicrobial activity against both foodborne and soft-rot pathogens. Washing salted kimchi cabbages inoculated with B. cereus with 5% CFS inhibited B. cereus to a greater extent than NaClO. The CFS from WiKim 83 and WiKim 87 exhibits inhibition rates of 25.09% and 24.21%, respectively, compared to the 19.19% rate of NaClO. Additionally, the CFS from WiKim 116 and WiKim 117 showed inhibition rates of 18.74% and 20.03%, respectively. Direct treatment of kimchi cabbage with soft-rot pathogens and CFS for five days inhibited the pathogens with similar efficacy to that of NaClO. To elucidate the antimicrobial activity mechanisms, pH neutralization, heat treatment, and organic acid analyses were performed. pH neutralization reduced the antimicrobial activity, whereas heat treatment did not, indicating that lactic, acetic, citric, and phenyllactic acids contribute to the thermal stability and antimicrobial properties of CFS. This study suggests that the four kimchi-derived LAB, which maintain a low pH through organic acid production, could be viable food preservatives capable of reducing biological hazards in kimchi.