Isolation and Characterization of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Kimchi, Korean Traditional Fermented Food to Apply into Fermented Dairy Products

This study aimed to isolate lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from Kimchi and to identify suitable probiotic strain for application in fermented dairy product as a commercial starter culture. A total of 106 (LAB) strains were isolated from Kimchi collected from different regions in Korea and their phenotypic characteristics were assayed. Four isolates from MRS agar plates were selected and designated as DKL109, DKL119, DKL121 and DKL128. They were identified first by API 50 CHL kit and then 16S rRNA gene sequencing. DKL121 and DKL128 were identified as Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus casei, respectively. Other two isolates (DKL109 and DKL119) were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum. To estimate their applicability in dairy products, the characteristics including acid and bile tolerance, cold shock induced cryotolerance and enzymatic activities were determined. There was wide variation in ability of strains to acid tolerance, but no significant differences in bile tolerance, cold shock induced cryotolerance within selected strains. DKL119 and DKL121 showed the highest resistance to acid and bile and the highest β-galactosidase activity, respectively. When these two strains were used for yogurt preparation as a single starter culture, their viable cell counts reached to 1.0×10^9 CFU/mL. Lactobacillus plantarum DKL119 showed faster acid development than commercial starter culture. Also storage trials at 10oC showed that the viability of these strains was retained over 15 d. With these results, it was indicated that probiotics isolated from Kimchi can be used in yogurt manufacturing as a starter culture.