Effects of the main ingredients of the fermented food, kimchi, on bacterial composition and metabolite profile

Kimchi is a fermented food prepared via spontaneous fermentation by lactic acid bacteria originating from raw ingredients. To investigate the effect of these ingredients on food fermentation, four types of food that differed only in their main raw ingredients (kimchi cabbage, green onion, leaf mustard, and young radish) were evaluated. The major microorganisms were Leuconostoc gelidum, Weissella kandleri, and Lactobacillus sakei groups. The distribution of these species depended on the sample type. All three species were primarily distributed in the food prepared from kimchi cabbage and young radish; however, the Lac. sakei group was hardly found in the food prepared using green onion and leaf mustard. Metabolite analysis results showed that the free sugar, organic acid, ethanol, and amino acid profiles differed with the sample type. This study indicates that the main ingredients could be an important factor in determining the composition of the microbial community and the metabolite composition.