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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from kimchi (a traditional Korean dish typically made of fermented cabbage) can provide various health benefits, including anti-obesity, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial effects. In this study, we examined the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects of

Bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are important alternatives to plant polysaccharides in fermented products and exhibit antioxidant activity, which is particularly desirable for functional foods. This study evaluated the use of spent media wastewater (SMW) derived from kimchi fermentation for the production of an EPS and analyzed the characterization and antioxidant activity of the resulting EPS. The EPS concentration and conversion yields of sequential purification were 7.7-9.0 g/L and 38.6-45.1%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectra and NMR spectra indicated that the EPS was a linear glucan with α-(1 → 6) linkages. The EPS also exhibited thermal tolerance to high temperatures. In vitro antioxidant activity analyses indicated the scavenging activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, thiobarbituric acid reactance (TBAR), and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values of 71.6-79.1, 28.2-33.0%, and 0.04-0.05 mM FeCl3, respectively. These results reveal that the EPS extracted from SMW has potential as a thermally tolerant, nontoxic, and natural antioxidant for industrial applications.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) exert antagonistic activity against root-knot nematodes, mainly by producing organic acids via carbohydrate fermentation. However, they have not yet been used for root-knot nematode (

Although classical metabolic engineering strategies have succeeded in developing microbial strains capable of producing desired bioproducts, metabolic imbalance resulting from extensive genetic manipulation often leads to decreased productivity. Thus, abiotic strategies for improving microbial production performance can be an alternative to overcome drawbacks arising from intensive metabolic engineering. Herein, we report a promising abiotic method for enhancing lycopene production by UV-C irradiation using a radiation-resistant ΔcrtLm/crtB+dxs+ Deinococcus radiodurans R1 strain. First, the onset of UV irradiation was determined through analysis of the expression of 11 genes mainly involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in the ΔcrtLm/crtB+dxs+ D. radiodurans R1 strain. Second, the effects of different UV wavelengths (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C) on lycopene production were investigated. UV-C irradiation induced the highest production, resulting in a 69.9% increase in lycopene content [64.2 ± 3.2 mg/g dry cell weight (DCW)]. Extended UV-C irradiation further enhanced lycopene content up to 73.9 ± 2.3 mg/g DCW, a 95.5% increase compared to production without UV-C irradiation (37.8 ± 0.7 mg/g DCW).

Bacillus methylotrophicus DR-08 exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Ralstonia solanacearum, a causal agent of tomato bacterial wilt. This study aimed to identify the antibacterial metabolites and evaluate the efficacy of the strain as a biocontrol agent for tomato bacterial wilt. A butanol extract of the DR-08 broth culture completely inhibited the growth of 14 phytopathogenic bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 1.95–500 μg/mL. R. solanacearum was highly sensitive to the DR-08 extract, with an MIC value of 12.62 μg/mL. Two antibacterial metabolites were isolated and identified as difficidin and oxydifficidin derivatives through bioassay-guided fractionation and instrumental analyses. Both metabolite derivatives inhibited the growth of most of the phytopathogenic bacteria tested and the oxydifficidin derivatives generally presented a stronger antibacterial activity than the difficidin derivatives. A 30% suspension concentrate of DR-08, at a 500-fold dilution, effectively suppressed the development of tomato bacterial wilt in pot and field experiments. It also effectively reduced the development of bacterial leaf spot symptoms on peach and red pepper. The results of this study suggests that B. methylotrophicus DR-08 can be utilized as a biocontrol agent for various bacterial plant diseases including tomato bacterial wilt.

Lactic acid bacteria produce various bioactive compounds widely used in human healthcare. However, studies on cryoprotective agents for the efficient storage of lactic acid bacteria after freeze-drying are still lacking. Here, we report the shelf-life extension effects of a highly efficient and eco-friendly cryoprotective agent and a cold adaptation method on Lactobacillus sakei WiKim31. Cold adaptation of L. sakei WiKim31 increased exopolysaccharide expression in response to abiotic stress. As a possible cryoprotective agent, the citrus byproduct (CP) contains a variety of sugars, amino acids, and cations, exhibiting high antioxidant activity. L. sakei WiKim31 powders formulated with CP or a mixture of soy powder (SP) and CP exhibited high cell viability at 58.3 and 76.3%, respectively, after 56 days of storage. These results indicate that CP can be efficiently used as a novel cryoprotective agent either alone or in combination with SP to improve the storage conditions of L. sakei WiKim31 and preserve it longer.

The biorefining of agricultural waste into green chemicals has clear potential for improving global environmental sustainability. In this study, we evaluated the potential of acetic acid production from carbohydrate feedstock (onion waste, OW) as a more environmentally friendly source than feedstock produced from natural gas. In particular, OW is an ideal feedstock for the biorefining process as it contains a sufficient amount of carbohydrates (69.7%). Five days of the simultaneous saccharification and two-step fermentation (SSTF) process produced acetic acid from OW more efficiently than the simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF) process. SSTF produced 19.3 g/L acetic acid and recorded the highest conversion yield (90.5%) from OW (6% substrate loading, w/v). These results suggested that acetic acid can be efficiently and sustainably produced from OW by the SSTF process.

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) are among the most destructive plant-parasites worldwide, and RKN control has been attempted mainly using chemical nematicides. However, these chemical nematicides have negative effects on humans and the environment, thus necessitating the search for eco-friendly alternative RKN control methods. Here, we screened nematicidal lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from kimchi and evaluated their efficacy as biocontrol agents against RKNs. Of 237 bacterial strains, Lactobacillus brevis WiKim0069 showed the strongest nematicidal activity against the second-stage juveniles (J2) of Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria, and M. hapla and inhibited the egg hatch of M. incognita. The culture filtrate of WiKim0069 had a pH of 4.2 and contained acetic acid (11,190 μg/ml), lactic acid (7,790 μg/ml), malic acid (470 μg/ml), and succinic acid (660 μg/ml). An artificial mixture of the four organic acids produced by WiKim0069 also induced 98% M. incognita J2 mortality at a concentration of 1.25%, indicating that its nematicidal activity was derived mainly from the four organic acids. Application of WiKim0069 culture filtrate suppressed the formation of galls and egg masses on tomato roots by M. incognita in a dose-dependent manner in a pot experiment. The fermentation broth of WiKim0069 also reduced gall formation on melon under field conditions, with a higher efficacy (62.8%) than that of fosthiazate (32.8%). This study is the first report to identify the effectiveness of kimchi LAB against RKNs and to demonstrate that the organic acids produced by LAB can be used for the RKN management.

Organic acids released during the decomposition of organic soil amendments have been used in crop fields as benign chemicals to control phytopathogens. However, the use of organic acids against root-knot nematodes (RKNs, Meloidogyne spp.) has not been recommended in practice, owing to their short retention time in the soil. In this study, we tested the nematicidal activity of organic acids including maleic, fumaric, acetic, acrylic, caprylic, oxalic, and formic acids, as well as copper sulfate against Meloidogyne incognita. Maleic acid showed the strongest nematicidal activity with induction of 100% second-stage juvenile (J2) mortality and 70.47% hatching inhibition at a concentration of 0.37 mmol/L. In addition, the combination of maleic acid and copper sulfate was revealed to have an additive effect in J2 mortality. Application of a wettable powder-type formulation of a mixture of maleic acid and copper sulfate (MIX-WP30) reduced RKN disease on tomato by 51.72% in a pot experiment, suppressed gall formation on melon and decreased nematode population density in the soil. Under field conditions, the efficacy of MIX-WP30 (46.73%) was comparable with that of the commercial nematicide fosthiazate (48.38%). This study identified the effectiveness of MIX-WP30 against RKNs, and demonstrated that there was an in vivo synergistic effect of MIX-WP30. Based on its nematicidal activity, MIX-WP30 could be used as an effective nematicide for RKN management.

Improving the microbiological quality of salted Chinese cabbage, used in kimchi, an important part of the Asian culinary scene, is critical for minimising exposure to foodborne pathogens. This study evaluated the effects of a sequential combination of washing treatments using plasma-activated water (PAW), tap water, and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and mild heating (MH) at 60 °C on the inactivation of background microbiota and inoculated foodborne pathogens and the quality of shredded salted Chinese cabbages. Treatment with 120-PAW alone resulted in 2.0, 2.2, 1.8, and 0.9 log CFU/g reduction in mesophilic aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeast and moulds, and coliforms, respectively, while subsequent MH treatment reduced the counts of lactic acid bacteria, yeast and moulds, and coliforms to below detection limits. Sequential combination of washing with 120-PAW followed by MH caused 3.4 and 3.7 log CFU/g reductions in Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus inoculated into salted Chinese cabbages. The combined treatment caused negligible changes in moisture content, reducing sugar content, instrumental hardness, and CIE colour values. The salinity and peroxidase activity were significantly (P

This study investigated the effect of radio frequency (RF) heating at 27.12 MHz on the inactivation of pre-existing microorganisms and salting characteristics of shredded kimchi cabbages. Samples of shredded kimchi cabbages were subjected to 27.12 MHz RF heating at different power levels (1,000 and 1,500 W) or to hot water (HW) at 60 and 70℃. RF heating at 1,500 W for 3 min reduced the populations of aerobic bacteria, yeast and molds, coliforms, and lactic acid bacteria in the shredded kimchi cabbage samples by 2.56, 1.26, 4.36, and 4.31 log CFU/g, respectively; moreover, survival plots fitted using the Weibull model for 1,500 W RF heating yielded Dr values of 1.92, 2.66, 1.81, and 0.75 min, respectively. The salinity of shredded kimchi cabbages treated with RF and HW heating increased more rapidly than that of the control during salting. With respect to the moisture content and hardness in the shredded kimchi cabbages, no significant differences were observed among the treatments, after salting for 4 h. In addition, the surface temperature distributions of the RF-heated samples were relatively uniform compared to those of the HW-heated samples. These results clearly indicated that the RF heating technology has the potential to decontaminate kimchi cabbages of pre-existing microorganisms, before the salting process.

Aspergillus niger F22 producing oxalic acid (OA) as a nematicidal component is currently used as a microbial nematicide. OA is known to induce systemic resistance in plant diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses, but the induced resistance of OA has not yet been elucidated in plant diseases caused by root-knot nematodes (RKNs). In this study, we investigated the functional mechanism of induced resistance of A. niger F22 formulation (Nemafree, 20% SC) and OA in tomato plant RKN disease caused by Meloidogyne incognita and analyzed their effectiveness against the disease. Foliar spray and soil drench treatments of Nemafree and OA were effective in the management of M. incognita in tomato plant in-pot experiments. When Nemafree and OA were applied 4 days before inoculation of M. incognita eggs, the treatments of Nemafree (4,000-fold dilution) and OA (0.22 mM) reduced root gall formation by more than 50%. The soil drench treatment also effectively suppressed RKN disease in field experiments. Moreover, the treatments of Nemafree and OA enhanced the transcriptional expression of pathogenesis-related 1 gene, plant proteinase inhibitor-II, and polyphenol oxidase genes and improved the production of total phenols, flavonoids, and lignin in the tomato plants infected with M. incognita. These results demonstrate that RKN diseases can be effectively controlled by induced resistance even at low concentrations of Nemafree or OA. Accordingly, our study provides evidence for more economical and efficient application strategies of microbial nematicides that control RKNs under field conditions.

Bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are important alternatives to plant polysaccharides in fermented products and exhibit antioxidant activity, which is particularly desirable for functional foods. This study evaluated the use of spent media wastewater (SMW) derived from kimchi fermentation for the production of an EPS and analyzed the characterization and antioxidant activity of the resulting EPS. The EPS concentration and conversion yields of sequential purification were 7.7–9.0 g/L and 38.6–45.1%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectra and NMR spectra indicated that the EPS was a linear glucan with α-(1 → 6) linkages. The EPS also exhibited thermal tolerance to high temperatures. In vitro antioxidant activity analyses indicated the scavenging activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, thiobarbituric acid reactance (TBAR), and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values of 71.6–79.1, 28.2–33.0%, and 0.04–0.05 mM FeCl3, respectively. These results reveal that the EPS extracted from SMW has potential as a thermally tolerant, nontoxic, and natural antioxidant for industrial applications.

The present work describes the feasibility of coffee residue extracts as cryoprotective agents in the storage stability of freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria. Coffee residue extracts were extracted from coffee residue, produced after coffee extraction for coffee powder and instant coffee preparation, using an autoclave. Leuconostoc mesenteroides WiKim32 was selected to evaluate the ability of coffee residue extracts to protect bacteria during freeze-dried storage. The storage stability of freeze-dried Leu. mesenteroides WiKim32 with coffee residue extracts was comparable to those with commercial cryoprotective agents. Coffee residue extracts contributed to storage stability immediately after freeze-drying (61.2%) and subsequent storage (48.7%). Our data indicate that the protective effect of the coffee residue extracts is associated with ions, carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds. Coffee residue extracts are feasible materials, which can reduce the storage and distribution costs compared to commercial agents currently available.

The widespread use of synthetic nematicides has caused significant problems to the environment as well as human health. To address this issue, eco-friendly control measures, such as microbial nematicides, are being developed. During the screening of Myrothecium strains with nematicidal activity against the root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita, we found that the acetone extract of Myrothecium sp. KACC 40321 was highly effective against hatched juveniles of M. incognita at 7 days after exposure. The fungus was identified as Meloidogyne verrucaria. Two macrocyclic trichothecenes verrucarin A and roridin A were isolated and identified as major active metabolites by bioassay-guided fractionation and instrumental analysis. When the second-stage juveniles were treated with the chemicals, no juvenile mortality was observed. However, they effectively killed juveniles from treated eggs. The hatched juvenile mortality was used to evaluate the in vitro nematicidal activity of the compounds against M. incognita. The median effective concentrations were 1.88 μg/mL for verrucarin A and 1.50 μg/mL for roridin A. Among various liquid media, commercial malt extract broth (cMEB) was found to be the best for the production of verrucarin A and roridin A, followed by potato dextrose broth. The cMEB culture filtrate effectively reduced the formation of galls and egg masses on tomato roots in a pot experiment. In addition, the culture filtrate reduced the formation of galls on the roots of melon plants and the number of RKNs in the soils under field conditions. These results suggest that M. verrucaria KACC 40321 can be used as a biocontrol agent against RKNs in various crops. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the effectiveness of verrucarin A and rorridin A against hatched juveniles of M. incognita.

The quality characteistics and kimchi processing ability of the kimchi cabbage cultivar ‘Cheonjincheongmayup’ (CC) were analyzed and compared with those of the ‘Chunkwang’ (CK) cultivar. The head weight of CC was lower than that of CK, and the head length of CC was larger than that of CK. CC had narrower and longer mid ribs than CK. Furthermore, the head formation index of CC was lower than that of CK. The firmness and soluble solid content were higher in CC than in CK. The salinity of Cheonjincheongmayup kimchi (CCK) was 2.89-3.02%, which was higher than 1.94-2.10% salinity measured in Chunkwang kimchi (CKK). The initial titratable acidity in CCK was higher than that of CKK, but increasd more slowly during storage. CCK was firmer than CKK; lactic acid bacteria in CCK was lower than in CKK initially, but increased more in CKK than in CCK after six weeks of storage. We found that CC was suitable for making Makkimchi because of its long and narrow mid ribs, saltiness, and slow fermentation. CC should be improved as less hot spicy and less hard texture to use a Makkimchi material.

In this work we improved the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT in a LaxCoFe3Sb12 (x = 0.80, 0.85, 0.90) skutterudite system by applying a conductivity ratio (electrical to thermal) control method based on the phonon-glass electron-crystal (PGEC) approach. Polycrystalline bulks of LaxCoFe3Sb12 were prepared by melt-spinning and subsequent spark plasma sintering. Based on the thermoelectric transport properties and microstructural analysis, we found that large amount of La-filler (x ≥ 0.9) in the LaxCoFe3Sb12 system is necessary to increase the conductivity ratio required to improve the thermoelectric properties in the LaxCoFe3Sb12 system. Resultantly, the maximum ZT value of 0.87 was obtained at 723 K in the heavily filled La0.9CoFe3Sb12. We discuss our results on the basis of the filling level dependence of the rattling effect and on the formation of the skutterudite single phase. We also confirm that a large amount of La-filling level is necessary to meet the electrical neutrality condition of the p-type LaxCoFe3Sb12 skutterudite system.

Dongchimi is a watery variety of kimchi prepared using firm radish and condiments. Over-ripening is the most undesirable outcome of dongchimi fermentation, resulting in softening of texture and an undesirable taste. Herein, the effects of combined treatment with ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation and grape seed extract (GSE) supplementation, followed by supercooled storage, on the quality of dongchimi were investigated. Microbial inactivation tests showed that 6 kJ/m2 UV-C irradiation and 0.1% GSE supplementation before storage significantly reduced the populations of total aerobic bacteria, fungi, and lactic acid bacteria in dongchimi. Supercooled storage (−3 °C) delayed microbial growth in dongchimi compared to refrigeration (4 °C and 10 °C). Supercooled storage also suppressed changes in pH and titratable acidity in dongchimi. The hardness and colour of the radish slices did not vary with the treatments. Sensory evaluation results indicated that the qualities of dongchimi treated with the combination of UV-C and GSE followed by storage at −3 °C were better than those with other treatments. Thus, UV-C irradiation and GSE supplementation improved the final quality and extended dongchimi shelf life under supercooled storage at −3 °C without ice crystal nucleation and formation.

This study aimed to isolate and characterize antibacterial metabolites from Pharbitis nil seeds and investigate their antibacterial activity against various plant pathogenic bacteria. The methanol extract of P. nil seeds showed the strongest activity against Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (Xap) with a minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) value of 250 μg/ml. Among the three solvent layers obtained from the methanol extract of P. nil seeds, only the butanol layer displayed the activity with an MIC value of 125 μg/ml against Xap. An antibacterial fraction was obtained from P. nil seeds by repeated column chromatography and identified as pharbitin, a crude resin glycoside, by instrumental analysis. The antibacterial activity of pharbitin was tested in vitro against 14 phytopathogenic bacteria, and it was found to inhibit Ralstonia solanacearum and four Xanthomonas species. The minimum inhibitory concentration values against the five bacteria were 125-500 μg/ml for the n-butanol layer and 31.25-125 μg/ml for pharbitin. In a detached peach leaf assay, it effectively suppressed the development of bacterial leaf spot, with a control value of 87.5% at 500 μg/ml. In addition, pharbitin strongly reduced the development of bacterial wilt on tomato seedlings by 97.4% at 250 μg/ml, 7 days after inoculation. These findings suggest that the crude extract of P. nil seeds can be used as an alternative biopesticide for the control of plant diseases caused by R. solanacearum and Xanthomonas spp. This is the first report on the antibacterial activity of pharbitin against phytopathogenic bacteria.

BACKGROUND The endolichenic fungus Xylaria grammica KCTC 13121BP showed strong nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita. This study aims to identify the nematicidal metabolites and to evaluate the efficacy of the strain as a biocontrol agent under pot and field conditions. RESULTS Bioassay-guided fractionation and instrumental analyses led to grammicin being identified as the nematicidal metabolite. Because patulin is a mycotoxic isomer of grammicin and is known to have strong antibacterial and cytotoxic activities, several biological activities of the two compounds were compared. Grammicin showed strong second-stage juvenile killing and egg-hatching inhibitory effects, with an EC50/72 h value of 15.9 μg/mL and EC50/14d value of 5.87 μg/mL, respectively, whereas patulin was virtually inactive in both respects. Patulin was strongly active toward various phytopathogenic bacteria in vitro, whereas grammicin was weakly so. Patulin at the concentration range of 0.1–10 μg/mL also showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity toward the human first-trimester trophoblast cell line SW.71, whereas grammicin was not toxic toward this cell line. In pot and field experiments, a wettable powder-type formulation and fermentation broth filtrate of X. grammica KCTC 13121BP effectively suppressed the development of root-knot nematode disease on tomato and melon plants. CONCLUSION The results suggest that X. grammica and grammicin may have potential applications for control of root-knot nematode disease of various crops.

The aim of this study was to identify volatile and agar-diffusible antifungal metabolites produced by Bacillus sp. G341 with strong antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic fungi. Strain G341 isolated from four-year-old roots of Korean ginseng with rot symptoms was identified as Bacillus velezensis based on 16S rDNA and gyrA sequences. Strain G341 inhibited mycelial growth of all phytopathogenic fungi tested. In vivo experiment results revealed that n-butanol extract of fermentation broth effectively controlled the development of rice sheath blight, tomato gray mold, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust, barley powdery mildew, and red pepper anthracnose. Two antifungal compounds were isolated from strain G341 and identified as bacillomycin L and fengycin A by MS/MS analysis. Moreover, volatile compounds emitted from strain G341 were found to be able to inhibit mycelial growth of various phytopathogenic fungi. Based on volatile compound profiles of strain G341 obtained through headspace collection and analysis on GC-MS, dimethylsulfoxide, 1-butanol, and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (acetoin) were identified. Taken together, these results suggest that B. valezensis G341 can be used as a biocontrol agent for various plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi.

Quality characteristics of frozen cylindrical pork loin were evaluated following different tempering methods: 27.12 MHz curved-electrode radio frequency (RF) at 1000 and 1500 W, and forced-air convection (FC) or water immersion (WI) at 4°C and 20°C. The developed RF tempering system with the newly designed curved-electrode achieved relatively uniform tempering compared to a parallel-plate RF system. FC tempering at 4°C was the most time-consuming process, whereas 1500 W RF was the shortest. Pork sample drip loss, water holding capacity, color, and microbiological quality declined after WI tempering at 20°C. Conversely, RF tempering yielded minimal sample changes in drip loss, microstructure, color, and total aerobic bacteria counts, along with relatively uniform internal sample temperature distributions compared to those of the other tempering treatments. These results indicate that curved-electrode RF tempering could be used to provide rapid defrosting with minimal quality deterioration of cylindrical frozen meat block products.

Rapid colorimetric methods using various indicator reagents have been developed to monitor bacterial viability. Here, we examined the applicability of a method based on the reduction of resazurin or water-soluble tetrazolium salt-8 (WST-8) to screen lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for growth, tolerance against bile acid and low pH. The resazurin reduction test proved unsuitable for screening LAB such as Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides since it reacted with acid present in the cultures. LAB growth could be indirectly quantified by measuring WST-8 reduction. This method proved more sensitive and quickly results than counting bacterial colony forming units and turbidity at 600 nm in the presence of bile and acid. Our results suggested that the WST-8-based method could be useful for the characterization of growth and tolerance of the lactic acid producing bacteria.

Herbicidin A is a potent herbicide against dicotyledonous plants as well as an antibiotic against phytopathogens. In this study, fermentation parameters for herbicidin A production in submerged culture of Streptomyces scopuliridis M40 were investigated. The herbicidin A concentration varied with the C/N ratio. High C/N ratios (>4) resulted in a herbicidin A production of more than 900 mg/l, whereas maximally 600 mg/l was obtained at ratios between 1 and 3.5. In 5-L batch fermentation, there was a positive correlation between the oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and herbicidin A production. Once the OUR increased, the substrate consumption rate increased, leading to an increase in volumetric productivity. Mechanical shear force affected the hyphal morphology and OUR. When the medium value of hyphal size ranged from 150 to 180 μm, high volumetric production of herbicidin A was obtained with OUR values >137 mg O2/l·h. The highest herbicidin A concentration of 956.6 mg/l was obtained at 500 rpm, and coincided with the highest relative abundance of hyphae of 100-200 μm length and the highest OUR during cultivation. Based on a constant impeller tip speed, which affects hyphal morphology, herbicidin A production was successfully scaled up from a 5-L jar to a 500-L pilot vessel.

This study was performed to determine the rapid thawing method for reducing the thawing time of frozen pork loins and to examine the effects of supercooling on the microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory qualities of fresh and frozen-thawed pork during storage at -1.5, 4, and 15°C. Forced-air thawing at 4°C was the most time-consuming process, whereas radio frequency thawing time was the shortest by dielectric heating. The supercooling storage temperature was chosen to be -1.5°C because microstructural damages were not observed in the pork sample after cooling at -1.5°C for 24 h. Fresh or frozen-thawed pork loins stored at -1.5°C had lower drip loss and total volatile base nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance, and Hunter b* levels than loins stored at 4 and 15°C. In addition, the least degree of increase in preexisting microorganisms counts of the fresh or frozen-thawed pork loin samples was obtained during supercooled storage at -1.5°C. Sensory quality results of fresh and frozen-thawed pork loin samples stored at -1.5°C showed higher scores than the samples stored at 4 and 15°C. These data indicate that supercooling at -1.5°C in the meat processing industry would be effective for maintaining the quality of pork meats without ice crystal nucleation and formation.

The aim of this study was to develop a new salting condition that included added maltodextrin (MD) and grape seed extract (GSE) to ensure the microbiological safety and quality of salted shredded Korean cabbage. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to analyze the effects of four independent variables (NaCl concentration, salting duration, MD concentration, and GSE concentration). The following response variables were evaluated: reduction in total aerobic bacteria, yeast, and mold counts; weight loss and salt content; and taste, texture, and overall acceptability of salted shredded Korean cabbage. The optimal salting conditions include a combination of 10.09~10.32% NaCl, 9.45~10.00% MD, and 234~300 ppm GSE in a ternary salting solution and a salting duration of 5.68~5.94 hr. This optimal combination reduced total aerobic bacterial and yeast/molds counts by 3.33 and 1.45 log CFU/g, respectively, while maintaining high sensory scores for taste, texture, and overall acceptability of the salted shredded Korean cabbage. In addition, the optimal conditions yielded more acceptable weight loss and salt content characteristics. The results suggest that use of the optimized combination of salting conditions can improve the microbiological safety and quality of salted shredded Korean cabbage used for commercial kimchi production.