Abstract
Recently, kimchi has been recognized as a healthy food worldwide, prompting increased interest in its health benefits and quality characteristics. Although commercial kimchi is manufactured in various countries, little is known about quality differences between the kimchi from different countries. To clarify differences in quality characteristics, minerals, free sugars, organic acids, free amino acids, and volatile compounds, commercial kimchi manufactured in Korea, China, and the United States were investigated. The composition of the microbial community and antioxidant activity were compared. Mineral and free sugar contents were high in Korean commercial kimchi, while the organic acid content was relatively low. The free amino acid content was markedly higher in Korean kimchi than that in kimchi manufactured in China and the United States. In addition, the volatile compound content differed between the kimchi produced in different countries. Considering the microbial communities, Leuconostoc and Weissella were more abundant in commercial kimchi from Korea than that from China or the United States. Commercial kimchi in Korea showed the highest antioxidant activity. These results support the high quality and antioxidant activity of commercial kimchi manufactured in Korea, emphasizing its importance in the global kimchi industry.
Highlights
Kimchi is a well-known traditional Korean fermented food
We compared commercial kimchi manufactured in Korea, China, and the United States for their mineral composition, free sugar, organic acid, free amino acid, and volatile compound contents
The salinity levels of commercial kimchi from Korea and China were similar, while that of commercial kimchi from the United States was relatively high at 2.31 ± 0.41%
Summary
Kimchi is a well-known traditional Korean fermented food. Kimchi is commonly known to contain abundant nutrients and functional ingredients; and it exhibits various health benefits, including antioxidant [3,4,5], anti-obesity [6,7,8], anti-diabetic [9,10], and anti-cancer effects [11,12], among others. Interest in its health benefits is increasing worldwide, along with expectations for vegetable fermented food, including kimchi, sauerkraut, and suancai for the prevention of COVID-19. There is ongoing kimchi research focused on its health benefits. The functionality of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from kimchi is analyzed extensively [15,16,17]
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