Potential Starter Candidate Based on Safety and Technological Evaluation of from Kimchi, Korean Traditional Fermented Vegetables.

Continuous screening of suitable starter candidates for fermented foods necessary based on safety and technological evaluations. For this purpose, 34 strains isolated from kimchi were evaluated to select potential starter candidates. All tested strains were susceptible to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, erythromycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, and vancomycin. However, 32 strains exhibited resistance to streptomycin, while 2 showed resistance to tetracycline. None of the strains demonstrated hemolytic activity. All strains exhibited protease activity and acid production, but none displayed amylase or lipase activity. Notably, all strains exhibited antibacterial activity against ATCC 19111 and KCCM 11862. Furthermore, antibacterial activity was observed in 70.6%, 79.4%, 79.4%, 73.5%, and 32.4% of strains against KCCM 11341, KCTC 2011, ATCC 12692, sp. KCCM 11374, and KCTC 2729, respectively. Based on these assessments, strain DMLL15 was identified as the most promising starter candidate. This strain was sensitive to nine antibiotics, exhibited non-hemolytic activity, demonstrated strong protease activity and acid production, and displayed antibacterial activity against seven pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. These findings support the safety assessment results and highlight the potential application of DMLL15 as a starter candidate in the food industry.