The acidity of soy curd fermented by lactic acid bacteria is a major factor degrading the sensory properties of soy curd. For preparation of soy curd with low sour taste, lactic acid bacteria were separated from kimchi. The lactic acid bacteria which showed yellow-clear zone around the colonies on BCP plate and formed soy curd with low level of acidity were selected. The selected strain was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequence and named as Pediococcus inopinatus Y2. The maximum viable cell number of the soy curd fermented by P. inopinatus Y2 was obtained at 10.73 log CFU/mL at 25°C for 24 h of fermentation. By the results of panel test, the overall sensory quality of the soy curd produced by P. inopinatus Y2 was higher than that of Leuconostoc mesenteroides No. 4395 and Lactobacillus sakei strain No. 383.

This study was carried out to investigate antimicrobial activity and characteristics of Asparagus cochinchinenesis which was steamed and fermented with lactic acid bacteria. A. cochinchinensis was prepared to steaming process which was washed and freeze dried. A. cochinchinensis was steamed at 95°C for 12 h and dried by hot air at 50°C for 24 h. After steaming process, A. cochinchinensis was fermented with lactic acid bacteria (Leuconostoc mesenteroides 4395, Lactobacillus sakei 383 and Lactobacillus plantarum KCCM 11322). Ethyl acetate extracts of fermented A. cochinchinensis had antimicrobial activities for the respiratory disease bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli). A. cochinchinensis had highest antimicrobial activity for the P. aeruginosa which fermented with L. mesenteroides 4395. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of A. cochinchinensis fermented with L. mesenteroides 4395 was 10 mg/mL for S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli and 5 mg/mL for P. aeruginosa. The MIC of A. cochinchinensis fermented with L. sakei 383 and A. cochinchinensis fermented with L. plantarum KCCM 11322 were the same. Total sugar was decreased from 863.33±17.47 mg/mL to 722.67±5.51 mg/mL during the steaming process. But reducing sugar was increased from 99.36±1.32 mg/mL to 109.29±2.71 mg/mL during the steaming process. Total sugar was decreased to 301.50-361.42 mg/mL and reducing sugar was decreased to 27.39-62.20 mg/mL during the fermentation process.