Biological and functional characteristics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were investigated in mustard stem/leaf kimchi (MK), cabbage kimchi (CK), young radish kimchi (YRK), and cubed radish kimchi (CRK). LAB of young radish kimchi were mainly composed of bacilli in contrast to the other kimchi. 89.2% LAB isolated from all kimchi harbored plasmids. However, LAB had an average of 4.1±0.5 plasmid bands in YRK, more than MK, CK, and CRK. Exopolysaccharides were produced by 10.9～11.1% of LAB, and were especially by LAB isolated from radish kimchi. A significant percentage of LAB (69.5%) had antibacterial activity against one sensitive strain or more. LAB from CK, YRK and CRK had antimicrobial activities against Bacillus sp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella Typhimurium, while the LAB from MK had activities against Vibrio parahaemolyticus higher than those from the other kimchi. In YRK and CRK, acid-tolerant LAB were twice as prevalent as those in MK and CK. Bile-tolerant LAB isolated from CRK were more prevalent than other kimchi. When 10 8 CFU of LAB were added to Caco-2 cells, 12.1% of LAB isolated from all kimchi showed similar adherent activity to Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. LAB of MK particularly adhered to Caco-2 cells, 2.0～4.1 fold higher than LAB in the other kimchi. From these results, biological and functional characteristics of LAB varied according to the type of kimchi and LAB existing in kimchi were limited to their respective species.

This study investigated the lipid profiles for the possible improving activity of insoluble dietary fiber extracted from cabbage waste discarded during kimchi manufacture and market distribution. Enzyme-treated Insoluble Dietary Fiber (EIDF) is the remnants of crude dietary fiber (CDF) treated by α-amylase, protease, and amyloglucosidase after removal of soluble materials from cabbage waste. The insoluble dietary fiber of CDF and EIDF in cabbage waste was 65.33±0.33% and 73.57±0.09%, respectively. To examine the effects of EIDF on plasma cholesterol concentration, two group of rats were fed either a high fat diet (HFD) or a HFD containing 0.1～1.0% EIDF for 4 weeks. The body weight of all groups was not significantly different (p<0.05) but the body weight of EIDF＋HFD groups was less than that of the HFD group (p<0.1). Compared with the HFD group, EIDF also lowered serum levels of total triglycerides to 11.2～23.3% and cholesterol to 26.8～28.5%. In EIDF＋HFD groups, the HDL-cholesterol level increased by 7.2～26.1%, while LDL-cholesterol especially decreased by 51.0～ 61.4% and VLDL-cholesterol by 16.9～26.4%. The atherogenic index of EIDF＋HFD groups was also reduced twice that of the HFD group. From these results, EIDF from cabbage waste could be a potential effective food ingredient for improving lipid profiles.Key words: insoluble dietary fiber, chinese cabbage waste, plasma lipid, cholesterol reducing effect † Corresponding author. E-mail: ickim@mokpo.ac.kr † Phone: 82-61-450-2426, Fax: 82-61-454-7916 3)