Control of kimchi fermentation by the addition of natural antimicrobial agents originated from plants

We investigated the delay of kimchi fermentation by the addition of plant extracts. Fifteen plant extracts were screened for inhibitory activity aginst Lactobacillus plantarum by using an agar well diffusion assay, and determined the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal lethal concentration (MLC) were determined. The lowest MIC for grapefruit seed extract (GFSE; 0.0313 mg/mL) was determined, followed by Caesalpinia sappan L. extract (CSLE; 0.25 mg/mL), and oregano essential oil (OREO; 1.0 mg/mL). GFSE, CSLE, and OREO were individually added to kimchi, and incubated the samples at 10 for up to 20 days. Results showed that the addition of GFSE (0.3 and 0.5%), CSLE (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5%), or OREO (0.5 and 1.0%) led to a significant increase in the pH of kimchi, and also a significant reduction in the numbers of lactic acid bacteria. Taken together, the addition of natural antimicrobial agents can delay kimchi fermentation.