Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
ISSN: 2155-9600
Kim JY, Choi EY, Hong YH, Song YO, Han JS, Lee SS, Han ES, Kim TW, Choi IS and Cho KK
Intestinal microbiota can be changed by diet and its composition is directly related to an individual’s health. In the present study, the effects of kimchi as a synbiotics on adult females’ intestinal microbiota were examined. One hundred male and female study applicants were invited to apply; of those 12 females met the study criteria and were chosen as study participants. The 12 females were divided into a low kimchi intake group (15 g/day, 15% of the average Korean daily kimchi intake) and a high kimchi intake group (150 g/day) based on the amount kimchi intake, and they were provided with boarding for 7 days. To analyze the intestinal microorganisms, feces samples from 12 female participants were obtained. The 16S ribosomal RNA genes of the microorganisms in those samples were examined using customized microarray chips to identity 702 species of intestinal microorganisms in 17 phyla. In the high kimchi group, the percentage of 16 species of microorganisms, including Gammaproteobacteria containing many pathogenic microorganisms decreased to less than half the percentage and the percentage of 18 species microorganisms, including 6 species of kimchi-dominant fermenting microorganisms, such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides, increased to at least twice. Changes in the intestinal microbiota based on kimchi intake were examined hourly for 7 days using quantitative real-time PCR. Among the 12 species of kimchi-dominant microorganisms, 3 species of lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc mesenteroides, increased in the high intake group. These study results indicate that kimchi intake affected the formation of intestinal microbiota. Although personal differences were observed in the individual participants, kimchi was shown to affect the formation of intestinal microbiota and to be beneficial as a healthy synbiotics.