Kimchi is one of the primary sources of high sodium content in the Korean diet. Low-sodium kimchi is commercially manufactured to minimize the health effects of high salt. We investigated the influence of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as starter culture in combination with 1% or 2.5% salt on the survival of pathogenic Escherichia coli and physicochemical properties of kimchi during fermentation at 10 °C and 25 °C. Among ten strains of LAB isolated from kimchi, Leuconostoc mesenteroides (KCTC 13374) and Lactobacillus plantarum (KCTC 33133) exhibited antimicrobial activities against pathogenic E. coli (EPEC, ETEC, and E. coli O157:H7) and strong tolerance to low pH (2 and 3) and 0.3% bile salts. Thus, L. mesenteroides and L. plantarum were used as starter cultures for kimchi that contained 1% and 2.5% salt. All pathogenic E. coli strains survived in kimchi regardless of starter cultures or salt concentration for over 15 days at 10 °C, but they died off within 4 days at 25 °C. Survival of pathogenic E. coli was better in naturally fermented kimchi (titratable acidity:0.65%) than kimchi fermented with starter cultures (titratable acidity:1.0%). At 10 °C, the average delta value of E. coli O157:H7 (16.15 d) was smaller than those of EPEC (20.76 d) and ETEC (20.20 d) in naturally fermented kimchi. Overall, survival ability of E. coli O157:H7 was lower than EPEC and ETEC, although differences were not significant. Reduced salt concentration from 2.5% to 1% in kimchi did not affect the growth of LAB and the fermentation period. Pathogenic E. coli died at a faster rate in kimchi fermented with starter cultures and 1% salt than in naturally fermented kimchi with 2.5% salt.

泡菜是韩国饮食中钠含量高的主要来源之一。低钠泡菜是商业制造的，以尽量减少高盐对健康的影响。我们研究了乳酸菌 (LAB) 作为发酵剂与 1% 或 2.5% 盐的组合对致病性大肠杆菌存活和泡菜在 10 °C 和 25 °C 发酵过程中理化特性的影响。在从泡菜中分离的 10 株乳酸菌中，肠系膜明串珠菌 (KCTC 13374) 和植物乳杆菌 (KCTC 33133) 对致病性大肠杆菌（EPEC、ETEC 和大肠杆菌）表现出抗菌活性O157:H7) 和对低 pH 值（2 和 3）和 0.3% 胆汁盐的强耐受性。因此，肠系膜乳杆菌和植物乳杆菌被用作含 1% 和 2.5% 盐的泡菜的发酵剂。无论发酵剂培养物或盐浓度如何，所有致病性大肠杆菌菌株在 10°C 下都能在泡菜中存活超过 15 天，但在 25°C 下它们会在 4 天内死亡。致病的生存大肠杆菌是自然发酵泡菜更好（滴定酸度：0.65％）比用起子培养物发酵泡菜（滴定酸度：1.0％）。在 10 °C 时，E.coli O157:H7的平均 delta 值（16.15 天）小于 EPEC（20.76 天）和 ETEC（20.20 天）的自然发酵泡菜。总体而言，大肠杆菌的存活能力O157:H7 低于 EPEC 和 ETEC，但差异不显着。将泡菜中的盐浓度从 2.5% 降低到 1% 不会影响 LAB 的生长和发酵期。在用发酵剂和 1% 盐发酵的泡菜中，致病性大肠杆菌的死亡速度比在含 2.5% 盐的自然发酵泡菜中更快。