Quality characteristics and functionalities of Korean and Japanese spring Baechu cabbages and the kimchi prepared with such cabbages

We examined the quality characteristics and functionalities of Korean and Japanese spring Baechu cabbages and the kimchi prepared with them. To study the physiochemical properties of the cabbages and the kimchis, we measured their water content, pH, acidity, microbial counts, and springiness. On the third week of the kimchi fermentation at 5°C, their sensory properties and in vitro DPPH radical scavenging and anticancer activities using AGS human gastric cancer cells were determined. The Japanese Baechu contained 97.1% water, and the Korean Baechu, 92.4%. The comparison of the textures of the raw Baechu and the brined Baechu showed that the Korean Baechu had higher springiness scores than the Japanese Baechu. After four-week fermentation, the springiness score of the kimchi with Korean Baechu was 53.5%, significantly higher than the 41.4% of the kimchi with Japanese Baechu. The kimchi prepared with Korean Baechu had a low total bacterial count but higher Lactobacillus sp. and Leuconostoc sp. counts than the kimchi with Japanese Baechu. The kimchi prepared with Korean Baechu had the highest overall acceptability score in the sensory evaluation test. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the kimchi with Korean Baechu was 83.2%, and that of the kimchi with Japanese Baechu, 46.1%. When the AGS human gastric cancer cells were treated with the kimchis, the kimchi prepared with Korean Baechu showed a 45% cancer cell growth inhibition rate, and the kimchi with Japanese Baechu, 26%, at 1 mg/mL of methanol extracts. At the 2 mg/mL concentration, the kimchis with Korean Baechu and Japanese Baechu showed 97% and 74% inhibition, respectively. The Korean Baechu showed better quality than the Japanese Baechu, and the kimchi prepared with the Korean Baechu showed better kimchi quality and functionality than the Japanese Baechu.