The aim of this study was to evaluate the probiotic properties of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from kimchi and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of heat-killed LAB strains. Regarding probiotic properties, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SMF398 and L. plantarum SMF470 isolated from kimchi can survive under artificial gastric condition and adhere strongly to HT-29 cells. The SMF398 and SMF470 strains showed strong antimicrobial activity and co-aggregation against pathogenic bacteria. The heat-killed cells of LAB (1 mg/mL) were prepared by heating at 121℃ for 15 min. MTT assay revealed that the heat-killed cells (1 mg/mL) of SMF398 and SMF470 were not toxic to HT-29 cells. The heat-killed SMF398 and SMF470 showed significantly higher DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities as well as β- carotene bleaching inhibitory activity than the heat-killed L. plantarum ATCC14917, a control probiotic strain (p<0.05). In lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells, the heat-killed SMF398 and SMF470 significantly reduced the nitric oxide production by 30.92% and 22.81%, respectively (p<0.05). Furthermore, the heat-killed SMF398 and SMF470 significantly decreased the gene expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2 up to 58.02%, 67.70%, 53.44%, 45.90%, respectively (p<0.05). These results suggest that the heat-killed L. plantarum SMF398 and L. plantarum SMF470 might be useful as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of heat-killed lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produced under different temperature conditions. Regarding probiotic properties, Limosilactobacillus fermentum SMF743 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SMF796 isolated from kimchi showed strong acid and bile salt resistance, adhesion activity onto HT-29 cells, and antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria. Based on the results of thermal death time and temperature, heat-killed LAB cells (1 mg/mL) were prepared by heating at 70oC (180 min), 80oC (120 min), 100oC (30 min), and 121oC (15 min). The heat-killed SMF743 and SMF796 showed significantly higher DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities than live cells (p<0.05). The heat-killed SMF743 and SMF796 at 70oC or 121oC revealed stronger DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities and inhibition of nitric oxide production than those at 80oC or 100oC. Furthermore, heat-killed SMF743 and SMF796 at 121oC significantly reduced the gene expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase- 2 up to 53.33%, 58.67%, and 83.67%, respectively, in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells (p<0.05). These results suggest that heat-killed L. fermentum SMF743 and L. plantarum SMF796 can be used as natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

This study aimed to optimize the fermentation condition of black bean using probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and to evaluate characteristics and antioxidant activity of LAB fermented and heat-treated black bean. Two LAB strains were selected by analysis of acid resistance, bile resistance, antimicrobial activity, and antioxidant activity, and identified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CH9 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SU18 by 16S rRNA sequencing. Both strains showed similar or higher acid resistance, bile resistance and antimicrobial activity, compared to Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG, a commercial probiotic strain. The heat-killed cells of CH9 and SU18 strains showed significantly (p<0.05) higher DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities than live cells. Fermentation of black bean (30%) treated with Alcalase using the two selected strains was found to be optimal condition, increasing viable cell count of LAB up to 10.8 Log CFU/g. During the fermentation, the titratable acidity of Alcalase-treated black bean was notably increased with concomitant decrease in the pH. LAB fermentation significantly (p<0.05) increased antioxidant activity based on DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities as well as total phenol content. In addition, total phenol content and antioxidant activity were significantly (p<0.05) enhanced by heat processing (121C, 15 min) of the fermented products. These findings are expected to be useful for the development of various LAB-fermented foods containing heat-killed probiotics.