The Impact of Daily Kimchi Consumption: A Pilot Study

Volume 1 - Issue 4

T Kraft, JF Keith*, B Bisha, E Larson-Meyer and A Griebel

Received: January 25, 2019;   Published: February 06, 2019

DOI: 10.32474/SJFN.2018.01.000120

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Abstract

Background: Kimchi, a traditional fermented Korean food, contains prebiotics and probiotics, which have demonstrated ability to impact irregular gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of daily kimchi consumption on GI symptoms, sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of kimchi, and the microbial content in homemade and commercial kimchi.

Design: Dietary intervention study incorporating an experimental design. Participants consumed 75g (½ cup) of kimchi twice a day for 14 days. Instruments included 3-day food records, a modified Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), stool diaries using the Bristol Stool Scale (BSS), and a 7-point Hedonic scale (for sensory analysis and consumer acceptability). Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) were enumerated via plating methods.

Participants/Setting: Participants (n=20) experiencing irregular GI symptoms were recruited from a Mountain West university community during fall 2017.

Main Outcome Measures: Main outcomes included GI symptoms, tracking of bowel movements, pre and post response to consumer acceptability, and LAB levels in homemade and commercial kimchi.

Analysis: Analysis included: 1) repeated measures ANOVA (p< 0.05) for the GSRS and BSS with post-hoc testing for mean comparison between symptoms, 2) paired T-tests to assess mean differences in consumer acceptability and nutrient intake, and 3) culture-based microbial analysis with surface plating methods to determine bacterial counts.

Results: Participants reported a significant decrease in abdominal pain, heartburn, acid regurgitation, abdominal rumbling and distention, and eructation and gas production. Consumer acceptability and sensory characteristics questionnaires showed a majority of participants ‘liked’ kimchi and were willing to consume kimchi in the future. Bacterial analysis showed homemade kimchi had a lower concentration of LAB compared to commercial kimchi.

Conclusions: Kimchi is a nutrient dense probiotic source, acceptable among consumers in the study, with potential to impact irregular GI symptoms. Understanding consumer perception of kimchi provides valuable insight to when kimchi may be suggested as a method of probiotic and prebiotic intake.

Keywords:Kimchi; gastrointestinal; consumer acceptability; fermented foods; bacterial content; probiotics

Abstract| Introduction| Methods| Bacterial Analysis| Statistical Analysis| Results| Discussion| Conclusions & Recommendations| References|