Isolation and Characterization of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)-Producing Lactic Acid Bacteria from Kimchi

To develop Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA)-producing probiotics we isolated GABA-producing lactic acid bacteria from kimchi. 17 strains of GABA-producing lactic acid bacteria were isolated among 703 lactic acid bacteria originated from 21 kind of kimchi. Two strains, K991 and K998, were selected with highest GABA production ability. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, K991 and K998 were identified as Lactococcus lactis, which showed 99.93% and 99.87% similarity, respectively. When the two strains were cultivated in MRS containing 5% MSG at 30°C, GABA began to be produced after 12 hours, reaching maximum production at 40 hours(13.20 mM and 13.35 mM, respectively). In contrast, GABA production was about three times lower when MSG was not added.