The Differences in Lactobacillus spp. Between Traditional and Industrial Vegetable Pickles

Abstract

Aim: This study investigates the content of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Levilactobacillus brevis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in traditional and industrially prepared cabbage and cucumber pickles. Material and Method: Pickle samples were categorized according to the industrial (n=20) and traditional (n=38) production methods. The chemical compositions, including salt contents and pH of the pickles, were evaluated. The salt content of the pickles produced by the traditional method was recorded based on the manufacturer’s declaration. Label information was assessed in industrially produced pickles. pH measurements were made using a desktop pH meter. Microbial load, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Levilactobacillus brevis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum counts of the pickles was carried out in a Real-time PCR device (RotorGene-Q, Germany) using the Diagen Real-time PCR Kit. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 22.0. Results: The pH values of the pickles produced by the traditional method had higher pH values than the industrial products (p <0.05). Conventional and industrial pickles had similar salt content except for the industrial cabbage pickles (3.16 g/100 g, p=0.002). Lactobacillus acidophilus and Levilactobacillus brevis contents of traditional cucumber pickles (4.25±0.88 and 5.55±1.37 log10 cfu/g, respectively) were found to be significantly higher than those of industrial cabbage pickles (3.33±0.55 and 1.53±2.11 log10 cfu/g, respectively, p <0.05). Conclusion: This study’s results, which found higher Lactobacillus spp. content in traditionally produced pickles than industrial ones, provide preliminary data for future studies investigating the bacterial community patterns and the proportions of predominant bacteria in pickles, which are fermented products consumed frequently in Türkiye.

Keywords

• industrial pickles
• traditional pickles; cucumber;
• cabbage

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