泡菜主要發酵菌為乳酸菌，已有研究證實泡菜中之乳酸菌具有益生效果。商業泡菜發酵以自然發酵為主，因此常有不良產品，若添加乳酸菌後再進行發酵，可提高產品良率，並且確定乳酸菌種類與數量。因此本研究從3種泡菜產品、葷豪華、素豪華與黃金泡菜中，分離乳酸菌並鑑定菌種，結果顯示優勢乳酸菌為腸膜明串珠菌（Leuconostoc mesenteroides）、類腸膜魏斯氏菌（Weissella paramesenteroides）及植物乳桿菌（Lactiplantibacillus plantarum），測定此三菌之特性，包含抗藥、抗菌、腸胃道耐受性試驗。結果顯示上述三株乳酸菌對Salmonella Typhimurium、Escherichia coli、Staphylococcus aureus及Listeria monocytogenes皆有抑制性，而對9種抗生素中，對萬古黴素（vancomycin）與鏈黴素（streptomycin）具有抗藥性，而對其他抗生素敏感，三株菌皆顯示對胃液適應力比腸液佳，而其中L. plantarum對於腸液則較為敏感。因此之後選定L. mesenteroides與W. paramesenteroides接種至葷豪華泡菜中進行發酵，並測定0天、3天、5天、7天的總生菌數、乳酸菌數、pH值、物性之變化，以及感官品評調查。而有無添加乳酸菌之泡菜在總生菌數、pH值、物性方面並無差異（p>0.05），但有接種乳酸菌之泡菜，其乳酸菌量於發酵3天後開始，比未接種之樣品高1-2 log CFU/g（p<0.05），並且其風味較佳，菌相分析結果顯示L. mesenteroides為優勢菌種，占全菌量90%以上。這研究不僅可降低泡菜產品之不良率與增進風味，並可確定菌種，生產標示菌種之泡菜產品。

Kimchi is a popular food item which is mainly fermented by lactic acid bacteria. Several studies have shown the lactic acid bacteria in kimchi possessing probiotic properties. However, the majority of commercial kimchi relies on natural fermentation and results in many nonqualified products. Using lactic acid bacteria as the starter culture for kimchi fermentation can increase qualified rate and control the bacterial species and population. Thus, this study isolated and identified lactic acid bacteria from three types of kimchi. The dominant lactic acids bacteria were Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Weissella paramesenteroides, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Tests of antibiotic resistance showed these three lactic acid bacteria effectively inhibited the growth of Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. For nine antibiotics tested, these three lactic acid bacteria demonstrated resistant against vancomycin and streptomycin and susceptible to other antibiotics. All three lactic acid bacteria survived well in simulated gastric environment but only L. mesenteroides and W. paramesenteroides survived well in simulated intestinal environment. Thus, L. mesenteroides and W. paramesenteroides were chosen as the starter culture for kimchi. After inoculation of these two bacteria, total plate count, lactic acid bacteria count, pH, texture, and sensory evaluation were conducted. The inoculated kimchi showed significantly higher (p <0.05) of lactic acid bacteria count though no significant difference was observed between the inoculated kimchi and non-inoculated one. The sensory scores of inoculated kimchi were higher but texture and pH were similar between inoculated and non-inoculated samples. Analyses of microflora confirmed the most dominant bacterium was L. mesenteroides which accounted more than 90% of total microflora. This study demonstrated inoculating lactic acid bacteria improved kimchi quality and confirmed the dominant bacteria, which led to manufacture the first kimchi product labeling bacterial species.