Abstract: The aims of this study were to isolate and identify Lactobacillus from kimchi produced in Jilin, China, and to analyze the antimicrobial resistance of the strains, for the purpose of paving a foundation for subsequent risk assessment. The species and quantity of Lactobacillus in kimchi samples collected from many different regions of Jilin were analyzed by bacterial isolation using MRS medium and 16S rDNA sequencing. Further, the susceptibilities of the isolates to 10 commonly used antibiotics were tested by agar plate dilution method. The results showed that a total of 34 strains of Lactobacillus were isolated from 15 kimchi from different manufacturers, including 12 strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, 5 strains of Lactobacillus brevis, 3 strains of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, 2 strains of Lactobacillus casei, 2 strains of Lactobacillus sake, 2 strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides, 2 strains of Streptococcus thermophilus, 1 strain of Weissella cibaria, 1 strain of Lactobacillus curvatus, 1 strain of Lactobacillus coryniformis, 1 strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus, 1 strain of Enterococci durans, and 1 strain of Lactobacillus namurensis. All the strains were susceptible to ampicillin and chloramphenicol, and had different degrees of resistance to other antibiotics. The prevalence of resistance to ciprofloxacin was the highest of all antibiotics tested.

Key words: lactic acid bacteria, isolation, antibiotics resistance