Formation of A L-Ascorbic Acid 2-o-$\alpha$-glucoside during Kimchi Fermentation

Formation of a L-Ascorbic Acid 2-O-$\alpha$-glucoside(AA-2G) is a chemically stable dervative of asocrbate that shows a vitamin C acitivity in vitro as well as in vivo. We studied whether ascorbic acid(AA) and AA-2G are formed in baechu kimchi during fermentation at 4 $^{\circ}C$ or 18$^{\circ}C$. To determine the formation of AA and AA-2G during fermentation of kimchi, wheat flour (as a carbhydrate source) added baechu kimchi (WBK) and control baechu kimchi(CBK) were prepared and fermented at 4 $^{\circ}C$ or 18 $^{\circ}C$. A substance like AA-2G was detected by HPLC from WBK fermented at 18 $^{\circ}C$ for 26 days in fall season and confirmed later to be the AA-2G showing distinctive characteristics of heat stability and resistance to ascrobate oxidase catalase. However, none of the kimchi formed AA-2G when the kimchi were fermented under a different temperature condition such as 4 $^{\circ}C$ instead of 18 $^{\circ}C$ or a different season such as summer instead of fall even if they were fermented at 18 $^{\circ}C$. The pH of kimchi was decreased rapidly during the first 3 days. and then decreased slowly after 4 days when the kimchi were fermented at 18 $^{\circ}C$. However, there were slight changes of pH in both CBK and WBK feremented at 4$^{\circ}C$ for 30 $^{\circ}C$ days. Therefore, the AA-2G -forming activity in kimchi seems to be correlated with the formentation temperature, the microorganisms involved in kimchi fermentation and a suitable glycosyl donor for AA as provided by wheat flour in this study.