Dr. Ji-Hyoung Ha and his research team at WiKim’s Hygienic Safety and Analysis Center developed an analysis method to rapidly determine glucosinolate in kimchi.

Glucosinolate is a functional substance in cruciferous vegetables such as kimchi cabbage, radish, mustard, cabbage, and broccoli, which are ingredients of kimchi. While glucosinolate has an anti-cancer effect, kimchi made using cabbage that contains an excessive quantity of glucosinolate content may have a bitter taste.

Thus, technology that accurately analyzes the quantity of glucosinolate is required to regulate the bitter taste of kimchi.

The glucosinolate analysis method based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was widely used, but the analysis took more than 18 hours due to the complex enzymatic process that it entails. Recently, mass spectrometry (MS), in which the enzymatic process was omitted, was proposed. However, MS was still difficult to use due to its complicated operation and high cost.

Therefore, WiKim has developed a rapid and accurate glucosinolate analysis method that uses a colorimetric sensor array (CSA).

※ Colorimetric sensor array (CSA): Sensor that detects chemical reaction-induced color change

This technology analyzes the differences in response to the colorimetric sensor in 10 types of glucosinolates collected from 8 types of cruciferous vegetables. The colorimetric sensor recognizes the differences in the type and concentration of glucosinolate and expresses them in different colors.

This technology is economical in terms of cost as it has a quick analysis time of less than 2 hours and a simple operation method. In addition, it is also highly reliable, demonstrating an accuracy of 94%. It is expected to be used for a variety of technologies that increase customer satisfaction, such as the identification of bitter kimchi cabbages.

WiKim’s Acting General Director Hak-Jong Choi stated, “We look forward to the development of various functional kimchi that will capture consumers’ taste buds through the efficient analysis of glucosinolate——a useful substance contained in the ingredients of kimchi.”

The results of this study were published in the October issue of “Food Chemistry”——an international journal in the field of food science and technology.

※ Title of thesis: A colorimetric sensor array for the discrimination of glucosinolates
(Corresponding author) Dr. Ji-Hyoung Ha (First author) Dr. Su-Yeon Kim