In this study, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with producing "y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were screened from traditional pickled vegetables in Northeast China using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and the Berthelot colorimetric method. LAB were identified by the physiological and biochemical test and 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. And then their biological properties, including acid tolerance, bile salt tolerance, antioxidant, antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity and acid production rate, were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). These results showed that five strains LAB with typical GABA-producing were obtained from forty strains LAB from traditional pickled vegetables, including one strain Weissella kandleri HJL2 and four strains Lactobacillus plantarum PJ-7, HJG1-3, L-9, and L—11. Among them, L. plantarum PJ-7 isolated from fermented radish had better ability to synthesize GABA, and the yield reached 0.48 mg/mL. There were significant differences in acid tolerance, bile salt tolerance, antioxidant and other biological characteristics of the five strains LAB. Based on PCA, L. plantarum PJ-7 ranked the first in the comprehensive score of biological characteristics. Therefore, L. plantarum PJ-7 has excellent GABA synthesis ability and good biological characteristics, which would provide a theoretical basis for the development of GABA- rich pickled vegetables. © 2023 Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology. All rights reserved.
