Comparison of physicochemical characteristics and microbial communities of Meigancai and Zaocai, two homemade fermented vegetables
Meigancai and Zaocai are two important traditional fermented vegetables in Fujian province, China. However, the detailed description of bacterial community about these two fermented vegetables is still lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate and compare their physicochemical characteristics and bacterial communities of Meigancai and Zaocai. Results showed that Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the two top-level of dominant phyla. Lactobacillus and Serratia were the main genera in both Meigancai and Zaocai. Principal coordinate analysis and significance analysis showed that the bacterial communities of Meigancai were similar to those of Zaocai. Except glucose, the physicochemical parameters had no significant differences (p < 0.05) between the Meigancai and Zaocai. This study would provide a basic knowledge of microbial communities for Meigancai and Zaocai and a guidance for these fermented vegetable production, and also shed a light on the industry development the two traditional fermentation foods.