Fermented vegetables originated in China’s Shang and Zhou Dynasties 3100 years ago and are one of the traditional fermented foods in China. Color is one of the most important quality attributes of fermented vegetables. Fermented vegetables have a color different from that of fresh ones, which can be ascribed to chemical reactions and microbial metabolism during fermentation. Studying the mechanism of color formation in fermented vegetables is of great practical significance for improving product color. This paper summarizes recent research in this field, focusing on the effect of the color of fermented vegetables on their quality and the mechanism and influential factors of color formation in fermented vegetables. Future research trends are also discussed. This review could provide a theoretical basis for the quality control of fermented vegetables during large-scale industrial production.

In this study, the pure culture method combined with metagenomic analysis was used to investigate the evolutionary relationship of 66 strains of Bacillus isolated from Pixian broad bean paste. The enzyme activities and antibiotic resistance of the selected representative strains were further analyzed. Totally 24 Bacillus strains were identified by metagenomics and were classified into 13 species according to full-length 16S rDNA gene sequences. As the salt content rose, the protease-producing and amylase-producing abilities of the 29 representative strains decreased. All the strains were susceptible to neomycin, but their sensitivity to 11 other antibiotics tested was largely different. Among the 12 antibiotics, the incidence of ampicillin resistance was the highest (66%). Our findings motivate the future utilization of the Bacillus strains from Pixian broad bean paste.