Determination of bacterialanf fungal microbiota and antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of kımı pickles fermented with traditional methods in Ardahan region

Türkiye has a very wide flora due to its geological and climatic characteristics. A significant number of these plants can be used as food, tea and spices or for healing against various diseases. The plant known as "Kımı", which grows naturally in Ardahan region, is generally consumed as pickle. Kımı pickle is a fermented food product produced and consumed locally in Ardahan province and there are not enough studies in the literature about it. In this study, the Kımı plant collected from its natural environment in Ardahan was pressed and dried and then systematic species identification was made. In addition, two different Kımı pickles, both fermented with vinegar (SKT) and fermented with whey (PASKT), were produced with traditional methods to be used in the analysis. The antibacterial properties of both Kımı pickles were determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and maximum tolerable concentration (MTC) methods and antibiofilm activity was determined by crystal violet method. The bacterial microbiota of the Kımı pickle samples were determined by 16S METAGENOM analysis and the fungal microbiota were determined by ITS METAGENOM analysis and compared. As a result, it was determined that the plant known as Kımı is Bunium cylindricum (Boiss. & Hohem.) Drude. According to the antibacterial activity results, PASKT exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 33495, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 among the test bacteria, while Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 was the most sensitive to SKT. It was determined that PASKT inhibited biofilm formation at a higher rate against Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580, while SKT exhibited higher antibiofilm activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 33495 and Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580. According to the 16S METAGENOM results, the dominant bacterial genus in the PASKT was Bacteroides (23.12%), while the dominant bacterial genus in the SKT was Latilactobacillus (29.86%). According to ITS METAGENOM results, Dipodascus was the dominant genus (87.51%) in the PASKT fungal microbiota, while Penicillum was the dominant genus (16.6%) in the SKT fungal microbiota. In this study, whey was used as the fermentation medium during the production of PASKT. This has the potential to create an alternative for the utilization of whey, which is rich in nutrient content but is considered as waste and can cause environmental pollution. In addition, this study will raise awareness about Kımı pickles, a traditional product.