# The Role of Fermented Vegetables as a Sustainable and Health-Promoting Nutritional Resource
## 4 Health Benefits of Fermented Vegetables and Probiotics  
Fermented vegetables are increasingly being recognized as an important dietary component, particularly of plant-based diets, to achieve a sustainable healthy gut because of their microbial diversity, antioxidant properties, and beneficial effects of probiotics. The lactose intolerance of a larger segment of the world population together with the undesirable cholesterol content of fermented dairy products has opened a window of opportunities for developing non-dairy probiotic products [275]. The genera of LAB present in fermented vegetable foods include members of the actual and former genus _Lactobacillus_, and the genera _Lactococcus_, _Pediococcus_, _Enterococcus_, _Streptococcus_, _Leuconostoc_, and _Weissella_[276]. Additionally, the LAB found in fermented vegetables influence both the quality and safety of these products, as they have probiotic properties and contribute to the formation of biogenic amines, biologically active compounds, and other bioactive substances derived from phenolic compounds [138; 145]. Classic research has shown that the _P. pentosacea_ strain MP12 and _L. plantarum_ strain LAP6, obtained from pickled cabbage, had antagonistic effects against _Salmonella_ spp. in mice, while both strains successfully adhered to the intestinal epithelium of the mice [277]. In clinical studies, [PERSON] et al. [278] found that the _L. plantarum_ strain CO6 and _L. acidophilus_ strain C11 adhered to the duodenum, resisted gastrointestinal stress from gastric juices and bile salts, and demonstrated antimicrobial properties against pathogenic bacteria. Strains of _L. plantarum_ isolated from fermented olives were capable of adhering to the epithelial cells of porcine jejunum and of producing bacteriocins ( antimicrobial peptides synthesized by other bacteria) against several pathobionts, including _Helicobacter pylori_, _Propinibacterium_ spp., and _Clostidium perfringens_[279]. The presence of bacteriocin-producing bacteria has been previously reported in several fermented vegetable foods, such as fermented cucumber [280], fermented carrot [281], inziangsang [282], and fermented Chinese cabbage [283], to name a few. Strains of _L. lactis_, _L. plantarum_, and _L. mesenteroides_ isolated from kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented vegetable food, exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects, in addition to improving energy homeostasis, and are therefore potential novel probiotics in functional foods [284; 285; 286]. [PERSON] et al. [287] reported a significantly higher response to oxidative damage within the cell membrane, intracellular metabolism, and cellular functions in LAB strains derived from kimchi, particularly _L. curvatus_, _C. allii_, and _L. lactis_. More recently, [PERSON] et al. [288] examined the microbial diversity and antioxidant potential of three different formulas of fermented vegetables (standard, enhanced with the _L. rhamn_ strain GG, and enriched with the phenolic compound vitexin) at days 0 and 15. The findings showed a variety of microorganisms in the taxonomic composition of the various fermented vegetable formulas, with different LAB genera being the most prevalent. Supplementation with the strain of _L. rhamn_ and vitexin efficiently enhanced the functional significance of foods by fostering cellular protection against oxidative stress, due to the likely role of phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity, bacterial antioxidant enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase), and microbial metal-chelating activities [289; 290; 291]. Table 3 shows the health benefits of fermented vegetable foods.