Sauerkraut might be doing more than just adding zing to your hot dog — it could be actively defending your gut.
New research from UC Davis reveals that fermented cabbage helps protect intestinal cells from inflammation-related damage, unlike raw cabbage or brine alone. The researchers found no difference between homemade and store-bought sauerkraut, suggesting it’s an accessible option for better gut health. By identifying hundreds of fermentation-related metabolites, they’ve opened the door to understanding how these tangy foods may boost resilience in our digestive systems — with human trials up next.
Fermented Cabbage and Gut Health
Is sauerkraut more than just a tangy topping? A new study from the University of California, Davis, suggests it might be. Researchers found that this fermented cabbage could help protect the gut—a key part of overall health that supports digestion and helps defend against illness.
Led by food science professor Maria Marco and postdoctoral researcher Lei Wei, the study explored what happens during fermentation, focusing on how the chemical compounds (metabolites) in sauerkraut differ from those in raw cabbage.
Lab vs. Store Sauerkraut: Same Benefits
To test sauerkraut’s potential benefits, the researchers compared three things: raw cabbage, fermented sauerkraut, and the leftover brine from the fermentation process. They looked at whether each one could help protect intestinal cells from damage linked to inflammation. The sauerkraut samples included both store-bought products and batches fermented in the lab.
The results showed that sauerkraut helped preserve the integrity of intestinal cells, while raw cabbage and brine did not. Interestingly, there was no difference between the store-bought and lab-made versions—both were equally effective.
“Some of the metabolites we find in the sauerkraut are the same kind of metabolites we’re finding to be made by the gut microbiome, so that gives us a little more confidence that this connection we found between the metabolites in sauerkraut and good gut health makes sense,” Marco said. “It doesn’t matter, in a way, if we make sauerkraut at home or we buy it from the store; both kinds of sauerkraut seemed to protect gut function.”
The Power of Fermentation
Chemical analysis shows that fermentation changes cabbage’s nutritional profile, increasing beneficial metabolites such as lactic acid, amino acids and plant-based chemicals linked to gut health. These changes may explain why fermented foods are often associated with digestive benefits.
Marco said she and Wei identified hundreds of different metabolites produced during fermentation and are now working to determine which ones play the biggest role in supporting long-term gut health.
A Tangy Ally for Resilient Digestion
“Along with eating more fiber and fresh fruits and vegetables, even if we have just a regular serving of sauerkraut, maybe putting these things more into our diet, we’ll find that can help us in the long run against inflammation, for example, and make our digestive tract more resilient when we have a disturbance,” Marco said.
Fermented vegetables and foods are already a staple in many diets, but this research suggests they could be more than just a flavorful side dish. Marco said the next step is to conduct human trials to see if the gut-protective metabolites found in sauerkraut can have the same positive effects when included in everyday diets, as was shown in the lab.
A Bite of Prevention
“A little bit of sauerkraut could go a long way,” she said. “We should be thinking about including these fermented foods in our regular diets and not just as a side on our hot dogs.”
Reference: “The fermented cabbage metabolome and its protection against cytokine-induced intestinal barrier disruption of Caco-2 monolayers” by Lei Wei and Maria L. Marco, 7 April 2025, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
DOI: 10.1128/aem.02234-24
This research was funded by a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, as well as a Jastro Shields Graduate Research Award from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
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2 Comments
Very much lacking in specific good microbiome elements, as they went very generic and general , in discussing the specific good bacteria, that is available in the fermented cabbage…,So all one could get , was eat Saur Kraut , cause it is good for the gut , as a fiber and good gut compounds…,Just not enough to convince many ?
You mentioned sauerkraut is good whether store-bought or homemade. Way too vague! There are several different kinds of store-bought sauerkraut. I take it we’re talking about fermented cabbage here. If you buy good German sauerkraut there are only two ingredients, cabbage and salt. It is not pasteurized! As you know, or should know, pasteurization kills many beneficial nutrients and other bacterias. That’s why when you buy milk in the store which is pasteurized it will always save vitamin a&d added because the pasteurization kills the vitamin a and d in it. If you read the list of ingredients on store-bought sauerkraut most of them contain vinegar salt and other additives and it will stay right on the jar, pasteurized. Is this product actually been fermented? Why would they have to add vinegar?