Paulo Sérgio Pedroso Costa Júnior
4
Kombucha is a non-alcoholic drink made from green or black tea, fermented by a symbiotic consortium of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). Originated from Asia and is consumed worldwide.
In Brazil, its consumption keeps increasing because it contains refreshing and beneficial properties for human health. Some of the health benefits reported until now include ability to detoxify and energize the body, improve digestion, and stimulate the immune system. Kombucha also has antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticarcinogenic, and antidiabetic properties among others. Such compounds that contribute to this properties are polyphenols (glocuronic acid), organic acids, vitamins, amino acids, antimicrobials, and micronutrients produced during fermentation.
Important progresses has been made in the last decade regarding the microbial communities and biochemical properties of this drink. However, there are very few researches on microbial strains with probiotic characteristics in Kombucha. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), probiotics are "live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate quantities, confer a benefit to the health of the host".
Although lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the main group of probiotic bacteria and have already been identified in Kombucha, they represent only 1% of the total microbiota of the drink. To increase their population in the final product, some authors suggest the isolation and co-inoculation of LAB with probiotic properties during fermentation.
Kombucha tea acts as a functional drink with a mixture of prebiotic and probiotic microorganisms. The Kombucha culture in addition to its rich antioxidants, have a significant effect on the consistent intestinal microbiome as a probiotic supplement in the human diet, requiring further studies and formulation of new products.
Kombucha as a probiotic
drink
?