Abstract: |
Kombucha is a traditional beverage of sweetened black tea fermented with a symbiotic
association of acetic acid bacteria and yeasts. In this study, kombucha fermented beverage (KFB)
appeared to include nine chemical groups (alcohols, acids, lactones, condensed heterocyclic compounds,
antibiotics, esters, aldehydes, fatty acids, and alkaloids) of many bioactive metabolites, as
elucidated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) and IR spectra. The fermented
metabolic components of KFB seem collectively to act in a synergistic action giving rise to the antimicrobial
activity. Four types of kombucha preparations (fermented, neutralized, heat‐treated
and unfermented) were demonstrated with respect to their antimicrobial activity against some
pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains using agar well diffusion assay. KFB exerted the strongest
antimicrobial activities when compared with neutralized and heat‐treated kombucha beverages
(NKB and HKB). Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538 (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli ATCC11229 (E. coli)
were the organisms most susceptible to the antimicrobial activity of kombucha beverage preparations.
Finally, the KFB preparation showed remarkable inhibitory activity against S. aureus and E.
coli bacteria in a brain heart infusion broth and in some Egyptian fruit juices (apple, guava, strawberry,
and tomato). These data reveal that kombucha is not only a prophylactic agent, but also
appears to be promising as a safe alternative biopreservative, offering protection against pathogenic
bacteria and fungi.
Keywords: kombucha tea
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