An overview of probiotic health booster-kombucha tea

Abstract

Traditional herbal medicine (THM) is a significant division of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that plays an important role in maintaining health and disease prevention. WHO has consistently highlighted the significance of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine in human healthcare. Most people in Eastern Asia will start their day with a cup of tea. The tea provides a nourishing effect, and it has become an inevitable part of life. There are several types of tea, like black tea, green tea, oolong tea, white tea, and herbal tea. Besides the refreshments, it is important to consume beverages that benefit health. One such alternative is a healthy probiotic drink called kombucha, a fermented tea. Kombucha tea is aerobically fermented by infusing sweetened tea with a cellulose mat/ pellicle called SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Kombucha is a source of bioactive compounds that include organic acids and amino acids, vitamins, probiotics, sugars, polyphenols, and antioxidants. Currently, studies on kombucha tea and SCOBY are gaining attention for their remarkable properties and applications in the food and health industries. The review gives an overview of the production, fermentation, microbial diversity, and metabolic products of kombucha. The possible implications for human health are also discussed.

Keywords: bio-tea; fermentation; fermented beverage; kombucha; probiotics; symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast; tea fungus.

Fig. 1

Preparation and fermentation of kombucha tea (Generally it involves adding tea to the boiling water followed by the addition of sugar. The fermentation is initiated by inoculation of SCOBY layer. After two to three weeks, it can be stored and consumed).

Fig. 2

Applications of bacterial cellulose (Niyazbekova, Nagmetova, & Kurmanbayev, 2018).

Fig. 3

Kombucha metabolism during fermentation process (May et al., 2019).