Ghion Gloria, Sica Jacopo, Massaro Sofia, Tarrah Armin, Devold Tove Gulbrandsen, Porcellato Davide, Giacomini Alessio, Barros Frederico Augusto Ribeiro de, Corich Viviana, Nadai Chiara
Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animal and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, 35020 Padova, Italy.
Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Foods. 2025 Aug 9;14(16):2770. doi: 10.3390/foods14162770.
Kombucha, a fermented tea beverage, is gaining popularity due to its rich content of bioactive compounds and associated health benefits. Kombucha fermentation involves a complex microbial consortium, including acetic acid bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and yeasts, that works synergistically to enhance its nutritional and functional properties. Key compounds produced during fermentation provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial benefits. Despite its well-documented health-promoting properties, limited research exists on how human digestion influences the stability and functionality of kombucha bioactive components. This study investigated how digestion impacts kombucha made from green and black teas, focusing on free amino acid content, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial potential, and microbiota viability. Results showed that digestion significantly increased free amino acids, as fermentation released peptides suitable for gastrointestinal digestion. However, L-theanine, a beneficial tea compound, was no longer detectable after fermentation and digestion, suggesting limited bioaccessibility. Digested kombucha exhibited higher antioxidant activity and stronger antimicrobial effects compared to undigested tea. Moreover, culture-dependent and PMA-based sequencing confirmed the survival of viable microbial strains through simulated gastrointestinal conditions, suggesting the potential of kombucha as a source of live, functional microbes. These findings support the role of kombucha as a natural functional beverage whose health benefits not only persist but may be enhanced after digestion.
康普茶是一种发酵茶饮料，因其富含生物活性化合物以及相关的健康益处而越来越受欢迎。康普茶发酵涉及一个复杂的微生物群落，包括醋酸菌、乳酸菌和酵母菌，它们协同作用以增强其营养和功能特性。发酵过程中产生的关键化合物具有抗氧化、抗炎和抗菌作用。尽管康普茶促进健康的特性已有充分记录，但关于人体消化如何影响康普茶生物活性成分的稳定性和功能的研究却很有限。本研究调查了消化对由绿茶和红茶制成的康普茶的影响，重点关注游离氨基酸含量、抗氧化活性、抗菌潜力和微生物群活力。结果表明，消化显著增加了游离氨基酸，因为发酵释放出适合胃肠道消化的肽。然而，有益的茶化合物L-茶氨酸在发酵和消化后不再可检测到，这表明其生物可及性有限。与未消化的茶相比，消化后的康普茶表现出更高的抗氧化活性和更强的抗菌效果。此外，基于培养和基于PMA的测序证实了活微生物菌株在模拟胃肠道条件下的存活，这表明康普茶作为活的功能性微生物来源的潜力。这些发现支持了康普茶作为一种天然功能性饮料的作用，其健康益处不仅在消化后持续存在，而且可能会增强。
