Determination and Characterization of the Antimicrobial Activity of the Fermented Tea Kombucha

Authors:
C J Greenwalt, R, A, Keith H Steinkraus

Abstract:
Early reports on kombucha, a traditional fermented tea beverage, suggested that it has antimicrobial activity against a spectrum of organisms and that concentrates of unfermented tea components also have antimicrobial properties. Therefore, the focus of this study was to determine and characterize Kombucha's antimicrobial activity using an absorbent disc method. Antimicrobial activity was observed in the fermented samples containing 33 g/L total acid (7 g/L acetic acid) against the tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms (Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella choleraesuisserotypetyphimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and escherichia coli.Candida Albicans was not inhibited byKombucha. The contribution of tea itself to the antimicrobial activity of Kombucha proved to be significant in the tested organisms, even at the highest levels tested, 70 g/L dry tea. As a result, the antimicrobial activity of kombucha was attributed to its acetic acid content.

Keywords: kombucha, tea fungus, antibacterial activity, acetic acid tea



Country: USA

Citation: LWT-Food Science and Technology, 31(3), 291-296.

Study Mailing Address:
C. Greenwalt, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, U.S.A.

Date Updated: March 6, 2020