Articles
Fermented beverages rich in bioactive compounds: comparison of maqui kombucha and maqui water kefir
Article number
1466_31
Pages
257 – 264
Language
English
Abstract
Nowadays, fermented beverages have gained great importance due to their nutritional characteristics and potential health benefits.
Within these beverages water-kefir and kombucha are two of the most popular fermented beverages consumed, mainly due to their associated probiotic benefits.
Although both are refreshing, light, and effervescent, they have a key difference: kombucha is made from sweetened tea (usually black or green tea), fermented with a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), which converts the sugars in the tea into acids, carbon dioxide, and small amounts of alcohol (less than 0.5%). On the other hand, water-kefir is fermented with kefir grains, which are also a combination of some different bacteria and yeasts, and, unlike the kombucha SCOBY, water kefir grains are smaller and gelatinous.
Following our research line on alternative matrices to obtain beverages enriched in bioactive compounds, the present study compares both types of fermentation using maqui (Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz) as the source of these compounds.
Maqui is a Chilean fruit known for its high anthocyanin content and positive biological effects, such as antioxidant capacity and the capacity to inhibit diabetes symptoms, previously demonstrated by our group.
The findings support the feasibility of developing safe, salubrious, and sustainable (3S) beverages, based on their microbiological safety, health-promoting potential, and the valorisation of maqui berry as functional substrate.
Water kefir showed a higher sugar consumption than kombucha.
Ethanol levels remained within regulatory limits, while kombucha reached significant acetic acid levels, favoring a lower pH and a stable red coloration.
Total anthocyanin content showed a slight decrease due to microbial biotransformation into simpler phenolic metabolites.
This synergy between anthocyanins and probiotics enhances the functional value of these formulations, suggesting a promising biochemical basis for future nutritional studies.
Within these beverages water-kefir and kombucha are two of the most popular fermented beverages consumed, mainly due to their associated probiotic benefits.
Although both are refreshing, light, and effervescent, they have a key difference: kombucha is made from sweetened tea (usually black or green tea), fermented with a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), which converts the sugars in the tea into acids, carbon dioxide, and small amounts of alcohol (less than 0.5%). On the other hand, water-kefir is fermented with kefir grains, which are also a combination of some different bacteria and yeasts, and, unlike the kombucha SCOBY, water kefir grains are smaller and gelatinous.
Following our research line on alternative matrices to obtain beverages enriched in bioactive compounds, the present study compares both types of fermentation using maqui (Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz) as the source of these compounds.
Maqui is a Chilean fruit known for its high anthocyanin content and positive biological effects, such as antioxidant capacity and the capacity to inhibit diabetes symptoms, previously demonstrated by our group.
The findings support the feasibility of developing safe, salubrious, and sustainable (3S) beverages, based on their microbiological safety, health-promoting potential, and the valorisation of maqui berry as functional substrate.
Water kefir showed a higher sugar consumption than kombucha.
Ethanol levels remained within regulatory limits, while kombucha reached significant acetic acid levels, favoring a lower pH and a stable red coloration.
Total anthocyanin content showed a slight decrease due to microbial biotransformation into simpler phenolic metabolites.
This synergy between anthocyanins and probiotics enhances the functional value of these formulations, suggesting a promising biochemical basis for future nutritional studies.
Publication
Authors
B.M. Cánovas, I. Pérez-Novas, R. Domínguez-Perles, S. Medina, V. Nuñez, F. Salar, P.S. Fernández, C. García-Viguera, V. Agulló
Keywords
anthocyanins, fermented drinks, health, nutrition, (poly)phenols, sugar composition
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