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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1415616

Potential probiotic and functional properties of Brettanomyces strains isolated from kombucha tea

Provisionally accepted
Lara Areal-Hermida Lara Areal-Hermida 1Pedro Coelho Pedro Coelho 2Ángeles Pichardo-Gallardo Ángeles Pichardo-Gallardo 1Cristina Prudencio Cristina Prudencio 2Carmen Sieiro Carmen Sieiro 1*
  • 1 Department of Functional Biology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
  • 2 Centro de Investigação em Saúde Translacional e Biotecnologia Médica (TBIO)/Rede de Investigação em Saúde (RISE-Health), Escola Superior de Saúde, Instituto Politécnico do Porto,, Porto, Portugal

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Kombucha, a beverage traditionally obtained through the fermentation of tea, is believed to have beneficial health properties. Therefore, characterizing the microorganisms responsible for this fermentation is essential to demonstrate its potential health benefits and to identify candidates for new probiotics. In this study, four probiotic yeast strains isolated from kombucha tea were identified, by the PCR-RFLP analysis of the ribosomal ITS region and the sequence of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA, as Brettanomyces bruxellensis (UVI55 and UVI56) and B. anomalus (UVI57 and UVI58). Properties relevant to probiotics were also studied in these strains. All of them showed excellent survival in simulated gastric (99-100%) and duodenal (95-100%) juices. The ability to self-aggregate (38-100%), adhesion to xylene (15-50%) and, above all, adhesion to Caco-2 cells (4-21%), revealed its potential capacity to adhere to the intestinal epithelium. In addition, the tested strains showed excellent antioxidant capacity (82-94%), antimicrobial activity against different pathogens (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus), as well as remarkable cytotoxic activity against colon, melanoma and ovarian tumor cell lines. Finally, using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model, strain UVI56 exhibited ability to both extend the lifespan of the nematode and protect it against infection by S. enterica. These results support the probiotic and functional properties of the analyzed strains. In conclusion, the study revealed that kombucha tea could be a source of potential probiotics that contribute to its health-promoting properties and that the characterized Brettanomyces strains could be exploited directly as probiotics or for the development of new functional foods.

    Keywords: Kombucha tea, Probiotics, Yeasts, Brettanomyces, Antimicrobial activity, Cytotoxicity, Longevity

    Received: 10 Apr 2024; Accepted: 09 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Areal-Hermida, Coelho, Pichardo-Gallardo, Prudencio and Sieiro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Carmen Sieiro, Department of Functional Biology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Vigo, Vigo, 36310, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.