The compositional and functional properties of Kombucha: A literature review

Kombucha is a fermented tea manufactured by adding various microorganisms and sugars to brewed herb tea such as green tea and black tea. Its components and functions vary depending on ingredients, inoculated microorganism compositions, and fermentation conditions. Therefore, this study aims to examine which conditions affect kombucha properties and how these features are affected. Types of substrates, specifically plant-based foods, alter profiles of polyphenol, organic acids, carbohydrates, and protein amounts in kombucha. Long fermentation time raises polyphenol contents and high fermentation temperatures increase sourness in kombucha. Microbial composition of SCOBY, which is the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast used to inoculate microorganisms, change the kombucha microbiome that contributes to the chemical composition and functions of kombucha. Several studies have discovered that kombucha has health beneficial functions such as antioxidant activity, hepatic protective effects, antimicrobial effects, anti-diabetic effects, anti-inflammatory effects, and cholesterol reducing effects. These findings indicate that kombucha has high potential as a health functional food. However, future studies are needed to further determine the relationship of manufacturing conditions and functional properties of kombucha.