Development of Fermented Kombucha Tea Beverage Enriched with Inulin and B Vitamins

Abstract

Kombucha is a sweet and sour beverage made by fermenting a liquid base with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Different tea substrates, carbohydrate sources, and additional ingredients are used to create beverages with different physical and chemical characteristics. The purpose of this work was to create a recipe and technology to study the properties of the beverage based on kombucha with a given chemical composition. The content of added functional ingredients (vitamins and inulin) in quantities comparable with reference daily intake was the specified parameter characterizing the distinctive features of the enriched beverages. For fermentation using symbiotic cultures of bacteria and yeast, a black tea infusion sweetened with sucrose was used as a substrate. The changes in the physicochemical characteristics of the fermented tea beverage base were evaluated. The dynamics of changes in pH, acidity, the content of mono- and disaccharides, ethanol, organic acids, polyphenolic compounds, and volatile organic substances were shown. The fermentation conditions were selected (pH up to 3.3 ± 0.3, at T = 25 ± 1 °C, process duration of 14 days) to obtain the beverage base. Strawberry and lime leaves were used as flavor and aroma ingredients, and vitamins with inulin were used as functional ingredients. Since the use of additional ingredients changed the finished beverage’s organoleptic profile and increased its content of organic acids, the final product’s physical–chemical properties, antioxidant activity, and organoleptic indicators were assessed. The content of B vitamins in the beverages ranges from 29 to 44% of RDI, and 100% of RDI for inulin, which allows it to be attributed to the category of enriched products. The DPPH inhibitory activity of the beverages was 82.0 ± 7%, and the ethanol content did not exceed 0.43%. The beverages contained a variety of organic acids: lactic (43.80 ± 4.82 mg/100 mL), acetic (205.00 ± 16.40 mg/100 mL), tartaric (2.00 ± 0.14 mg/100 mL), citric (65.10 ± 5.86 mg/100 mL), and malic (45.50 ± 6.37 mg/100 mL). The technology was developed using pilot equipment to produce fermented kombucha tea enriched with inulin and B vitamins.

Fermented Beverages Revisited: From Terroir to Customized Functional Products

“…The enhancement of functional properties has also been achieved through the direct addition of compounds or their precursor molecules. An example of the first strategy is the study by Frolova et al [309], in which pre-dissolved inulin and a vitamin premix consisting of thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, folic acid and niacin were added to the already fermented black-tea kombucha at concentrations corresponding to 100% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of inulin and 29-44% of the RDI of the vitamins. In addition, an infusion of frozen strawberries and lime leaves was created and added after the primary fermentation, and a secondary one was allowed, at 23 • C, for 24 h. The final product exhibited a 82% DPPH inhibitory activity and it was highly accepted by the sensory evaluation panel.…”

Improved Antioxidant Properties and Vitamin C and B12 Content from Enrichment of Kombucha with Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Powder

“…So, they may be used to obtain biocompound-rich kombuchas. To date, a great variety of them, used as fresh ingredients or as juice or extracts, like cherry [15], lemon [16], goji berry [17], kiwi [18], red raspberry [19], and fresh or dried herbs and spices such as mint [20,21], cinnamon [22], cardamom [22], thyme [22,23], and inulin [18], have been added to the starting tea before inoculation with SCOBY [20,22] in order to modulate the concentration of bioactive compounds and thus the functional properties of the final beverage.…”

Effect of Inulin Addition on Physicochemical, Microbiological, Textural, and Sensorial Characteristics of Fermented Butifarra with Lactobacillus sakei

“…Chemically, inulin is a straight-chain linear polysaccharide made from d-fructose linked by a β(1 → 2) glycosidic bond, usually with a glucose residue at its end [13]. It is a source of dietary fiber that acts as a prebiotic and has a beneficial effect on intestinal habits, due to the ability to change the composition of the colon microbiota which has beneficial effects on the human host [18][19][20].…”