Potential of kefir as a dietetic beverage – a review

Abstract

Purpose -Kefir, the self-carbonated beverage, possesses nutritional attributes due to its content of vitamins, protein and minerals and therapeutic attributes contributed by its antibacterial spectrum, gastro-intestinal proliferation, hypocholesterolemic effect, anti carcinogenic effect, L(þ ) lactic acid content, b-galactosidase activity and bacterial colonization. Inclusion of kefir in the diet as a dietetic beverage may confer nutritional and therapeutic advantages to the consumers. Design/methodology/approach -By reviewing the literature the chemical, microbiological, nutritional and therapeutic characteristics of kefir have been highlighted to justify its consumption as a dietary beverage. Findings -Kefir grains, kefir starter and kefir beverage vary considerably in microflora of bacterial and yeasts. The nutritional attributes of kefir are due to its chemical ingredients such as vitamins, protein and minerals and fermentation induces further enhancement in its nutritional profiles. Kefir exhibits varied therapeutic attributes due to possession of different therapeutic components. Kefir can be recommended for consumption by normal and sick adults as well as infants as a dietetic beverage. Originality/value -Due to various nutritional and therapeutic attributes of kefir, it may occupy an important place in the diet of those consumers inclined towards dietetic foods.

A review: chemical, microbiological and nutritional characteristics of kefir

“…Kefir contains vitamins B 1 , B 2 , B 5 and C. The vitamin content of kefir is influenced by both type of milk and microbiological flora (Sarkar, 2007). Liutkevicius and Sarkinas (2004) determined that kefir contains vitamins B 5 , B 2 and B 1 at approximately 3, <5 and <10 mg/kg, respectively.…”

“…The amino acid profile changes during the fermentation of milk, and kefir was found to contain higher levels of threonine, serine, alanine, lysine and ammonia than milk. Kefir also contains other amino acids, such as valine, isoleucine, methionine, lysine, phenylalanine and tryptophan (Otles & Cagindi, 2003;Sarkar, 2007). The essential amino acid contents in kefir are (mg/ 100 g) valine, 220;isoleucine, 262;methionine, 137;lysine, 376;threonine, 183;phenylalanine, 231;and tryptophan, 70 (Liutkevicius & Sarkinas, 2004).…”

“…Kefir typically contains 89-90% moisture, 0.2% lipid, 3.0% protein, 6.0% sugar, 0.7% ash and 1.0% each of lactic acid and alcohol (Sarkar, 2007). Kefir has been reported to contain 1.98 g/L of CO 2 and 0.48% alcohol , and the content of carbon dioxide (201.7-277.0 ml/L) positively correlated with the concentration (10-100 g/L) of kefir grains (Garrote, Abraham, & De Antoni, 1998).…”

“…The term is derived from the word kef, which means 'pleasant taste' in Turkish (De Oliveria Leite et al, 2013;Guzel-Seydim, Seydim, Greene, & Bodine, 2000). Kefir is also known variously as kefyr, kephir, kefer, kiaphur, knapon, kepi or kippi (Sarkar, 2007). While it has been widely consumed in Russia and central Asia contries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan for centuries, it is now increasingly popular in European countries, Japan and the United States due to its nutritional and therapeutic effects (Otles & Cagindi, 2003).…”

Kefir D’Aqua and Its Probiotic Properties

“…Accordingly, milky kefir is known to present a large antibacterium spectrum, gastrointestinal improvement and proliferation of normal lactic intestinal flora and bacterial colonization, anti-carcinogenic, wound healing and β-galactosidase activities, immuno-stimulatory, anti-diabetes [25], anti-oxidative [26], anti-lipidemic [27], and anti-allergenic effects, among others [28]. In the same way, although there are a lot of data reported about an exopolysaccharide with prebiotic properties isolated from kefir grains, the literature concerns only on the purified molecule from lacteous sources.…”