Red Yeast Rice-Driven Kombucha Fermentation: A Novel Strategy for Developing Functional Beverages with Enhanced...

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Microbiology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Traditional kombucha has limited functional diversity.
• Red yeast rice (RYR) is explored as an alternative substrate to enhance kombucha's properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the functional diversity of kombucha fermented with red yeast rice (RYR) as a substrate.
• To compare RYR-based kombucha with traditional black tea kombucha (KBT).

Main Methods:

• Fermentation of black tea kombucha (KBT), mixed kombucha (KBL), and red yeast rice kombucha (KRY) for 9 days.
• Analysis of physicochemical properties (pH, acidity), enzyme inhibition (cholesterol esterase, pancreatic lipase, α-glucosidase, α-amylase), antioxidant capacity (DPPH, ABTS), volatile flavor compounds (VFCs), and microbial communities.

Main Results:

• KRY showed lower pH, higher acidity, and significant sugar metabolic activity.
• KRY demonstrated in vitro hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic potential with high enzyme inhibition rates.
• KBT exhibited strong antioxidant capacity (>90% scavenging).
• KRY had enriched VFCs, leading to superior sensory acceptance (color, clarity, aroma).
• Microbial analysis revealed dominance of Komagataeibacter, Acetobacter, and Saccharomyces in KRY, correlating with VFCs.

Conclusions:

• RYR as a substrate enhances kombucha's functional microbial growth, sugar metabolism, and organic acid production.
• RYR-based kombucha exhibits promising in vitro hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects.
• RYR fermentation enriches flavor compounds, improving sensory attributes and functional properties.