Affiliation:
1. AKDENIZ UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF SCIENCE
2. ATATURK UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF SCIENCE
3. AKDENIZ UNIVERSITY, FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURAL STUDIES CENTER
Abstract
Nowadays, fermented beverages such as kombucha are particularly popular among customers because of their health benefits. Although black tea is often used as a substrate for kombucha fermentation, kombucha drinks prepared with various herbal teas are becoming increasingly popular. In this study, the medicinal plant, mahaleb was used for kombucha fermentation. The DPPH method was used to determine the antioxidant activity of kombucha drinks, the Folin–Ciocalteu and aluminium chloride colorimetric method was used to determine the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the drinks, respectively, and the antibacterial activity was determined by the disc diffusion method of the drinks. In addition, the microbiological composition and sensory analysis of the kombucha drinks were investigated. The antioxidant activity of the mahaleb-flavoured kombucha was not statistically different from those of traditional kombucha (p>0.05). As for phenolic content, traditional kombucha had higher content on all fermentation days (p<0.05). The total flavonoid content of mahaleb-flavoured kombucha was similar to traditional kombucha on day 7 of fermentation (p>0.05), but higher than traditional kombucha on day 21 of fermentation (p<0.0.5). In the analysis of the microbiological profile, the highest values of total mesophilic bacteria and acetic acid bacteria content were observed in mahaleb-flavoured kombucha and yeast in traditional kombucha on the 7th and 14th day of fermentation. Mahaleb-flavoured kombucha scored highest on all criteria and was the most popular beverage among participants. This is the first study in which mahaleb was used in kombucha fermentation.