Avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana da kombucha fermentada com pólen

Abstract

Kombucha is a fermented beverage produced from sweetened tea and a symbiotic culture composed of bacteria and yeast, known as SCOBY. This study aimed to analyze the antimicrobial efficacy of kombucha fermented with the addition of bee pollen. Initially, a first fermentation was carried out for 10 days and, subsequently, a second fermentation was carried out, with and without the incorporation of pollen, for another 10 days. Physicochemical analyses were performed, including pH, total acidity, reducing sugars, °Brix and phenolic compounds, as well as microbiological analyses, such as colony count and determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration. The results showed that the incorporation of pollen significantly increased the concentrations of phenolic compounds, total acidity and antioxidant activity of the beverage, while decreasing the pH and the reducing sugars contente did not differ at the 5% significance level. The evaluation using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) confirmed that the samples fermented with pollen stood out in terms of functional quality, especially after a 20-day fermentation period. Regarding antimicrobial activity, the occurrence of organisms such as Komagataeibacter hansenii, Acetobacter senegalensis, and K. xylinus in the SCOBY microbiota favored the bioactive design and stabilization of the beverage. Thus, it is concluded that kombucha fermented with pollen shows promising potential as a natural preservative, configuring itself as a viable alternative to the use of synthetic additives in the food industry.