Enhancement of bioactivity in kombucha produced from endemic Sideritis bilgerana and Galium nigdeense infusions: Development of novel functional beverages
Food Bioscience, cilt.82, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 82
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.fbio.2026.109358
- Dergi Adı: Food Bioscience
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, INSPEC
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Biological activity, Endemic plants, Functional beverage, Galium nigdeense, Kombucha, Sideritis bilgerana
- Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Kombucha is a fermented beverage produced using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), and alternative botanical substrates are increasingly explored for functional beverage development. This study presents, for the first time, kombucha beverages produced from two endemic species, Sideritis bilgerana and Galium nigdeense, native to the Niğde region of Türkiye, and compares their bioactive properties with black tea kombucha (BTK) and green tea kombucha (GTK). Kombucha samples, including BTK, GTK, Sideritis bilgerana kombucha (SBK), and Galium nigdeense kombucha (GNK), were fermented for 14 days and analyzed for total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer-related activities. By day 14, TPC reached 39.07, 36.41, 14.22, and 7.68 μg GAE/mg in BTK, GTK, SBK, and GNK, respectively. DPPH radical scavenging activity increased to 84.12%, 82.62%, 61.31%, and 58.86%, respectively. CUPRAC values reached 1.79–1.05 mg TE/g, while FRAP values ranged from 1.75 to 1.45 mg TE/g. Antimicrobial activity was absent on day 1 but became evident by day 14, with inhibition zones of 19–23 mm against the tested pathogens. None of the samples showed cytotoxic or growth-inhibitory effects on CaCo-2 cells. Overall, S. bilgerana and G. nigdeense can be used as endemic plant substrates to develop kombucha beverages with enhanced phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and antimicrobial activity.