Development of Potentially Probiotic Mead from Co-Fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii and Kombucha Microorganisms

• Published in: Fermentation (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 9; p. 482
• Main Authors: Souza, Handray Fernandes de, Freire, Eduardo Novais Souza, Monteiro, Giovana Felício, Bogáz, Lorena Teixeira, Teixeira, Ricardo Donizete, Junior, Fabiano Vaquero Silva, Teixeira, Felipe Donizete, Santos, João Vitor dos, Carvalho, Marina Vieira de, Rocha, Ramon da Silva, da Cruz, Adriano Gomes, Bell, Juliana Maria Leite Nobrega de Moura, Brandi, Igor Viana, Kamimura, Eliana Setsuko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Acidity; Alcohol; Alcoholic beverages; Antioxidants; Bacteria; Beverages; Cell survival; Composition; Cooperation; Drinking water; Fermentation; Fermented food; Gastrointestinal tract; honey; in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion; Lactic acid bacteria; Methods; Microorganisms; Nutritional aspects; Phenolic compounds; phenolics; Probiotics; Production processes; Saccharomyces; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Tea; Yeast; Brazil
• ISSN: 2311-5637; 2311-5637
• DOI: 10.3390/fermentation10090482

Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage produced from a diluted solution of honey and yeast activity. The objectives of this study were to produce a potentially probiotic mead through mixed fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii and kombucha microorganisms and to evaluate fermentation kinetics, microbial cell survival and their in vitro resistance to simulated gastrointestinal transit, color parameters and the phenolic and antioxidant potential of the product. The main results of this study show that in order to develop a potentially probiotic mead utilizing the mixed fermentation of S. boulardii and kombucha microorganisms, the best condition was a concentration of 25 mL/L (v/v) of kombucha and 0.75 g/L (w/v) of S. boulardii with fermentation for 9 days at a temperature of 25 °C. In addition, at the end of fermentation, mead with kombucha and S. boulardii presented physicochemical characteristics with a pH of 3.48, 0.67% total acidity, 18.76 °Brix soluble solids and 4.77% alcohol content. The S. boulardii and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) present in the mead survived conditions reproducing those of the gastrointestinal tract, with counts of more than 6 Log10 CFU/mL for both microorganisms after the intestinal phase. In the color analysis, the mead with kombucha and S. boulardii had a yellow color with the b* parameter corresponding to 35.93, luminosity (L*) equal to 76.09 and 1.82 for a*. In addition, the mead we produced contains quantities of phenolics and antioxidants. In conclusion, kombucha and S. boulardii are presented as alternative microbial sources for obtaining potentially probiotic mead.