(P09-009-24) Regular Intake of Black Tea Kombucha Modulated the Gut Microbiota of Individuals With and Without Obesity

Objectives: To evaluate the regular consumption of black tea kombucha on the gut microbiota of individuals with and without obesity.

Methods: This is a clinical, chronic study, lasting eight consecutive weeks. Subjects were allocated into two groups, according to their features: normal weight + black tea kombucha; obese + black tea kombucha. The participants were instructed to drink 200 mL of black tea kombucha per day and maintain their usual diet and physical activity pattern throughout the study to avoid any biases. Stool samples were collected at baseline and the 8^th week of treatment and stored in an ultra-freezer at -80°C until analysis. After extracting the DNA from fecal samples, the sequencing was performed considering the bacterial regions V3 and V4 of the 16S rRNA gene (primers 341F/806R) and the internal spacers transcribed from the nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS1 and ITS2) of the fungal rRNA region (primers ITS1F and ITS2R).

Results: Thirty-seven participants completed the study: 21 from the normal weight group and 16 from the obese group. After eight weeks of intervention, kombucha favored microorganisms such as Bacteroidota, Akkermanciaceae, and Prevotellaceae and reduced the abundance of microorganisms associated with obesity, such as Ruminococcus and Dorea, especially in the obese group. There was an increase in fungal diversity, greater abundance of Saccharomyces, and a decrease in Exophiala and Rhodotorula. Pichia and Dekkera, two of the main microorganisms found in kombucha and SCOBYs, were identified as biomarkers after the intervention.

Conclusions: Our study is the first clinical trial that investigates the impacts of regular consumption of kombucha on the gut microbiota. The results suggest that regular consumption of kombucha could modulate the gut microbiota of individuals with or without obesity, and the results were even more promising in the last group. However, we emphasize the importance of a balanced diet on the overall health.

Funding Sources: We would like to thank the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research at Purdue University where part of the research was conducted; and CAPES (finance code 001), CAPES-PrInt, and FAPEMIG for financial support.