Produção de kombucha utilizando maracujá-do-mato (Passiflora cincinnata Mast.)

Abstract

Kombucha is a fermented beverage with a sweet, slightly acidic, and slightly carbonated flavor. It is produced through the fermentation of black tea or sugary green tea by association with a symbiotic culture of acetic bacteria and yeast, called SCOBY. It is a food that is gaining popularity worldwide due to its potential to exert beneficial effects on human health. The objective of this work was to produce a kombucha using black tea, crystal sugar and demerara as substrate and flavor the drink with passion fruit, in addition to monitoring the fermentation process through physicochemical analysis and conducting a study of the economic feasibility of the kombucha manufacturing process. A model for fermentation kinetics was developed using Biolab software. Kombuchas flavored with passion fruit and sweetened with crystal sugar and demerara exhibited the highest levels of phenolic compounds, reaching, respectively, 919,4 μgEAG/mL and 853,73 μgEAG/mL. The use of passion fruit in the flavoring resulted in a significant increase in the production of flavonoids, of the variants sweetened with crystal sugar and demerara with concentrations of 13,80 μg of quercetin per mL and 14,10 μg of quercetin per mL, respectively. Additionally, kombuchas sweetened with both crystal and demerara sugar, when combined with passion fruit, showed effective bactericidal activity against Salmonella sp. (CCMB281), Escherichia coli (CCMB261) and Staphylococcus aureus (CCMB263). It has been shown that passion fruit potentiates the antioxidant effect of kombucha, promoting an increase in the levels of phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The economic feasibility analysis for the establishment of a micro-industry specialized in the production of kombucha flavored with passion fruit indicated that the investment project is economically viable, with an IRR of 18% and an NPV of R$ 17,282.30.