Non-Targeted Metabolomic Analysis of the Kombucha Production Process.

Thierry Tran,Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin,Cosette Grandvalet,Hervé Alexandre,Antoine Martin,Raphaëlle Tourdot-Maréchal,Rémy Romanet,Chloé Roullier-Gall,François Verdier

doi:10.3390/metabo12020160

Abstract

Kombucha is a traditional fermented beverage obtained from the transformation of sugared black tea by a community of yeasts and bacteria. Kombucha production recently became industrialized, but its quality standards remain poorly defined. Metabolomic analyses were applied using FT-ICR-MS to characterize the impacts of production phases and the type of tea on the non-volatile chemical composition of kombucha. Independently from tea type, the first phase of acidification in open vessel was characterized by the release of gluconate and gallate from acetic acid bacteria metabolism and probably from polymeric polyphenols, respectively. The second phase of carbonation in closed vessel induced a consumption or transformation of oleic acid that could be consecutive of oxygen limitation. The first phase had the most impact on molecular diversity, but tea type mainly influenced the global composition in polyphenol profile. Black tea polyphenols were more impacted by microbial activity compared to green tea polyphenols.

Highlights

Metabolomics has undergone an important development in the field of food and nutrition sciences [1]
This study aims at analyzing kombucha samples for the first-time with FT-ICR/MS, a non-targeted analytic tool, to determine the impact of production phases from sugared tea to the finished product, as well as the effect of the tea type on the kombucha non-volatile metabolome
Direct infusion FT-ICR-MS was used for metabolite profiling, enabling a wide dynamic range in intensity (106) and we focused on the most abundant compounds (S/N > 4)

Summary

Introduction

Metabolomics has undergone an important development in the field of food and nutrition sciences [1]. It is defined as the high-throughput identification and quantification of small molecules (metabolites) from different molecular families and constitutive of a metabolome. The study of metabolomes in food aims at determining their composition by analyzing the highest number of compounds possible, which is why this approach is often coupled with non-targeted methods. A deep and comprehensive understanding of food composition allows the identification of parameters, markers, and signatures linked to the identity or authenticity of a given food, helping defining it and distinguishing from others, or adulterated versions [2]. In the context of fermented beverages, metabolomics was successfully applied to wine or beer, and allowed to determine the impacts of vintage and terroir on the composition of Burgundy red wines, or highlight the role of starch source on the metabolomes of German beers [3,4]

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