THE STATE OF PLAY: SYMBIOTIC CULTURE OF BACTERIA AND YEASTS (SCOBY) IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Abstract

The fermentation of Kombucha tea produces SCOBY, or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, as a result of the interaction between bacteria and yeast. In order to fully explore the potential of employing this cellulose as a viable raw material in many applications of industry, numerous studies on the Kombucha SCOBY are now being done. According to studies, Zygosaccharomyces and Acetobacter xylinum are the most frequent bacteria found throughout the SCOBY fermentation process. At the air-liquid interface, these microorganisms help produce cellulose fibrils extracellularly, resulting in a biofilm. An overview of the favourable conditions for SCOBY manufacture is provided in more specific, as well as the aspects that may influence the product, and its suitability for textile and fashion sector applications is appraised. The advantages of this biofilm are being explored, including in several industries especially in textile and fashion industry. The microbial consortium's tea fermentation process was able to demonstrate an increase in specific biological activities that had previously been researched. However, there are some limitations in the applications of SCOBY in the textile that need to be highlighted. Thus, this review focuses on the SCOBY properties, challenges and potential available to make it feasible in textile industries.