Kombucha is a fermented and sweetened tea drink that has become very popular, in part due to its supposed health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, or protecting against metabolic diseases and liver toxins. These benefits are believed to come from the probiotic microbes in the drink and their impact on metabolism, although the health properties attributed to it have not been extensively studied in humans.
A recent study, however, has revealed that the microbes present in kombucha tea induce changes in fat metabolism in the intestines of a type of worm – C. elegans – that are similar to the effects produced by fasting. . The research has been carried out by Robert Dowen and his team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who have published their findings in the journal PLOS Genetics.
The researchers analyzed the effect of kombucha tea probiotics on metabolism by feeding these microbes to model nematodes C. elegans. The researchers observed that yeasts and bacteria colonize the intestines of the worms and generate metabolic changes similar to those that occur during fasting.
Kombucha induces improvements in fat metabolism
Microbes modify the expression of genes related to fat metabolism, resulting in an increase in proteins that break down fat and a decrease in proteins that produce fat molecules called triglycerides. Together, these changes reduce fat reserves in the worms. The study results offer new insight into how probiotics present in kombucha tea can remodel metabolism in a model worm species, and suggest how these microbes could affect human metabolism.
“The findings suggest that the microbes in kombucha tea induce a fasting-like state in the host, even in the presence of sufficient nutrients.”
Although it is very important to remember that more research is needed to demonstrate that consuming kombucha produces effects in people similar to those observed in the C. elegans model studied here, these findings seem consistent with the reported health benefits of kombucha. human, the authors say, and could support the drink’s use in complementary healthcare approaches in the future.
“We were surprised to find that animals consuming a diet composed of the probiotic microbes found in kombucha tea showed reduced fat accumulation, lower levels of triglycerides, and smaller lipid droplets – an organelle that stores the cell’s lipids. – compared to other diets. “These findings suggest that microbes in kombucha tea induce a fasting-like state in the host, even in the presence of sufficient nutrients,” the authors conclude.
