Fruit pomace-altered kombucha enables dual production of functional beverages and antimicrobial bacterial cellulose films
Journal
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Journal Volume
378
ISSN
0141-8130
Date Issued
2026-10
Author(s)
Chou, Yu-Chieh
Hsieh, Chen-Che
Santoso, Shella Permatasari
Ku, Wei-Lun
Lu, Yun-Han
Lin, Shin-Ping
Abstract
Kombucha is commonly regarded as a functional fermented beverage, and fruit pomace was evaluated as a co-substrate to modulate its fermentation and concurrently enable bacterial cellulose (BC) production. Sweetened black tea was co-fermented with 1% (w/v) apple, lemon, banana, kiwi, or blueberry pomace, and the resulting beverages and regenerated BC films were characterized in terms of functional metabolites, volatile composition, and bioactivity. The pomace type strongly governed functional outcomes. The blueberry pomace group (BLK) produced the greatest antioxidant enhancement, increased ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities by 63.5% and 26.8%, respectively, relative to the control. Organic-acid profiles markedly differed among pomace groups: the banana pomace group (BAK) increased glucuronic acid to 2.28-fold of the control, the kiwi pomace group (KIK) maximized acetic acid formation (1.95-fold vs. the control), and the BLK yielded the largest succinic acid accumulation (5.20-fold vs. pre-fermentation). Headspace HS-SPME-GC/MS revealed pomace-specific volatile fingerprints, demonstrating systematic shifts in aroma-related compounds across pomace groups rather than uniform flavor intensification. Importantly, pomace-altered kombuchas (PKs) served as effective media for BC biosynthesis, and regenerated films retained the cellulose I diffraction signature while exhibiting pomace-dependent thermal/structural responses. PK-derived BC films displayed significantly enhanced antimicrobial activity compared to control BC, with inhibition zones increased by 1.43-fold against Escherichia coli (lemon pomace group (LK)/BLK), 1.2-fold against Staphylococcus aureus (KIK), and 1.6-fold against Pseudomonas paraeruginosa (BLK). Overall, this dual valorization strategy advances circular bioprocessing by converting juice-processing residues into functionally tailored kombucha and antimicrobial BC biomaterials with potential utility in active food packaging and wound-care materials. © 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
Subjects
Bacterial cellulose
Fruit pomace
Functional beverage
Kombucha
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Description
Article number 153789
Type
journal article