Kombucha, one of the ordinary fermented beverages consumed worldwide, is produced by fermenting tea and sugar with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts or so-called SCOBY. Kombucha can be made from different types of tea, such as black, green, white, red, and oolong teas, yielding various health benefits and properties. Several species of bacteria and yeasts are involved in the fermentation process, which generates many beneficial compounds, such as polyphenols, organic acids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, organic nitrogens, and hydrolytic enzymes, which have significant health effects and therapeutic properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial properties. This review describes recent research on kombucha fermentation, the microbial community in SCOBY, the chemical composition of kombucha, and its health benefits. The adverse effects and prospects of kombucha production were also discussed.

This study describes the in vitro propagation and ex vitro acclimatization of Philodendron erubescens pink princess, one of the most popular ornamental variegated foliage plants. For shoot proliferation, the protocorm-like bodies of the Philodendron pink princess were cultured on solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) at different concentrations. The results revealed that supplementation with BAP alone at a concentration of 1.0 mg/L yielded the maximum number of shoots and leaves. Furthermore, the application of BAP at 1.0 mg/L significantly enhanced the shoot proliferation of Philodendron pink princess when grown in liquid MS medium, yielding 11.2 shoots/explant and 4.7 leaves/explant. When the established microshoots were subjected to root induction using solid MS media supplemented with different kinds and concentrations of auxins, indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 3 mg/L resulted in the highest number of roots (3.2 roots/explant) and longest root length (1.9 cm). Three supporting materials, i.e., peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite, were used as planting media for the ex vitro acclimatization of the Philodendron pink princess plantlets. The results demonstrated that the in vitro plantlets acclimatized and exhibited a relatively high survival frequency in all planting media without morphological abnormalities. Peat moss outperformed all other types of planting media in terms of sustaining the vegetative growth of the plantlets. In the future, the approach established in this study could be employed for the extensive production of Philodendron pink princess.

The use of alternative ingredients as supplements to or blends with kombucha tea to improve organoleptic properties and health effects has recently increased. Indian gooseberry fruit is among the most promising alternative raw materials for producing functional kombucha since the berries contain several beneficial substances. In this study, the production of functional kombucha beverages from fusions of black tea and Indian gooseberry fruit homogenate (IGH) was investigated, and the chemical and biological properties of kombucha products were evaluated and compared with those of traditional black tea kombucha products. Chemical composition analysis revealed that IGH contains high amounts of polyphenols (627.4 mg GAE/L or 129.51 mg GAE/g dry weight), flavonoids (98.0 mg QE/L or 9.11 mg QE/g dry weight), and vitamins, specifically ascorbic acid (465.72 mg/100 g fresh weight). It also contains several amino acids, fatty acids, and trace elements. Supplementing or blending black tea kombucha with IGH in the range of 10 %–50 % (v/v) increased the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and total acidity of the fermented beverages. Several volatile organic compounds associated with the flavor, aroma, and health benefits of kombucha were also detected in black tea and IGH fusion kombucha products. Moreover, the black tea and IGH fusion kombucha products also displayed greater antioxidant and antimicrobial activities than the traditional black tea kombucha. Among the different combinations of black tea and IGH, supplementing black tea kombucha with 20 % IGH was the best combination for producing alternative and unique functional kombucha products with notable nutritional and health benefits.

Conventional in vitro propagation using semisolid Murashige and Skoog (MS) culture systems is costly, labor-intensive, and requires substantial space for large-scale plant production. This study investigated the application of a temporary immersion bioreactor (TIB) system for the micropropagation of the banana cultivar Kluai Numwa Pakchong 50, as a promising platform for economical commercial production. The cultivation parameters affecting plantlet multiplication, including plant growth regulator (PGR) use, explant density, and immersion frequency, were examined. Additionally, the ex vitro acclimatization of well-developed in vitro plantlets was also evaluated. Using liquid MS medium supplemented with 7.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in the TIB system yielded significantly better results than the conventional semisolid MS control system, producing more shoots (5.60 shoots/explant) and leaves (2.80 leaves/explant) with longer shoot length (2.19 cm). Optimal conditions in the TIB system included an inoculum density of five explants per culture vessel and an immersion frequency of once every 6 or 8 h for 2 min. For root induction, 0.5 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) proved more effective than 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). After 30 days of ex vitro acclimatization, plantlets regenerated from the TIB system demonstrated high survival rates, vegetative growth performance, and root formation efficiency comparable to those from the semisolid culture system. These findings establish the TIB system as a promising platform for the mass propagation of the Kluai Numwa Pakchong 50 banana. The protocol developed in this study could potentially be adapted for large-scale production of other banana varieties.

This study investigated the role of the Zymomonas mobilis recA gene in conferring stress resistance when expressed in Escherichia coli. The recA gene was cloned and expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3), producing a 39 kDa polypeptide. The results of comparative analyses demonstrated that the recombinant strain significantly enhanced survival rates under various stress conditions. In oxidative stress tests, the recombinant E. coli pET-22b(+)-recA exhibited superior survival at 3 mM and 5 mM H₂O₂ concentrations. Heat stress experiments at 50 °C and 55 °C revealed increased survival for the recombinant strain. Under ethanol stress, particularly at 20% (v/v), E. coli pET-22b(+)-recA displayed higher viability than controls. UV-C exposure tests further highlighted the protective effect of recA expression, with the recombinant strain maintaining viability after 60 min of exposure, while control strains showed no survival. These results indicate that the Z. mobilis recA gene product enhances resistance to oxidative, heat, ethanol, and UV-C stresses when expressed in E. coli. This study elucidates the broad stress-protective functions of the RecA protein across bacterial species and suggests potential applications in developing stress-tolerant bacterial strains for biotechnological purposes.

Functional vinegars have been produced from various ingredients worldwide, yet there remains a notable gap in utilizing herbal plants as complementary ingredients to sugar-based materials. This study investigates the innovative combination of Caesalpinia sappan extract with sugarcane juice for functional vinegar production. The results demonstrate that C. sappan-supplemented vinegars exhibited significantly enhanced quality parameters compared to control vinegar made from sugarcane juice alone. Specifically, the supplemented vinegars showed increased total acidity and total phenolic content (TPC), with the improvement directly proportional to the concentration of plant extract used. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed unique volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that were present exclusively in the C. sappan-supplemented vinegars but absent in the control. Most notably, the supplementation of C. sappan extract at concentrations of 2 and 4 g/L substantially enhanced both the antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity of the resulting vinegars. These biochemical improvements highlight the synergistic potential of combining sugarcane juice with C. sappan extract for developing novel functional vinegar beverages with enhanced bioactive properties. Our findings open new possibilities for creating value-added products that leverage traditional medicinal plants in modern functional beverages, potentially offering consumers additional health benefits beyond conventional vinegars.