Kombucha tea information by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Health benefit and side effects of kombucha tea

Kombucha, popularly called kombucha mushroom, a combination of yeast species and acid forming bacteria, that was quite popular in the US in the mid to late 1990s, but has since not been in the limelight. Some people called it kombucha mushroom but technically it is a symbiosis of several yeast species and bacteria.

Kombucha tea benefit
There have not been any reliable human studies with kombucha tea, therefore, at this point, it is difficult to report any proof of kombucha benefit or harm. Rodents studies indicate kombucha tea has antioxidant and immune influencing properties, along with liver protecting and anti-stress potential. However, some human case studies as listed below raise some concern about possible kombucha side effects.

High Quality products formulated by a medical doctor
These top quality products include Mind Power Rx for better mental focus, concentration, and mood; Diet Rx which helps you eat less. It really does curb appetite; Good Night Rx for better sleep; Eyesight Rx for better vision, often within days; MultiVit Rx a daily comprehensive multivitamin for more energy and vitality; Joint Power Rx for healthy joints; Prostate Power Rx for a healthy prostate gland, see prostate saw palmetto site; and Passion Rx for sexual enhancement, better libido, and improved performance and stamina in men and women.

Kombucha side effects
Kombucha side effects have been reported. A rare case of myositis has been mentioned with drinking of kombucha tea. Other possible problems include harm to liver.

Kombucha review by Dr. Sahelian
At this point I think kombucha tea is a healthy drink when it is prepared hygienically and when used only occasionally. Until more studies are done, I prefer people not drink kombucha tea on a daily basis, but only once or twice a week.

Kombucha Tea Research
Kombucha: a systematic review of the clinical evidence.
Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd. 2003 Apr;10(2):85-7.Ernst E.
Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK.
Kombucha tea has become a popular complementary remedy. The aim of this systematic review was to critically evaluate the evidence related to its efficacy and safety of kombucha mushroom. Computerised literature searches were carried out to locate all human medical investigations of kombucha mushroom regardless of study design. No kombucha mushroom clinical studies were found relating to the efficacy of this remedy. Several case reports and case series raise doubts about the safety of kombucha mushroom. They include suspected liver damage, metabolic acidosis and cutaneous anthrax infections. One fatality is on record. On the basis of these data it was concluded that the largely undetermined kombucha benefit do not outweigh the side effects of kombucha. It can therefore not be recommended for therapeutic use.

A case of anti-Jo1 myositis with pleural effusions and pericardial tamponade developing after exposure to a fermented Kombucha beverage.
Clin Rheumatol. 2004 Aug;23(4):355-7. Division of Rheumatology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
The pathogenesis of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies has been postulated to be an environmental trigger causing the expression of the disease in a genetically predisposed patient. We report a case of anti-Jo1 antibody-positive myositis which was associated with pleural effusions, pericardial effusion with tamponade, and 'mechanic's hands', probably related to the consumption of a fermented Kombucha beverage. Kombucha 'mushroom', a symbiosis of yeast and bacteria, is postulated to be the trigger for our patient's disease owing to the proximity of his symptoms to the consumption of the Kombucha beverage.

Lead induced oxidative stress: beneficial effects of Kombucha tea.
Biomed Environ Sci. 2003 Sep;16(3):276-82. Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, Lucknow Road, Timarpur, Delhi-110054, India.
To evaluate the effect of oral administration of Kombucha tea on lead induced oxidative stress. Sprague Dawley rats were administered 1 mL of 3.8% lead acetate solution daily alone or in combination with Kombucha tea orally for 45 d, and the antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation were evaluated. RESULTS: Oral administration of lead acetate to rats enhanced lipid peroxidation and release of creatine phosphokinase and decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD and glutathione peroxidase, GPx). Lead treatment did not alter humoral immunity, but inhibited DTH response when compared to the control. Lead administration also increased DNA fragmentation in liver. Oral administration of Kombucha tea to rats exposed to lead decreased lipid peroxidation and DNA damage with a concomitant increase in the reduced glutathione level and GPx activity. Kombucha tea supplementation relieved the lead induced immunosuppression to appreciable levels. The results suggest that Kombucha tea has potent antioxidant and immunomodulating properties.

Studies on toxicity, anti-stress and hepato-protective properties of Kombucha tea.
Biomed Environ Sci. 2001 Sep;14(3):207-13. Defence Institute of Physiology Allied Sciences, Timarpur, Lucknow Road, Delhi-110054, India.
The objective of the study was to evaluate toxicity, anti-stress activity and hepato-protective properties of Kombucha tea. Kombucha tea was fed orally for 15 days using three different doses i.e. normal dose, five and ten times the dose. Rats were then sacrificed and various biochemical, and histological parameters were estimated. Results: The effect of oral administration of different doses of kombucha tea to albino rats was examined and the results indicate that kombucha tea has no significant toxicity as revealed by various biochemical and histopathological parameters. Kombucha tea has been found to prevent lipid peroxidation and fall in reduced glutathione level when rats were exposed to cold and hypoxia in simulated chamber. Further, kombucha tea has also been found to decrease the Wrap-restraint faecal pellet output in rats. K-tea has also been found to decrease paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity significantly. The study shows that kombucha tea has anti-stress and hepato-protective activities.

Yeast ecology of Kombucha fermentation.
Int J Food Microbiol. 2004 Sep 1;95(2):119-26. Food Science and Technology, School of Chemical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia.
Kombucha is a traditional fermentation of sweetened tea, involving a symbiosis of yeast species and acetic acid bacteria. Despite reports of different yeast species being associated with the fermentation, little is known of the quantitative ecology of yeasts in Kombucha. Using oxytetracycline-supplemented malt extract agar, yeasts were isolated from four commercially available Kombucha products and identified using conventional biochemical and physiological tests. During the fermentation of each of the four products, yeasts were enumerated from both the cellulosic pellicle and liquor of the Kombucha. The number and diversity of species varied between products, but included Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Candida stellata, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Zygosaccharomyces bailii. While these yeast species are known to occur in Kombucha, the enumeration of each species present throughout fermentation of each of the four Kombucha cultures demonstrated for the first time the dynamic nature of the yeast ecology. Kombucha fermentation is, in general, initiated by osmotolerant species, succeeded and ultimately dominated by acid-tolerant species.
 

Kombucha Questions
Q. I am confused as to whether kombucha tea is a healthy drink or can cause harm.
   A. At this point my understanding is that kombucha tea has the health benefit of being an antioxidant, but until long term studies are done, it would be best to limit the use of kombucha tea to once or twice a week.

Q. I heard about a gluconic acid in kombucha tea, have you heard about this?
   A. Gluconic acid is found naturally in fruit, honey, kombucha tea and wine and is used as a food additive, an acidity regulator. See gluconate for more info.

Q.  I am from Chennai, India, doing my masters in microbiology. I was fascinated by kombucha tea and planned to do my project on it but unfortunately my guide and other professors whom i can look up to have not heard about kombucha and are unable to direct me. I would like to know if there are any tests available to prove any of health benefits. If there are health benefits but how can we prove them?
   A. As of January of 2008, we have not come across any human clinical trials with kombucha tea, so we can't say kombucha tea has health benefit s with any confidence.

Q. Do you have any info on kombucha? I have seen drinks containing raw kombucha at health food stores, and also decaf green tea kombucha. Just wondering about benefits, side effects, etc.